March 9, 2012
This Nigel Slater recipe is for a cake that’s rich, moist and oozing. It’s recommended by Danny Barry, Camel CSA’s treasurer. “Ideal for supper parties,” she says. It’s from Nigel Slater’s Tender Volume 1.
Serves: 8 as a dessert
Preparation time: 30-40 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
250g beetroot
200g fine dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
4 tbsp hot espresso coffee
200g butter
135g plain flour
1 heaped tsp of baking powder
3 tsp good-quality cocoa powder
5 eggs
190g golden caster sugar
Crème fraîche and poppy seeds, to serve
Method
Lightly butter a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin and line the base with a disc of baking parchment. Set the oven to 180C/gas mark 4.
Cook the beetroot, whole and unpeeled, in boiling unsalted water. Depending on their size, they will be knifepoint tender within 30 to 40 minutes. Young ones may take slightly less. Drain them, let them cool under running water, then peel them, slice out their stem and root, and blitz to a rough purée.
Melt the chocolate, snapped into small pieces, in a small bowl resting over a pot of simmering water. Don’t stir. When the chocolate looks almost melted, pour the hot coffee over it and stir once. Cut the butter into small pieces – the smaller the better –and add to the melted chocolate. Dip the butter down under the surface of the chocolate with a spoon (as best you can) and leave to soften.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and cocoa. Separate the eggs; put the whites in a mixing bowl. Stir the yolks together.
Now, working quickly but gently, remove the bowl of chocolate from the heat and stir until the butter has melted into the chocolate. Leave for a few minutes, then stir in the egg yolks. Do this quickly, mixing firmly so the eggs blend into the mixture. Fold in the beetroot. Whisk the egg whites until stiff, then fold in the sugar. Firmly but tenderly fold the beaten egg whites and sugar into the chocolate mixture. A large metal spoon is what you want; work in a deep, figure-of-eight movement but take care not to over-mix. Fold in the flour and cocoa.
Transfer quickly to the prepared cake tin and put in the oven, turning the heat down immediately to 160C/gas mark 3. Bake for 40 minutes. The rim of the cake will feel spongy, the inner part should still wobble a little when gently shaken.
Leave to cool (it will sink a tad in the centre), loosening it around the edges with a palette knife after half an hour or so. It is not a good idea to remove the cake from its tin until it is completely cold. Serve in thick slices, with crème fraîche and poppy seeds.
Nigel Slater adds:”The serving suggestion of crème fraîche is not just a nod to the soured cream so close to beetroot’s Eastern European heart, it is an important part of the cake.”
If you liked this from Nigel Slater, why not try his Beetroot seed cake?
March 8, 2012
Everyone will have:
* onions (Camel CSA)
* salad leaves – mizuma, mibuna, pak choi, red mustard, rocket, endive, mixed lettuce (Camel CSA)
* carrots (Camel CSA)
* beetroot (Camel CSA)
* leeks (St Kew Harvest)
sprouting broccoli (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
potatoes (Burlerrow Farm, St Mabyn)
Standard boxes will have extra potatoes and onions plus:
* red cabbage (Camel CSA)
* swede (Camel CSA)
cauliflower (Camel CSA/Restharrow Farm)
* = grown to organic principles
March 3, 2012
A pasta recipe from Jamie Oliver’s Return of the Naked Chef to make good use of the cabbage and garlic from this week’s veg boxes.
Serves 4
Preparation/Cooking: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients
10 rashers of pancetta or dry-cured streaky bacon, thinly sliced
olive oil
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 good handful of thyme, leaves picked
1 large Savoy cabbage (outer leaves removed) quartered, cored and finely sliced
1 handful of grated Parmesan cheese
455g dried farfalle, the best you can get
salt and freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
200g buffalo mozzarella, cut into 1cm dice
2 handfuls of pine nuts, lighly toasted
Method
In a pan fry your pancetta in a little olive oil until lightly golden. Add the garlic and thyme and soften. Add the Savoy cabbage and Parmesan, then stir and put the lid on the pan. Cook for a further 5 minutes, shaking every now and again, while you cook your farfalle in salted boiling water until al dente. When the cabbage is nice and tender, season and loosen with some nice peppery extra virgin olive oil. Toss the drained farfalle into the cabbage and at the last minute mix in the mozzarella and pine nuts. Serve immediately.
March 1, 2012
Everyone will be getting:
* onions (Camel CSA)
* garlic (Camel CSA)
* carrots (Camel CSA)
* parsnips (Camel CSA)
* savoy cabbage (Camel CSA)
* parsley (Camel CSA)
cauliflower (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
potatoes (Burlerrow Farm, St Mabyn)
Standard boxes will have extra potatoes and onions plus
* swiss chard (Camel CSA)
* beetroot (Camel CSA)
sprout stalk (Restharrow Farm)
* = grown to organic principles
February 24, 2012
Camel CSA’s veg boxes have plenty of either purple or white sprouting broccoli this week – depending on whether it came from our own plot at St Kew Highway or Richard Hore’s fields at Restharrow above the Camel estuary.
This simple lunch or supper dish from Yotam Ottlenghi in his Guardian column is a decidedly different way of using this delicious late winter vegetable. As he says: “The combination of olive oil, garlic and lemon juice lifts the spirits in winter.”
It requires a whole head of garlic. But hey – we all had one, also grown by us, in last week’s veg boxes. And if you’ve a chilli left on your Christmas chilli string, it’ll come in useful too.
Serves four
(as first course or vegetable accompaniment)
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Ingredients
550g purple or white sprouting broccoli
1kg charlotte or desiree potatoes
1 whole head garlic
½-1 red chilli, depending on heat
3 long strips shaved lemon skin
About 5 tbsp olive oil
1½ tbsp lemon juice
Salt and white pepper
4 lemon wedges
Method
Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Remove and discard the leaves and woody ends from the broccoli, then blanch the stems for three to four minutes, until tender. Refresh in cold water, drain and dry.
Put the potatoes, unpeeled, in a large baking tray. Cut the top off the garlic head, wrap in foil and add to the tray. Roast for 40-60 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked through.
Thinly slice the chilli on an angle and put in a small saucepan with the lemon strips and oil. Cook on medium heat for three minutes, set aside to cool and strain, keeping only the chilli and oil.
Peel the warm potatoes and press twice through a potato ricer (or use a masher) into a saucepan. Unwrap the garlic, squeeze to release the cloves and add to the mash. Whisk the mash over medium heat, adding four tablespoons of strained oil, the lemon juice, three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt and some pepper. Whisk until smooth and silky (if it’s too thick, add a little water and more oil, stir and cook for a minute more). Keep warm.
Put a ridged griddle pan on high heat. Toss the broccoli with the rest of the oil and a pinch of salt, and grill in batches until the stems colour.
Spoon some mash on to each plate and top with broccoli. Sprinkle over the chilli, drizzle with oil and serve with a wedge of lemon.
February 23, 2012
Everyone will have:
* onions (Camel CSA)
* jerusalem artichokes (Camel CSA)
* parsnips (Camel CSA)
* salad leaves (Camel CSA)
* carrots (Camel CSA)
purple or white sprouting broccoli (Camel CSA/Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
potatoes (Burlerrow Farm, St Mabyn)
Standard boxes will have extra potatoes and onions plus:
* leeks (St Kew Harvest)
* savoy cabbage (Camel CSA)
* parsley (Camel CSA)
* = grown to organic principles
February 19, 2012
This recipe, from the American TV cook Rachael Ray, dares anyone who says “Yuk!” to Brussels sprouts – even children – to dislike them after trying them cooked this way.
The sprouts absorb the flavour of the stock and the short cooking time ensures that they don’t collapse.
Serves: four
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
3 slices bacon, chopped
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 shallot or small onion, chopped
800g Brussels sprouts, trimmed, small spouts left whole, larger spouts halved
250ml chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Brown the bacon in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Remove the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Put the extra-virgin olive oil to the pan. Add the shallot or onion and saute for one to two minutes. Add the Brussels sprouts and coat in oil. Season with salt and pepper. Cook the sprouts for two to three minutes until they begin to soften, then add the stock. Bring it to a bubble, cover and reduce heat to medium low. Cook for up to 10 minutes, until sprouts are just tender. Transfer sprouts to a serving dish with a slotted spoon and top with the cooked bacon bits.
February 16, 2012
Everyone will have:
* onions (Camel CSA)
* carrots (Camel CSA)
* swede (Camel CSA)
* garlic (Camel CSA)
* leeks (St Kew Harvest)
Brussels sprout stalk (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
potatoes (Burlerrow Farm, St Mabyn)
Standard boxes have extra potatoes and onions plus:
* kale (Camel CSA)
* parsnips (Camel CSA)
* beetroot bunches (Camel CSA)
* = grown to organic principles
February 12, 2012
This unusual winter salad can be made very quickly. It comes from chef Yotam Ottolenghi‘s weekly column in the Guardian. He says: “This salad is loved even by those who claim not to like tahini.”
Serves four
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes (at most)
550g purple-sprouting broccoli
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and black pepper
40g tahini paste
1½ tsp honey
2 tsp lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, peeled and crushed
1 tsp each black and white sesame seeds, toasted (or just 2 tsp white)
Trim any big leaves off the broccoli and cut off the woody base of the stems. Blanch for three minutes in boiling, salted water until al dente, refresh, drain and leave to dry.
Toss the broccoli in the oil, a teaspoon of salt and a large pinch of pepper, then cook on a very hot ridged griddle pan for two minutes on each side, until slightly charred and smoky. Set aside to cool.
Whisk the tahini, honey, lemon juice, garlic and a pinch of salt, and slowly start to add water half a tablespoon at a time. At first, the sauce will look as if it has split, but it will soon come back together. Add just enough water to make the sauce the consistency of honey – around three tablespoons in total.
Arrange the broccoli on a platter, drizzle with sauce and scatter with sesame seeds. Serve at room temperature.
More sprouting broccoli recipes from Camel CSA
Pasta with sprouting broccoli
Stir-fried purple sprouting broccoli
February 9, 2012
Everyone will have:
* onions
* savoy cabbage
* carrots
* beetroot
* jerusalem artichokes
purple sprouting broccoli (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
potatoes (Burlerrow Farm, St Mabyn)
Standard boxes will have extra potatoes plus:
* salad bag
cauliflower (Restharrow Farm))
leeks (Restharrow Farm)
