We had this tasty curry recently, the lentils and coconut milk give a nice creamy sauce. Use the green coriander in Camel CSA’s veg boxes this week.

Serves 4

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 fat garlic clove, finely chopped
25g fresh root ginger, grated
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
75g red split lentils
150ml vegetable stock
1 cauliflower, cut into small florets
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
400 ml can coconut milk
75g green beans
3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large saucepan and gently cook the onion for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent.  Add the garlic, ginger,ground coriander, cumin and turmeric and cook for 2 minutes, stirring all the time. Stir in the lentils, then pour in the stock.  Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover and gently simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tbsp of oil in a frying pan and fry the cauliflower for 2-3 minutes until lightly browned.  Add to the lentil mixture with the carrots and coconut milk.  Bring the curry back to a gentle simmer and cook for a further 10 minutes.  Stir in the beans and cook until all the vegetables are tender.

Stir in the chopped coriander and lemon juice, then season to taste.  Serve with rice, warm naan or chapatis.

Camel CSA’s salad leaves are freshly picked, not freshly clicked! Unlike the supermarkets, ours are harvested on the same day we deliver the veg boxes.

In all our veg boxes this week: –
*mixed salad leaves (mizuma, baby chard/spinach, rocket, red and golden mustard, lettuce)
*green coriander
purple sprouting broccoli (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
leeks (Restharrow)
cauliflower (Restharrow)
parsnips (Restharrow)
potatoes ‘Wilja’ (Restharrow)

Standard boxes also have:-
extra potatoes
*Savoy cabbage
*turnips or kohlrabi
beetroot (Restharrow)

* = grown to organic principles
All produce grown by Camel CSA unless otherwise indicated. Please wash all vegetables and fruit

Try these delicious ways to serve parsnips on Camel CSA’s recipe page: –
Hugh’s curry-spiced parsnips and potatoes

I discovered this salad in a Cook with M&S promo leaflet I picked up in store. It was the only seasonal dish I could find in it!

The best squash to use is Crown Prince, which we have in Camel CSA’s veg boxes this week, but any full-flavoured variety will do.

If you can’t get blood oranges, which are in season at this time of year, use other decent ones instead. I’ve also adapted the recipe to include pumpkin or pomegranate seeds, oriental salad leaves or rocket, and parsley or coriander. It’s up to you.

Serves 6

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 35-40 minutes

Ingredients
800g full-flavoured squash (such as Crown Prince) peeled, deseeded and cut into 4cm cubes
3 sprigs thyme
2 cloves garlic, unpeeled
3 tbsp olive oil
200g couscous
5 oranges – ideally blood oranges
75g pomegranate or pumpkin seeds
100g rocket or oriental salad leaves
small handful chopped parsley or coriander
200g feta cheese, crumbled

Method
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Put squash, thyme and garlic in a roasting tin and season. Drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil, then roast for 35-45 minutes. Squeeze the garlic from its skin.

Meanwhile put the couscous in a bowl and add 100ml boiling water and set aside for 15 minutes, then fluff with a fork. Peel and slice four of the oranges. Squeeze the juice from the remaining orange, whisk this with the remaining olive oil and season.

Stir the pomegranate or pumpkin seeds, salad leaves and parsley into the couscous, reserving some to scatter over. Divide the mixture among six plates and top with the squash, orange slices, feta, seeds, salad and parsley. Drizzle with the dressing and serve.

We still have plenty of home-grown seasonal vegetables available in Cornwall. No need to panic!

In all our veg boxes this week: –
*squash ‘Crown Prince’
*sprouted mung beans
*onions
*parsley
purple sprouting broccoli (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
cauliflower (Restharrow)
potatoes ‘Wilja’ (Restharrow)

Standard boxes also have:-
extra potatoes
*carrots
*leeks
beetroot (Restharrow)

* = grown to organic principles
All produce grown by Camel CSA unless otherwise indicated. Please wash all vegetables and fruit

Try these recommended recipes on Camel CSA’s recipe page: –
Bridget’s squash curry
Jamie’s roasted apple and squash soup

This Nigella Lawson recipe appears in 20 best one-pot recipes in The Observer’s Food Monthly supplement.  It’s easy to prepare and tastes delicious.

Serves 6

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp rosemary needles, finely chopped, plus more to serve
1 bulb garlic, separated into unpeeled cloves
2 leeks
1 kg waxy potatoes, washed if necessary, but unpeeled
2 unwaxed lemons
1 medium chicken (approx. 1.4 kg)
sea salt flakes to taste

Method
Preheat the oven to 220°C/Gas mark 7.  Get out the biggest roasting tin you have, and pour all but a teaspoon or so of the oil into it.  Throw in the chopped rosemary needles and the garlic cloves.

Trim the leeks and cut each in half lengthways, then slice into half-moons and drop these leek curls into the tin too.  Cut the potatoes into 1.5 cm slices, then cut each slice into 4, or just halve them if the potatoes are small, and add these to the tin.  Quarter the lemons, then cut each quarter in half, take out as many pips as you can and toss the lemon quarters into the pan.

Now schmoosh everything to mix, and then make a space in the middle of the tin for the chicken to sit in.  Untruss the chicken, place it in the reserved parking place, pour the tiny bit of the remaining oil on top of it and sprinkle sea salt flakes on top of the chicken only.

Place in the oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes, and if the juices of the chicken run clear when you push the tip of a knife into the joint where the thigh meets the body, remove the chicken to a board to sit, letting the juices from its cavity spill back into the tin as you do so.

Then put the potato mixture back in the oven for 10 minutes until soft and golden.  If the chicken needs longer, keep everything in the oven until the chicken is cooked.  When it’s ready, and the chicken has rested, carve it or cut into joints as wished.  Sprinkle with 1/2 a teaspoon of finely chopped rosemary needles and sea salt flakes to taste.

The “veg crisis” hit new heights this week as supermarkets ran out of imported iceberg lettuce. It’s tasteless stuff at the best of times.

UK consumers have become far too reliant on food imports – around 50% of the vegetables and 90% of the fruit we eat come from other countries. Global food prices are rising inexorably. We need to encourage more people to buy fresh, local, seasonal produce. It’s better for our health and well-being as well as the British economy.

In all our veg boxes this week: –
*Red Russian or black Tuscan kale
*beetroot
*onions
leeks (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
Romanesco or white cauliflower (Restharrow)
parsnips (Restharrow)
potatoes ‘Wilja’ (Restharrow)

Standard boxes also have: –
extra potatoes
*sprouting broccoli or Brussels sprouts
*kohlrabi
*swede

* = grown to organic principles
All produce grown by Camel CSA unless otherwise indicated. Please wash all vegetables and fruit

Try these tasty and warming kale soups on Camel CSA’s recipe page: –
Caldo verde (Portuguese greens soup)
Cavolo nero (black Tuscan kale) soup

This quick and easy recipe was given to me by Joan, an ex-colleague who was very fond of Jerusalem artichokes.  We’ve got plenty in our veg boxes this week thanks to the Hoare family at Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick in north Cornwall. I have no idea where she got the idea from, possibly Elizabeth David.

Serves 2-3

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20-30 minutes

Ingredients
500 g Jerusalem artichokes
olive oil
2-3 tomatoes, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
parsley
chives

Method
Boil the artichokes in salted water, straining them before they are quite cooked.  Cut them in halves and sauté them gently in a little olive oil with the tomatoes, garlic, and chives and parsley.

Vegetable growers in Cornwall can take advantage of the additional warmth and light in this part of the UK to grow early outdoor veg and plenty of indoor crops like oriental salad leaves.

At this time of year the Hoare family at Restharrow Farm on the Camel estuary, near Wadebridge, supply us with a selection of winter brassicas to provide variety in our veg boxes.

In all the boxes this week: –
*mixed winter salad leaves (mizuna, red/green mustard, green/red lettuce, baby rainbow chard, leaf beet, rocket)
*onions
white sprouting broccoli (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
parsnips (Restharrow)
leeks (Restharrow)
Jerusalem artichokes (Restharrow)
potatoes ‘Wilja’ (Restharrow)

Standard boxes also have: –
extra potatoes
*pak choi (ideal for Chinese New Year!)
*cabbage
*turnips

* = grown to organic principles
All produce grown by Camel CSA unless otherwise indicated. Please wash all vegetables and fruit

Try these ways to serve Jerusalem artichokes on Camel CSA’s recipe page: –
A casserole of artichokes and pork for deepest winter
Palestine soup

We’ve had this dish twice since Nadiya’s Kitchen arrived in our household at Christmas.  I’ve used both curly kale with penne and cavolo nero with macaroni but the biggest recommendation must be from my husband who usually turns his nose up at plain macaroni cheese!

If you don’t have any cream, just use milk.  Nadiya, the BBC’s last Great British Bake Off winner, doesn’t pre-cook the kale but I blanche it with the pasta at the end of the pasta cooking time.

Serves 6

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
500g pasta
2 tbsps unsalted butter
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp English mustard powder
3 tbsps plain flour
250ml whole milk
25 ml single cream
250g mature Cheddar cheese, grated
a large handful of kale leaves, chopped
50g Parmesan cheese, grated
freshly ground black pepper

Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas mark 6.  Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, and cook the pasta for the recommended time on the packet.  Drain and add the oil, stirring it through, this will stop the pasta sticking together.

Melt the butter in a small pan over a medium heat, then add the garlic and mustard powder and cook for 1 minute.  Stir in the flour, and cook for another minute, mixing all the time.  Add the milk and the cream, and whisk until the sauce is smooth and lump-free.  Continue to whisk until the sauce thickens.  Take the pan off the heat, add the grated Cheddar cheese and leave it to melt, stirring occasionally.

Now tip the pasta and kale into an oven proof dish, and pour over the sauce.  Bake for 20 minutes, until the top is crisp and golden.  Sprinkle with the Parmesan and a good grind of black pepper to serve.

The so-called courgette crisis has created a ridiculous fuss. At Camel CSA near Wadebridge we are proud to grow and supply freshly-picked, local and seasonal vegetables. That means no spiralised courgettes in winter!

In all the boxes: –
*sprouted mung beans
*squash ‘Autumn Crown’ or ‘Golden Nugget’
*carrots – good for spiralising!
*onions
*parsnips (Mark Norman, Bodmin)
Tuscan kale (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
potatoes ‘Wilja’ (Restharrow)

Standard boxes also have: –
extra potatoes
*calabrese or sprouting broccoli
*parsley
*Romanesco cauliflower (Restharrow)

* = grown to organic principles
All produce grown by Camel CSA unless otherwise indicated. Please wash all vegetables and fruit.

Try these healthy and different ways to serve kale on Camel CSA’s recipe page: –
Paprika and chilli kale chips
Jack Monroe’s lentil, bean and kale salad

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