Cavalo nero tabbouleh

Ingredients

  • 100g bulgur wheat
  • 100g cavolo nero – cut the tough ribs out if you prefer
  • large bunch of mint
  • bunch of spring onions
  • half a cucumber
  • 4 tomatoes
  • pinch of cinnamon
  • pinch of ground allspice
  • 6 tbsp olive oil
  • Juice and zest of half a lemon
  • 100g feta cheese
  • 4 Baby Gem lettuce leaves

Method

  1. Prepare the vegetables by slicing the onions, chopping the spring onions, dicing the cucumber and chopping the mint.
  2. Tip the bulgur wheat into a heatproof bowl and just cover with boiling water, then cover with cling film and set aside for 10-15 mins or until tender.
  3. Put the cavolo nero in a food processor and pulse to finely chop it.  Stir the cavolo nero, mint, spring onions, cucumber and tomatoes through the bulgur wheat.
  4.  Season with the cinnamon and allspice then dress with olive oil and lemon juice to taste.
  5. Sprinkle with lemon zest and crumbled feta cheese and pile onto a bed of lettuce.

Celeriac, leek, and sweetcorn soup

From Waitrose

Ingredients

  • 1 leek, trimmed
  • 2 tbspn olive oil
  • 1 tbspn butter
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 500g celeriac, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 150ml whole milk
  • 150g sweetcorn
  • 500ml chicken or vegetable stock
  • Juice of quarter of a lemon

Method

  1. If you want a crispy leek topping for the soup, cut a 5cm piece off the green end of the leek now and set it aside. If you’re not bothered about the topping, go ahead with the whole leek.
  2. Roughly slice the leek and put it into a pan with 1 tbspn oil, the butter, onion, garlic and celeriac. Add a good pinch of salt, set over a medium-high heat and cover with a lid. Sweat for around 10 mins, stirring regularly, until tender.
  3. Uncover the pan, add the milk and simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
  4. Add the sweetcorn, stock, and another 150ml water and simmer for another 4-5 minutes.5
  5. Allow to cool a little then transfer to a blender. Add the lemon juice and whizz until smooth. Add more salt, pepper, or lemon juice to taste.
  6. To make the crispy leek topping, heat the remaining 1 tbspn oil over a medium-high heat in a small frying pan. Halve the saved piece of leek and slice lengthways as finely as possible. Add to the hot oil with a pinch of salt and fry for 2-3 minutes until golden and crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon, blot on kitchen paper,  then scatter over the soup to serve.

Celeriac and apple remoulade

A simple side from Olive magazine using seasonal Farm produce and herbs.

Ingredients

  • 2 apples, cored, quartered and cut into matchsticks
  • ½ celeriac, peeled and cut into matchsticks
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 4 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
  • a small bunch dill, chopped

Method

Mix the chopped apples and celeriac with the apple cider vinegar and a pinch of salt. Stir in the mayonnaise, wholegrain mustard, lots of black pepper and the dill.

Chard and Goat’s Cheese Tart

Substitute any soft cheese – brie or gorgonzola, for example – or swap out the walnuts for hazelnuts or pine nuts …

Ingredients

  • 375g ready rolled puff pastry
  • One medium onion finely diced (I prefer red but white work just as
  • well)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 400g of chard, (well dried after washing, and sliced)
  • 3 large free-range eggs, lightly whisked
  • 2 tbsp fresh herbs, finely chopped (e.g. oregano, marjoram, thyme,
  • basil)
  • 150ml crème fraiche
  • 150ml milk (you may need more or less depending on the moisture in
  • the chard and size of your eggs)
  • 180g goat’s cheese log, sliced into rounds – or other soft cheese
  • 50g roughly chopped walnuts
  • Salt and cracked black pepper

Method

  1. Oil and flour a deep 25cm flan dish with a removable base.
  2. Roll out pastry and line the flan dish, pinching it gently around the top of the dish. Prick the base and place the dish in the fridge while the oven heats up.
  3. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C. When it reaches temperature, line the pastry case with baking paper, add baking beans, and blind-bake for 10 minutes.
  4. Remove from the oven, discard the paper and beans, then return to the over for a further 5 mins until lightly golden.
  5. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a deep frying pan, add the onions and fry until soft. Follow with the garlic.
  6. Add the chard to the pan, starting with the stems as these need a little longer to cook. Then add the tops turning until all the chard is wilted. Drain off any excess liquid, season to taste and set aside.
  7. In a bowl, gently combine the whisked eggs, crème fraiche, milk and herbs (retaining a teaspoon). Season with salt and pepper.
  8. To build the tart, sprinkle half the walnuts over the base, spoon in the chard mixture, then pour over the egg mixture, ensuring that it covers the vegetables.
  9. Top with the sliced goat’s cheese then sprinkle with the remaining nuts and herbs. Season generously with salt and pepper.
  10. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the filling is set and the top lightly golden. Remove from the oven and wait a few minutes before removing from the tin.

Chard, squash and hazelnut cannelloni

From Delicious magazine.

Ingredients

  • 600g rainbow chard, leaves and stems separated and finely chopped
  • 1 tsp caraway seeds
  • 75ml amontillado sherry
  • 1 small bunch fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 small bunch fresh dill, chopped
  • 250g tub ricotta
  • 100g Parmesan
  • 7 fresh lasagne sheets
  • 50g skin-on hazelnuts, roughly chopped
  • 3 thick stale sourdough bread slices, torn into chunky croutons
  • 125g mozzarella, drained, roughly torn

For the white sauce:

  • 40g butter, plus extra for greasing
  • 40g plain flour
  • ½ tsp English mustard powder
  • 300ml semi-skimmed milk
  • 300ml vegetable stock

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Toss the squash with 2 tbsp olive oil and plenty of seasoning in a roasting tin, then roast in the oven for 30 minutes until tender.
  2. Meanwhile, make the white sauce. Melt the butter in a pan, then stir in the flour and mustard powder to make a roux. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and gradually whisk in the milk, followed by the stock. Return to the heat, bring to the boil and simmer for 6-8 minutes or until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Season well.
  3. Meanwhile, heat more oil in a large frying pan and fry the chard stems over a medium heat with a little salt and pepper for 5 minutes until soft, then stir in the caraway seeds and cook for another minute. Add the chard leaves and stir over the heat until softened. Pour in the sherry, turn up the heat and let it bubble for 1 minute, then remove the pan from the heat and stir in the parsley, dill, roasted butternut squash, ricotta and 75g of the hard cheese. Season well.
  4. Divide the mixture evenly among the lasagne sheets, rolling each sheet tightly to make a cannelloni tube, then arrange the tubes in the baking dish. Pour over the white sauce and sprinkle over the chopped hazelnuts, sourdough croutons, mozzarella pieces and remaining grated hard cheese. Bake for 30 minutes until golden and bubbling.

Chestnut puree

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs chestnuts
  • 720ml water

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 230C/450˚F/Gas mark 8. 
  2. Score the chestnuts in a cross with a knife.
  3. Place the chestnuts on a baking tray and bake for 20-30 minutes.
  4. Remove the chestnuts with a towel, and quickly peel the warm chestnuts.
  5. Put the peeled chestnuts in a pan and add the water.
  6. Cook and stir the chestnut mix on a high heat until the water has evaporated and the chestnuts have softened, about 15 minutes.
  7. Place the chestnut filling in a food processor, add in water and blend until smooth.
  8. Push the chestnut filling through a sieve into another bowl to make a smooth purée.

Chestnut and chocolate cake

From Robbie via Olive and Mango: https://www.oliveandmango.com/chocolate-chestnut-cake/ Take a look at the link if you want more information to identify chestnuts.

Ingredients

  • 225g dark chocolate
  • 6 eggs, separated
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 125g unsalted butter, softened
  • 435g unsweetened chestnut puree canned or homemade (recipe below for homemade)
  • 2 tablespoons rum
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 65 granulated sugar
  • Icing sugar for dusting before serving

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350˚F/Gas mark 4, and grease a spring form or cake tin.
  2. Roughly chop the chocolate into pieces and melt in the microwave or in a double boiler then and set aside.
  3. Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff, but not dry.
  4. In another bowl, whisk or gently mix butter and chestnut puree with the sugar.
  5. Gradually whisk in the egg yolks, then add the rum, vanilla extract and chocolate.
  6. Stir in a dollop of the egg white, whisk very well to mix everything together, then carefully fold the rest of the egg white in the chestnut mixture until fully incorporated.
  7. Pour the batter into the tin and let bake for 40-50 minutes. You could do the toothpick test, but it should not come out completely clean.
  8. Let the cake cool in its tin before you turn it out onto a plate. Dust with icing sugar and serve

Courgette and tomatoes au gratin

Adapt this Delia recipe by roasting the courgettes instead of frying them (leave the garlic clove whole and unpeeled then squish it over the courgettes when they are browned) or by leaving the cheese out of the layers and making a crumbly topping for the veg (whizz breadcrumbs, basil, a little oil, and the cheese)

Ingredients

  • 4 medium courgettes, sliced but not peeled
  • 2 tbspn olive oil
  • 1 large garlic clove, crushed
  • 110g mozzarella or cheddar, sliced
  • 4 large tomatoes, peeled and sliced
  • 4 tbspn grated Parmesan
  • 1 tbspn fresh basil, chopped (or 1 tspn dried oregano)

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 190C, 375F, Mark 5.
  2. Heat the oil in a frying pan and saute the courgettes (in one layer – you might need to do this in two batches) with the garlic until the courgettes are golden.
  3. In a heatproof dish, arrange layers of courgette, slices of cheese, and tomatoes so they overlap slightly like slates on a roof.
  4. Sprinkle on the Parmesan and herbs.
  5. Bake for 30 mins.

Courgette cake with lime frosting

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs
  • 120ml sunflower oil
  • 175g soft light brown sugar
  • 165g self-raising flour
  • 1/2 tspn baking powder
  • 1/2 tspn bicarbonate of soda
  • 1/4 tspn salt
  • 175g courgettes, grated (unpeeled)
  • For the frosting:
  • 60g unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 120g icing sugar
  • Zest of 1 lime
  • Juice of half a lime + 1 tspn
  • extra zest to finish

Method

  1. Line a 20cm (8 inch) cake tin with baking parchment and preheat oven to 175C.
  2. Beat whole eggs and sunflower oil in a jug until combined, approximately 1 min. 
  3. In a bowl stir together your dry ingredients: sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. 
  4. Add the wet mix to the dry mix and combine, then add grated courgette (squeezed of excess liquid). Fold everything together. 
  5. Pour into the prepared tin, level off the top and bake for around 40-45 min, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 
  6. Meanwhile, make the buttercream. Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the lime zest, then gradually add the lime juice, beating well before adding the next drizzle of juice. 
  7.  When the cake is completely cool (make sure it really is – otherwise the frosting will melt!), slather the frosting over the top. Finish with a grating of lime zest and a few courgette flowers if you have them. The cake keeps for 2-3 days at room temperature.

Courgette soup

Ingredients

  • 2 large courgettes
  • Butter or oil
  • Vegetable stock cube
  • Herbs
  • Soy sauce and cream to taste

Method

  1. Saute two large courgettes in butter or oil.
  2. Sprinkle with a vegetable stock cube and continue to cook for 5 minutes with lid on.
  3. Add water and herbes de Provence or your choice of herbs, including basil.  
  4. When cooked, add soy sauce and cream to taste (unless you intend to freeze it, then leave out the cream).  Liquidise.

This soup can be frozen without the cream.  If short of space in the freezer, use less water when freezing.  When defrosting, add water or milk to the required consistently.

Mushy courgettes with garlic and mint

This is one of the most tasty recipes for courgettes. It’s a delicious alternative to mushy peas and freezes well for winter meals.

Serves 4 as a side

Ingredients

  • 6 medium courgettes, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (chilli oil is also very nice for a slightly spicier result)
  • 50g unsalted butter
  • 3 cloves of garlic peeled and finely chopped
  • Sea salt
  • 1 medium bunch of mint, leaves finely chopped
  • Juice of half a lemon

Method

  1. Place the butter and oil in a large saucepan over a low heat and allow to melt.
  2. Add the courgettes, garlic, a good pinch of salt and cover.
  3. Cook very gently for an hour, stirring from time to time to ensure the courgettes do not stick to the bottom of the pan. They should slowly begin to fall apart, and, once finished, have the texture of a rough puree.
  4. Add the mint, cook for 2 mins, stir and adjust seasoning.
  5. Add lemon juice and serve (or freeze).

Courgette slice

Ingredients

  • 375g (approx) courgettes
  • 1 large onion
  • 2 large carrots
  • 3 rashers bacon (optional)
  • 4oz grated cheddar cheese
  • 4oz self raising flour
  • ½ cup oil (you might not need this much)
  • 5 eggs
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Grate unpeeled courgettes and carrots.  Finely chop onions and bacon.
  2. Combine courgettes, carrot, onion, bacon, cheese, flour, lightly beaten eggs and enough oil so that it resembles a ‘cake mixture’.  Season with salt and pepper.
  3. Pour in to a well greased tin (I use a lined tin) – approx 16cm x 26cm
  4. Bake at 170 deg C for 30-40 minutes or until browned.

Creamy courgette lasagne

Ingredients

  • 9 dried lasagne sheets
  • 1tbsp sunflower oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 700g courgettes, coarsely grated
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 250g tub ricotta
  • 50g cheddar
  • 350g jar tomato sauce for pasta

Method

  1. Heat oven to 220C/fan, gas 7.  Cook lasagne sheets until softened but not cooked through.  Rinse in cold water then drizzle with a little oil to stop them sticking together.
  2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, fry the onion.  After 3 minutes add the courgettes and garlic and continue to fry until the courgettes have softened.  Stir in 2/3 of both the ricotta and cheddar, season to taste.  Heat the tomato sauce.
  3. In a large baking dish, layer up the lasagne, starting with half the courgette mix, then pasta, then tomato sauce.  Repeat, top with blobs of the remaining ricotta, then scatter with the rest of the cheddar. 
  4. Bake for about 10 minutes until the pasta is tender and the cheese is golden.

Cucumber cake

Ingredients

  • About 300g or so of cucumbers to give the required 200g of drained grated cucumber
  • 250g butter (softened)
  • 200g sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 250g self raising flour
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 tsp mixed spice
  • For icing: 2 – 3 tbsp cucumber juice and 100g icing sugar

Method

The cucumber preparation should be done a few hours before making the cake.

  1. Peel the cucumbers and slice in half along their lengths, if the seeds are large scrape them out with a teaspoon and discard or put in a small sieve to catch the juice.
  2. Grate the cucumber over a sieve which is over a bowl, the cucumber needs to drain/dry out a little and you will need the juice for the icing.
  3. Grease and line a 5cm deep 30cm x 20cm tin or 2 x 20cm round cake tins with baking parchment.
  4. Heat oven to 180C/ fan 160C.
  5. Beat together the butter, sugar, eggs, flour, bicarb, mixed spice until smooth
  6. Stir in 200g of the grated drained cucumber.
  7. Divide the mixture between the two round tins or pour it all into a large tin and smooth it out.
  8. Pop into the oven and bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
  9. Leave to cool.
  10. Gradually add cucumber juice to the icing sugar and mix until it is a smooth thick but drizzly icing.
  11. Drizzle the icing over the cake and leave to set