Mark, one of our core group members, recommends this soup recipe from Jamie Oliver’s Great Britain.  We don’t bother with the cream though,” Mark says, “as it’s rich enough!” Although the recipe uses the butternut variety, any decent squash would do.

Serves 4-6

Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking time: 60 minutes

Ingredients
1 squash (roughly 1kg), peeled, de-seeded and chopped into 2.5 cm chunks
3 good eating apples, peeled, cored and quartered
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 or 2 fresh red chillies, halved and de-seeded

4 cloves garlic, unpeeled and bashed
Olive oil
Sea salt and ground pepper
Pinch of coriander seeds
Few sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped
3 heaped tablespoons pumpkin seeds
Pinch of cayenne pepper
800ml cups organic vegetable or chicken stock
150ml single cream

Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6.  Put the chunks of squash, apple, onion, chillies and garlic on to a baking sheet and drizzle with a good amount of olive oil.  Add a good pinch of salt and pepper and a pinch of coriander seeds and a little chopped rosemary.  Toss everything together so all the veg is nicely coated then cook for around 45 minutes or until everything is cooked through, intensely golden and delicious.

Toss the pumpkin seeds with salt, pepper, olive oil and the cayenne.  Spread on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 10-15 minutes then put aside for later.

Put some of the roasted veg into a blender, making sure you squeeze the garlic flesh out of its skin first.  Add a swig of stock and gently blitz until smooth and lovely.  Put this into a large pan while you blitz the rest.  Pour in most of the cream and bring to a simmer over a medium to low heat.

Have a taste, season to perfection. To serve, divide between bowls and add a swirl of cream and a sprinkling of roasted seeds.

Happy New Year! We’re brimming with vigour and all set for 2o17. Our veg boxes are overflowing with tasty, vitamin-packed, organically-grown vegetables.

In all the boxes: –
*kohlrabi
*squash ‘Uchiki Kuri’ or ‘Golden Nugget’
*calabrese
*swede
*onions
cauliflower (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
potatoes ‘Wilja’ (Restharrow)

Standard boxes also have: –
extra potatoes
*cavolo nero kale
*mixed salad bag
*turnips

* = 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 squash on Camel CSA’s recipe page: –
Sarah Raven’s stuffed squash
Roasted and stuffed Golden Nugget squash

Our professional grower Bridget Gould acquired this simple recipe from a Bangladeshi friend. It’s the perfect antidote to rich festive food!

Serves 4

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30-40 minutes

Ingredients
1 medium squash, peeled and de-seeded
2 onions, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp turmeric
2 cardamom, seeds only
2-3 chillies, deseeded and chopped
juice of ½ small lemon
small bunch fresh coriander, roughly chopped
1 tbsp oil

Method
Heat the oil and fry off the spices, taking care not to burn them. Add onions and garlic and fry until soft. If dry add a bit of water.

Next, cut the squash into 2cm chunks and add to the pan, mixing through well. Season with salt and pepper and simmer until the squash is tender. Just before serving add the lemon juice and fresh coriander.

Season’s greetings from Camel CSA! We have in all our Christmas/New Year veg boxes:-

*squash ‘Crown Prince’
chilli and crab apple jelly
*carrots
*leeks
*parsley
*onions
*parsnips (Mark Norman, Bodmin)
*bay leaves (Janet Hulme, Wadebridge)
sprout stalk (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
potatoes ‘Wilja’ (Restharrow)
Cornish honey (Eric James, Bodmin)

Standard boxes also have:-
extra potatoes
*pak choi*mixed winter salad bag
*spring onions

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

I would have made this parsnip loaf from Nigel Slater in The Guardian if I hadn’t received a request from my son for roast parsnips.  Its herb flavourings and seedy texture do sound delicious, so I will try it at some point in the not-too-distant future.

Serves 6

Preparation time: 60 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients
parsnips 500g
carrots 250g
apple 1
butter 75g
onions 2, medium
garlic 2 large cloves
parsley 2 heaped tbsp, chopped
rosemary needles 2 tbsp
thyme leaves 1 tbsp
hemp seeds 1 tbsp
pumpkin seeds 1 tbsp
sunflower seeds 1 tbsp
poppy seeds 1 tbsp
eggs 2
butter for greasing the loaf tin
thyme sprigs 8

You will also need a loaf tin measuring about 22cm x 12cm x 8cm, lined with baking parchment.

Peel the parsnips, then cut lengthways into quarters. Grate them finely using the coarse blade of a food processor, slightly thinner than matchsticks, then do the same with the carrot. (I don’t find it necessary to peel the carrots, only to scrub them with a vegetable brush.) Grate the apple, without peeling it, and add to the bowl.

Warm half the butter in a shallow pan, then add the grated root vegetables and apple and let them cook, for 3 or 4 minutes, until they are bright and approaching softness. Tip them into a large mixing bowl. Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4.

Peel, halve and finely slice the onions. Melt the remaining butter in the shallow pan then cook the onion until it is soft and pale gold. Peel the garlic, crush finely then add to the onion and continue cooking. Tip the onion and garlic into the bowl with the carrots and parsnips. Add the chopped parsley to the mixture then finely chop the rosemary needles and thyme and add them, too. Add the hemp, pumpkin, sunflower and poppy seeds and a generous grinding of salt and pepper.

Break the eggs into a bowl, beat them lightly to combine yolks and whites, then fold into the mixture. Combine the ingredients making sure the seeds, eggs and herbs are evenly distributed.

Line the loaf tin with baking parchment then butter it generously. Scatter a few thyme sprigs over the bottom of the tin. Transfer the mixture into the loaf tin, pressing it firmly into place. Smooth the surface level and cover with buttered parchment. Place the loaf tin on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes, until lightly firm to the touch.

Remove from the oven and leave to settle for 10 minutes then turn out of the tin and carefully peel away the paper. Cut into slices and serve with the sauce (below) or Cumberland or cranberry sauce.

Stout and onion gravy
A dark and deeply-flavoured accompaniment for this loaf, but also good for spooning over baked vegetables or a slice of pie.

Enough for 6
onions 2, medium
butter 40g
garlic 3 cloves
button mushrooms 250g
olive oil 3 tbsp
thyme sprigs 8
plain flour 1-2 tbsp
vegetable stock 250ml, hot
stout or other dark beer 250ml
fruit jelly, such as redcurrant 4 tbsp

Peel the onions, cut them in half from stem to root, then slice each half into thin segments. Warm the butter in a heavy-based saucepan, add the onion and leave to cook over a medium heat. Peel and thinly slice the garlic, add to the onions and continue cooking for a good 15-20 minutes until the onions are thoroughly soft, golden and sweet.

Slice or quarter the button mushrooms as you wish then add them, together with the oil, to the onions. Pull the thyme leaves from their stalks then stir into the onions and mushrooms. When the mushrooms are soft and nut brown, scatter the flour over the surface, stir and cook for a couple of minutes. Pour in the stock and stout and bring to the boil. While stirring, lower the heat, season with salt and black pepper, then leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Stir in the redcurrant or other fruit jelly, taste for sweetness, adding more if you wish. You are after a nicely-balanced gravy – savoury and sweet with a deep, wintry character.

In all our veg boxes:-
*turnips
*onions
*green coriander

*kale ‘black Tuscan’ (Camel CSA) or curly kale (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
leeks (Restharrow)
parsnips (Restharrrow)
potatoes – ‘Wilja’ (Restharrow)

Standard boxes also have:-
extra potatoes
*brussels sprouts or sprouting broccoli
cauliflower (Restharrow)
red cabbage (Restharrow)

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

Try these delicious leek dishes on Camel CSA’s recipe page: –
Leeks with greens
Leek and cheddar cheese crumble

Yet more exciting seasonal vegetables this week that we bet you don’t get in the supermarket!

In all the boxes: –
*kohlrabi
*squash ‘Uchiki Kuri’
*kale ‘Red Russian’
*onions
leeks (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
cauliflower (Restharrow)
potatoes ‘Wilja’ (Restharrow)

Standard boxes also have: –
extra potatoes
*carrot bunch
*chillies
*beetroot

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

Try these delicious cauliflower dishes on the recipes page on our website:-
Penne with cauliflower and chilli
Warm cauliflower salad

Our veg box picking and packing team work incredibly hard every Friday morning to get the harvest in.

Frank conjured up this dish using the juicy pak choi in this week’s veg boxes, but it can be made with any combination of meat, vegetables or seafood.

Serves 2

Preparation time: 10 minutes (if you have left over cold, cooked rice)
Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients
200 g rice, cooked and allowed to cool
1-2 heads pak choi
100 g pancetta or smoked bacon, shredded
6 spring onions, sliced
4 (or more) cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped
a handful frozen sweetcorn kernels
2 eggs, beaten with a drizzle of sesame oil
splash soy sauce
splash cooking oil

Method
Heat a wok or large frying pan until smoking hot.  Add a splash of cooking oil, swirl to spread round the pan and add the eggs.  Swirl the eggs until you have a thin omelette then remove to a warm plate and shred.

Add the pancetta or bacon to the pan and stir fry to release some fat, add the onions, garlic and chilli and continue stirring for a few seconds.  Add the pak choi and sweetcorn and stir fry until the pak choi wilts.

Add the cold, cooked rice and continue stir frying over a high heat until the whole lot is piping hot.  Stir in the shredded egg and a splash of soy sauce to taste and serve.

We have a fantastic selection of vegetables despite this week’s unusually heavy frost in Cornwall.

In all the boxes this week: –
*pak choi
*squash ‘Autumn Crown’
*winter salad bag (mizuna, red/green mustard, green/red lettuce, baby chard/leaf beet)
*turnips
*onions
*parsnips (Mark Norman, Bodmin)
potatoes – red ‘Desiree’ (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)

Standard boxes also have: –
extra potatoes
*baby leeks
*curly parsley
curly kale (Restharrow)

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

Try these delicious dishes on the recipes page on our website:-
Frank’s Shanghai rice (pak choi)
Hugh’s squash stuffed with leeks

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