This recipe is from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s book Veg Every Day.  These can be done on a barbie outdoors, on a ridged cast-iron griddle pan in the kitchen, or even, at a pinch, under a grill.  When barbecuing, threading the asparagus spears onto skewers makes it easier to turn and cook them without losing them through the bars of the grill.

Serves 4

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 6 minutes

Ingredients
20-30 asparagus spears, trimmed
4 Tbs olive or rapeseed oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
6-10 mint leaves, finely shredded
flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Parmesan, pecorino or hard goat’s cheese, to serve

Method
Light the barbecue well in advance if you are cooking outside.
Soak 8 wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes.  If the asparagus spears are pretty thick – more than 5mm across the middle of the stem – or perhaps not so freshly cut, it’s best to blanch them first.  Add to a pan of boiling water, blanch for 1 minute, then drain and refresh in cold water.  Drain well and pat dry.

Thread the asparagus on to the skewers, about 5-6 per skewer, pushing it through the middle of the spears.  Brush the asparagus with some of the oil and season with salt and pepper.

If cooking indoors, heat the griddle or grill until hot, then place the asparagus skewers on the griddle or under the grill about 10cm from the heat.  If cooking on a barbecue, you want it medium-hot, rather than super-fierce – you should be able to hold your palm about 15cm above the coals for a few seconds.  Grill the asparagus spears for about 3 minutes on each side, depending on thickness, until tender in the centre and lightly charred on the outside.

Whisk about 2 tablespoons oil with the lemon juice, some pepper and the mint to make a dressing.  Remove the asparagus from the skewers, arrange on a plate and trickle the dressing over them.  Sprinkle with flaky salt and shave some cheese over the top if you like.

Everything in the garden is coming up lovely!
In all the boxes:
*new-season carrots
*new-season beetroot
Cornish asparagus (Lower Croan, Sladesbridge)
swede(Growfair)
leeks (Growfair)
cauliflower (Growfair)
potatoes ‘Wilja’ (Burlerrow Farm, St Mabyn)

Standard boxes also have:
extra potatoes
*mixed salad bag
*Swiss chard/spinach
*rhubarb (Camel CSA/Mark Norman, Bodmin)

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

This week’s recommended recipes from our website archive:
Baby carrots with lemon and thyme     Beetroot with fresh mint

This recipe is from Jamie Oliver’s book Ministry of Food.  It comes recommended by Charlotte, one of the founder members of Camel CSA.

Serves 6

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
2 carrots
2 sticks of celery
2 medium onions
2 cloves of garlic
800g cauliflower
olive oil
200g Cheddar cheese, grated
2 chicken or vegetable stock cubes
salt and black pepper
1 teaspoon English mustard

Method
Dice the carrots, celery, onions and garlic. Cut the cauliflower into florets.  Into a large pan add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and put over a medium heat, add the diced vegetables and cauliflower. Cook for 10 minutes with a lid partially placed over the pan or until the carrots have softened and the onion is lightly golden.

Grate the cheese. Put the stock cubes into a jug and pour in 1.8 litres of boiling water from a kettle. Add to the vegetables in the pan. Stir and bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes or so until the vegetables are cooked.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the cheese and mustard, season with salt and pepper. Use a hand blender and pulse until silky smooth – if using a liquidiser let the soup cool down, never put hot liquid into a liquidiser.  Top with more grated cheese. You could also top with some crispy bacon.

The spring rush continues as we prepare to plant out thousands more vegetable seedlings outdoors.

Another treat from Cornwall this week – strawberries from Mitchell Fruit Garden.

In all the boxes this week:
Cornish strawberries (Mitchell Fruit Garden)
Cornish asparagus (Lower Croan, Sladesbridge)
*mixed salad bag
*sprouted mung beans
cauliflower (Growfair)
swede (Growfair)
potatoes ‘Wilja’ (Burlerrow Farm, St Mabyn)

Our standard boxes also have:
extra potatoes

*Swiss chard/spinach
*parsley (Camel CSA) or red onions (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
extra punnet of strawberries

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

This week’s recommended recipes from our website archive:
Nigel’s asparagus and lemon risotto
Shaved asparagus and goat’s cheese salad

The polytunnels are filling up with spring-sown vegetables.

This is quite a rich dish and makes a lovely accompaniment to spicy grilled chicken or fish.  It can be found in the Riverford Organic Farms cookbook.

Serves 4

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients
1 bunch of spring greens, thinly sliced
1 dessertspoon sunflower oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste with a pinch of salt
2 dried chillies, chopped
400 ml coconut milk
juice of 1/2 lemon

Method
Blanch the spring greens in boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain, refresh in cold water and squeeze out the excess.  Set aside.  Heat the sunflower oil in a pan, add the garlic and chillies and fry over a low heat for a minute or so.  Add the coconut milk and simmer over a high heat for 10 minutes, until reduced by about half.  Stir in the spring greens and cook over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the coconut milk is just coating the greens.  Finish with the lemon juice.

What a treat! Freshly-picked Cornish asparagus from Roger and Jill Derryman at Lower Croan near Egloshayle is back in season over the next few weeks.

In all the boxes this week:
Cornish asparagus (Lower Croan, Sladesbridge)
*mixed salad bag
*bay leaves
cauliflower (CSA/Growfair)
leeks (Growfair)
spring greens (Growfair)
potatoes ‘Wilja’ (Burlerrow Farm, St Mabyn)

Our standard boxes also have:
extra potatoes
*Swiss chard/spinach
red onions (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
swede (Growfair)

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

This week’s recommended recipes from our website archive:
Simply delicious Cornish asparagus
Roasted asparagus with balsamic vinegar

An extremely versatile vegetarian dish that uses up the last of the winter season’s swede in this week’s veg boxes. You can use turnips or swede or a mixture of both. The same goes for spinach and chard.

As Nigel says: “This gently fragrant dish works well with potatoes and parsnips, too. You could use another leaf, perhaps chard or kale.” It comes from his Mid-week dinner feature in The Guardian.

Serves: 6
Preparation/cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1kg mixed turnips and/or swede
1 onion, finely chopped
knob of butter
1 tsp oil
1 tsp each of cumin seeds, ground turmeric and garam masala
200g spinach or chard
yogurt and coriander leaves, to serve

Peel turnips and swede and cut them into large pieces. Cook the turnip and swede either in boiling, lightly salted water, or in a steamer, until tender.

In a shallow pan, fry a peeled and roughly chopped onion in a little butter and oil until soft and golden, then add the cumin seeds, ground turmeric and garam masala. Continue cooking for a couple of minutes at a moderate heat until all is fragrant.

Wash and remove any tough stalks from 200g of spinach or chard. Place a nonstick, shallow pan over a moderate heat, add the wet spinach and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Let the spinach cook in its own steam for about three minutes, until wilted, then drain and gently press the water from it.

Add the drained turnips and swedes to the onions and continue cooking until they are lightly golden and have soaked up some of the flavour for the spices. Season with a little salt. Fold the spinach into the spiced turnips and swede and serve, if you wish, with a trickle of yogurt and a few coriander leaves. Serves 4.

Nigel’s trick: “Steam your spinach rather than boiling it. The best way I have found is to wash the leaves and, while they are still very wet, put them in a shallow pan to which you have a tight-fitting lid. Place over a moderately high heat, cover and let the spinach cook for a minute or two in its own steam. Lift the lid, turn the leaves with a pair of tongs or a draining spoon, then cook them for a minute more. I find this gives a better result than boiling.”

Rhubarb is making another welcome appearance in our veg boxes this week along with locally grown seasonal vegetables.

In all the boxes this week:

*Rhubarb
*Mixed salad bag
*Swiss chard/spinach
Leeks (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
Onions (Restharrow)
Swede (Growfair)
Potatoes ‘Wilja’ (Burlerrow Farm, St Mabyn)

Our standard boxes also have:

*Radish bunch
*Parsley
*Cauliflower
Extra potatoes

* = grown to organic principles.  All produce grown by camel CSA unless otherwise indicated.  Please wash all vegetables carefully.

This week’s recommended recipe from our website archive:
Jane’s rhubarb and custard cake

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