Canalside herbs as ingredients | Canalside Community Food - Part 6

I picked up this recipe whilst living in Gothenburg and it has great connotations for me with sunny breakfasts on the pier… Hopefully I don’t just see it with rose tinted glasses!

Vegan chickpea flour (kikärtsmjöl) omelette
Ingredients

1 cup (120 g) chickpea flour
1 Tablespoon flaxseed meal or chia seed meal (optional)
1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) salt
1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) each of turmeric garlic powder, baking soda, cumin powder
1ish cup of water

Fillings!
Fried tomato, onion, mushrooms, lots coming in our shares that could suit!

Method is simple, mix the all the dry ingredients then add the water slowly and mix with a whisk until they take on the same consistency as whisked eggs. Fry up the fillings, then poor on the omelette mix and reduce pan to a medium to low heat. Make sure you cook it slower and longer than an egg omelette – it tends to burn before solidifying enough to flip if you rush it.

I went to a very interesting sports food recovery workshop with a nutritionist called “whole food warrior” whilst at a running festival earlier in the summer. This is one of her recipes which should be pretty quick and simple, enjoy!

Chickpea, green bean & spinach curry (15-minute recipe)

Ingredients (feeds 2)
For the curry paste:
A handful of fresh coriander, stalks & leaves (10-15g)
1/2 green pepper (75g), roughly chopped
1 red chilli, roughly chopped
1/2 thumb size piece of ginger (15g), peeled and roughly chopped
1 small onion (55g), peeled and roughly chopped
1 turmeric root or 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder
1/2 lemon, peeled (you are using the actual lemon here, not the rind)
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Other ingredients:
150g of dwarf beans or green beans
1 tin of chickpeas
1/2 a tin of chopped tomatoes (200ml)
1/2 a tin of coconut milk (200ml)
4 large handfuls of spinach (approximately 120g)

Method:
Put all of the curry paste ingredients in a blender, season with a pinch of sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper and blend until smooth. Add a splash of water to make the bending easier if needed.
Put a frying pan on a medium high heat. Tip in the curry paste and cook until it thickens to a paste, approximately 5 minutes.
Pour in the chopped tomatoes and coconut milk, stir well, season with a little bit more sea salt and black pepper.
Add the green beans and cook for 5 minutes.
Tip in the chickpeas and spinach and cook for a further 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
Check the taste and season with more black pepper and sea salt if needed.
To serve, simply divide the curry between two large bowls. Sprinkle on some extra coriander leaves if desired.

Taken from: https://wholefoodwarrior.co.uk/blog/quickcurry

16th aug

Rebecca’s Recipe of the Week: Green Beans, Tomatoes and Saffron

Serve this lovely blend of tomatoes, beans and saffron-scented onions as a side dish, or alongside some polenta topped with a poached egg. It’s also tasty accompanying plain white fish.

Fagiolini in umido all zafferano
Serves 4 as a side dish.

Ingredients
10 medium tomatoes
60ml olive oil
2 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced
1 small pinch of saffron
650g green beans, topped and tailed

Preparation
Bring a medium pot of water to the boil. Prepare a bowl of ice water.
Score the bottom of each tomato with a X, using a sharp knife, and remove the core. Drop the tomatoes into the boiling water a few at a time, and cook for about 30 seconds each, until the skin starts to loosen. Remove with a slotted spoon and drop into the bowl of ice water. Don’t discard the hot water: you’ll use it to cook the beans.
Fish each tomato out of the ice water and slip off the skin. Dice into small cubes.
Put the olive oil and sliced onions into a saucepan over very low heat. Add a pinch of salt and the saffron. Cook gently for 20-25 minutes, or until the onions are soft and translucent. Stir occasionally and make sure they don’t catch or burn.
Add the diced tomatoes and cook for 10 more minutes. Season with salt.
Bring the tomato water to a boil, salt, and cook the beans for 6 minutes, or until tender. Drain the beans and add to the onion-saffron-tomatoes. Simmer for 3 more minutes over low heat and serve.

Recipe adapted from Christopher Boswell and Elena Goldblatt, Verdure: Vegetable Recipes from the American Academy in Rome (2014).

If you’re a Saturday collector, you’ll be getting the last of the broad beans – why not try them in this recipe?!

I’ve had this recipe waiting in the sidelines for a while, expecting it to take ages but it turned out to be super easy! The fritters turned out pretty tastey and all that veg helped make me feel a little better about the deep fat frying… The recipe I got this from has instructions for homemade labneh, but I swapped that for  lemon minted yoghurt. Since I had the frier out I decided to go all out and make courgette fritters, deep fried brie and onion rings as well, not a healthy night! Note the recipe is scalable for smaller shares but i’d keep the spice measures fairly high to avoid them getting lost in the frier.

Chilli broad bean fritters with homemade labneh

Ingredients:
Fritters:
600g broad beans (or 1¼kg in their pods), skinned to reduce bitterness (I didn’t bother and can’t say I noticed)
small bunch mint, roughly chopped
small bunch parsley, roughly chopped
small bunch dill, roughly chopped
1 tbsp self-raising flour, plus a little for dusting
1 red chilli (deseeded if you don’t like it too hot), roughly chopped
zest 1 lemon
2 small garlic cloves
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground allspice
½ tsp sumac

Yoghurt:
1/4 a bunch of fresh mint , (7.5g)
1/2 lemon, (juice and any remaining zest after fritters)
4 tablespoons natural yoghurt (Alpro-style alternative will work great too)

Method:
Fritters:
To make the fritters, put the ingredients in a food processor, season and blend until smooth. Using 2 dessertspoons, scoop and shape the mixture into 16 quenelle shapes – or roll with floured hands. Place on a plate and chill for at least 1 hr, or cover loosely with cling film and chill for 24 hrs. (I chilled in freezer for 1h, they weren’t quite sticky enough but I managed by squeezing them hard with my hands).

When you’re ready to serve, heat at least 6cm oil in a wide, deep pan (or put a deep fat frier on 190°C). The oil is ready when a piece of bread dropped into the oil sizzles and turns brown within 30-40 secs (if the oil is too cool, the fritters will fall apart). Dust the fritters with a little flour and roll around the plate to coat the outside. Carefully lower 4-6 into the pan at a time and cook in batches, for 5-6 mins, until deep golden brown. Drain on a plate lined with kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt. Put the fritters in the oven on low heat while you cook the next batch.

Yoghurt:
Mix yoghurt, mint and lemon, adding salt and pepper to taste.

If you fancy them, courgette fritters or onion rings just need some batter making up in a bowl, about 50/50 self-raising flour (to get good bubbly batter) and water to a pancake batter consistency, add salt and pepper (and dill if you like) for a better taste. Chop courgette into sticks and onion into rings, rub them in a plate of flour (coat fully) then dip in the batter then into the frier. Fry until golden (1-3 minutes) then remove and drain, making sure to add salt and pepper whilst they’re fresh out of the frier! (This makes a BIG difference).

From: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chilli-broad-bean-fritters-homemade-labneh

Pickled raisins are very now, in case you didn’t know. This is a very good salad, in any case.

Carrot Salad with Yoghurt, Pickled Raisins and Nuts
Serves 2

Ingredients
2 tablespoons soft brown sugar (dark or light, as you prefer)
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 handful raisins (or sultanas)
200g carrots, peeled
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons preserved lemon, chopped
1 handful pistachios or cashews, toasted briefly in a dry pan and roughly chopped
1 handful fresh coriander (or other herbs), roughly chopped
3 tablespoons yoghurt

Preparation
Combine the sugar and vinegar in a small bowl. Add the raisins and leave to soak for at least 10 minutes, or as long as you like. (I marinated mine for 4 days, at room temperature.) These are the pickled raisins.
Using a vegetable peeler, shave the carrots into thin curls into a bowl, or grate them coarsely.
Dress the carrots with the oil, salt and pepper, and preserved lemon. Mix in the raisins and soaking liquid, nuts, and herbs. Drizzle with the yoghurt and serve.

Recipe adapted from Abra Berens, Ruffage: A Practical Guide to Vegetables (2019).

Peas cooked with onions and butter make an excellent dish to eat on their own. The peas in the share are sugar snaps, so you can eat the whole thing including the pod. Why not try cutting these up to add to this recipe? Add some pan-seared salmon fillets and you have an easy and very delicious meal.

(To pan-sear, dry the salmon carefully and then season liberally with salt. Heat a little neutral oil in a skillet, and when it is hot add the salmon, skin-side down. Press it into the pan with a fish so that it makes good contact with the heat. Cook, without moving the fish, for about 3 minutes, and then flip it over to cook the other side. Cook for an additional 1-4 minutes, depending on how cooked you like your fish.)

Peas with Parsley, Thyme, Butter and Onions
Serves 4 as part of a larger meal.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons neutral oil (rapeseed, sunflower seed etc.)
1 giant Canalside spring onion, thinly sliced (use the whole thing including the dark green leaves)
½ teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock
4 cups frozen (or fresh) peas (or pieces of sugar snap peas including the pods)
4 tablespoons butter
¾ cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
5 springs of fresh thyme, roughly chopped

Preparation
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and the salt. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the onion is translucent and soft, but not brown. Add the wine and allow to reduce until almost completely dry.

Add the stock and bring to a boil. Add the peas and butter and cook until the stock has reduced, and the sauce is thick and silky with butter. Then add the parsley and thyme check for salt and pepper, and serve.

Recipe adapted from Abra Berens, Ruffage: A Practical Guide to Vegetables (2019).

Cumin-scented cauliflower, yellow from turmeric, cooks with Canalside chile and a subtle coconut-poppy seed glaze. The result is spicy, satisfying and beautiful. Eat it topped with toasted almonds, fresh coriander, yoghurt and a squeeze of lime. Yotam recommends serving with flatbread, but it’s pretty delicious just on its own.

Poppy-Seed Cauliflower with Coconut
Serves 2

Ingredients
40g poppy seeds
60ml sunflower oil
½ – 1 Canalside dried red chile, de-seeded if desired, and shredded
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced fine
1 large cauliflower and leaves, broken into 4cm-sized florets, leaves shredded
150ml coconut milk (approx.)
To serve
1 handful fresh coriander, shredded
1 small handful flaked almonds, lightly toasted in a dry pan
plain yoghurt
1 lime, halved

Preparation
Put the poppy seeds in a small bowl. Pour over just enough boiling water to cover them. Leave them for half an hour, and then whiz them in a blender or food processor, or crush them in a mortar and pestle, so that they begin to break up a bit. Set aside.
Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large sauté pan for which you have a lid. When it is hot add the chile, turmeric, cumin and garlic. Turn the heat to medium and sauté for 4 minutes, stirring often, until the garlic starts to brown and the mixture gives off a nice smell.
Add the cauliflower leaves and florets and toss with the spices. Stir for 2 minutes, until the cauliflower has turned an attractive yellow.
Add the coconut milk and the poppy seeds. Add enough coconut milk to make a little sauce, but not so much that it is soupy. Turn the heat down a little and cover. Cook for 4 more minutes, until the cauliflower has begun to soften.
Uncover and turn the heat up to medium-high. Cook for 8 more minutes, stirring regularly, until the cauliflower is tender and has begun to caramelise and the liquid has evaporated.
Serve topped with fresh coriander, toasted almonds, yoghurt and a squeeze of lime.

Recipe adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi, The Guardian, 16 Feb. 2019.

A fresh green plate of spring broccoli, lemony parsley sauce and the unctuousness of soft egg yolk. Dried chile pepper adds a touch of red and extra bite to this easy mid-week dinner. Serve with toast, or a little rice.

Sprouting Broccoli with Parsley and Poached Egg
Serves 2

Ingredients
20g parsley
¼ cup olive oil
Juice of ½ lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
300g sprouting broccoli, ends trimmed and cut into similarly-sized lengths
2 eggs
Greek yoghurt, to serve
1 dried red chile, seeds removed, shredded (if desired)

Preparation
Remove any tough stems from the parsley. Whizz it together with the oil and lemon juice in a food processor or immersion blender until it makes a thick green purée. Season to taste with salt and pepper. It should be fresh and lemony. Add more oil or lemon juice until you’re happy with it.

Bring a pot of water to the boil and cook the sprouting broccoli until it’s tender, about 8 minutes. Fish out the broccoli and keep it warm, leaving the water in the pan. You’ll use it to poach the egg.

Add more water to the pan if necessary and bring it to a low simmer. Add a splash of white vinegar if you like (this helps the egg to retain a reasonably nice shape), and then crack the eggs one at a time into the water. Poach over low heat for about 2 minutes, or until the whites are set. Turn off the heat and leave the eggs in the pan while you plate up.

Arrange the broccoli onto two dinner plates. Spoon most of the parsley sauce artfully over the broccoli and around the plate. Top each mound of broccoli with a poached egg and decorate that with the remaining parsley sauce. Dot the broccoli and egg with several spoonfuls of Greek yoghurt and strew a little of the red chile pepper over the top—but watch out: the Canalside chiles are really potent! Grind a final sprinkle of black pepper over the top.

I got home late last night so dinner was a spontaneous improvisation based on what was in the fridge. The result proved to be very tasty! The smooth roasted peppers (you could use sun-dried tomatoes, I think) combine with the crunch of the celery and the boiled potatoes to give a satisfying complexity. A salty miso dressing pulls it all together.

You could serve this with a poached egg, or some grilled meat or fish, or, to be honest, on its own. You could add some feta, as well. I’ve not given precise quantities; that would go against the entire spirit of this dish.

Potato-Pimento Salad with Miso and Herbs

Ingredients
The salad
Potatoes
Celery, sliced
Tinned Spanish pimientos de padrón, sliced, or sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
Lots of fresh parsley and/or coriander, coarsely chopped
Toasted pumpkin seeds, or almonds
The dressing
1 part miso paste
2 parts olive oil
1 part lime juice
Lime zest
Freshly-ground pepper

Preparation
Put the potatoes in a pan and cover with cold water. Bring slowly to the boil, and simmer very gently until the potatoes are tender.

While the potatoes cook, combine the other salad ingredients in a bowl and shake the dressing ingredients together in a jar.

Drain the potatoes and leave to dry off a bit for a few minutes. Once they’re cool enough to handle, cut them into chunks and add them to the salad. Toss well and serve with additional black pepper, to taste.

What are you going to do with the three million tiny red onions you’ve accumulated from Canalside over the past months? Use them in this in this delicious, vaguely Thai curry. They’re a bit of a nuisance to peel, but the result is worth it. (Ali suggests soaking in very hot water for 5 minutes to make for an easier peel.)

Serve this light and spring-like curry with rice and an additional squeeze of lime. It’s pretty quick, and very, very flavoursome.

Coconut-Miso Salmon Curry
Serves 4

Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
200g red onions, peeled and sliced ¼-in thick
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons miso (the recipe calls for white miso but I used brown rice miso)
½ cup coconut milk
600g salmon fillet, cut into 2-inch pieces
About 5 cups of baby spinach or some other soft greens
1-2 tablespoons lime juice
½ cup coriander, coarsely chopped
¼ cup basil, coarsely chopped
1 chopped red chile, to serve (if desired)
Additional lime juice, to serve

Preparation
In a large pan heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions, ginger and garlic. Stir and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes, or until softened. Add the miso and continue to stir until the miso begins to caramelise a bit on the bottom of the pan. This will take about 2 more minutes.

Add the coconut milk and 2 cups of water. Bring to the boil over high heat and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the liquid had reduced a little.

Add the salmon and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer gently for 3-5 minutes, or until the salmon is cooked to your liking. Stir in the spinach and lime juice. Turn off the heat and stir in most of the herbs, keeping a little back to garnish the top of the dish.

Serve with rice, topped with the fresh herbs , chopped chile, and additional lime juice, if you like.

Recipe adapted from New York Times Cooking.

Another recipe from Diana Henry’s superb How to Eat a Peach.

Leeks with Breton Vinaigrette
Serves 4 as part of a spread

Ingredients
For the vinaigrette
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Pinch of ground mixed spice
Salt and pepper to taste
8 tablespoons olive oil
Pinch of caster sugar
1.5 tablespoons capers, rinsed and dried
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
3-4 tablespoons chopped parsley

For the rest of the salad
6 medium leeks, or 12 small leeks

Preparation
First prepare the vinaigrette: mix the vinegar, mustard, mixed spice, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk in the olive oil until the mixture is thick and well-blended. Add the sugar, capers, shallot and parsley, and tip into a serving bowl. If you can make this 30 minutes in advance so the flavour can meld, so much the better.

Remove the tough outer leaves from the leeks and discard them. Slice off the tufty bit at the base and also the dark green tops. Slice into 4cm lengths and wash well to remove any sand.

Steam the leeks over boiling water for 4-6 minutes; this is better than boiling as it stops them becoming soggy. Once they’re tender all the way through (test with a sharp knife) drain them and then blot them dry on a tea towel.

Immediately toss them in the serving bowl with the vinaigrette. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe adapted from Diana Henry, How to Eat a Peach (2018).