Damsons, Rocket, Cherry Tomatoes and Green Beans

We might be enjoying a bit of sun at the moment but there’s no denying that summer (well what we had of it) is drawing to a close. We still have lots of summer produce – gorgeous Tomatoes, Courgettes, Grapes and Aubergines but the early autumn stuff is making it’s way into the bags – Butternut a few weeks ago, today there’s  lovely new Leeks and Damsons or Quetsche Plums to give them their full title. If you haven’t had them before, Damsons are plums that are generally used for cooking because they aren’t as sweet as the  plums we normally eat.

This week’s recipe is for a crumble with almonds. If you’re not a baker don’t worry, crumble-making doesn’t really count as baking as it’s just so easy. You literally crumble the flour, butter and sugar with your fingertips until you have something resembling large breadcrumbs. Even if you end up with something different it’ll still taste fine just as long as some attempt has been made to mix the ingredients. My son Dan (4) does all the crumbling in our house except of course when I have him polishing grapes for Home Organics (just kidding!!!). If you’re avoiding puds Damsons are a perfect stewing fruit. Rinse and put in a pot with 2-3 Tablespoons Sugar. Turn on the heat and give the pot an occasional shake to help the Damsons burst and release all their lovely juices. As you’ll see, these Damson are yellow on the inside but the  skin colours everything  that gorgeous plummy red after they’ve been the pot a few minutes.

halved damsons

Cook for about 10 minutes making sure all the plums break up so you can get at the stones afterwards. Allow to cool down a bit before you remove the stones and  you’ve got a compote which makes a  perfect breakfast with Greek Yogurt. This week’s crumble won’t take more than 15 minutes to  put together so if you do fancy dessert it’s an easy one and really tasty to boot….

Damson and Almond Crumble

You’ll need:

450 gr Plums (about what you have in this week’s bag)

3 Tablespoons of Sugar

100gr Flour

40gr Ground Almonds

75gr Butter

60gr Sugar

Prepare the fruit as I’ve described above and while it’s cooking get on with the crumble (or rope in a small child to do so). Put all the ingredients in a bowl and crumble (!!) This should take about 5 minutes (small children will take anything from 2 minutes to an hour and a half). Remove all the stones from the fruit and put into a baking dish and top with the crumble mix. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the crumble topping is golden brown and hopefully some of the ruby juices from below have bubbled up and speckled the topping. Eat with Cream, Ice-cream or Yogurt.

damson crumble

One other thing to do with Damsons is Damson Gin. Far easier than baking but there is a bit of waiting involved. Most recipes will tell you to prick the plums, add sugar then throw in the booze but Margaret (no doubt reliably)  informed me yesterday that the stones in Plums contain cyanide so should never be left after the fruit has been cooked or opened. So, rinse and halve about 450gr plums (what you have in this week’s bag) then add 150gr Sugar and 75cl Gin. Put the lot in a sterilized wide-necked bottle. Close the lid and shake well and continue to shake every day until the sugar has dissolved. Keep for at least 6 weeks and then it’s cocktail time!

This week’s Green Beans need very little done to them. A light steaming then toss them in Butter or Olive Oil with a little Maldon Salt. A step further is to crush or finely chop a couple of cloves of Garlic, saute gently on the pan then add the precooked Beans just before the Garlic is done. Toss for a minute or 2 more and you’ve got a very tasty side. Lot’s of Black Pepper is great with this too.

In case you’re wondering..

This week’s salad leaves are Rocket a beautiful peppery leaf that is great in salads and sambos. Have it with this week’s Cherry Tomatoes and some Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar for a very quick and tasty salad.

Have a great weekend,

Sarah

Butternut and Mirabelles

Hi there,

This week we have the start of Autumn varieties – Butternut Squash and New Parsnips. Seems unfair given we haven’t really had a summer but I suppose there’s always September (we Irish never give up the faith). This week’s recipe is a salad with Butternut Squash and Rocket. If you haven’t had it before, Butternut can be boiled, steamed or roasted (there are several recipes already on the blog including a really amazing soup).  When you roast Butternut it caramelises on the outside adding great flavour. Then I added some toasted Pine nuts and a little Goat’s Cheese. Perfect for a Saturday lunch…….

Roasted Butternut Salad with Rocket(Arugula)  and Goat’s Cheese

You’ll need:

300gr peeled Butternut cut into bite sized Cubes

60 gr Rocket (about what you have in this week’s bag) or any other salad leaves

A handful of Pine nuts

150gr Chevre Goat’s Cheese

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Begin by preparing the Butternut. I find the best way is to quarter it remove the seeds and stringy bits and then chop it up.Put the Butternut on a roasting tray and with your hands smear about 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil on them then roast in a hottish oven (Gas mark 6 or 200 degrees) for about 30- 40 minutes or until the pieces are soft and starting to caramelize.

You can toast the Pine nuts in the oven (on a separate tray) so stick them in and toast until they’ve started to change colour (should take about 10 minutes but check on them after 5). When the Butternut is ready let it cool down a bit them toss it with the Rocket and Pine nuts. Dress the lot with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar. Eat with nice bread or a Cous Cous salad (try Cous Cous, Chopped Dates, some Sultanas and some toasted Cumin Seeds dressed in Olive Oil and Lemon Juice)

The tiny plums in your bag this week are Mirabelles and they’re only around for a couple of weeks every year. Completely delicious, they should be eaten asap and there’s no need to add anything – Yum!!!!

Have a great weekend,

Sarah

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

Jerusalem Artichokes, Rocket and Mushrooms

 

We have Jerusalem Artichokesin all our bags this week. Never heard of them? Well, they are those funny knobbly things that look like a cross between Root Ginger and Sweet Potatoes in your bag this week. Rather confusingly Jerusalem Artichokes have nothing to do with either Jerusalem or Artichokes. These tubers are a variety of sunflower. Tastewise, they’re quite similar to Globe Artichokes but are much sweeter with a nutty, smokey flavour which goes beautifully with Cream, Garlic, Bacon, Mushrooms, Hazelnuts, Lemon, Parsley and Parmesan. Like all root veg, Jerusalem Artichokes can be roasted, fried, boiled and mashed. They make fantastic soups and gratins and can even be eaten raw although with the day that’s in it that doesn’t really hold too much appeal. Instead, I’d suggest a warm salad with this week’s Rocket and some smoked Cheese. Paul and I have just wolfed this for lunch and it rocks. Or, try soup – Jerusalem Artichokes make the silkiest kind and you can garnish it by pan-frying some of this week’s Mushrooms which are just perfect for bringing up the nutty, earthy flavour of the soup….

When preparing your Artichokes, it isn’t necessary, as many recipes insist, to peel them but they do need a good scrub. If they’re very mucky, a soak in some water before you scrub will make things easier. If you do peel them, be sure and put them in acidulated water (ie water with some Lemon Juice) to stop them going brown. The first recipe this week is a very simple one and it works really well with any kind of roast and it’s also the basis of the salad recipe I just mentioned….

 Pan-fried Jerusalem Artichokes with White Wine Vinegar

You’ll need: 600gr Jerusalem Artichokes (about what you have in this week’s bag)

 Olive Oil

2-3 cloves Garlic

 White Wine Vinegar

Scrub your Artichokes well but don’t bother to peel them. Slice each one into rounds about 1/2 cm thick dropping them into a bowl of Water with Lemon juice as you go. When they’re all ready drain them and dry with some kichen paper or a tea towel. Heat some Olive Oil on the pan and add the Artichokes. Pan-fry over a slow to medium heat until golden. This should take about 10 minutes and at this stage the Artichokes will have started to soften. To finish cooking them turn down the heat and cover them for about 10 minutes tossing every few minutes to ensure they don’t blacken. While the Artichokes are cooking, finely chop your Garlic. When the Artichokes are soft to the point of nearly starting to fall apart turn up the heat a little, add a little more Olive Oil and throw in the Garlic and toss with the Artichokes until soft. To finish off the dish add a dash of white wine vinegar, toss everything together then turn down the heat, cover and leave to cook for a minute then turn off the heat, season with Salt and Pepper and serve.

A warm salad with Pan-fried Artichokes, Rocket, Pinenuts and smoked Cheese (for 2)

You’ll need:

 A portion of pan-fried Artichokes prepared as described above.

60-70gr Rocket (about what you hav in your bag this week)

100gr smoked Cheese – Apart from the Basque raw sheeps cheese Idiazabal I’m not normally wild about smoked Cheeses but it’s amazing in this salad. I used Oakwood which is pretty readily available (Idiazabal, unfortuneately, isn’t – even in the rest of Spain it’s hard to track down).

A handful Pinenuts Olive Oil Vinegar or Lemon Juice – I used that Irish Cider Balsamic stuff which is really nice but traditional Red wine or Lemon Juice also works well. I wouldn’t go for regular Balsamic for a salad like this as I think it overpowers the earthy flavours but it’s really up to you.

While the Artichokes are cooking wash and dry the Rocket. Chop the cheese into little chunks (about the size of hazelnuts) or strips about 2 cm long . Toast the Pinenuts on a dry pan until golden then roughly chop and mix through the Rocket. Add in the Cheese and when the Artichokes are ready dress everything with Olive Oil and Vinegar then top with the Artichokes and serve.

And finally…………………

Jerusalem Artichoke Soup topped with saute Portabella Mushrooms (for 2 hungry people or 4 as a small starter)

You’ll need:

A generous knob Butter

 1 Onion

1 Stick of Celery

2 Cloves Garlic

600gr Jerusalem Artichokes (about what you have in this week’s bag)

800ml Stock (Chicken or veg)

60ml Double Cream

1 large Portobella Mushroom or 4-5 small Chestnut ones to garnish

Roughly chop your Onion and begin to sweat in the Butter while you finely chop the Celery. Throw in the chopped Celery and after about 5 minutes add the 2 cloves Garlic roughly chopped. Continue to saute over a lowish heat until everything has softened but not changed colour (this should take about 10 minutes) while you get on with preparing the Jerusalem Artichokes. Peel and slice the Jerusalem Artichokes, dropping them into water with a squirt of Lemon as you go. When the Onion, Celery and Garlic have fully softened throw in the Artichokes along with the stock. Season with Salt and Pepper, bring to the boil then simmer for about 25 minutes until the Jerusalem Artichokes are completely tender. While the soup is cooking wipe and thinly slice your mushroom(s), heat some Olive Oil on a pan and fry until golden brown and almost crispy then set aside. When the soup is cooked, turn off the heat and blend until completely smooth. Add in the cream, check the seasoning adding a little more Salt if necessary and serve topped with the Mushrooms.