A veggie stew for these cold days and funny cauliflower

It’s winter!!!!!!!! My fuschia was getting ready to flower again and suddenly it’s all about how many jumpers you can  wear at the same time (it ain’t half chilly up here at chez organic, good for the veggies bad bad bad for anyone sitting in front of a computer screen all day). To combat the cold I’ve been making hearty fare this week and a veggie stew/soup I made on Tuesday went down especially well. It’s kind of a version of minestrone  but faster and it’s vegan! As usual I used plenty of onions and garlic (great for combating colds and flus), then carrots, tinned tomatoes and some pinto beans I had left over in the fridge (you can use whatever you have – chickpeas, butterbeans whatever). I cooked all these up (and warmed up the kitchen and myself aswell) and just before serving I tossed some shredded spinach in a pan with garlic and olive oil then stirred it in at the end for an extra garlic hit. It’s quick, very tasty and keeps very well so you can make double quantities and freeze or have for lunch the next day. I served mine with brown rice but couscous, quinoa or pasta would all work well…..

A hearty veggie stew

You’ll need the following but it really is a moveable feast so feel free to use whatever you have:

4 medium carrots

2 onions

olive oil

6-8 cloves garlic

2 tins chopped tomatoes

1 scant teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 red chilli (take out the seeds if you don’t want too much heat)

1 tin beans

1/2 litre vegetable stock – as always I use Marigold

200gr greens (spinach, cabbage, kale etc) destemmed and shredded

Begin by chopping the onions and get them gently frying in olive oil while you scrub and chop the carrots. I did them in quarters about 1cm thick but to be honest it doesn’t make too much difference so it’s up to you. When the onions have softened and are beginning to change colour you can chop 4 cloves of garlic and throw them in along with chilli (finely chopped). Let them soften (about 2-3 minutes) then add the tinned tomatoes, oregano, salt and a pinch of sugar (gets rid of any bitterness the tomatoes have). Allow the tomatoes to cook down by at least a third then throw in the carrots and stock. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for about 25 minutes. Rinse the beans well then throw them in, stir well and add more seasoning  if necessary. Finally, heat some olive oil on a frying pan, add the rest of the garlic then the greens and toss until they’ve wilted (if you’re using spinach this will take no time at all while things like cabbage and kale will take longer). Add the greens to the soup mix everything together and serve.

You’ve probably noticed that your cauliflower is an unusual colour (orange, purple or green). I know they look like some food colouring was added to their water but they are completely natural. I just thought it might be nice to try something different. Like all Cauliflowers these guys are especially high in vitamin C as well as lots of other good stuff. Cauliflower was supposed to be the star of a vegan curry with coconut milk and tofu but um, it just didn’t really work out. I mean it was ok but just not worth sharing – must try harder!! In the meantime, I suggest the following non-vegan idea of tossing it on the pan with lots of garlic, chilli , lemon juice and then topping with a little Parmesan. Vegans can leave out the Parmesan and it’s still yummy……….

Pan-fried Cauliflower florets with Chilli, Garlic and Parmesan

You’ll need:

1 Cauliflower

2 cloves garlic (minced)

a little minced red chilli

1 Lemon

Some freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and Pepper

Olive Oil

To prepare the cauliflower, remove the leaves and the stems then cut the cauliflower into tiny florets about the size of marbles (Dan’s going through a phase so they are everywhere I look in our house these days). Rinse in plenty of cold water, drain and set aside. Heat a generous dash of olive oil on the pan, add the chilli, cauliflower and a sprinkling of fine salt  then toss over a medium heat until the florets are golden brown which should take about 6-7 minutes adding the garlic in the last minute. Turn off the heat and squeeze the lemon over the cauliflower, mix well then add salt and pepper and finally the Parmesan. Give everything a good toss and serve.

Hope you enjoy these recipe,

Have a great weekend,

Sarah

Broccoli and Kiwi

While all fruit and vegetables are good for you; in recent years research has shown that some varieties are especially worth including in your diet,  mainly because they have lots of antioxidants; which help to protect against all kinds of cancers, heart disease and other bad stuff. These are  the “superfoods”  I’m sure you’ve all heard about and  include Broccoli, Blueberries, Oranges, Beans, Oats, Pumpkin, Soy, Salmon, Tea, Tomatoes, Walnuts, Yogurt and…… Dark Chocolate! (further proof that God is indeed a woman).Unfortunately, when it comes to the chocolate we only need a little to get all the benefits but at least it means that wolfing a full bar of Green and Blacks on a Friday evening on the sofa isn’t all bad……….. When it comes to the veggies however, as much and as often as possible is the rule and that’s the reason Broccoli is almost always in our bags every week. Vitamins A, B1,B2 B3, B6 and C (just one cup gives you your recommended daily dose), Folic Acid, Iron (which is absorbed easily by the body due to the Vitamin C content), Beta-carotene (an antioxidant that protects against certain cancers), Magnesium, Potassium (both great for nerve function) and Zinc (keeps your immune system in shape) all mean that it’s essential.

Broccoli is so easy to include in your diet  because you can cook it so many ways. It’s fantastic straight up with nothing more than a dressing of  Olive Oil and a tiny pinch of Sea Salt or you can put it with Asian flavors like Ginger and chili in a simple stir-fry or it works really well with Mediterranean flavors like Garlic, Parmesan and Anchovies. Try steaming or boiling florets and serving them with a dipping sauce like Aioli (Garlic Mayonnaise) or Bagna Cruda (Garlic and Anchovy Sauce) for a really simple starter or snack. As a side dish it’s fantastic sauteed with Bread crumbs or Pinenuts. If you’re after a maincourse,  Pasta is a great way to go and it’s a dish that takes about 15 minutes to put together…….

Pasta with Broccoli, Garlic and Pinenuts (for two)

You’ll need:

400gr Broccoli

4 Cloves Garlic

Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons Pinenuts

Parmesan

There are two ways to approach this. If your Broccoli is spanking fresh as it is today you can break it up into bitesized florets, steam it and then add it to the dish. If, however, your Broccoli comes from the back of the fridge, seems a little past it’s bestby date you can  chop it up quite small and throw it on the pan after the Garlic has had about 2 minutes, and cook it down for about 10 minutes adding a drop of water until it starts almost falling apart and you get a slightly different but very tasty version of the dish below.

Begin by steaming the florets of Broccoli. While they are steaming you can boil water for Pasta then get the pasta cooking (any shape bar Spaghetti will do) To make your sauce, roughly chop the Garlic and gently sauté them in a generous dash of Olive Oil over a medium heat. As they start to soften (do not let them burn and if they do you’re better off starting again as they’ll make everything horribly bitter) throw in the Broccoli and toss over a medium heat adding more Olive Oil if necessary. After a couple of minutes add the Pine nuts and continue tossing for another minute or two before seasoning  with Salt and freshlyground Pepper. By this stage your Pasta should be about done. Drain it and add it to the Broccoli and mix everything together adding freshly ground Parmesan Cheese. Serve Immediately.

Variations:There are loads, this is a dish I cook and vary a lot. Try frying some Chili or a couple of pounded Anchovies with the Garlic at the beginning, adding some Lemon Juice at the end, using Feta or Goat’s Cheese instead of the Parmesan, throwing in few Sundried Tomatoes sliced into strips or Black Olive  towards the end.

If you fancy something more Asian in flavor, as I mentioned above Broccoli works really well. Try this recipe instead……

Sautéed  Broccoli with Garlic and Chilli and Sesame Seeds

Wash and break your Broccoli into large bitesized florets. Gently steam for a couple of minutes until al dente (i.e. cooked but still very firm). Heat some Vegetable Oil on a wok or pan and throw in  2 or 3 cloves of chopped Garlic and some red Chilli (the quantity is up to you). Allow the Garlic to soften but don’t let it change colour as it will burn in a very quickly after that, then throw in the Broccoli. Stir-fry for a couple of minutes, remove from the heat and add a splash of toasted Sesame Oil, Soy Sauce and some toasted Sesame Seeds (to toast your Sesame Seeds simply throw 2 Tablespoons on a dry pan and roast over a medium heat until they start to change colour and pop). Serve immediately.

New Season Oranges haven’t quite kicked in yet (we’re getting some but not enough) so we’ve included Kiwis in all our selections with fruit this week. These guys have even more Vitamin C than Oranges so are great for this time of year when the change in temperature means we’re all more susceptible to catching colds and flus.If you fancy using them to make a quick desert this fool recipe couldn’t be easier….

Kiwi Mess with Creme Fraiche and Ginger Nut Biscuits

You’ll need:

4 Kiwis

100gr Creme Fraiche

4 Ginger Nut Biscuits

3-4 teaspoons syrup from a jar of stem Ginger – this is a lovely touch but not essential so if you don’t have it just use some icing sugar.

Peel and cut the fruit into chunks. Stir the syrup or icing sugar into the Creme Fraiche and set aside. Roughly crush the biscuits - rolling pin or bottom of a bottle will work for this. Toss everything together and decant into some nice bowls or old-fashioned low champagne glasses (charity shops always good for this kind of thing). Yum!!

By the way, if you’re wondering what to do with this week’s Butternut there’s a fab soup with Thyme and Parmesan on this blog- perfect for a rainy day (Urghhhhhhhhh!)

Borlotti Beans, New Potatoes, Rocket and Tomatoes

The big thing about our service is that you don’t really know what you’re getting week to week so quite often we end up cooking out of our comfort zone. This week we have gorgeous pink and white speckled Borlotti Beans for the first time ever. My reason for avoiding them until now was that I didn’t really know what to do with them but this week I thought I’d give them a go and the result was fab.

Borlotti beans

Like the Broad Beans we’ve had over the summer months they need shelling but only once – you don’t need to get them out of their skin once cooked.  The other big difference is that they take a lot longer to cook than other beans. Giorgio Locattelli reckons that they’re done when the skin as well as the actual bean is soft and this takes about 40 minutes so be careful to check that they really are cooked before you take them off.

Once cooked, they are great in soups, stews and salads (try them with this week’s Rocket and Tomatoes dressed in Olive Oil and Balsamic). Giorgio has a beautiful recipe with prawns which definitely looks like it’s worth a try if you have his book. The other way they are often served in Italy is with a tomato sauce along with herbs like Sage or Rosemary. This is the route I took and it was one of the nicest things I’ve eaten in a while. We ate them with a trout, this week’s New Potatoes and a warm salad of Courgettes and new Onions. It was all lovely but the Beans were definitely crying out for lamb and I’m looking forward to this for tonight!!

Borlotti Beans with Garlic, Tomatoes and Rosemary

You’ll need:

380gr Borlotti Beans

1 Head Garlic

1 Tablespoon  dried Rosemary minced

4 Tomatoes

Olive Oil

Put the shelled beans in a pot and cover them with about an inch of cold water. Bring them to the boil then reduce the heat slightly and continue cooking til done. Once the beans are cooking get on with everything else. Plunge the Tomatoes into boiling water, leave for a minute or 2 then peel and chop them. Peel the Garlic and slice each clove finely. Heat a generous amount of Olive Oil (1/2 cup)  and then throw in the Garlic. Saute gently for a minute or 2 before adding in the Rosemary (or Sage if you prefer). When the Garlic has softened (but not changed colour) add the Tomatoes and a pinch of Salt. Stir over a medium heat for about 10 minutes before adding the Beans. Cook for another few minutes the serve hot, warm or cold (it makes a lovely salad). Enjoy!!

This week’s New Potatoes are the Sharpes Express variety (apparently very difficult to grow but well worth it as so many of you have been commenting on them) and they are best steamed. Start with the biggest ones then add in the smaller guys over time so they’re done at the same time. Try them in a salad with this week’s Rocket(Arugula)  and Avocado and some smoked Cheese  with a Sherry Vinegar dressing if you have it. On the subject of vinegars -I recently got a Pomegranate one which we’ve been enjoying a lot recently. The Courgettes and Onions we had with the fish the other night were cooked on the pan in Olive Oil and then I added a splash just before taking them off the pan which cooked down and sweetened and the end result was lovely.

Hope you enjoy the recipes,

Have a great weekend,

Sarah

Lettuce, Scallions and Carrots

I’m on my own this week. Paul is out west fishing (so I better be writing about the amazing Wild Trout I ate all weekend next week or there’ll be trouble!). It’s been hectic, 2 small kids mean that most of the day consists of nonstop laundering, wiping, sweeping …(I could go on). There’s barely any time to eat never mind cook but somehow we’ve been doing alright.  Dan and I even made a mango and coconut cake the other day (not quite right yet so I won’t share).

Last night I fancied something a bit more grown up than the stuff I’ve been eating all week so I treated myself to a Vietnamese style rare beef salad – properly rare slices of Steak tossed in a flavour-drenched concoction of Garlic pounded with Peppercorns, Lime Juice and Nam Pla (the Vietnamese fish sauce) tossed in Greens, Scallions and Coriander. It’s a dish that’s pretty easy to put together and tastes a little different every time I make it. I like it fiery with lots of Chili but you can tone it down by taking out the seeds.If you don’t have Lime juice, lemon will do. No Fish sauce? Soy will do fine. This week’s Pak Choy could easily replace the Lettuce, just wilt it first. It’s a movable feast and a very addictive one…………

Vietnamese style Rare Chilli Beef salad (for 1)

You’ll need:

2 Cloves Garlic
5 Peppercorns
Juice of 1/2 Lime
Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce (nam pla) or Soy Sauce
1/2 Red Chili
1 Steak
1/2 Head of Lettuce
2-3 Scallions
A generous bunch Coriander

Begin with the sauce. Using a morter and pestle, pound the Garlic and Peppercorns until smooth(ish). Add in the Lime juice,  Fish Sauce and a pinch of Sugar. Mix and set aside.

Heat a little oil in a pan. When it’s almost smoking hot add the steak. Cook on each side for 2-3 minutes adding a little Sugar to the crust on each side after the first 2 minutes. While the Steak is cooking wash and tear your lettuce. Chop the Scallions and add them to the Lettuce  along with some roughly chopped Coriander. When the Steak is cooked, remove from the pan and slice. Reheat the pan and thrown in the Chill, toss and then add the sauce and any meat juices left after slicing the steak.  Stir well to get all the juices clinging to the pan then throw in the Steak. Toss then place on  the leaves. Top with some Scallions and Coriander and eat with a cold beer. Fantastic!!

My other recipe this week is for Ana our lovely Spanish babysitter who is, sadly, returning to Madrid this week. I made this soup for her to have for lunch with the kids the first day she came and she loved. So, Ana ( te vamos a hecher de menos muchissimo!) this one’s for you (and for anyone else who has about 10 minutes to make lunch at 8.20 in the morning).

Carrot and Cumin Soup

You’ll need:

1 Medium Onion

1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds

Olive Oil

5 Medium Carrots

1 large Potato

600ml vegetable stock

Chop the Onion. Heat some Olive Oil in a pot and toss in the Onion and cook over a medium heat unless you’ve loads of time in which case slowly over a low heat will always work fine. As the Onions cook peel and chop the Carrots and Potato. When the Onions have softened and begun to darken add the Cumin seeds and toss well to make sure they all get coated in oil. Add the other vegetables and continue cooking for a few minutes then add the stock. Allow things to come to the boil over a medium heat. Then turn  back down again and simmer for about 20 minutes or until  the veg is cooked.  Blast with your handblender til smooth (always a bit of a jolt first thing in the morning!). Serve straight up or top with a little yogurt.

This week our Mediterranean selections have the first of this year’s Cherries. Hurray! So good you don’t need a recipe. That’s the point with Cherries. But as weeks go on I’m sure I’ll be thinking of ways to gild the lily so I’ll keep you posted. Next week I’d better be writing about wild Trout or there’ll be trouble!

Hope you enjoy these recipes,

Have a great weekend,

Sarah

Carrots and mushrooms

From Margaret …some Carrot recipes

Carrots go well with cumin and orange and thyme. They are good cut into batons then put in tinfoil and oven roasted with cumin and butter and orange juice (or white wine or stock). They need about forty minutes in a moderate oven. Serve as a side dish.

Another nice idea is carrot, cumin and orange soup. At this time of the year I like to grow lovage and add some but thyme is also good.
An Indian style salad with popped mustard seed, grated carrot, chile, oil and raisins is always welcome. If watching the carbs substitute fine strips of carrot or courgette for pasta or noodles.

I roasted some carrots with onions blitzed them and made a risotto. This recipe would be good with any root veg (roasted parsnip with rosemary) or with roasted peppers (and a basil maybe) or butternut squash(and thyme) or aubergine (add plenty of lemon and cumin). If you are having a busy week roast the veg in advance at the weekend when you have the oven on anyway. Puree while still hot and use for risotto or as a side dish or a souffle or in a veg tart.

carrots

Carrots

roast carrot risotto
400g of carrot peeled and sliced thinly
1 onion peeled and roughly chopped
50 ml olive oil
1.2-1,5 l veg stock
150g butter
2 cloved garlic peeled and finely sliced
400g risotto rice (I prefer carnoroli)
1 bay leaf
4 tsp fresh thyme leaves(or dried)
2 tsp fresh tarragon leaves (optional)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
finely grated rind and juice of two lemons (optional)
parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 200. Put carrots onion and olive oil in roasting dish and roast till golden – about 25 minutes. Finely chop or blitz in food processor. In a heavy pot saute onion and garlic in butter stirring gently till softened. Add rice turn up heat and fry for a minute stirring well. Add herbs and season, then carrots, lemon zest and juice and mix well. Then start adding stock bit by bit as normal for risotto and cook until the rice is done.
Serve with parmesan. If you are a forager like me add some wild leek/garlic to garnish (you will spot in the parks and in gardens now a white star shaped bluebell type taste …unmistakable)

Serve with salad

This is adapted from a Peter Gordon recipe for arancini

Arancini is leftover risotto made into balls dipped in breadcrumb and egg and fried . Personally I would never make a risotto from scratch for arancini but if you have the patience… Make extra and use leftovers….

This week coming my risotto will be with wild garlic, nettles and courgettes… yum and very healthy. Nettle tops are full of vitamins and minerals and make a good tonic. Get those gloves out and get picking !! Once the leaves are boiled the sting is gone. Puree and put thro’ risotto.

For a light supper or a lunchbox try carrot fritters.

For 2-3 people
3 medium carrots grated and then squeezed in a clean tea towel
1 egg beaten(or use 2 tbsp chickpea flour and water)
1 tbsp plain flour or potato flour
teaspoon cumin seed or cumin and caraway mixed (lightly toasted on dry frying pan)
black pepper
chopped red chile (optional)
oil
Heat oven to 150
Put the finely grated carrrot into a bowl and season with pepper, Mix in all other ingredients. Roll into small balls with your fingertips. Or make into patties if easier.

Heat oil in a wok at about 3 inches depth. Carefully brown fritters on all sides then remove and dry on kitchen paper. Put on a roasting tray in the oven for 15 minutes.

Then make a sauce to have with them with either sour cream or greek yoghurt a squeeze of lemon and chopped coriander or parsley or dill…. Whatever beckons. They can be varied with added grated courgette or shredded spinach or pakchoi and eaten straight out of the oven with an indian style tomato sauce.

In your bag this week is also chestnut mushroom which would be good sauted and then on a pizza or veg tart with some goats cheese. Mushroom are also good cooked and mixed through a salad with greens and pine nuts…Or mushroom on toast with butter and grated parsley and a rasher.. or mushroom stroganoff.

Another option is to wilt some pak choi in a little oil then cook lightly with rice vinegar, sake and fish sauce (or oyster sauce) adding the mushrooms and a little water.

Spinach

Hi everyone,

This week our bags have lovely Spinach which is a great fast food. After a thorough wash (it can be very gritty), you destem the leaves then pack them in a pot and steam them in the water left clinging to the leaves. Cooking will take about 2-3 minutes then you can serve it straight up with a knob of Butter or a drizzle of Olive Oil. For a really delicious sidedish sauté a few chopped cloves of Garlic in Butter then throw on the Spinach, mix everything together well and serve. For a maincourse add some cream and Parmesan and you’ve got a very quick pasta sauce. This week’s recipe is a pasta dish but without the cream as I’m sure that we’d all like to hit the beach at some stage this year…………..

spinach

Pasta with Spinach, Garlic and Black Olives (for 3-4 people)

You’ll need:

250-300gr Spinach (about what you have in your bag this week)
5 Cloves Garlic
Butter
Olive oil
Handful of stoned Black Olives roughly chopped
Pasta (whatever you like)
Parmesan Cheese

First of all stick on the kettle for the pasta (this dish is fast) Wash and destem your spinach then roughly shred it. Stem the leaves as described above then wring out any water with your hands as soon as it cools down.
While the Spinach is cooling stick on the pasta.
Chop the Garlic then gently sauté it in a large knob of Butter and some Olive Oil. When the Garlic has softened (don’t let it change colour as it’ll start to burn very quickly after that) add the Spinach and toss well to make sure it all gets coated in Butter and Garlic. When the pasta is cooked drain it and mix into the pasta adding some more Butter and Olive Oil aswell as a couple of tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan and the Olives.
Season with Salt and Pepper and serve immediately.

Spinach is, of course, fab in all kinds of salads and sambos.Try it with sundried Tomatoes, toasted Pinenuts and Goat’s Cheese or with Walnuts and Feta. Dress with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar and serve with a simple Omelette or some fish.

Hope you enjoy these recipes,
Have a great week,
Sarah

Green Cabbage and Blood Oranges

Hi everyone,

Spring has sprung! ……. or at least it’s trying, last night’s freezing temperatures did make me wonder. I made soup with this week’s Cabbage and it was perfect. This recipe has beans which makes it almost like a stew so it’s almost a meal in itself…..

green cabbage

Tuscan style Vegetable and Bean Soup

You’ll need:

1 head Cabbage

4 Carrots

4 Spuds 2 Cloves Garlic

2 Medium Onions

1 Dried Chilli

1 Tin of chopped Tomatoes

1 Tin White Beans (Fagioli)

Start by chopping the Onions and begin sautéing over a low-medium heat with a generous glug of Olive Oil until they start to change colour stirring occasionally to stop things burning. This should take about 15 minutes enough time for you to prepare the other veg. Wash and roughly shred the Cabbage. Scrub the carrots and cut into 1 cm half rounds. Peel the spuds and chop into bitesize pieces. Finally, chop the garlic and chilli and if the onions are done add to the pot, stir for a minute before adding the rest of the veg including the tomatoes (but not the Beans) along with a teaspoon of Maldon Salt. Stir well then cover the pot and leave for about 15 minutes over a lowish heat then add 2 litres of weak vegetable stock (as usual I’d use Marigold and halve the quantity indicated on the packet so it’s not too strong). Bring to the boil then lower the heat, cover and cook for another hour. After an hour add the beans, stir well and continue to cook uncovered for a further 10-15 minutes. To serve (and this is what really makes it) take a piece of stale Bread (ideally Ciabatta or sourdough), toast it then rub the toast with a halved clove of garlic. Place the garlic toast at the bottom of your serving bowl and add the soup. Top with a drizzle of your finest Olive Oil and some freshly grated Parmesan (if you like – this is optional and some would say not necessary).

Keep the faith that summer really will come this year by having a Blood Orange salad for pud. Peel a couple of oranges removing the pith as you go then finely slice them and scatter with some mint leaves. Do this ahead of time and all the flavours will mingle. A serving of vanilla or chocolate (Butlers do the best I’ve had) ice-cream would be lovely too…..

Hope you enjoy the recipes,

Have a great weekend,

Sarah

The best Tomato salad ever!

It’s nearly the end of the Tomato season and the best tomato salad is one that  Paul discovered in Marcella Hazan’s Classics of Italian Cooking and it is truly one of the nicest things you can ever eat…..

Marcella Hazan’s Garlic-Scented Tomato Salad
Peel 2 (3 if they are small) Garlic Cloves and then smash them with a knife handle. Mix with 1/2 teaspoon Salt and 1 tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar and leave to steep for at least 20 minutes. Peel 3-4 Fresh Tomatoes  with a very sharp knife or peeler, then slice them thinly and lay out on a dish or platter. When you are ready to make the salad, tear up about 6-8 decent-sized Basil leaves and spread them over the Tomatoes. To serve, pour the garlic-steeped Vinegar through a sieve over the Tomatoes and add Olive Oil. Taste and correct for Salt and Pepper and eat immediately