Spinach and Chickpea Gratin with Crème Fraiche and Parmesan

Hi everyone,

This week we have lovely Spinach from Co. Wicklow in all our bags and my recipe is for my current favourite dinner (well one of them anyway), a gratin of Chickpeas with a rich Tomato sauce topped with Crème Fraiche and Parmesan. It’s very easy and especially nice served with shortgrain brown rice which brings a nice nuttiness to the dish.

Spinach and Chickpea Gratin with Crème Fraiche and Parmesan

Start by making your Tomato sauce - roughly chop a large (or 2 small) Onions and begin cooking at a low to medium heat in a generous dash of Olive Oil until soft and beginning to change colour. You can also put on your brown rice as it takes between 30 - 40 minutes although soaking it first will bring this down to about 20 minutes and is, apparently, far better for you. Anyway, when the Onions are ready add 4-5 cloves of Garlic roughly chopped and a little chilli and keep cooking until everything is nice and soft (another 5-10 minutes) then add 2 tins of chopped Tomatoes, a generous teaspoon Sugar and season with Salt and Pepper. Continue to cook until everything has reduced by at least half and is a gorgeous rich, dark red. While the Tomato is cooking get on with the other ingredients…

Prepare your Spinach by removing any thick stalks and washing it well. Wilt it in a pot or pan. There’s no need to add any water for this as there’s enough with what is left clinging to the leaves after you wash it. When it has wilted (this will take no longer than 1-2 minutes) put it in a colander so as much water as possible can drain off. Drain a tin of Chickpeas and rinse well. Grate 3 Tablespoons  Parmesan and mix with 3 Tablespoons Breadcrumbs.

To put the dish together, squeeze any excess water from the spinach and arrange in an oven dish in clumps the size of small dumplings. Add the Chickpeas and Tomato sauce. The dish should be quite shallow and with the Chickpeas, Tomatoe sauce and Spinach about 1-2 cms deep. Dot the top with Crème Fraiche (you’ll need about 2/3 tub for this) and top the lot with the Breadcrumbs and Parmesan.

Bake in a hottish oven for about 20 minutes until golden brown.

This week’s bags have, what I imagine will be, the last of this year’s Celeriac and last night I mixed it with Potatoes, pan-fried Onions, Garlic and Green Chilli and cooked in a vegetable stock.  We ate this with Lamb and a Yogurt and Mint sauce and it went down a treat………..

Crushed Celeriac and Potatoes with Sautéed Onions, Garlic and fresh Green Chili

Begin by slicing a largish Onion and sautéing in Olive Oil in a pot or pan until soft and beginning to change color. While the Onion is cooking peel and chop your Cleriac into large bite-sized piece. Peel and chop roughly the same quantity of Spuds. When the Onions are done add 4 roughly chopped cloves Garlic and 1/2 Fresh Green Chili chopped. Cook for a further 5-10 minutes until the Garlic has softened then throw in the Celeriac and Spuds. Add 700ml of vegetable stock and a little Salt and Pepper, bring everything to the boil then turn down the heat and cook until the veg has softened (but not turned to complete mush) and the stock has evaporated. The end result should be like a very roughly mashed mash (if you know what I mean!) as the spuds will fall apart but most of the Celeriac will keep its shape.

Hope you enjoy these recipes, for organic food delivery in Dublin, check out our site.

Have a great weekend,

Sarah

Baby Leeks!

This week all our bags have beautiful baby Leeks all the way from Denis Healy’s farm in Co. Wicklow. While they won’t go as far as the regular, much thicker ones we normally get, they are beautifully tender and make a really nice stand alone sidedish. Simply cut off the really dark green end (you don’t need to get rid of all of the green like you normally do with Leeks as it’s not really that tough) and roast in Olive Oil or sauté over a gentle heat in either Olive Oil or Butter until sweet and tender.Last night I tried a salad with toasted Pinenuts and Parmesan Shavings which can be served either warm or at room temperature and would work well with some simple grilled fish, a Spanish omelets or as we had it, on it’s own with nice bread……….

A Salad with Pan fried Baby Leeks, Pinenuts and Parmesan

First, wash and trim your Leeks then throw on the pan with some Olive Oil and a pinch of Salt and sauté over a low heat for about 15-20 minutes. The resulting Leeks will be darkened on the outside but melt in your mouth on the inside. While the Leeks are cooking, roast a tablespoon of Pinenuts on a dry pan until golden and set aside then prepare 2 Tablespoons of Parmesan shavings (just use your veg peeler for this). When the Leeks are ready, remove them from the heat and allow to cool slightly before dressing them with Olive Oil and Lemon juice (a ratio of about 2:1) a pinch of Salt and plenty of freshly ground Black Pepper. Throw in the Pinenuts and mix well. Serve topped with the Parmesan Shavings.

To make a meal of this dish you could use it to top potato cakes or the Rosti I talked about a few weeks back.

All our bags have an Avocado this week and they are fantastic for snacks. Try it sliced on Oatcakes with Goat’s Cheese, Sundried Tomato and the tiniest drizzle of Balsamic Vinegar. Raspberry Vinegar is also an amazing partner but I’ve yet to find one in this country I really like - If you have please let me know. Limes are another classic with Avocados and I’ve included a baby one in all the bags this week. Make a quick Guacamole by mashing your Avocado with Lime Juice, a little Chile, some finely chopped Onion and a finely chopped Tomato (this is controversial but I like it). Some chopped Coriander is always welcome too…

Hope you enjoy these recipes,

Have a great

Celeriac and Cabbage

Hi everyone,

I know I said last week that soup was all in the wintry past and that the future was going to be all about things like Rosti. Well, this week’s icy temperature convinced me otherwise so I’ve been making soup again, this time with this week’s Celeriac which comes to us all the way from Birr in Co. Offaly.
If you’re not familiar with it Celeriac is the edible root of a variety of wild Celery. It has a mild, nutty flavour and is much sweeter then Celery and makes beautiful velvety soup……..

Celeriac with Crispy Pancetta and Croutons (for 2)
Chop a medium Onion and sauté in a generous knob of Butter with a dash of Olive Oil over a lowish heat while you get on with chopping the other veg. Peel and roughly chop 500gr Celeriac (about what you have in your bag this week), 60gr (or 1 small one) Potatoes, 2 Cloves Garlic. Add the chopped veg to the Onions, season with Salt and Pepper then continue cooking until everything has softened (about 10 minutes). Add 400ml Chicken or Vegetable stock and bring everything to the boil then lower the heat to a simmer and leave to cook for another 15- 20 minutes or until the Celeriac is tender. Turn off the heat and liquidize until very smooth, check and correct the seasoning if necessary and finally stir in 50ml double Cream.
To serve finely chop 60 gr Pancetta (or streaky Bacon) and fry in a drop of Olive Oil. When just turning crispy throw in 2 Tablespoons Croutons and toss until golden. Sprinkle on top of your soup and serve.

This week’s Cabbage is beautiful stirfried in Sesame Oil, a dish you can serve with things like noodles, rice, tofu or fish……..

Sesame stir-fried Cabbage
Finely shred and wash your Cabbage then set aside. Toast some Sesame seeds on a dry pan until golden and set aside.
Heat a dash of Corn Oil on your wok or pan. When it’s sizzling hot throw on the Cabbage and toss until wilted. Add a dash of Soy Sauce or Tamari, toss until mixed through then remove from the heat. To serve drizzle the Cabbage with some toasted Sesame Oil and sprinkle with the toasted Sesame Seeds.

Hope you enjoy these recipes,
Have a fantastic long weekend,
Sarah

Rosti

Hi everyone,

 

I find that after winter (officially, March is after winter) root vegetables start wearing thin.Gratins and soups are great but it feels like it’s time for something else, something a bit lighter I suppose so this week I made Rosti for the first time in years and have rediscovered a whole new way to deal with these roots.

In case you haven’t come across them before, Rosti are basically like  Potato (or Celeriac or Parsnip) cakes but much easier and faster to prepare because you don’t cook and mash the veg before you fry the cake you simple grate it, mix it with some sautéed Onions, Garlic or Bacon, shape into “cakes” which are then fried on the pan. Because they are thinner than regular savory cakes everything cooks through in about 5-6 minutes.

After that, you can top them with things like relish,  oven roasted Tomatoes, Cheeses, stir fried veggies whatever you fancy really. They even make a great breakfast, try potato Rosti with a poached Egg and some Spinach.

More seasoned cooks might be wondering how it all holds to together. Well, spuds,because they have plenty of liquid (which you will have to drain off but more on that later) hold together pretty well while things like Parsnips are a bit trickier so you end up with something a little messier (if this is a problem you can add some grated spuds to the mixture or, do as they would in a restaurant and make each cake in a metal cookie ring so it holds its shape but to be honest messiness tends not to be a problem as you top them with something that hides this.

 

Last night  I made 2 types based on what’s in our bags this week and both versions were on the table in under 30 minutes. The first was with Potatoes and Onions which I topped with Goat’s Cheese  and some slow roasted Tomatoes I had in the fridge and the second version was with this week’s Parsnips and an Apple and were topped with Mushrooms in a Cider and Cream sauce and Parmesan…..

 

Potato Rosti with Goat’s Cheese and Oven Roasted Tomatoes* (for 2)

First of all you’ll have to prepare the Tomatoes and these can be done a day or two in advance or whenever you have the oven on for something else and stored in the fridge. Otherwise you’ll have to start them a couple of hours before you plan to eat as they do take a while. It’s very simple though - quarter 3-4 Tomatoes and roast slowly (Gas 4) for 2-3 hrs with a generous dash of Olive Oil, a tablespoon Sugar, a generous pinch Salt, Oregano and a little Chilli.

To make the Rosti, coarsely grate 500gr Potatoes and leave in a Colander with a pinch of Salt giving them some time to shed their liquid. While this is going on, chop 1 medium sized Onion and gently sauté in some Olive Oil until soft and golden (about 10-15 minutes). Give the Potatoes a squeeze to get rid of as much liquid as you can then mix in the Onions and add some Black Pepper. Unless you have a really enormous frying pan it’ll probably be easier to use 2 so heat some Olive Oil on 2 pans. Divide the Potatoes into 4 portions and shape each one into a cake (they won’t really stick together but this doesn’t really matter). Place the cakes on the heated pan(s) and flatten down with a spatula so that they are about 1/2 - 3/4cm thick. Allow each side to crisp up and and compact (2-4 minutes) before you flip them over. Cook until both sides are golden brown then remove and serve topped with a slice of Goat’s Cheese (Chevre is perfect) and those oven roasted Tomatoes along with a simple green salad dressed with Balsamic Vinegar.

* If you can’t wait for the Tomatoes just use a decent relish or even a Tomato Salad instead

 

 

Parsnip and Apple Rosti with a Cider Cream Mushroom sauce (for 2)

As I mentioned above, Parsnips are dryer than spuds so they won’t give off much liquid so you won’t have to drain much off but it also means that they are trickier to hold together on the pan. I don’t really mind this as it all gets covered with mushrooms later but if this is a potential source of grief for you simply do a mixture of spuds and parsnip (half  and half) rather than just Parsnips.

So, to make these as before coarsely grate 400gr of Parsnips and 1 Apple, add a little Salt and leave in a colander in case there is any liquid to come off and get on with preparing the sauce.

Clean and chop 180gr Mushrooms (the ones in your bags today are quite small so I’d only halve or quarter them). Heat a little Butter in a pan and sauté the Mushrooms with 2 cloves of finely chopped Garlic until golden. Season with Salt and Pepper and add 60ml Dry Cider (or white wine if you don’t have Cider). Allow the Cider to boil then turn down the heat and add 120ml single Cream and cook slowly for a minute or two then take off the heat.

Fry the Rosti, as before and  when they are just about ready gently reheat the Mushrooms adding a little more seasoning if necessary.To serve place 2 Rosti on each plate and top with the Mushrooms and some Parmesan shavings and eat immediately.

 

In case you were wondering………

The green leaves in your bag this week are Pak Choy which you can either steam or stir-fry (with lots of Garlic and Ginger)

 

Celeriac!

I tried a recipe last night by Hugh Fearnley Whitingstall that was in the Guardian a few weeks ago and it was so good that I’m going to pass it on……….

 

Celeriac Gratin with Chilli,  Anchovy and Rosemary

I should say that if you you’re not a big fish person don’t be put off by the Anchovy, this dish doesn’t really taste of fish what the Anchovy does is bring up the flavour of rest of the ingredients.

 

Begin by combining 2 cloves of Garlic chopped, 2 finely chopped Anchovy fillets, 1Red Chilli (remove some of the seeds if you think it’s a really fiery one) and a sprig of Rosemary roughly chopped (if using dried I’d say about 1 Tablespoon would do it). Set this mix aside and finely slice 500gr Celeriac (about half a head). To put the dish together smear a gratin dish with a little Olive Oil and begin with a layer of Celeriac and then top with a scattering of the aromatic mixture and season well. Repeat the layers until all the ingredients have been used and then pour over a carton of cream (250ml) and place in a medium oven (190 degrees/ gas mark 5) and bake for 45-50 minutes until the Celeriac is tender and the gratin golden on top.I served this with a Goat’s Cheese and Spinach Quiche and a Rocket, Walnut and Avocado salad last night and it rocked but I imagine that it would work very well with a roast.

 

Highly recommended………

Another recipe I tried recently was Nigel Slater’s one for a Hazelnut Cake which I topped with Dark Chocolate and it is one of the nicest (and easiest) things I’ve ever made. It was in the Observer a few weeks ago and is on the internet if you want to google it………

 

The leaves in your bag this week are Rocket and they work really well as a simple salad with just Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar or if you want to make more of a meal you could try a nice toasted Goat’s Cheese salad………

 

Toasted Goat’s Cheese Salad with Pinenuts (for 2)

Wash and dry your Rocket and divide between two dishes. Take two rounds (about 1cm thick) of Goat’s Cheese and place under the grill until golden. While the Cheese is toasting heat a small pan and throw on a handful of Pinenuts and roast gently until they start to darken.

To finish the salad scatter the Pinenuts over the leaves and dress with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar. When the cheese is ready place it in the middle of the leaves and serve immediately with plenty of good bread.

 

Hi everyone and a very happy new year!

It the time of year when most of us think about counteracting Christmas excesses - new year, new lifestyle blah blah. Well, yes except it’s so cold that I can’t really think about juicing and salads just yet so this week’s recipes are for soup, the only food that seems to make sense at the moment. We were in Barcelona after Christmas where we ate like kings for a week. Some meals were fancy, the kind of stuff you’d never get around to putting together at home (Santa Maria’s tasting menu was a definite highlight for this kind of thing) while others were relatively simple.One excellent lunch we had cost only 6.90E(with wine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) for three courses and Paul and Dan both had the Chickpea soup which was ace and got me thinking about how simple (and cheap) that kind of thing is. Basically it’s whatever you have in the way of veg boiled up in stock with Chickpeas. Of course old school Spanish mamas boil up bones every time they use meat and have a ready supply of tasty meat or chicken stock but you can, as I did, use good old Marigold vegetable granules to great effect too. Last night I made one with the ingredients that are in all our bags this week - Carrots, Parsnips, Onions and Garlic. To add a bit more interest I also threw in some Cumin seeds and a little Harrissa the thick spicy Moroccan paste you get in Middle Eastern shops and good delis. If you can’t get hold of it just use Chilli.

 

Moroccan style Chickpea soup

Begin by chopping a medium sized Onion or two small ones. Throw them into a pot with a generous dash of Olive Oil and sauté over a lowish heat and get on with dicing 2 medium Carrots and Parsnips. Throw these into the pot along with a couple of Bay Leaves if you have them. Add a little more Olive Oil if you think things might burn and cook for about 5 minutes then add 5 or 6 chopped cloves of Garlic and 1 Teaspoon of Cumin Seeds. Cook everything for another 5 minutes stirring well to make sure nothing burns. Add 2L stock, a tin of Chickpeas (rinsed and drained), 2 Teaspoons of Harissa Paste and 1 Teaspoon Salt. Bring to the boil then cover and cook over a low heat for 30 minutes then serve with plenty of crusty bread.

Variations: Most veg works in this kind of soup, those of you with Mediterranean selections this week could throw in some diced Red Pepper and fresh or tinned Tomatoes would be great aswell. Some fresh Parsley or Coriander would be lovely on top too.

Last night to add texture I served this soup with some garlic scented toasted breadcrumbs on top - just fry a clove of Garlic in some Olive Oil over a low heat for a couple of minutes, remove the Garlic and add a handful of Breadcrumbs and toast until golden brown over a low heat.

 

Another great soup for this time of year is French Onion which is a cinch to make especially if you roast the onions in the oven rather than cooking them in a pot. This way the soup practically makes itself - always a good point in my book…..

 

French Onion Soup (for 2)  

Cut 2 medium sized Onions (or 4/5 small ones) from root to tip then remove the skin and place them on a baking tray with 20gr. Butter (i.e a pretty generous knob and no, you can’t use less,I tried and it really does make a difference), Salt and Black Pepper. Roast for about 1 1/2 hours at Gas Mark 5/ 180C turning occasionally until they are very tender and starting to caramelize. Remove and allow the Onions to cool down then cut them into thick segments. Place in a pot with 1/2 glass white wine and bring to the boil and allow the wine to bubble vigorously until it has almost disappeared. Add about 750ml Vegetable stock and simmer for about 15 minutes.

To finish off, toast 4-6 finely sliced pieces of Ciabatta or another rustic type bread (normal French Stick just gets soggy so isn’t ideal). Top these toasts with grated Gruyere or Cheddar cheese. Ladle the soup into bowls then top with the cheesy toasts. Place the bowls under a hot grill until the cheese melts. Serve immediately.

 

Market Watch

For those of you making marmalede we’ll have Seville Oranges the week after next - let me know by next Friday what you’ll need

 

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