Canalside vegetables as ingredients | Canalside Community Food - Part 6

Here is another winter soup recipe from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Ginger and cayenne give a bit of a kick, while the parsnip provides a mellow, sustaining backdrop. Serve with some good bread.

Parsnip and Ginger Soup
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
15g butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4–5cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
500g parsnips, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
800ml vegetable stock
200ml whole milk
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper (to garnish)
2–3 tablespoons flaked almonds or pumpkin seeds (to garnish)
1–2 tablespoons double cream or thick, plain (full-fat) yoghurt (to garnish)

Preparation
Heat the olive oil and butter in a saucepan over a medium-low heat and sauté the onion for about 10 minutes, until soft and translucent.

Add the garlic, ginger, cardamom, cumin and cayenne and stir for a couple of minutes. Tip in the parsnips and stir until well coated in the spices. Pour in the stock, season with salt and pepper and simmer until the parsnips are very soft – about 15 minutes.

Allow the soup to cool slightly, then purée in a food processor or blender, or using a stick blender, until smooth. Return the soup to the pan, add the milk and adjust the seasoning. Warm through gently – if the soup is a bit thick, thin it with some hot water from the kettle.

While the soup is warming, toast the almonds or pumpkin seeds in a dry frying pan until just beginning to turn golden.

Serve the soup in warmed bowls with a trickle of cream or yoghurt and the toasted almonds scattered over the top. Finish with a grinding of black pepper.

Recipe from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, River Cottage Veg Every Day! (2011).

This is a version of a Lebanese sauce called toum. Toum is essentially a eggless mayonnaise, in which the garlic magically emulsifies the oil to produce a thick, creamy sauce that is good on everything from roasted squash to chicken shawarma. You can also use it as a dip—or make a post-Christmas sandwich by spreading toum on some toast, and toping with avocado and leftover sliced turkey.
Traditional toum uses raw garlic; for this one you simmer the garlic in milk, which gives a mellower, more complex flavour.

Toum
serves 4
Just reminding you: 1 cup is 8 fluid ounces measured in a measuring jug, so half a cup is 4 fluid ounces…

Ingredients
½ cup peeled garlic cloves
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
½ cup olive oil
pepper, to taste.

Preparation
Put the garlic cloves and milk in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, over low heat. Simmer over very low heat (you could use a heat diffuser if you have one) for between 40 and 90 minutes, or until the garlic is very tender and has absorbed much of the milk. Remove from the heat and leave to cool a bit.

Put the cooled garlic and milk in a blender along with the lemon juice and salt, and whizz it up.

Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, in a steady stream, until the sauce is thickened and looks for all the world like mayonnaise. Season to taste with additional salt, and perhaps some pepper if you wish. Drizzle over anything.

Recipe adapted from Ana Sortun and Maura Kilpatrick, Soframiz: Vibrant Middle Eastern Recipes from Sofra Bakery & Café (2016).

This is a flavoursome dish that plays to the potato’s strength as a vehicle for strong flavours. Here your Canalside spuds combine with the richness of coconut milk and the sharp, sour tang of tamarind to deliver a punchy, satisfying dose of carbohydrates. Cashews and crispy onions contribute additional crunch. A sprinkling of green coriander over the top looks lovely and adds an additional freshness.
It is particularly good combined with the south Indian beetroot and coconut dip whose recipe I will provide in my next instalment.

Potatoes with Tamarind, Coconut and Cashews
Serves 4-6 as part of a larger spread.

Ingredients
1kg potatoes
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
10 fresh or frozen curry leaves
300g shallots, peeled and sliced fine—or you can use onion, really
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 green chiles, finely chopped (take out the seeds if you prefer, and also adjust the quantity to taste)
100g cashew nuts
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons tamarind paste
200ml coconut milk
a handful of coriander leaves, chopped, to garnish (optional)

Preparation
Put the potatoes in a pan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over low heat and cook gently until they are tender. How long this takes will depend on the size of the potatoes, so this process can last between 20 and 45 minutes. When the potatoes are tender drain them and set them aside. Once they are cook enough to handle cut them into bite-sized pieces. You can do this well in advance if you wish.

Combine the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves in a little dish. Combine the garlic, ginger, chiles and cashews in another dish. You’re now all set to add each tranche of ingredients without having to fuss around with lots of separate items.

Put the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. When it is hot add the mustard, cumin and curry leaves. Once the seeds start to sizzle add the shallots and cook, stirring, for about eight minutes, or until the shallots starts to brown.

Add the garlic, ginger, chiles and cashews to the pan. Cook, stirring regularly, for another two minutes. Now add the drained potatoes in a single layer and sprinkle with salt. Turn the heat to high and fry for about five minutes, stirring once, until the potatoes are turning an appetising brown. Don’t stir them constantly, or they won’t brown.

Finally, add the tamarind paste and the coconut milk. Leave to cook, stirring regularly, until the coconut milk has mostly evaporated and turned into a sticky glaze. Serve hot, cold or at room temperature. It looks nice garnished with some chopped fresh coriander.

Recipe adapted from Meera Sodha, The Guardian, 12 June 2021.

This Ottolenghi-esque hummus is rich, smoky from star anise, and much lighter than your usual chickpea-only hummus. It is a good use of one of those rather large pumpkins, which can be a bit watery. The cinnamon combines well with the tahini, and enhances pumpkin’s (or squash’s) natural sweetness. If you like things even sweeter, you could drizzle this with a little maple syrup before serving. Eat on toast for a tasty and nourishing snack, or as part of a larger spread.

As regards the star anise, I actually used a fabulous home-made chile oil seasoned with star anise (made by my son!) which added both a kick and the crucial star anise flavour. I think roasting the pumpkin or squash with some ground star anise should be equally effective. Let me know how it works.

Pumpkin (or Squash) Hummus
serves 4 as part of a larger spread

Ingredients
500g pumpkin or squash, peeled (if you wish) and sliced (approximately 2cm thick)
1½ tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 star anise, pulverised (as much as possible) in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder
salt and pepper
1 400g tin of chickpeas, drained BUT reserve the liquid.
2 tablespoons full-fat yoghurt (Greek or ordinary)
2 tablespoons tahini
juice of one lemon (about 2½ tablespoons)
½-1 teaspoon Sriracha or chile oil (start with the smaller quantity and add more to taste)
2 garlic cloves, peeled

Preparation
Preheat your oven to 200C.

Place the pumpkin or squash in a roasting tray and toss with the olive oil, cinnamon, star anise, and some salt and pepper. Spread it out on the roasting tray in one layer and roast for about 25 minutes, or until it is tender when poked with a fork. Remove from the oven and let cool a few minutes.

Reserve one slice of pumpkin or squash and a handful of chickpeas for a garnish. Cut the reserved pumpkin or squash into bite-sized cubes and set aside.

Place the rest of the pumpkin or squash, chickpeas, yoghurt, tahini, lemon juice, Sriracha or chile oil, and garlic in a food processor and blend for several minutes, until smooth. If it seems too thick for your taste, add a bit of the reserved chickpea liquid.

Taste to see if you’d like more salt, pepper, lemon juice or heat, and adjust accordingly.

Transfer to an attractive blue serving bowl and garnish with the reserved chickpeas and pumpkin or squash and serve with toasted pitta or bread.

Recipe adapted from Ina Garten, Cooking for Jeffrey (2016).

Here is a good use of Canalside basil if you’re tired of pesto. The Moosewood describes this as a ‘creamy, green, slightly sweet dressing’ and note that customers sometimes ask if they can buy a couple of pints to take home. Try it on lettuce, grated carrot, and sliced cucumber for a simple side salad.

If you don’t have a set of cup measures, you can measure the carrots and onions in measuring jug. A US cup is 8 fluid ounces, so ½ a cup of grated carrots is 4 fluid ounces, and ¼ cup of chopped onion is 2 fluid ounces.

Moosewood’s Creamy Green Dressing
yields about 16 fluid ounces

Ingredients
¾ cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup packed fresh spinach
¼ cup packed basil leaves, or more to taste
¾ cup milk (I used oat milk)

Preparation
Combine all the ingredients except the milk in a blender and whizz until very smooth. With the blender running, pour in the milk in a steady stream. The dressing will thicken and turn a lovely shade of green. Taste and add more salt or basil to taste. (I in fact made this in a Nutribullet, so instead of pouring in the milk with the motor running, I simply added the oat milk to the vessel and gave it another whizz. That worked fine too.)

Recipe adapted from Moosewood Collective, Moosewood Restaurant Favorites: The 250 Most Requested Naturally Delicious Recipes from One of America’s Best-loved Restaurants (2013).

This very delicious recipe is from the Moosewood, a pioneering vegetarian restaurant in Ithaca, New York State, where I (mostly) grew up. The carrot makes the dressing a beautiful bright orange. The sesame oil, ginger and soya sauce balance the carrot’s sweetness (although you can add additional sugar if you like). The Moosewood Collective note that if you use this dressing on iceberg lettuce you will make ‘that Japanese restaurant bento box salad’. They also recommend it as a topping on grilled fish, or as a dip for green beans or sugar-snap peas.
If you don’t have a set of cup measures, you can measure the carrots and onions in measuring jug. A US cup is 8 fluid ounces, so ½ a cup of grated carrots is 4 fluid ounces, and ¼ cup of chopped onion is 2 fluid ounces.

Japanese Carrot Dressing
Yields about 10 ounces.

Ingredients
½ cup carrots (about 2 medium-sized carrots).
¼ cup onion or shallot, chopped
8 ounces vegetable oil
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1.5 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon soya sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons water
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon brown sugar (optional)
black pepper

Preparation
Combine all the ingredients except the sugar and pepper in a blender and whizz. Start on low and the gradually increase the speed until the purée is smooth. Taste the dressing; add the brown sugar if you’d like this a little sweeter, and also add pepper and more salt, to taste.

Recipe adapted from Moosewood Collective, Moosewood Restaurant Favorites: The 250 Most Requested Naturally Delicious Recipes from One of America’s Best-loved Restaurants (2013).

What are you going to do with all those cucumbers? This salad is a tasty way to enjoy them. It combines a touch of sweetness from the dried fruit with feta’s salty kick, and the richness of toasted walnuts. Note the enormous quantity of sumac, which brings a bright, lemony note. We ate this for lunch along with some brown bread. It would probably also be good alongside a piece of grilled fish, or a little lamb chop.

Cucumber, Walnut, Feta and Dill
Serves 2 for lunch.

Ingredients
Salad
500g (or about 2) cucumbers, cut into matchsticks or spiralised
20g dill (or mixed dill and parsley), chopped
50g currants or golden raisins
100g feta, crumbled or cut into small cubes
60g walnut pieces, toasted and coarsely chopped
Dressing
2 tablespoon olive oil
zest of 1 lemon—zest it before you cut it in half to juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon sumac
½ teaspoon salt
several grinds of black pepper

Preparation
Gently toss the salad ingredients in a serving bowl.
Combine the dressing ingredients in a screw-top jar and shake vigorously. Pour over the salad and toss gently. Taste, add more salt or pepper to your liking, and serve.

Recipe adapted from Shaina Shealy, at Jewish Food Experience, 2021, https://jewishfoodexperience.com/recipes/cool-cucumber-salad-feta-walnuts/

I’ve selected this week’s recipe because whenever I search for green bean ideas they’re heavily based around the idea of a healthy side dish, which is great… except sometimes all I want is a big cheesy bowl of pasta with a faint nod at healthiness. So here we have it, green bean mac’n’cheese.

Green bean mac’n’cheese
Ingredients:
~200g green beans (or runner beans or anything similar)
300g dried macaroni
60g butter, plus a few extra knobs
4 tbsp plain flour
2 tsp English mustard powder
600ml whole milk
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Sea salt, to taste
100g mature Cheddar cheese, grated
100g Lancashire cheese, crumbled
100g Cheshire cheese, crumbled
3 tbsp fresh white breadcrumbs
1 tbsp thyme leaves

Method:
Bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil. Add the green beans and cook for 4–5 minutes until tender. Remove with a slotted spoon and refresh in a bowl of ice-cold water to prevent them from cooking any further. Drain well.
Tip the macaroni into the boiling salted water and cook until al dente, according to packet instructions. Drain, refresh under cold, running water and drain again. Mix the macaroni, beans and a few knobs of butter together in a large bowl.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Heat the 60g butter in a pan, and stir in the flour and mustard powder to make a roux. Gradually add the milk, beating continuously with a balloon whisk until the mixture is smooth. Slowly bring to the boil over a low heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture thickens. Season well with cayenne pepper and sea salt to taste.

Mix the three cheeses together and stir half into the white sauce. Mix well until the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth again. Add the macaroni and beans to the sauce and mix well to coat. Spread the mixture into a large, wide gratin dish.

Combine the remaining cheeses with the breadcrumbs and thyme leaves. Sprinkle over the top of the macaroni and bean mixture. Bake for about 15–20 minutes until the topping is golden and crisp. Serve immediately.

My lovely sister in law Sue served this when we visited her this weekend, along with couscous and labneh (thickened yoghurt). It’s fresh, light and vibrant with the green chermoula, a flavoursome blend of fresh coriander, cumin, smoked paprika and lemon.

The recipe makes more chermoula than you’ll need for the recipe, but it’s very tasty and can be used on other vegetables; try it on boiled potatoes, or roasted carrots. It would probably also be delicious on a little escalope of grilled pork.

Courgettes, Sweetcorn and Green Chermoula
Serves 2-3 as a main

Ingredients
4 courgettes, topped and tailed
salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 ears of sweetcorn, outer leaves and ‘silk’ removed
squeeze of lemon juice
for the chermoula
10g garlic
15g red fresh chiles
1 preserved lemon
200g fresh coriander, roughly chopped
150ml rapeseed oil
10g ground cumin
4g smoked paprika
about 15ml lemon juice
salt to taste

Preparation
Slice the courgettes lengthwise and sprinkle with salt. Leave them 30 minutes in a colander to draw out the moisture. This will make the final dish more crunchy and fresh tasting.

While the courgettes are salting, make the chermoula: combine together the garlic, chile and preserved lemon in a blender or other blending device. Once it’s reduced to a paste add the coriander, oil and spices, and blend until smooth. Season to taste with the lemon juice and salt, and set aside.

When the courgettes have had their thirty minutes, brush off the salt and drizzle 1 tablespoon of the oil over the courgettes and sweetcorn.

Heat a griddle plan on high heat. When it’s hot grill the whole ears of corn, turning them regularly, until they are slightly charred on all sides. Remove and set aside.

Place as many courgettes as will fit without crowding in the pan, and cook for about 5 minutes, or until slightly charred on the bottom. Flip over, and cook for 2 minutes on the other side, or until cooked through but retaining some bite. Remove and set aside, and cook the other courgettes, if necessary.

Shave off the kernels off the now-slightly-cooled sweetcorn: hold each cob upright and use a sharp knife to slice down its length to remove the individual kernels. Place the kernels in a mixing bowl. Chop the courgettes into 2cm chunks and add them to the bowl. Toss with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive and a squeeze of lemon juice.

To serve, place some of the sauce on the bottom of a serving plate and top with the courgettes and grilled corn.

Recipe adapted from the Observer Food Monthly, 25 July 2021.

This week’s recipe is a bit of a weird one. I haven’t tried it yet, but the celery gin cocktail that I shared last summer became a firm favourite in our house so hopefully this will be the same!

Courgette Martini

Ingredients
1 courgette , coarsely grated
juice 2 lemons
2 tbsp caster sugar
25ml vermouth
50ml gin
ice
mint leaf to garnish

Method
Mix the courgette with the lemon juice and sugar and leave to steep for 1 hr. In the meantime, place a martini glass in the fridge to chill.

Strain the courgette mixture through a sieve into a jug. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice then add 25ml of the courgette syrup followed by the vermouth and gin. Stir gently a few times then strain into your chilled glass. Garnish with a mint leaf and serve.

From BBC Good Food