Recipes and veg tips | Canalside Community Food - Part 22

Our resident Recipe Meister, Rebecca Earle, is having a break during July, and so newly joined member Pip Smith has stepped forward to tantalise our tastebuds in Rebecca’s absence. Here’s this week’s recipe:

Mediterranean Stuffed Courgettes

Despite having a high water content Courgettes are a great source of vitamin C. The larger they get the more water they hold and it is then best to cook them with as little water as possible. My daughter always picks the largest and I just roll with it as she loves a stuffed courgette. This is the recipe we like to do together at home:

Ingredients:

One courgette
2 spring onions trimmed
Two medium tomatoes, seeds removed
Optional – a handful of chopped black olives
1 clove of garlic
1 slice of day old whole meal bread
1 tsp dried mixed herbs (unless you have some fresh)
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
Rapeseed oil to spray

Method:
Heat the oven to 180 degrees
Slice the courgette lengthways and dig out the soft flesh and chop (you can choose to discard half the flesh).
Finely chop the tomatoes and spring onion.
Mix the tomato and onion with the olives if using and the courgette flesh.
Spray your baking tray with rapeseed oil and rub the courgette skins over the spray, leave flesh side up on the tray.
Cut the garlic in half and rub the garlic over the fleshy surface of the courgette.
Fill the courgette with the tomato mix.
Grate the bread into breadcrumbs and stir in the herbs and black pepper.
Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the courgette.
Finally spray the stuffed courgettes with rapeseed oil and bake for approximately 20 mins.

If you have fresh herbs leave out the dry ones and sprinkle with fresh herbs once removed from the oven. Enjoy!

Our resident Recipe Meister, Rebecca Earle, is having a break during July, and so newly joined member Pip Smith has stepped forward to tantalise our tastebuds in Rebecca’s absence. Here’s this week’s recipe:

Lemony potato and courgette salad with garlic greens

I’ve always been a fan of garlic greens and when I realised you could use the leaves of the Kohlrabi and that they are a good source of b vitamins and carotene it all seemed to come together. In this recipe the courgette is boiled whole then sliced, which is a nice quick way to add it to a warm salad.

Ingredients:

800g potatoes
2 courgettes
The leaves from one Kohlrabi
200g french beans trimmed if you prefer
Salad leaves
2 cloves garlic
1 – 2 unwaxed lemons
3 tablespoons Olive oil (not extra virgin for cooking)
1/2 tsp Black pepper
Salt to taste

Method:

Bring a pan of water to the boil, add the washed potatoes and simmer for 8 – 12 mins. Add the washed whole courgettes one minute before the end. Once cooked drain the potatoes and courgettes, and place in a large bowl.

Toss with 2 table spoons of olive oil and the zest of 1 – 2 lemons.

While the potatoes cook, steam the French beans adding the kohlrabi leaves a little later until tender.

Gently heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and add two cloves of crushed garlic, heat for about a minute gently fizzing and being careful not to burn the garlic.

Toss the garlic mixture with the steamed veg.

Finally top the potato and courgette with the garlic greens and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp of cracked black pepper.
Sprinkle with salt to taste.

This recipe was inspired by several recipes in Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s ‘River Cottage Veg Everyday’.

Our resident Recipe Meister, Rebecca Earle, is having a break during July, and so newly joined member Pip Smith has stepped forward to tantalise our tastebuds in Rebecca’s absence. Here’s Pip’s first recipe for us:

Beetroot, cabbage and spring onion in the veg share this week? It can only mean one thing…….slaw! I’ve been looking at lots of coleslaw recipes and it seems to me the general theme is either vinaigrette dressing or creamy mayonnaise/Dijon or horseradish. Pretty much anything can go into a slaw as long as there is a nice bite and balance of flavour in the main ingredients.

I’ve chosen a vinaigrette and will follow the rule of equal oil to vinegar. I’ve chosen not to massage the vinegar into the cabbage though this could be worth experimenting with to break down the fibres and change the texture.

Ingredients:

1 small cabbage
4 baby beets
2 – 4 spring onions
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Optional 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Method:
Cut the cabbage into quarters and remove core, then slice thinly.
Peel the beetroot then grate.
Trim and slice the spring onion
Put the oil, vinegar, mustard if using, salt and pepper into a lidded glass jar and shake.
Put the the slaw mix into a large bowl and toss with the vinaigrette.

For a tasty addition you could toast some seeds and sprinkle on top.

What does one do with a kohlrabi? Answer: you make it into kohlrabi carpaccio. Serve this as a starter or alongside some grilled mackerel. Or just eat it for lunch. The thyme adds unexpected complexity to this crunchy salad.

Kohlrabi Carpaccio
Serves 3

Ingredients
2 medium kohlrabi
50g pecorino or other firm goat cheese
6 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation
Peel the kohlrabi and, using a vegetable peeler, shave it into thin disks. When you get to the point that you can’t shave off any more, use a knife to cut the rest as thin as you can, or just eat the bit that remains. Put the kohlrabi shavings into a serving dish.

Shave the cheese into thin shavings and scatter these over your kohlrabi.

Pull each sprig of thyme between your thumb and first finger to remove the leaves. Sprinkle the leaves over the dish. Put the olive oil, lemon juice and salt into a screw-top jar and shake vigorously to blend. Pour the dressing over the salad and grate some pepper over the top. Toss gently and serve.

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

This very simple recipe is a nice way to use a smallish quantity of strawberries. You can dress it up by serving with ice cream, or create a version of Eton mess by folding the berries and raspberry sauce into some lightly-whipped cream and crushed meringue.

Strawberries and Blueberries in Raspberry Sauce
Serves 4

Ingredients
200g raspberries (frozen is fine but thaw them first)
1-2 tablespoons icing sugar
250g strawberries, hulled
250g blueberries
a few leaves of fresh basil or mint, shredded (optional)

Preparation
Purée the raspberries in a blender (standard or stick) and then push the purée through a sieve to remove the pips. Sweeten to taste with the icing sugar. You want this to retain a hint of tartness.

Slice the strawberries into thick slices and toss with the raspberry sauce into a serving bowl. Stir in the blueberries and add the shredded herbs if you wish to use them. Leave to sit at room temperature for about an hour so that the flavours blend.

Recipe adapted from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, River Cottage Fruit Every Day! (2013).

21st June 2018

This is a satisfying and very quick lunch salad. At least it’s quick if you have a hard-cooked egg to hand. It doesn’t require much in the way of equipment either. This week, you can follow it with the strawberries for an indulgent lunch for one.

Grated Courgette and Egg Salad
Serves 1.

Ingredients

2 small courgettes (a mixture of yellow and green is pretty)
1 hard-cooked egg
a small handful of dill
2 teaspoons rapeseed oil
juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Cut the end off the courgettes, and using the coarse side of a grater, grate the courgettes into a bowl. Gently grate hard-cooked egg into the same bowl. The egg might crumble a bit but that’s ok.

Remove the tough stems from the dill and chop the delicate fronds, coarse or fine, as you prefer. Add the dill to the bowl. Toss about to mix.

Drizzle the oil on top, and then squeeze the lemon over the salad. Season with salt and pepper to taste, toss again, and eat from the same bowl.

14th June 2018

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.