This recipe is taken from Felicity Cloake’s How to Cook the Perfect column in the Guardian. Every week she takes a familiar dish and tries several different recipes before coming up with her definitive recipe to make the perfect dish, in this case the perfect moussaka. We will be trying this on Sunday.

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients
4 tbsp olive oil
3 medium or 2 large aubergines, sliced
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1.5 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp dried oregano
500g minced lamb
2 tbsp tomato purée, mixed with 150ml water
150ml red wine
Small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped

For the béchamel:
500ml milk
60g butter
60g plain flour
50g kefalotyri or pecorino cheese, grated
2 eggs, beaten
Nutmeg, to grate

Method
Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Cut the aubergines lengthways into 0.5cm slices, and put them on to oiled baking sheets. Brush with olive oil and season. Bake for about 25 minutes until soft, golden and floppy.

Meanwhile, put 2 tbsp olive oil into a large frying pan over a medium high heat and cook the onion until soft. Add the garlic, cinnamon and oregano and cook for a further couple of minutes, then stir in the lamb. Turn up the heat slightly, and brown the lamb well, cooking until the mixture is quite dry. Stir in the tomato and wine, bring to a simmer, then turn the heat down low and cook for 30–40 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season and stir in the parsley.

While the meat is cooking, make the bechamel. Bring the milk to just below boiling point, and melt the butter in another saucepan. Stir the flour into the butter and cook for a couple of minutes, then gradually whisk in the hot milk. Cook until you have a thick sauce, then stir in the cheese until melted. Take off the heat and allow to cool slightly, then beat in the eggs, salt to taste and add slightly more nutmeg than you might think wise (it’s a strong flavour, but you need a heft of it in this dish I think – half a teaspoon at least).

Arrange a third of the aubergines in the base of an oven dish, and top with half the meat. Repeat these layers, then finish off with a layer of aubergine, and top with the sauce. Bake for about 45 minutes until well browned, and then leave to cool for half an hour before serving.

This recipe has been recommended by CSA member Sarah Brown.  It is taken from Rick Stein’s Food Heroes but there are references to these pickles back as far as the Great Depression and earlier.  A great homemade version of gherkins for burgers, cold meats, cheeses and as the name suggests just bread & butter.

Makes 4 x 450g (1lb) jars

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 25-30 minutes

Ingredients
750g / 1 1/2lb cucumbers
450g / 1 lb onions
1 green pepper
50g / 2 oz salt
Pickling liquor
350g / 12 oz light soft brown sugar
475ml / 16 fl oz cider vinegar
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1/2 tsp celery seed

Method
Trim the ends off the cucumbers, scoop seeds with a teaspoon (optional) and cut them into thin slices about 3-4mm thick. Finely slice the onion and slice the pepper. Put the cucumber, onion and pepper in a large bowl and sprinkle over the salt. Cover and leave for three to four hours, or overnight – this will remove excess water and help to keep the vegetable crisp when pickled.  Rinse, drain and dry the vegetables thoroughly.  Put all the remaining ingredients in a large, stainless-steel pan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Add the cucumber, onion & pepper and simmer for three to four minutes – the cucumber will turn a slight yellowy-olive colour.  Pack into warm, sterilised jars right up to the brim, and cap immediately with vinegar-proof lids. These will keep for a year, preferably in a dark place to preserve the colour. Once opened, refrigerate and eat within three or four weeks.

The veg boxes are still bursting with our bountiful harvest. It’s been a wonderful, warm, sunny week.

In all our boxes this week:
*aubergines
*beetroot
*tomatoes
*calabrese or sprouting broccoli
*cucumbers
*sweetcorn
*green peppers
potatoes ‘Caesar’ (Burlerrow Farm, St Mabyn)

Standard boxes also have:-
extra potatoes
*mixed salad bag
*French beans
*cucumbers

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

Try these tasty dishes on Camel CSA’s recipe page –
Raw salsa
Chicken with lemon, and chilli broccoli

If you can’t eat corn off the cob you could try cutting the kernels off the cob and putting them in this hearty soup.  The recipe can be found in River Cottage Veg Every Day by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

Serves 6

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 45 minutes if using dried beans

Ingredients
2 Tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
a handful of fresh oregano or marjoram, chopped
100g small dried beans, such as pinto, navy or cannellini beans, soaked overnight or 400g tin beans, drained and rinsed
1 litre vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
750g squash, such as butternut or onion, peeled, deseeded and cut into 2cm chunks
200g French beans, trimmed and cut into 2cm pieces
Kernels cut from 2 cobs corn
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat.  Add the onion and garlic and sauté gently for about 10 minutes.  Add the paprika and 1 Tbsp of the oregano.  Cook for another minute.

If using dried beans, drain them after soaking and add to the pan, with the stock and bay leaf.  Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes, or until the beans are completely tender (dried beans vary, and sometimes this may take over an hour).

Add the squash, stir well and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the squash is just tender.  If using tinned beans, add the drained, rinsed beans, the squash, bay leaf and stock at the same time, and simmer until the squash is just tender, 10-15 minutes.

Then add the French beans and corn kernels and simmer for a further 5 minutes.  To finish, season well with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.  Stir in the remaining oregano, leave to settle for a couple of minutes, then serve.

Our boxes are bursting with veg this week. We’re enjoying the first of our bumper crop of juicy onions and sharing out 100 corn cobs produced by Mark Norman on his sunny smallholding near Bodmin.

In all our boxes this week:
*onions
*French beans or mangetout peas
*tomatoes
*calabrese
*cucumbers
*sweetcorn (Mark Norman, Bodmin)
potatoes (Burlerrow Farm, St Mabyn)

Standard boxes also have:-
extra potatoes
*mixed salad bag
*basil
*bunched carrots

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

Try these tasty dishes on Camel CSA’s recipe page –
French beans with feta, walnuts and mint
Braised sweetcorn with lime and chilli

This is an old favourite from Vegetarian Meals by Rosamund Richardson.  It is good served with a green salad.

Serves 4-6

Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients
2 medium aubergines
olive oil
225 g pasta shapes
3 tbsp tomato puree
1 garlic clove, crushed
225 g strong cheese, grated
salt and pepper

Method
Cut the aubergines into fairly thin slices and sprinkle with salt.  Let them sweat for 30 minutes, and then rinse the salt off and wipe dry.  Cook the aubergine in olive oil – they absorb it well, so you will need quite a lot – until they are soft and slightly browned.

Cook the pasta ‘al dente’.  Make up 300 ml of tomato sauce using the tomato puree, crushed garlic and water.  Put layers in a baking dish of the tomato sauce, sliced aubergine, pasta and cheese, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go.  Finish with a layer of cheese and bake at 180°C/Gas mark 4 for 25 minutes.

We’ve each got a bag of red tomatoes as well as yellow ones, plus aubergines, the “long purple” variety. Standard boxes have a fennel bulb.

In all our boxes this week:
*tomatoes
*aubergines
*Swiss chard or spinach
*mixed salad bag
*parsley
*courgettes (Mark Norman, Bodmin)
potatoes (Burlerrow Farm, St Mabyn)

Standard boxes also have:-
extra potatoes
*cucumbers
*mangetout peas or French beans
*fennel

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

Try these tasty dishes on Camel CSA’s recipe page –
Neela’s aubergine and potato

This classic recipe is based on the late Marcella Hazan‘s recipe for French beans with yellow peppers, tomatoes and chilli pepper. We make it with whatever colour pepper we have to hand and sometimes we include the chilli pepper and sometimes we don’t!  You can also use thinly sliced runner beans.

Serves 4-6

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients
450g French beans
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 pepper, cut into strips
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
170g tomatoes (tinned or fresh)
chopped hot red chilli pepper (optional)

Method
Trim the beans, soak them in cold water, drain and set aside.  Put the oil in a pan on medium heat and gently cook the onion until translucent.  Add the pepper and roughly chopped tomatoes, stir well and simmer gently for about 20 minutes.

Add the chilli pepper (if using) and the beans, turn them over 2 or 3 times to coat them well, add 6 tbsp. of water or less if you are using fresh tomatoes and they are watery.

Cover and cook at a steady simmer until tender, 20-30 minutes depending on the youth and freshness of the beans.  Add more water as needed.  When the beans are done, if the pan juices are watery, uncover, turn the heat up and rapidly boil them down.  Season with salt and chilli pepper to taste.

Each elephant garlic clove is as big as your thumb.

We planted a few of these very expensive garlic cloves just two years ago as a propagation experiment. This season our clever professional growers have cultivated enough to provide one giant bulb for each veg box.

It has a mild taste and is best roasted or it can be used raw – chopped or grated into salads.

In all our boxes this week:
*elephant garlic bulb
*basil
*parsley
*tomatoes
*aubergine OR green peppers
*broad beans OR French beans OR mangetout peas
potatoes (Burlerrow Farm, St Mabyn)

Standard boxes also have:-
extra potatoes
*mixed salad bag
*cucumber
*calabrese OR curly kale

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

Try these ways of using basil on our recipe page –
Pesto gnocchi
Jekka’s basil oil

This is a deliciously simple summer dish which can be eaten hot or cold. It’s ideal for a picnic or lunch in the garden. There are many versions, this one is from Valentine Warner at BBC Food

Serves: 2

Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking: 20 minutes

Ingredients
200g broad beans (podded weight)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small red onion, peeled, chopped (or spring onions)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 large free-range eggs
100g feta cheese, crumbled
small bunch fresh mint leaves (or parsley), chopped

Method
Cook the broad beans in a pan of boiling, salted water for 2-3 minutes, or until tender. Drain well, then refresh in cold water. When the beans are cool enough to handle, peel away the outer skins, if you want to.

Heat the oil in a small ovenproof frying pan over a low heat. Add the onion and season with a pinch of salt. Fry for 8-10 minutes, or until softened but not browned.

Meanwhile, preheat the grill to its highest setting. In a bowl, whisk the eggs until well combined and full of air, then season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

When the onions have softened, increase the heat to medium and pour in the beaten eggs. Sprinkle over the crumbled feta, mint or parsley leaves and cooked broad beans. Leave the pan on the heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the underside of the egg mixture is pale golden-brown. (NB: Do not stir the mixture.)

Transfer the pan to the grill and cook for a further 2-3 minutes, or until the top side of the egg mixture is firm and pale golden-brown. Place a large plate upside-down over the pan, then turn the pan over so that the omelette falls onto the plate. Cut it into wedges and serve with crusty white bread.

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