Canalside vegetables as ingredients | Canalside Community Food - Part 24

An Ottolenghi take on the Brussels sprout: the sprouts are roasted and then mixed with citrus and a sticky, anise-flavoured syrup. The result is totally unexpected and very delicious.

Pomelo is a large citrus fruit that looks like an outsized grapefruit. It sometimes comes shrink-wrapped into its own little mesh bag; you can usually get them at Richard Clarke’s greengrocer on Warwick Street, in Leamington, and at most supermarkets. If you can’t find one, though, you can use two grapefruits. Just reduce the lemon juice a little, as grapefruits are sourer than pomelos.

Yotam points out that you can add the leftover syrup to a fruit salad.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pomelo and Star Anise

Serves 4.

Ingredients
100g caster sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
5 star anise
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 pomelo
600g Brussels sprouts, trimmed
250g shallots, peeled
5 tablespoons olive oil
10g coriander leaves
salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation
Place the sugar, cinnamon and star anise in a small saucepan with 100ml of water. Bring to a light simmer and cook for one minute, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and add ONE TABLESPOON of lemon juice. Set aside to cool.

Peel the pomelo and divide it into segments. Release the flesh from the surrounding membrane around each segment and then break into bite-sized pieces. Make sure you remove all the bitter white pith. Place the pieces in a bowl and when the syrup has cooled a little, pour it over the pieces of pomelo. Let it marinate for at least an hour, stirring occasionally.

Preheat the oven to 220C.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the sprouts and shallots and boil for 2 minutes. Drain and run some cold water over them to stop them cooking any further. Pat them dry.
Cut each sprout in half, lengthwise, and halve or quarter the shallots so that they are the same size as the sprouts.

Place the sprouts and shallots on a baking tray with 3 TABLESPOONS of olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and some black pepper. Toss them to mix, spread them out into a single layer and then roast in the oven for about 20 minutes, until the sprouts are golden brown but still retain some bite. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, pick the coriander leaves off their stems, but don’t chop them up.

Remove the star anise and cinnamon sticks from the syrup, and then strain out the pomelo. DON’T DISCARD THE SYRUP.

When you’re ready to serve, put the shallots, sprouts, pomelo and coriander leaves into a serving bowl. Mix in the remaining olive oil, the remaining lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of the syrup. Mix and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add more syrup if you like. Then serve.

(Recipe adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi, Plenty More (2014).)

Another recipe from Meera Sodha’s prize-winning Fresh India. The coconut milk gives a deep, creamy richness to the dish. This makes a good dinner with rice.

Pumpkin, Black-Eyed Bean and Coconut Curry (‘Olan’)
Serves 4

Ingredients
For the curry
1.2kg pumpkin or squash
coconut or rapeseed oil, to drizzle and fry
1 tablespoon garam masala
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 green finger chillies, slit lengthways
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 400g tin of black-eyed beans, drained, or about 2 cups of beans you’ve cooked yourself
150g fresh tomatoes, cut into wedges, or 1 400g tin of tomatoes
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 400ml tin of coconut milk
For the curry leaf tarka
10 curry leaves

Preparation
Heat the oven to 200C.

Cut the pumpkin in half, scoop out and discard the seeds, then cut it into crescents around 2cm at the widest part. Transfer to a big bowl, drizzle with oil, and sprinkle with the garam masala, 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of black pepper. Toss to coat evenly, then arrange in a single layer. Roast for 30 minutes, or until soft and tender.

Meanwhile, put 2 tablespoons of oil into a large lidded frying pan over a medium heat and, when hot, add the mustard seeds. When they pop, add the chillies and onion. Cook for 12 minutes, until the onion is soft and golden, then add the garlic. Cook for another couple of minutes, then add the beans and stir to mix together. Add the tomatoes. If you are using tinned tomatoes (not Meera Sodha’s recommendation but that was all I had to hand and it was still delicious)—if you’re using tinned tomatoes add about ¾ of the tin first; you might not need the entire tin. Cook for 5 minutes until soft and jammy around the edges. Add a bit more tinned tomato if you think the sauce can absorb a bit more and cook for a few more minutes.

Next, add the turmeric, ⅓ teaspoon of black pepper, ½ teaspoon of salt and the coconut milk. Tip the roasted pumpkin into the pan and stir to mix. Cover with the lid and leave to heat through for 5 minutes. Check for salt and chilli, adjusting if you wish, then transfer to a serving dish.

If you like, finish off the dish with a curry-leaf tarka: put 2 tablespoons of oil into a small frying pan over a medium to high heat. When hot, throw in the curry leaves and let them crackle and turn translucent in the oil. Pour over the pumpkin, then serve.

(Recipe adapted from Meera Sodha, Fresh India.)

Here is a fine recipe from a classic US cookery book first published in 1931. As The Joy of Cooking explains, one of the authors ‘was always disappointed by Brussels sprouts—until he tried these’.

Brussels Sprouts Cockaigne
Serves 2-3

Ingredients
12 Brussels sprouts
3 tablespoons butter, of a mixture of butter and olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
Parmesan cheese (optional)

Preparation
Trim and rinse the sprouts, pat them dry and slice each one in half.

Warm the butter (or butter and oil) in a medium skillet that has a lid, over medium-low heat.

Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until it begins to brown a little. Remove the garlic and discard.

Place the sprouts cut side down in the garlic butter. Cover the pan and cook over low heat until tender, for about 15-20 minutes. Serve drizzled with any remaining butter and, if you like, garnished with grated Parmesan cheese.

(Recipe adapted from Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker and Ethan Becker, The Joy of Cooking (1997).)

I’d heard of ‘Jansson’s Temptation’—the traditional Swedish Christmas dish of potatoes, onions and fish baked in cream—but I’d not tasted it until today.  It’s so good!  So here is a recipe. The trick is getting the right sort of fish. What you really want is something like Grebbestad’s Anchovy-Style Sprats Fillets, which you can apparently acquire at Ocado.  I think you could also use matjes herring, but don’t use anchovies, which are a different kettle of fish altogether.

This dish doesn’t sound like much, but it’s famous in Sweden for a reason. I recommend it enormously.

Janssons Frestelse (Jansson’s Temptation)
Serves 6-8.

Ingredients
400g onions
2-3 tablespoons butter
1.2kg potatoes
375g of ‘Swedish anchovies’ (aka sprat filets), drained
salt and pepper
600ml whipping cream
4 tablespoons breadcrumbs

Preparation
Heat the oven to 250C.

Peel the onions and slice into thin slices. Melt the butter in a sauté pan and add the onions. Sauté them gently until they are soft but not brown, which will take 15-20 minutes. Season them with some salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and cut them into thick matchsticks.

Butter an ovenproof baking dish. Spread a third of the potatoes evenly over the bottom. Spread half the onions over them, and then lay half the sprat filets on top of the onions. Repeat with another layer of potatoes, onions and sprats, and then finish with a final layer of potatoes.

Season with more salt and pepper. Pour the cream over the assemblage. It should nearly cover the potatoes. Sprinkle some breadcrumbs over the top and bake for about an hour.

Serve with salad, if you’d like to balance out the richness of the cream, or with smoked salmon and aquavit if you’re feeling festive.

This week’s recipe comes from share member, Judit Juhasz, with lovely warming spices as a delicious addition to a winter staple – ideal for anyone who has an abundance of winter roots! Thanks for sharing it Judit!

Roasted beetroot and apple in balsamic vinegar

This recipe is inspired by Jamie Oliver, but I’ve changed it around a bit to my liking. It is also very versatile because instead of apples you could use other root veg like celeriac or parsnips and carrots. You can also change the amount of the beetroot and apples if you want to make less or more.

Ingredients

400 g beetroot
400 g apples (on the sour side, it complements the sweetness of the beetroot)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
25 g butter
300 ml balsamic vinegar

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/gas 4. I make this in my cast iron pan as it makes it easier to transfer to the oven straight away, but you can sauté the veg in a pan and than transfer it into an oven dish to roast it in the oven.

Peel the beetroot and cut it into wedge sized chunks, roughly the same size as your apple wedges. I use the whole apple, as I like it rustic and the peel also protects it from the heat, but you can peel and core the apples if you’d like. Cut the apples into wedges.

Melt the butter in the pan and sauté the beetroot and the apples for 5 minutes. Add the spices and the salt, mixed it well and sauté for another 5 minutes until apples start to become soft.

Pour over the balsamic vinegar, toss the veg in it and transfer it to the oven or to an oven dish to roast. Roast it in the oven until the vinegar becomes a thick sauce, the apples are mushy and the beetroot is soft. You can test the beetroot with a fork or knife for softness.

It’s a perfect side dish to accompany your roast next to some spuds and with the spices it is also quite Christmassy. Enjoy!

Meera Sodha’s Fresh India won the Observer Food Monthly’s 2017 ‘best new cookbook’ award. Cook this and you’ll appreciate why. She recommends serving with ‘a fiery pickle, hot chapattis and yogurt, or with dal and rice’.

Savoy Cabbage, Black Kale and Potato Subji (Savoy Aloo Gobhi)
Serves 4 to 6 as part of a main course.

Ingredients
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
3 tablespoons rapeseed oil
15 curry leaves
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
800g potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
200g savoy cabbage, finely shredded
200g black kale, finely shredded
1¼ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon chilli powder
¾ teaspoon ground turmeric

Preparation
Lightly grind the coriander and cumin seeds with a pestle and mortar. Put the oil into a large lidded frying pan over a medium heat and, when hot, add the curry leaves and mustard seeds. When they crackle, add the onion. Cook for around 10 minutes, until golden and sweet, stirring occasionally.

Add the crushed coriander and cumin, followed by the potatoes. Cook for 10-15 minutes, turning every now and then until crispy. Add a couple of tablespoons of water, cover with the lid and cook for a further 5 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and no longer resist the point of a knife.

Finally, add the shredded cabbage and black kale to the pan with a couple of tablespoons of water and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add the salt, chilli and turmeric, mix well, cover with the lid, reduce the heat to low and cook for another 4 minutes, or until the cabbage and black kale have wilted. Enjoy!

(Recipe adapted from Meera Sodha, Fresh India.)

This is currently my favourite salad. It’s based on a recipe from Anna Jones, which I keep simplifying. The full Anna-Jones version is very good, too, of course. You can find it on the link below.

Carrot and Cashew Salad
Serves about 1 if that 1 person is me. It’s supposed to serve 4.