Rice with Potatoes and Broad Beans

31 05 2009

It’s been a busy weekend down on the allotment. Now that any danger of a frost has gone I got the beans and courgettes in, removed tons of weeds and planted more spinach and tomatoes. Watering is so time-consuming now that there is so much growing and with the hot spell set to last, it looks like I’ll be up at 5am every day this week to water before work. Watering in the morning seems to work well at keeping the slugs at bay. By the time they come out after dark, the soil is too dry for their liking so they tend to stay well away.

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I picked the first crop of broad beans this morning and cooked them with rice, potatoes and herbs from the garden. This is a variation on the rice and potatoes I make with my Mushroom and Tofu Stroganoff

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The quantities you use depend on how many you are serving
White Basmati Rice
2-3 Medium Potatoes
Broad Beans – shelled of course
2 large knobs of butter
Bunch Fresh Oregano or Dill – roughly chopped

Place enough rice in a large pan for the number of people you are serving, Rinse in several changes of water then cover with water and bring to the boil.

As soon as the rice starts to swell, remove from the heat, drain through a seive, rinse with cold water and put to one side.

Peel the potatoes and cut into 3mm slices. Return the pan to a medium heat and add a large knob of butter. When melted, place the potato slices in layers to cover the bottom of the pan.

Now pile the rice on top of the potatoes, then the braod beans and chopped herbs. Add 2-3 tablespoons of water, the other knob of butter and cover. Cook gently over a low-medium heat for about 40 minutes until the rice has puffed up and the potatoes are fried on the bottom.

This method relies on the rice steaming so do not remove the lid during the cooking process.

Serve with home made hummous, natural yogurt and salad.


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Categories : General, allotment

Courgette and Bean Salad

27 05 2009

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Delicious with pizza, or just with warmed pitta bread and feta cheese. It’s a little early in the year, but later this summer I should be able to make the whole dish with crops from the allotment. The mint and lemon juice make this particularly refreshing on a hot summer’s day. The quantities here would serve two people as a side dish.

1 tablespoon finely chopped onion (or 1 finely sliced salad onion)
handful of broad beans
handful of peas
2 medium courgettes
handful of chopped mint
juice from half a lemon
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt

Get a pan of water on the boil, then add the beans and peas and cook for about 3 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop them from overcooking.

Take a potato peeler and cut the courgettes lengthwise into thin ribbons. Place everything in a bowl, mix and leave to marinade for at least half an hour.

Serve.


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Cornish Breakfast

26 05 2009

Spent the weekend in North Cornwall walking, eating out and a spot of surfing. The weather was perfect, but the crowds were far from perfect. Just up the road one of the neighbours keeps chickens, turkeys, geese and ducks. All roaming freely about the back garden They sell the eggs. So I wandered up the road first thing, picked up a few duck eggs, then served them up boiled with toast and asparagus soldiers in the garden. The perfect start to a Sunday.

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Broad Bean, Pea and Edamame Risotto

22 05 2009

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There’s something about risotto. I think it is the smug feeling of eating something wonderfully creamy that doesn’t actually contain cream. Adding lots of green bits can make one feel even smugger as you feel you are eating a healthy, low fat, balanced meal – which you probably are. This one is alcohol free too but you could use a glass of white wine to replace the equivalent amount of stock.

I found a pack of frozen edamame at the back of the freezer. they work well in a risotto, either on their own or as I did here partnered by tender peas and young broad beans. As spring turns to summer so can you ditch the frozen packs of peas and beans for the real thing.

1 clove garlic – finely chopped
1 stick celery – finely chopped
2 teacups full of risotto rice – Arborio is good
1 teacup each of peas, broad beans and edamame (shelled of course)
2 tablespoons good olive oil
large knob of butter
a generous handful of fresh oregano – chopped
as much grated Parmesan as your conscience will allow – you do need a lot to give it flavour
good quality vegetable stock – Marigold Bouillon works well here – about ½ a litre

Start by placing the beans and peas in boiling water and boiling rapidly for about 3-5 minutes until just tender. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop them overcooking.

Now heat the oil in a large pan and at the same time put the stock in another pan and get it up to a simmer. Fry off the celery, garlic and herbs in the oil until soft then add the rice. Stir to coat the rice in the oil then add a ladle of stock. Keep stirring gently to massage the rice, releasing the starch. When absorbed, add another ladle full and continue this way as the rice absorbs the stock. When the rice is al dente (just soft, but with a little bite to it still) add one more ladle of hot stock, then add the beans and peas, stir, then turn off the heat. Throw in a knob of butter and a generous amount of grated Parmesan cheese. Stir again then cover and leave to rest for about 5-7 minutes. This is the important part as this is what makes the risotto deliciously creamy.


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Spaghetti with Peas, Asparagus and Mushrooms

21 05 2009

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Simple, quick and summery, but probably didn’t really need the mushrooms as they made it a little heavy.

3-4 tablespoons olive oil
250g asparagus – chopped into chunks
about a teacup full of frozen peas
8 mushrooms – chopped
1 dried red chili – crushed
1 clove garlic – finely chopped
Parmesan cheese
Spaghetti

Bring a pan of water to the boil then throw in the peas and asparagus and boill briefly until just tender. Drain and rinse with cold water to prevent them overcooking.

Cook the spaghetti as per the instructions on the pack. I haven’t put the quantity here as it depends how many you are cooking for and how hungry they are!

While the spaghetti it cooking, heat a large frying pan. Add the oil, garlic, chili and mushrooms. Fry until mushrooms tender, then add the peas and asparagus. Fry on a high heat for a couple of minutes.

Drain the spaghetti, return to the warm pan then add the vegetables from the frying pan. Stir and serve with grated Parmesan.


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Credit Crunch Cooking

19 05 2009

OK I wouldn’t normally rave about a vegetarian version of a shepherds pie but having spent 4 hours boiling soya beans and assembling what should be a simple dish over the course of two evenings I wasn’t going to let this one slip by unnoticed. It actually worked rather well and considering my house is made up of three teenagers (1 veggie, 1 lapsed veggie who eats only fish and chips or pizza, and 1 carnivore who winces at the colour green), 5 clean plates (and no scrapings in the kitchen bin) is something of a major achievement. Not far off Spurs winning the Carling Cup last season.

This is actually quite easy to make and apart from boiling beans, shouldn’t take long to put together. It’s meant to be cheap but I guess my gas bill will more than compensate for what I saved by not buying tinned beans. As a shortcut use tinned flageolet, aduki or cannelini beans.

Olive oil
1-2 cups cooked soya beans. If using tinned, use 2×400g tins of whatever beans you fancy. Just drain and rinse them first.
1 onion – finely chopped
1 carrot – fined diced
1 stick of celery – finely diced
8-10 mushrooms – chopped
Vegetable stock
1 rounded teaspoon marmite
2 tablespoon tomato puree
Splash of soy sauce
Salt & pepper
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon oregano
4-5 medium potatoes – peeled, diced, boiled and mashed with butter, milk or cream and a little cream cheese

Heat the oil in a large pan, then fry the onion, carrot and celery for about 7-8 minutes until soft. Add the mushrooms and cook for a further 5-7 minutes stirring occasionally. Now add the cooked beans then cover with vegetable stock. Add the herbs, marmite, tomato puree and soy sauce, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 40-50 minutes. If a little dry add more stock, if too wet, simmer with the lid off. Season to taste.

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Place in a large ovenproof dish and cover with the mashed potato. Bake in the oven at 200 C for 30-40 minutes until bubbling and brown on top.

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Serve with a dark green vegetable such as broccoli, kale or cabbage.

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Courgette Soup

17 05 2009

I found this on a random Google search one day when looking for something to do with all my courgettes from the allotment. It sounds like it’s going to be a bit watery and bland, but the end result – with the addition of cream cheese – is far from it.

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1 tablespoon olive oil
Large knob of butter
1 onion – peeled and roughly chopped
1 leek – finely sliced
2 cloves garlic – roughly chopped
3 medium potatoes – peeled and diced
3 medium courgettes – diced
Vegetable stock
3-4 tablespoons Cream cheese (Philadelphia or Mascarpone) or natural Greek yogurt
Salt
Black pepper
snipped chives to garnish

Heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan. When the butter has melted add the onion, leek and garlic. Fry gently for about 5-7 minutes till softened then add the potato and cook for 10 minutes over a low heat. Add courgettes and enough stock to just cover the vegetables. The courgettes will release more water as they cook. Bring everything to the boil then simmer for a further 20 minutes or so until the potatoes are nice and soft.

Place the contents in a food processor or blender. Add the cream cheese or Greek yogurt and whiz until all the lumps have gone.

Transfer back to a saucepan, add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Heat and serve topped with warm bread and a few snipped chives.


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Spinach, Lentil and Feta Filo Pie

17 05 2009

Perfect for a summer lunch or middle eastern inspired dinner party

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2-3 spring onions – finely sliced
1 tin green lentils – drained
200g pack of feta cheese
Filo pastry
2-3 bunches of spinach
1 egg
1 clove garlic – finely chopped
Handful of mint – finely chopped
1 teaspoon paprkia powder
Pinch ground cinnamon
two handfuls of pine nuts
Salt and pepper
Lots of butter
2 tablespoons Sesame seeds

Wash and cook the spinach either in the microwave or by wilting in a pan over a low heat with the lid on. Squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible and chop. Place in a large bowl and add the lentils, spring onions, garlic, mint and crumbled feta. Beat the egg and add to the mixture then season with pepper, a little salt (the feta is already quite salty), paprkia and a pinch of cinnamon.

Take a small frying pan and place over a high heat. When hot, tip in a couple of handfuls of pine nuts and toss until browned. Remove from heat and add to the spinach and lentil mixture.

Melt the butter in a mug or small bowl. Using a pastry brush, paint the melted butter around the inside of an ovenproof dish, just large enough to hold the pie filling. Line the bottom and sides of the dish with the a few sheets of filo pastry, paint these with melted butter then add another layer. Tip the filling into the dish and fold in any of the pastry over the top. Brush these with a little of the butter. Cover the pie with several layers of filo pastry painting a layer of melted butter between each. Scrunch the pastry a little over the top to give it a more rustic appearance. Finish with melted butter then sprinkle some sesame seeds over the top.

Cut the pie into slices, wedges or portions – if you don’t to this before you cook it then it will be very messy when trying to serve later. Place in a preheated oven at 200C for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Best served hot while the pastry is crispy, but great cold the following day too.


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Simple Asparagus Tart

15 05 2009

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The disappointingly short English asparagus season is upon us once again and everywhere I look I see recipes for asparagus – grilled, baked, boiled, in risotto, in quiche, with pasta. Although this is hardly the most original recipe ever invented it is very simple, quick to make and delicious served alongside new potatoes and and a light watercress salad.

Boil the asparagus in water for a couple of minutes till tender then refresh under cold water.

Take a sheet of puff pastry. Place on a large baking sheet and gently score around the edge – about 1cm in from the edge with a knife. This will help the edge to rise around the filling creating a nice border to the tart. Then prick all over the base with a fork. Bake in the oven at 200C for about 10 minutes until it starts to brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.

Now take a couple of knifefulls (is that a word?) of Boursin, Roule or similar soft cheese and smear over the centre rectangle of the pastry. Lay the asparagus neatly on top, then top the shavings of pecorino or parmesan. Drizzle a little olive oil over the top, salt, pepper and maybe a crushed dried chili. Brush the edges of the tart with a little milk or egg, then return to oven and bake until the cheese bubbles.


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Food From 4 Cook Book

13 05 2009

Since my ventures into cook book writing I’ve been working on a newer, more professional looking book of recipes and photos using a great new service from Blurb and their free to download Booksmart software. Although very much a work in progress I thought I’d put a few pages together and get a sample copy printed off to see whether it is worth putting in the effort to make something bigger and better.

The sample book arrived in the post yesterday. It’s great. Needs a lot of work still but the quality is superb. Very impressed, very excited!

Here are a few pictures to get you excited too

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