Known in our house as cabbage and peanut bake, this recipe is from an old Sainsbury’s cookbook, Vegetarian Meals by Rosamond Richardson.  It is a main course in its own right or could be served alongside another dish.   I first tried this recipe to see how the rather odd combination of ingredients worked and it has become a winter favourite.

Serves 2

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

Ingredients
1 small white cabbage chopped fairly coarsely
300ml white sauce made with 40g butter, 2tbs plain flour and 300ml milk
50g salted peanuts, chopped
100g cheddar cheese, grated
nutmeg, finely grated
salt and pepper

Method
Boil the cabbage until it is cooked but still crunchy.  Thin out the white sauce with a little of the cooking water and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Make layers in a greased baking dish of cabbage, sauce, grated nutmeg, peanuts and grated cheese (I usually have two layers of each ingredient), finishing with grated cheese. Bake at Gas mark 6/200°C for 15-20 minutes or until the top is a golden brown.  I serve it with baked potatoes.

Signs of spring? The site’s still waterlogged, but light levels and temperatures are improving all the time.

All boxes have: –
* spring onions (Camel CSA)
* sprouted mung beans (Camel CSA/Mark Norman)
leeks (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
white sprouting broccoli (Restharrow)
swede (Restharrow)
white cabbage (Restharrow)
potatoes ‘Wilja’ (Restharrow)

Standard boxes also have:-
extra 500g potatoes
* kale (Camel CSA)
* Brussels sprouts (Camel CSA)
Jerusalem artichokes (Restharrow)

* = grown to organic principles

• Fortnightly boxes also have a cauliflower, to make up for the missing onions.

It could have been worse! Polytunnel doors blown off their hinges, one tunnel flooded, site waterlogged.

Repairing the damage and preparing Camel CSA’s veg boxes on Friday was quite a challenge in the rising wind and torrential rain. A big and grateful thank you to expert growers Bridget and Mark and to this week’s volunteer picking and packing team – Bob, Charlotte, Mike, Penny, Robert, Simon, Toby and Trish.

This a favourite dessert from celebrated Indian cook Madhur Jaffrey.  It’s a little time-consuming to make but so much nicer than bought Indian sweets.

Serves 4-6

Preparation time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 60-90 minutes

Ingredients
450g grated carrots
700ml milk
8 whole green cardamom pods
5 tbs vegetable oil or ghee
5 tbs caster sugar
1-2 tbs sultanas
1 tbs shelled unsalted pistachios, lightly crushed

Method
Put the grated carrots, milk and cardamom pods into a heavy-bottomed pan and bring to the boil.  Turn the heat down to low and cook, stirring now and then, until there is no liquid left.  Heat the oil or ghee in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat.  When hot add the carrot mixture, stir and fry until the carrots no longer have a rich, reddish colour.  This can take 10-15 minutes.  Add the sugar, sultanas and pistachios, stir and fry for another two minutes.

Serve warm or at room temperature.  It’s good served with whipped or clotted cream.

Now we’ve solved the mystery of the missing onions, we’re all getting an additional vegetable this week.

All boxes have: –
* mixed salad bag (Camel CSA) **
* red Russian or black Tuscan kale (Camel CSA)
onions (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
leeks (Restharrow)
carrots (Restharrow)
Brussels sprouts  (Restharrow)
potatoes ‘Wilja’ (Restharrow)
Jerusalem artichokes (Restharrow)

Standard boxes also have:-
extra 500g potatoes
* purple sprouting broccoli (Camel CSA)
golden turnips (CamelCSA)
red cabbage (Restharrow)

* = grown to organic principles
** mibuna, mizuna, baby leaf beet, pak choi, lettuce, rocket,  red mustard and golden mustard greens

A hearty casserole to warm you up when you come in out of the wind and rain!  It’s my adaptation from Sarah Brown’s Vegetarian Kitchen using vacuum packed chestnuts instead of dried chestnuts and is a meal in a pot if you serve it with the cheese nuggets.

Serves 2-4

Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes

Ingredients
200g vacuum packed chestnuts
250g whole pickling onions or shallots
250g carrots, peeled and sliced into 1cm rings
250g sprouts, peeled
125g button mushrooms, cleaned
1 tbs oil
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1 tbs soy sauce
freshly chopped parsley
salt and pepper

for the cheese nuggets (optional)
50 fresh breadcrumbs
50g grated cheese
1 egg
salt
1/4 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp paprika

Method
Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole or large pan and gently fry the onions for a few minutes, add the carrots and mustard powder and continue frying for a few minutes.  Add the soy sauce, the chestnuts and 500ml of water, bring to the boil and simmer for about 20 minutes.

While this is cooking make the cheese nuggets.  Mix together the breadcrumbs and grated cheese.  Beat the egg and mix with the salt, mustard and paprika then mix this into the breadcrumbs and cheese.  Form the mixture into small balls the size of walnuts.

After the hot-pot has cooked for 20 minutes add the sprouts, mushrooms, parsley and cheese nuggets (if using).  Season to taste and continue cooking for 15-20 minutes until the cheese nuggets are cooked and the sprouts are tender.  Serve staight away.

This casserole will go further if you serve it with mashed potatoes and a green vegetable.

Our field is still sodden so the picking and packing team are glad to be working mostly indoors this Friday.

• UPDATE – I’m afraid we are not able to supply onions this week – they’ve gone missing! An extra item
  will go in next week’s boxes to compensate. Fortnightly boxes will get a replacement the week after.

All boxes have: –
* carrots (Camel CSA)
beetroot bunches (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
leeks (Restharrow)
sprout stalk  (Restharrow)
swede (Restharrow)
potatoes ‘Wilja’ (Restharrow)

Standard boxes also have:-
extra 500g potatoes
* purple sprouting broccoli (Camel CSA)
curly kale (Restharrow)
red cabbage (Restharrow)

* = grown to organic principles

A quick and easy tea that warms you up on a cold night! It’s from River Cottage veg every day! by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

Serves 4

Preparation time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
2-3 heads of spring greens or kale or a savoy cabbage
6 tbs olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
1/2-1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped or 2 good pinches of dried chilli flakes
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
300g pasta shapes such as penne or fusilli
sea salt and finely ground black pepper
To serve
extra virgin olive oil
parmesan cheese

Method
Remove the core and thick stems from the greens or cabbage and shred the leaves.  Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a low heat, add the onion and cook gently for about 10 minutes or until soft.  Add the chilli and garlic and some salt and pepper and continue to cook for about 3 minutes.  At the same time cook the pasta until al dente, adding the greens to the pan about 3 minutes befrore the end of the cooking.
Drain the pasta and greens thoroughly and toss with the onion mixture in the frying pan.  Check the seasoning, then serve, with extra virgin olive oil for trickling and lots of grated cheese.

Another great selection of  fresh winter greens and roots in this week’s vegetable boxes.

All boxes have: –
* mixed salad bag (Camel CSA) **
* leeks (Camel CSA/Mark Norman, Bodmin)
* parsnips (Mark Norman)
savoy cabbage (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
onions (Restharrow)
carrots (Restharrow)
potatoes ‘Wilja’ (Restharrow)

Standard boxes also have:-
extra 500g potatoes
* sprouted mung beans (Camel CSA/Mark Norman)
* Jerusalem artichokes (Mark Norman)
* kale (Camel CSA)

* = grown to organic principles
** mibuna, mizuna, baby leaf beet, pak choi, lettuce, rocket,  red mustard and golden mustard greens

It has to be said I’m not a great fan of beetroot but this recipe has become a staple in our household.  It is from Jamie Oliver’s book Cook with Jamie.

Serves 4

Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
No cooking!

Ingredients
4 beetroots, peeled and cut into fine matchsticks
3 ripe pears, peeled, cored and cut into matchsticks
lemon oil dressing – the juice of half a lemon mixed with 5 tbs olive oil, seasoned and well shaken
salt and pepper
200g feta cheese
a small bunch of fresh mint, smallest leaves picked
optional: a large handful of sunflower seeds

Method
Dress the beetroot and pear matchsticks in a little of the lemon oil dressing and season with some salt and pepper.  Taste to check the flavours are balanced and lovely, and add a little more lemon juice to check the sweetness of the pears and beetroots if you need to.

Divide the salad between four plates or put it on a big platter, crumble over the creamy white feta, and sprinkle with the baby mint leaves and the sunflower seeds if using them.

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