Cooked cabbage and a wet flannel have an unfortunate amount of textures in common. Particularly if, like me, you were put off cabbage at school where it was boiled to what can only be described as wallpaper paste. Things have moved on since then and I wanted to give the cabbage a chance. I’ve baked it, boiled it, steamed it and fried it. Apart from frying, none of these yielded any spectacular, life changing results. Nevertheless I wasn’t about to give up on them; they are pretty much the only thing in season right now so I have no choice. If I have learnt anything about the cabbage it is that determination is key.
Delicate Carrot Soup
Sometimes carrots can be taken for granted. The base of a soup or stew, added to stock or shoved on the side of the plate. What a shame. They are such glorious things in their own right and there is no carrot sweeter than a home grown carrot. I planted these little beauties a few months back expecting them to be riddled with carrot fly and a complete disaster. The results have been quite the opposite. I am now inundated.
Before you ask, the one second from right is not a parsnip, it is a white carrot. The two on each end are orange and the other is a yellow carrot. I didn’t know what a rainbow I had underground until I pulled them up.
Whether you’re using home grown or bought carrots, a lovely subtle carrot soup has to be the way to go. Carrot soup is one of my favourite soups but the carrots can sometimes be overshadowed with what they are paired with. Sometimes coriander can be a little too much or the orange overwhelms the humble sweet carrot flavours. Not this time though.
Vegetable Patch Recipes
I can go into Sainsbury’s and pick up four chicken breasts for £6. Not the extra special ones, not the organic ones, just the standard ones. My alternative is to go to the farmer’s market and pick up two whole chickens for £10. These are free range chickens and I would still get four chicken breasts but I would also get four drumsticks, four wings, four thighs and two carcasses for making beautiful stock with. It’s a no brainer really.
Purple Cauliflower Cheese
When you have a cauliflower and you add a little cheese you can’t fail to make something unfathomably gorgeous. There is no other place I know of that you can get a purple cauliflower apart from my local farmers’ market. If you saw it at a glance you may have to do a double take to reassure yourself that it is real.
I think the cauliflower is a very lucky vegetable. It’s no looker but I’m yet to meet someone who doesn’t think the union of cauliflower and cheese is glorious. Being purple as opposed to its equally delicious, much paler, white cousin adds something extra to what might otherwise have been a beige overload on the side of the plate.
Broad Bean, Bacon and New Potato Salad
One of my favourite things is popping the broad beans out of their fluffy pods. I love the smell. I used around 20 pods if not a few more to get enough beans for this meal. The more the merrier I say.
Ingredients
You will need (for two):
- Around 20 broad bean pods
- 4 rashers bacon
- 10-12 new potatoes, peeled and quartered (or halved depending on the size)
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- Fresh herbs, small amounts of each (I used chives and mint), chopped
- Salt and pepper
- 1 small garlic clove, crushed
Method
Remove the broad beans from their pods and boil them in salted water for about 4 minutes.
Keep the water and then boil the potatoes until soft. Drain and put to one side.
When the beans have cooled you can begin one of the most satisfying pursuits imaginable. Squeeze the beans out of their grey, papery cases. Some will come out easily with just a small pinch whereas some require the insertion of a fingernail to get things moving.
Mini Bubble and Squeak
Ingredients
You will need (for 6-8 small potato cakes):- 500g potatoes
- Small bunch spring onions
- Handful spring cabbage
- Small handful chives
- Salt and pepper
- Butter for frying
Method
Start by peeling and then boiling the potatoes until soft. Drain the potatoes and leave them to cool. While they cool, chop the spring onions, cabbage (as much or as little as you like) and chives. I like to put the chive flowers in too if not just for the colour. Mash the potato, mix in all the other ingredients and season. Take small handfuls of the mixture, form into balls and then squash to make them flatter.Heat some butter in a pan until foaming. If you want the outside golden and with the slight saltiness you must use butter, it’s just not the same with oil. I do add a little oil to stop the butter burning but not much. These little cakes like to soak the butter up so have some spare to dot around the pan. Place the cakes in the pan, you may have to do more than one batch, and wait until they are golden until you turn them over. Turn them too early and you might end up with a right mess.
They are done when they are golden brown enough for you. Keep the heat low/medium as you don’t want any burning before browning. A treat for a BBQ but great with anything else too.All That I’m Eating
Chicken and Vegetable Pie
This is a perfect recipe for the long Easter weekend break. It’s a celebration of Spring vegetables in the best wrapping of all…pastry. This chicken and vegetable pie is extremely versatile as you can change the vegetables depending on what is in season. It is also great for using up leftovers.
Ingredients
You will need (for one large pie to serve 4-6):
- 1 whole chicken
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 leek, sliced
- Knob of butter
- 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
- Handful kale, stalks removed and leaves sliced
- 1 small glass white wine
- 300ml double cream
- 1/2 chicken stock cube
- 2 bay leaves
- Salt and pepper
- Readymade shortcrust pastry
- 1 egg, for brushing
Start by frying the onion and leek in some butter until softened in a large pan. Add the chicken and fry for a few more minutes. Add the glass of wine and cook until almost completely gone and then add the cream and the chicken stock cube. Add the carrots, kale and bay leaves and season. If it is looking a little dry add some water. Leave the mixture simmering for 10 minutes or until it is as thin or thick as you like it.
Smoked Trout and Potato Salad
Ingredients
You will need (for one large bowl of salad):- 2 smoked trout
- 500g potatoes, peeled and diced
- 250g crème fraîche
- Wholegrain mustard
- Fresh tarragon, dill and parsley
- 1 lemon
- Salt and pepper
Method
I got home and I unwrapped the trout. I looked at it somewhat diffidently and with remarkable concentration. I lopped the heads off and was relieved that it was at least half complete. How do I take the skin off? By now there was a faint glisten of moisture about my brow. Due to its being gutted my life was made awfully easy. I took the bottom fin and gave it a pull. It was like peeling an orange.I can’t tell you how simple it was. What I thought would be a right kerfuffle turned out to be one of the most satisfying things I’ve ever done. Once the skin was off, the meat just fell off the bone and I was left with a pile of meat and a complete pile of bones. There were a few strays that I found amidst the pile but I got the blighters.
During my adventures with the trout, a pan full of potatoes had been merrily bubbling away in the background. Once cooked they were drained and left to cool while the dressing was made.
Venison Burgers, Chips and Purple Sprouting
It was a picturesque morning when I hopped on the bicycle and cycled to the farmers’ market. On setting off I was very pleased with myself for saving the planet and burning calories at the same time. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and I was thoroughly convinced I was the modern day Snow White. It wasn’t particularly far or mountainous but to say I arrived less than glamorous and somewhat flustered would be an understatement. Let’s just say there was a bumble bee that seemed certain its hive was my nostril.
Chicken Liver Pâté
Pesto, hummus and bread are just a few examples of things that if you make yourself, couldn’t be further from the shop bought version. Chicken liver pâté is another. I have long had an affection for this most accepted of offal and I felt it was about time I got myself some to see how a homemade one compares. I couldn’t have asked for better livers. They were free range, organic and fresh as you could ask for. I never eat supermarket chicken and so the money I would have spent on that I spend on farmers’ market chicken and just eat it less often.
This recipe took me about 10 minutes to make so if you find yourself with the opportunity to buy livers, do so.