Parsnips

Hi everyone,

This week’s bags all have the first of this season’s Parsnips which for me always mean autumn. A member of the Carrot family, they are sweet with a lovely earthiness and work really well with Butter, Garlic, Parsley, Potatoes, Honey, Curry, Cinnamon and Nutmeg. They can be boiled, pureed, mashed and deep-fried but I think roasting really brings up their lovely flavour.

Roasted Parsnips

Peel and cut them into even-sized chunks then heat some Olive Oil in a roasting tin then toss the Parsnips in and roast for about 45 minutes.

For a quick warming supper that you can put together in minutes this week’s soup recipe is just the thing……….

Moroccan Style Soup with Parsnips, Chickpeas and Harissa served with Garlic Scented toasted Breadcrumbs

You’ll need:

1 Medium Onion

Olive Oil

2 Medium Carrots

2 Medium Parsnips

2 Bay leaves

5 Cloves Garlic

1 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds

2L Vegetables (Marigold as always unless you make your own)

1 Tin Chickpeas

Harrissa – this is a thick spicy Moroccan paste you get in Middle Eastern shops and good delis but if you can’t get hold of it just use Chili.

Begin by chopping the Onion then throw it into a pot with a generous dash of Olive Oil. Sauté over a lowish heat and get on with dicing the Carrots and Parsnips. Throw these into the pot along with the Bay Leaves. Add a little more Olive Oil if you think things might burn and cook for about 5 minutes then add the  Garlic (chopped) and 1 Teaspoon of Cumin Seeds. Cook everything for another 5 minutes stirring well to make sure nothing burns. Add stock, the 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.

 

Just before you serve prepare the garlic breadcrumbs – 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. Sprinkle on top of the soup and serve

 

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 as well. Some fresh Parsley or Coriander would be lovely on top too.

 

If like us you’re celebrating the election results try my recipe for Parsnip Rosti topped with Mushrooms in Cider Cream which is on this blog (go to the bottom and search for Rosti or Parsnips to find it). It’s very special and really quite easy to put together. 

 

Market Watch

Cooking Apples are now in season as are Quinces both of which make fantastic crumbles. I’ll have them next week so just let us know if you’d like some.

 

Hope you enjoy the recipe,

Have a great weekend,

Sarah

 

 

 

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, Tomato 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 Yoghurt 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 Celeriac 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