I foraged the wild garlic in Camel CSA’s standard boxes this week from woods near our veg-growing site. This invasive plant makes a delicious, if slightly pungent, pesto. I recommend you serve it warm: stir it through freshly-cooked pasta or mash, swirl it into soups and casseroles or use it as a topping on pizzas*.

Preparation / cooking time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients
100g wild garlic leaves OR 50g wild garlic leaves and 50g parsley
50g lightly toasted pinenuts or cashews or walnuts
50g grated parmesan cheese
150ml olive or rapeseed oil
squeeze of lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Method
Pick the leaves over. Make sure you discard any flowers, coarse stalks, stray pieces of grass, dirty or damaged leaves. Blitz the garlic leaves (plus parsley if used), lemon juice and toasted nuts in a food processor or liquidiser for a minute or two. Then gradually blend in 100ml of the olive oil. Lastly, mix in the grated cheese, salt and pepper. 

This will keep up to three weeks in the fridge in a clean sterilised screwtop jar. Press the pesto down firmly to remove any air pockets. Seal the surface with the remaining olive oil to help it keep well.

* Thanks to the Red Lion, St Kew Highway for the pizza suggestion

This week everyone will have: –
*  mixed salad – lettuce, curly endive (Camel CSA)
* spinach and swiss chard (Camel CSA)
* sprouted mung beans (Mark Norman/Camel CSA)
potatoes (St Lawrence Farm, Bodmin)
rhubarb (Mitchell Fruit Garden)
spring greens (Newquay Fruit Sales)
cauliflower (Newquay Fruit Sales)

Standard boxes will have extra potatoes and rhubarb plus:
wild garlic (foraged by Charlotte Barry)
bay leaves (Bridget Gould)
purple sprouting broccoli (Tom Corbishley)

* = grown to organic principles

Camel CSA’s growing team are hard at work keeping the weeds at bay. We’re also busy getting more seeds sown outdoors.

Just made this – it’s seriously GOOD! Thanks to sisters Hemsley & Hemsley (via Guardian Cook).

H & H say: “This delicious dip is great with plenty of fresh, raw vegetables…You can also thin it out with extra oil and lemon juice, drizzle it over baked fish and roast chicken, or toss it through salads.”

Serves 4

Preparation time: 10 minutes
No cooking!

Ingredients
80g raw cashews
100ml extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
2 large handfuls of fresh parsley leaves, approx 45g
1 medium garlic clove
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
4 tbsp water
¼ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper

Method
Blend all the ingredients together and serve in a bowl with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on top. EASY!

• Parsley’s not just for scattering on a finished dish – parsley recipes from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

We have the first of the season’s rhubarb in all 50 (yes 50!) of Camel CSA’s vegetable boxes this week.

Everyone will have:
* salad bags – curly endive (frisée) /mixed lettuce (Camel CSA)
* swiss chard/perpetual spinach (Camel CSA/Mark Norman)
* parsley (Camel CSA)
rhubarb (Camel CSA/Mark Norman/Growfair)
potatoes (St Lawrence’s Farm, Bodmin)
carrots (Growfair)
cauliflower (Growfair, Devon)

Standard boxes will have extra potatoes and rhubarb plus:
* purple sprouting broccoli (Tom Corbishley, Trevia)
swede (Growfair, Cornwall)

* = grown to organic principles

There are lots of variations on this quick, healthy salad which uses raw kohlrabi and a crunchy apple.

Serves 4 – as a side dish

Preparation time: 15 minutes (max)
No cooking!

Ingredients
60ml double cream or full-fat yoghurt
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 heaped tsp wholegrain mustard
½ tsp honey
Salt & pepper
1 kohlrabi, peeled and cut into julienne strips (keep the leaves to use another day)
1 crisp apple, cored and diced

Method
Whisk the cream in a bowl or simply place the yoghurt in it. Whisk in the lemon juice, mustard and honey. Season to tast. Then stir in the kohlrabi and apple and serve immediately.

Kohlrabi, potato and spinach gratin + tips on cooking kohl rabi
Kohlrabi, apple and walnut salad

This week everyone will have:
* kohlrabi (Camel CSA)
* cabbage – whole tundra/spring greens (Camel CSA)
* perpetual spinach and swiss chard (Camel CSA)
* salad leaves (Camel CSA)
* radish bunch (Camel CSA)
cauliflower (Growfair, Devon)
potatoes (St Lawrence Farm, Bodmin)

Standard boxes will have extra potatoes plus:
* sprouted mung beans (Mark Norman/Camel CSA)
* curly parsley (Camel CSA)
leeks (Growfair, Cornwall)

* = grown to organic principles

Recipes for kohlrabi + tips on what to do with it

This year Camel CSA’s growers started planting onion sets in early April. Last year it was mid March.

Over the last 12 months we’ve survived some very hostile weather conditions. These prevented us from preparing the ground at times. Some crops failed, others ran out early or went to seed too soon.

Thanks to our professional growers, the broad beans and peas planted under a fleece a month ago are starting to grow well.

Three different types of leeks have been sown. Lettuce and various brassica seedlings, including broccoli and cauliflower, are about to be planted out.

This easy side dish brings out the sweetness of carrots or swede. It’s from BBC GoodFood’s Olive magazine. You need to cut larger carrots and swede into long, thick batons. Use new-season, thinner carrots whole.

Serves: 4
Preparation / cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients
400g carrots, scrubbed or peeled (cut into long, thick batons if necessary)
Or 400g swede, peeled and cut into long, thick batons
1 tbsp honey
15g butter

Method
Simmer the carrots or swede in a large wide pan until just tender, about 15 minutes. Drain off all but a few tbsp of the cooking water then add the honey and butter and season well. Turn the carrots or swede over the heat until glazed and golden.

• More carrot and swede recipes from Camel CSA

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