June 22, 2014
My husband knocked up this tasty stir-fry with some of the veg box contents and served it with fried noodles and beansprouts.
Serves 2
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time:10 minutes
Ingredients
250g mangetout, trimmed
150g shitake mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 tbs vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbs fresh ginger, shredded
1 tbs oyster sauce
2 tbs water
Method
Heat a wok over a high heat and add the oil. When the oil is smoking add the onion, mushrooms and mangetout and stir fry for 3 minutes. Turn the heat to medium and add the garlic and ginger then stir fry for a further 30 seconds, taking care not to burn the garlic or ginger. Stir in the oyster sauce and water and cook for 2-3 minutes. Serve with noodles or rice.
June 14, 2014
This is a perfect dish to serve on a hot summer’s day. It’s from Cordon Vert by Colin Spencer.
Serves 4-6
Preparation time: 30-40 minutes
Cooking time: 10-15 minutes
Ingredients
2 tbs parmesan cheese, grated
55g fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs
170g gruyère cheese, grated
4 eggs, separated
150 ml single cream
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2-3 pinches cayenne pepper
2 tbs warm water
4-5 tbs mayonnaise
salad leaves, shredded
2-3 tomatoes, finely sliced
30g mushrooms, finely sliced
1 tbs fresh chives, parsley or mint, chopped
bunch of watercress to garnish
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6. Line a swiss roll tin with greaseproof paper and sprinkle with half the parmesan cheese.
Mix the breadcrumbs and gruyere cheese together in a bowl. Add the egg yolks, cream, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Stir in the water. Whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold into the cheese mixture. Pour into the swiss roll tin and bake for 10-15 minutes until firm and springy to the touch.
Remove from the oven and let cool. Sprinkle another piece of greaseproof paper with the rest of the parmesan cheese and turn the cheese roulade onto the paper. Peel off the paper on top and spread the mayonnaise over the roulade, then sprinkle with the salad leaves, tomatoes, mushrooms and herbs. Roll up loosely, but firmly. Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with watercress and serve in slices.
June 7, 2014
This tasty side dish is from the Riverford Organic Farms’ cookbook. It can also be made with spinach.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Ingredients
200g cooked chopped chard (or spinach)
1 egg, beaten
200ml double cream
1 tbs grated parmesan
salt and pepper to taste
Method
Mix together all the ingredients. Bake in a gratin dish at 150°C/Gas Mark 2 for about 25 minutes until just set.
June 5, 2014
It’s our fifth anniversary! We’re open 2-4pm this Sunday. Find us at St Kew Highway, near Wadebridge.
Come and take part in family fun and games, making bee nests and bird scarers, nature quizzes, supervised pond dipping, and guided tours of our two-acre veg plot and polytunnels. There’ll be hot and cold drinks, home-made cake, and the chance to win one of our fresh, seasonal, local veg boxes.
Another lucky dip – we’re all getting mangetout peas or broad beans from the polytunnel. Not both!
All boxes have:
* bunched carrots (Camel CSA)
* broad beans or mangetout peas(Camel CSA)
* salad bag (Camel CSA / Mark Norman, Bodmin)
* chard (Camel CSA / Mark Norman)
* new potatoes (Mark Norman)
* onions (Mark Norman)
Cornish asparagus (Lower Croan, Sladesbridge)
Standard boxes also have:
extra new potatoes
* turnip bunches (Camel CSA)
* parsley (Camel CSA)
* spring onions (Mark Norman)
* = grown to organic principles
May 31, 2014
This is from Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi’s book Jerusalem. It is crunchy and refreshing. I added some chopped celery to make the salad go further but it would also be easy to scale down the dressing ingredients to suit the amount of kohlrabi you have. For those of you who live local to Wadebridge, sumac can be bought at Elixir Health Foods at the top of Molesworth Street.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
750g kohlrabi
80g Greek yoghurt
70g soured cream
50g thick double cream
1 small garlic clove, crushed
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp finely shredded fresh mint
1 tsp dried mint
20 g baby watercress
1/4 tsp sumac
salt and pepper
Method
Peel the kohlrabi, cut into 1.5 cm dice and put in a large mixing bowl. Put the yoghurt, soured cream, double cream, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil in a medium bowl. Add 1/4 tsp salt and a healthy grind of pepper and whisk well. Add the dressing to the kohlrabi, followed by the fresh and dried mint and half the watercress. Gently stir and place on a serving dish. Dot the remaining watercress on top and sprinkle with the sumac.
May 29, 2014
All boxes have:
* kohl rabi (Camel CSA)
* peas or broad beans or mange tout (Camel CSA)
* turnips (Camel CSA)
* parsley (Camel CSA)
Cornish strawberries (Mitchell Fruit Garden)
* new potatoes (Mark Norman, Bodmin)
Cornish asparagus (Lower Croan, Sladesbridge)
Standard boxes also have:
extra new potatoes
* salad bag ** (Camel CSA)
extra punnet of strawberries
cauliflower (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
* = grown to organic principles
** = mixed lettuce, baby leaf beet
May 25, 2014
We’ve had a fun visit from Class 1 at St Mabyn School. The children named the vegetables and soft fruit in the field and spotted lots of minibugs. They also searched for worms, slugs and snails (plenty of those!) They all tasted peas from the polytunnel and planted a red onion to carry on growing at home.
May 24, 2014
This is from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage Veg Every Day! and is a perfect summer risotto. I often use chicken stock instead of vegetable stock.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 35-40 minutes
Ingredients
1 tbs olive or rapeseed oil
40 g butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
800ml hot vegetable stock
200g risotto rice
100ml white wine
250-300g baby carrots, scrubbed and halved or quartered lengthways
150g baby broad beans
20g parmesan cheese, finely grated
A handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper
olive or rapeseed oil to serve
Method
Heat the oil and 25 g butter in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and fry gently for 8-10 minutes, until softened. Stir the rice into the onion and cook for a minute or two, then stir again. Add the wine and bring to a simmer. Cook for a few minutes, stirring from time to time, until the wine is absorbed.
Start adding the hot stock a ladleful at a time, stirring frequently and add more stock as it is absorbed. It should take about 20-25 minutes for the stock to be absorbed and for the rice to be cooked but still al dente. Add the carrots when the rice has been cooking for about 12 minutes; put the broad beans in about 5 minutes from the end of the cooking time.
When the rice and vegetables are cooked, turn off the heat. Add the cheese and the remaining butter, cover and leave for a couple of minutes. Add most of the parsley and season to taste. Serve in bowls with the remaining parsley scattered over and trickle over a little oil.
