Warm New Potato Salad with Asparagus

9 05 2013

It’s been a long time coming but English asparagus is here at last. I just can’t bring myself to buy it out of season, flown in from Peru or Thailand so I make the most of it at this time of year. This makes for a light but filling lunch on a warm spring day. The warm new potatoes soak up the flavours in the dressing.

I made this for two people

1 bunch of asparagus
1 small bag of new potatoes – about 5 or 6 potatoes per person
a few sprigs of mint
a handful of chives – snipped
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
juice of 1 lime
zest of 1 lime
1 small red chili – finely chopped
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt and black pepper
A few handfuls of bagged salad
Parmesan cheese – or vegetarian equivalent

Place the potatoes and mint in a pan. Cover with water, put the lid on and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes or so until tender. the cooking time will vary depending on the size of the potatoes. Drain, discard the wilted mint and place back in the dry, hot pan with the lid on to keep them warm.

Heat a griddle or frying pan on a high heat. Take the aspaargus at either end and snap each spear. It will snap where the woodiness in the stem ends. Discard the ends then place the asparagus in the hot griddle. Drizzle some of the olive oil over. Turn occasionally until slightly charred and tender then set aside.

In a large bowl mix all the other ingredients except the bagged salad and parmesan to make the dressing. Add the warm potatoes to the dressing.

Take two large plates of bowls, add a couple of handfuls of the salad to each then add the dressed potatoes. Place the griddled asparagus spears on top, sppon over some of the dressing then finish with a few shavings of parmesan cheese (use a potato peeler to do this).

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Categories : Salads

Risotto of Purple Sprouting Broccoli and Tallegio

21 04 2013

Today’s Observer newspaper features some recipes from Nigel Slater for purple sprouting broccoli. I may be a little biased but I think this sounds nicer than either of his. So nice in fact that it all got eaten before I had a chance to take a photo.

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This makes enough for 3-4 people

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion – finely chopped
2 cloves garlic – finely chopped
3 good handfuls of risotto rice
about 1 litre of vegetable stock
A couple of handfuls of purple sprouting – trimmed and choped roughly into chunks
100g Tallegio – diced
50g grated parmesan
Black pepper
knob of butter

Get the stock in a small pan and keep it simmering.

Take another pan – larger – heat the oil then fry the onion and garlic gently until soft. Turn up the heat and add the rice. Stir until coated in the oil then add a ladle or two of the stock. Stir well then add the broccoli. Keep stirring and adding stock, a ladle at a time, whenever it gets absorbed. AFter about 10-15 minutes the rice should be softened but with a bit of bite. Add the grated parmesan, stir then add the tallegio, pepper and a knob of butter. Cover with a lid and remove from the heat. Leave for about 5-10 minutes then stir and serve.


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Categories : allotment, Mains

Pasta with Garlic, Chili and Purple Sprouting

20 04 2013

After a long, cold and often wet winter it was such a pick-me-up to see the small purple heads of purple sprouting broccoli peeping their way through the leaves and protective netting down on the allotment. In a year that began with a drought and ended in being one of the wettest on record I had given up all hope: Leeks the size of small spring onions, tough and woody beetroot that grew in the shape of carrots and a crop of beans that never made it past being a dinner for slugs, anything edible has been a bonus. I am however a little perplexed by this vegetable. Broccoli as we all know has been branded as a superfood (I apologise for the link to the Daily Mail!). One of those foods we can eat in unlimited quantities. My father in law did this with his crop a couple of years ago and suffered from a thickening of the blood caused by a build up of iron. You really can overdose on purple sprouting, but you do have to eat it every day for about a fortnight in order to see any symptoms. Everything in moderation as they say.

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Purple sprouting can be somewhat bitter at times. Here the bitterness is balanced by the creamyness of the sauce along with the hint of spice from the chili.

1-2 tablespoons olive oil
A few heads of purple sprouting broccoli inlcuding leaves – stalks removed and cut into large chunks
1 red chili – deseeded if you don’t like it too hot – finely chopped
2 cloves garlic – finely chopped
1 teaspoon each of dried basil and dried oregano
200ml single cream or 200g mascarpone
Enough pasta for 4 people. I used penne but I think orechiette or conchigle perhaps work best
125g Mozarella (optional)

Place a large pan of water on the hob and bring to the boil. As this is coming up to temperature, heat the oil in a large frying pan (one that has a lid) then add the chili, garlic, dried herbs and purple sprouting. Fry gently for a couple of minutes then add about half a cup of water and put the lid on. Allow the broccoli to steam until the leaves are witled and the stalks tender. Now remove the lid, add the cream or mascarpone and stir until the mascarpone has melted.

When the water boils add the pasta and, if you are going to serve this straight away cook as per the instructions on the pack. If you want to top it with cheese and bake it then reduce the cooking time by 2-3 minutes else the pasta will overcook when it goes in the oven.

Now back to the broccoli. If the sauce is a little thick, add a ladle or two of the cooking water from the pasta. This is full of starch and not only helps to bind the creamy sauce together but adds its own creamyness too.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain then add to the sauce. Stir and serve or if you prefer, place this in an oven dish, top with torn chunks of mozarella and bake at 200C for around 10 minutes until the cheese melts and starts to colour.

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Categories : allotment, Mains

Halloumi and Crunchy Salad Kebab

17 03 2013

A tasty alternative to a doner kebab and guaranteed not to contain horsemeat. This will make 5 or 6 decent sized kebabs

Start by making the salad
½ head red cabbage
1 large carrot – peeled
6 radishes
3 tablespoons olive oil
juice of ½ lime
a few splashes of sesame oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon maple syrup
salt and black pepper to taste

I have developed a habit of slicing the end off my finger when I try to finely slice vegetables. So now I use a food processor which is safest and laziest. Using the fine grater, pass the radishes and carrot through. Then using the fine slicer, slice the red cabbage. If you haven’t got a food processor just grate the radish and carrot and finely slice the red cabbage. Place the chopped up ingredients into a large bowl and add all the dressing ingredients. Miz well and leave to one side.

The Halloumi
Now take 1 pack Halloumi and slice finely – about 2mm thick. You should get 12 or so slices. Cook the Halloumi slices on a griddle, in a frying pan or under the grill until some colour has developed.

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The Assembly
Take 4-6 medium or large Khobez. If you can’t fine Khobez you cuold use pittas. Warm just enough to split them first.

Lay 2-3 slices of the griddled Halloumi in a row, top with the salad. You now add other ingredients if you wish – chili, chili sauce, gherkins, pickled turnips, etc. Roll the Khobez then place back on the griddle until heated through and starting to crisp up a little.

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Categories : Mains, Middle Eastern

Green Vegetable Soup with Pearl Barley

14 01 2013

You may have noticed I’ve got a bit of a thing about soup at the moment. So simple and healthy and can be made from almost anything. This one came about one Saturday morning when I scoured the vegetable tray at the bottom of the fridge looking for something to feed five hungry people. Surprisingly good, so good in fact that my son ate three bowls of it. I served it with a warm homemade foccaccia.

Serves 6

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 leeks – sliced in half lengthwise then finely sliced
1 courgette – cut into quarters lengthwise then into chunks
Handful of broccoli – I used tenderstem but the normal stuff works just as well – cut into chunks
3 handfuls of pearl barley
1 x 400g tin butterbeans – drained and rinsed
2 handfuls of frozen peas – about a small mugful
1 teaspoon fresh or dried thyme
vegetable stock – enough to cover the vegetables – more if you like your soup more of a broth
1 teaspoon marmite or other yeast extract
salt and pepper
1 red chili – sliced (optional)

Heat the oil in a large pan then gently fry the leeks until soft. Add the courgettes and thyme and continue to fry and stir gently for 3-4 minutes. Now add all the other ingredients except the chili, bring the stock to the boil and simmer until the barley is cooked. If using, add the sliced chili and heat through.

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Categories : General, soup

Crunchy Fennel and Cabbage Salad

5 01 2013

Inspired by Jamie Oliver’s 30 minute and 15 minute meals and by Yotam Ottenlenghi telling me once that you can make a slaw from pretty much anything, here is a crunchy, lemony slaw style salad that goes really well with most rice dishes. Ideally you need a food processor for this, but you can cut everything by hand as finely as possible it just takes a little longer and requires a very very sharp knife.

1 bulb fennel
½ head white cabbage
1 red chili
juice of ½ lemon
2-3 tablespoons good olive oil
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
½ teaspoon salt

Cut the fennel and cabbage up into chunks just small enough to fit through the nozzle of your food precessor, then, using the finest slicing attachment press everything through. Empty the sliced vergetables into a large bowl then add the remaining ingredients. Mix it all well (I find it easiest just to get my hands in and toss everything in the dressing). If you like you could add some chopped mint. Put it in a nice dish or bowl and serve while still very fresh and crunchy. The longer you leave the salad in the dreesing the less crunchy it stays.

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Categories : Salads

Lettuce Soup

1 01 2013

Sounds awful, looks OK, tastes great!

Makes enough for 4 people

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion – roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic – finely chopped
3-4 heads of little gem lettuce
2 smallish potatoes – peeled and diced into small cubes
1 red chili
1 litre or so of vegetable stock
3-4 tablespoons cream cheese, natural yogurt or cream – I used Quark

Heat the oil in a large saucepan then add the onion. Fry gently until soft and translucent then add the garlic. Make a slit in the chili then add this whole into the pan. Now roughly chop the lettuce and add to the pan along with the potatoes. Cover with stock, bring to the boil then simmer for about 10 minutes until the potatoes are soft.

Remove from the heat, take the chili out and discard. Blend the soup in a food processor or with a stick blender, adding the creamy ingredient towards the end. Return to the heat and serve hot.

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Categories : soup

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