Diana Henry describes this as a ‘rustic puree with garlic and chilli’. I don’t have any broad beans here in Uppsala this week so I can’t test this in advance, but it looks delicious. Tell me how it works out for you. This should be very nice with some crusty bread.
Broad-bean Purée with Feta Relish
serves 3-4 as a starter or with other small dishes.
Ingredients
For the purée:
250 broad beans (podded weight)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 cloves garlic, chopped
½ chilli, chopped (take out the seeds if you don’t want it too spicy)
salt and pepper, to taste
juice of ½ lemon
25ml olive oil
10ml water or light chicken stock (optional)
For the relish:
40g feta
40g good black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
½ small clove garlic, very finely chopped
20ml olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped coriander, dill or parsley, or leaves from 3 sprigs of mint, torn
Preparation
To make the puree:
Cook the broad beans for about three minutes in boiling water. Drain and rinse under cold water. Slip off their skins. Heat the teaspoon of olive oil in a frying-pan and sauté the onion until it is soft but not coloured. Add the garlic and chilli and cook for a further three minutes. Add the skinned beans and warm through for about three minutes. Season.
Tip the contents of the pan into a food processor and add the lemon juice and the 25ml of olive oil. Pulse to a rough purée. If it seems very thick add the optional water or stock to thin it out a bit. Taste for seasoning. You may want to add more oil or lemon. Scrape into a broad, shallow serving dish.
To make the feta relish:
Crumble the feta into a small bowl and toss in the olives and garlic. Pour on the oil, add your chosen herb and freshly ground black pepper, and mix. Scatter over the purée and serve.
Recipe adapted from Diana Henry
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/diana-henry/
7th June 2018
Pasta Primavera was (supposedly) invented at a fashionable New York City restaurant in the 1970s. The idea is to combine the freshest early spring vegetables with pasta, in a light, creamy sauce. This recipe is more of a guide than a strict set of instructions; you can vary the vegetables according to what’s in season (the original included mushrooms, tomatoes, broccoli and courgettes). You can garnish it with pine nuts. You can add red pepper flakes, or even a spoonful of pesto. Just don’t overcook the vegetables.
Pasta Primavera
Serves 4
Ingredients
¼ pound sugar snap peas, stems trimmed
½ pound asparagus, ends snapped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
¾ cup fresh peas (or use frozen)
¼ cup thinly sliced spring onion, white part only (or use shallots)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
12 ounces fettuccine or tagliatelle, preferably fresh
⅔ cup grated Parmesan, at room temperature
½ cup crème fraîche or whole milk Greek yogurt, at room temperature
3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped tarragon or basil
2 radishes, thinly sliced
Preparation
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil over medium-high heat.
While the water is coming to a boil, slice snap peas and asparagus stems into ¼-inch-thick pieces; leave asparagus tips whole.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add snap peas, asparagus, fresh peas and onion. (If you are using frozen peas don’t add them until later). Cook until vegetables are barely tender but not at all soft or mushy, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook 1 minute more. If you are using frozen peas, add them now. Season with salt and pepper; set aside.
Drop pasta into boiling water and cook until al dente (1 to 3 minutes for fresh pasta, more for dried). Drain, making sure to save a cup of the cooking water, and transfer pasta to a large bowl. Immediately toss pasta with vegetables, cheese, crème fraîche (or yoghurt) and herbs. If it looks a bit dry, add some of the preserved cooking water to thin it out a bit. Season generously with salt and pepper, if needed. Garnish with the sliced radishes and serve.
Recipe adapted from Melissa Clark
This herby, mayonnaise-based salad dressing is a California classic. It’s also great on top of a piece of grilled fish or roasted vegetables.
Green Goddess Dressing
Ingredients
1/4 cup crème fraiche or soured cream
2 tablespoons good mayonnaise (ideally, you’ll make your own . . .)
2 anchovy fillets, chopped
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoon basil, chopped
1½ teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
Combine all the ingredients in a blender or food processor, and blend until the mixture is bright green and smooth. You can also use a hand-held immersion blender. Test to see if it needs a little more zing from lemon juice, and serve.
This is so easy it’s hardly fair to call it a recipe. Spinach drizzled with sesame oil makes a fresh companion to a piece of fish and a bit of rice. If you’re feeling adventurous, get some sushi-grade salmon from Regency Fishmongers, cut it into thin strips, and serve it (raw) with this salad, and a little dipping sauce of soya mixed with wasabi. Yum!
Possibly Japanese Spinach Salad
Serves 1-2
Ingredients
1-2 teaspoons sesame seeds
All your Canalside spinach and spring greens
sesame oil, to drizzle
Preparation
Bring a half-kettle of water to the boil.
Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the sesame seeds and toast for 3-4 minutes, or until they start to turn an attractive golden colour. Set aside. You can in fact toast a larger quantity of seeds and then keep some for future use.
Remove any enormously tough stems from the spring greens. The tender stems on the young spinach don’t need to be removed.
Put the greens in a large pan with a lid, over medium heat. Pour the boiling water over them so that there is about an inch of water in the bottom. Put the lid on the pan and bring to the boil. Cook for 2-4 minutes, or until the greens are wilted. They should still be bright green.
Tip the greens in a colander and leave to drain a bit. Press them down with a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Using a pair of scissors snip the cooked greens up a little, and press them down again with the spoon.
When you’re ready to eat, put the drained greens in an attractive serving dish and drizzle with sesame oil. Sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds over the top, and serve.
This combination of soft, roasted pumpkin, red onions, and buttery walnuts blends with the chewiness of farro or barley in this easy recipe. Farro is the Italian name for hulled wheat grains, which are toothsome and soothing. You could also use barley, which pairs beautifully with walnuts and cheese. If you want to make this a more substantial meal you can add a green salad.
Roasted Pumpkin with Walnuts and Grains
Serves 4.
1 cup = 8 fluid ounces = 250 ml (roughly)
Ingredients
2 cups farro or pearl barley, rinsed and drained
2 teaspoons fine-grain sea salt
5 cups water (or stock)
3 cups pumpkin, cut into 1/2-inch dice (no need to peel unless you hate the peel)
1 large red onion cut into 8 pieces
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 cup walnuts, deeply toasted and coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons walnut oil (or use more olive oil)
1/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled
Preparation
Preheat oven to 180C.
Combine the farro or barley, salt, and water in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the grain is tender, about 40 to 60 minutes. Taste it often as it cooks. You want it al dente, not mushy. Remove from heat, drain any excess water, and set aside.
While the grain is cooking toss the pumpkin, onion, and thyme with the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a couple big pinches of salt and spread onto a large baking sheet. Try to arrange it in a single layer.
Place in the oven and roast for about 20 minutes, tossing every 7 minutes or so to get browning on all sides. Remove from the oven and let cool a bit.
In a large bowl gently toss together the everything except the goat cheese. Taste and add a bit of salt if necessary.
Arrange on a platter garnished with the goat cheese and serve.
Recipe adapted from Heidi Swanson, 101 Cookbooks.
‘A combination of lifting aromatics and wintery earthy roots, roasted until crisp around the edges and sweet’, writes Anna Jones. This flavoursome broth is satisfying and unctuous without being cloying or heavy. I think you will enjoy it. ‘Definitely one for a Canalside recipe’ said Matt when I made this.
Anna Jones notes that you can use any root vegetables that you like—beetroot or potatoes could be substituted for the carrots, parsnips and swedes.
Turmeric and Lime Leaf Broth with Roasted Roots
Serves 4.
Ingredients
200g carrots, peeled and halved if big
350g parsnips, peeled and quartered
500g swede, peeled and roughly chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
coconut oil
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger root, peeled
1 thumb-sized piece of turmeric root, peeled
1 bunch of coriander
2 large shallots, finely sliced, divided into two portions
1 clove garlic, finely sliced
1 tablespoon coriander seeds, roughly smashed
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 x 400g tin of coconut milk
4 lime leaves
To Serve
200g cooked grains
1 lime, halved
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 220C.
Place the prepared roots into a baking tray with a big pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. Put in the oven. After 5 minutes remove it and toss everything together. Return it to the oven and roast for about 35 minutes, or until everything is golden. Toss it periodically while it’s roasting.
Meanwhile prepare the broth: first grate the ginger and turmeric.
Cut off the stalks of the coriander and chop these roughly. Keep the leaves to garnish the soup.
Add another tablespoon of coconut oil to a saucepan and heat over medium heat. Add half the shallots and sauté for about 5 minutes, until they begin to brown. Add the grated ginger and turmeric, the chopped coriander stalks, the garlic, coriander seeds and chile. Sauté for a few more minutes.
Add the coconut milk and the lime leaves. Fill the empty tin with water and add this to the pan as well. Season to taste with salt and pepper and simmer for 10 minutes.
While the broth is simmering heat another tablespoon of coconut oil in a sauté pan over high heat. When it’s really hot add the remaining shallot and cook until it’s crispy and golden—but don’t let it burn. Remove the crispy shallots from the pan onto some kitchen paper. Spread them out so they don’t all stick to each other and go soggy.
Once the roots are ready, spoon the grains into four bowls. Place the roasted roots over the grains and ladle the soup over the top. Garnish with the coriander leaves and crispy shallots. Serve with the lime halves for an extra lime kick.
Recipe adapted from Anna Jones, The Modern Cook’s Year (2017).
Now that the snow is gone and spring has sprung, you can start foraging.* There are young nettles everywhere, so start picking. Wild garlic is in season as well, and if you can find any it combines magnificently with nettle to make a sumptuous, bright green soup whose vibrant colour alone will lift your spirits. Eat this with bread and some cheese for an easy dinner.
Wild Garlic & Nettle Soup
serves 4.
Ingredients
500g mixed nettles and wild garlic leaves
1 tablespoon rapeseed oil, plus extra for drizzling
25g butter
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 leek, cleaned and chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 large potato, chopped
salt, to taste
1.5 litres flavourful stock
3 tablespoons milk
Preparation
Wearing gloves, strip the nettle leaves from the stalks. Roughly chop the wild garlic and nettles and set aside.
Heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan. Add the onion, leek, carrot, potato and a good pinch of salt, and stir until everything is well coated. Cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring every so often to make sure that the vegetables don’t catch on the bottom of the pan.
Pour in the stock, and bring to a simmer. Simmer gently for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are very soft. At this point you can turn off the heat and leave the pan until you’re ready to eat.
When you are ready to eat add the nettles and wild garlic in several batches, stirring to blend everything together. Cook over low heat for about 2 minutes.
Turn off the heat and blend using a stick blender. Add the milk, and then warm over very low heat until it’s a pleasant temperature. Check to see if it needs any more salt.
Serve, drizzled with a little extra oil over the top, if you like.
Recipe adapted from Barney Desmazery, https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/wild-garlic-nettle-soup
* Brandon Marsh Nature Centre is offering a foraging course on 27 May, in case you’d like to sign up. They promise wild garlic, among other delicacies. http://www.wildfooduk.com/events/warwickshire-coventry-brandon-marsh-spring-foraging-course-1/
This is what I ate for lunch today. It’s easy, satisfying, and makes good use of the Canalside leeks you’ve accumulated in the fridge. The leeks meld with the vinaigrette to create a sumptuous, slippery mass. Toasted nuts contrast with the soft strands of leek. You could also add little cubes of cheese, or use this as a topping for a piece of toast.
Leeks Vinaigrette
Serves 1
Ingredients
4 leeks
1 tablespoon of sherry vinegar
big pinch of salt, and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons of walnut oil, or, failing that, olive oil
handful of hazelnuts or walnuts, coarsely chopped
handful of fresh parsley, chopped
Preparation
Bring a pot of salted water to the boil.
Meanwhile, trim the ends off the leeks, and peel off the outer layer. Cut off and discard the tough, dark green upper bit. Slice each leek in half vertically.
Plunge the halved leeks into the boiling water and simmer for 8-10 minutes.
While the leeks are cooking prepare the vinaigrette in a serving bowl: pour the vinegar into the bowl, and add the salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle in the oil, whisking all the while with a fork. Set aside until the leeks are cooked.
After 8 minutes check the leeks to see if they’re tender when poked with a fork. Once they’re tender drain them and then add them while they’re still warm to the bowl with the vinaigrette. Toss together and leave to cool, or until you’re ready to eat them.
Heat a small frying pan over medium heat and add the nuts. Toast for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally so that they toast on all sides, and taking care that they do not burn. Once they smell appetising and have begun to turn a toasty colour, add them to the leeks.
When the leeks are cool, or you wish to eat them, add the chopped parsley, stir, check to see if it needs more salt or pepper, and enjoy.
One of the wonders of the modern culinary world is the discovery that we can eat raw squash. Thin spiralised ribbons of raw courgette, butternut squash and carrot started to appear in cooking blogs some time around 2013; and now they’re everywhere. But you don’t need a spiraliser to make Canalside squash into a quick salad for lunch. Here’s how.
Squash, Avocado and Pumpkin Seed Salad
Serves 1.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon blackberry vinegar, or any other fruit vinegar, or, failing that, cider vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste
1.5 tablespoons rapeseed oil
100g raw squash
all the salad from your Canalside share
1 small, ripe avocado
a big handful of pumpkin seeds
Preparation
First prepare the dressing: in the bowl out of which you wish to eat the salad place the vinegar, salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle in the oil, whisking all the while with a fork. Taste and see if you’d like to add a little more vinegar, or oil, or seasoning. Then set aside while you prepare the salad.
Peel the squash, using a sharp knife. Then, using a vegetable peeler, shave off thin strips of squash until you’ve shaved it all, or you’re left with a piece that is too tiny to manipulate any further. Eat this tiny piece while you prepare the rest of the salad.
Put the washed salad leaves in the bowl. Top with the shaved squash ribbons. Open the avocado and scoop out the flesh. Cut it into generous chunks and add them to the salad.
Heat a small frying pan over medium-high heat (you don’t need to add any oil). Add the pumpkin seeds and toast them, stirring frequently so that they don’t burn. They will soon start of pop and jump about in the pan. As soon as they do, tip them onto the salad. Toss and eat.
Perhaps—could it be?—you’re ready for a break from root vegetables. Here is just what you need: a tomato-garlic soup. Serve it with a nice bread and the salad greens from Canalside for an extremely quick and satisfying dinner. If you’re feeling energetic and would like a bit more protein, you could dress the salad with Alexandre Dumas’ salad dressing.
Tomato-Garlic Soup
Serves 6.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
3-6 large cloves of garlic, minced or grated
1 tablespoon paprika—the smoked Spanish kind labelled ‘dulce’ is best of all
8 cups or two litres tomato juice
½ cup dry sherry (optional)
optional garnishes
either croutons, freshly-grated Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley
or garbanzo beans (AKA chick peas), crumbled feta and chopped parsley
Preparation
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a saucepan large enough to hold the tomato juice. Add the garlic and sauté very briefly until golden, stirring all the time and taking care not to let it burn. Add the paprika and stir for another minute, and then pour in the tomato juice. Heat until warm. Stir in the sherry, if you’re using it, and simmer for 5-10 minutes, so that the flavours fuse.
Serve the soup and garnish with the garnishes, if you’re using them.
Recipe adapted from New Recipes From Moosewood Restaurant (1987).