Below are a selection of seasonal recipes which have been donated by Grace & Flavour members. To view the recipes click on the links below.
| Beetroot | Beetroot, Walnut and Feta Salad |
| Beetroot Soup | |
| Kale / Cavolo nero | Kale Thai Curry |
| Cavolo nero con peperoncino e aglio Black kale with chilli and garlic |
|
| Parsnip | Curried Parsnip Soup |
| Pumpkin | G&F Pumpkin Soup |
| Spinach | Spinach and Cheese Pancakes |
| Squash | Squash and Sage Risotto |
| Butternut Squash Curry | |
| Roast Squash, Chilli and Walnut Salad |
Beetroot, Walnut and Feta Salad
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
4 Beetroot (in season use a variety of colours)
handful flat parsley leaves
60g toasted Walnuts
60g Feta cheese, crumbled into large pieces
For the dressing
1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
salt and pepper
5tbs Olive Oil
1 Shallot
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Wrap each beetroot in foil then place in a baking tray and roast for 1 hour or until tender. Remove from the oven and leave until cool enough to handle. Or you could always simply boil the beetroot
2. Meanwhile, make the dressing. Combine the vinegar, mustard and some salt and pepper in a small bowl and gradually whisk in the oil. Taste and adjust seasonings, then stir in the shallot and set aside until needed.
3. When the beetroot is cool enough to handle, remove the foil then peel and slice, chop or cut into wedges as desired. Toss the beetroot with just enough of the dressing to coat nicely then leave to cool completely.
4. Just before serving, add the parsley leaves and more dressing if you think it could do with it and then arrange on a shallow serving dish. Scatter over walnuts and feta and serve.
Serves 4
4 tablespoons of olive oil
½ a large (Spanish) onion
2 garlic cloves thinly sliced
1 rounded teaspoon of black cumin or normal cumin
750g of beetroot peeled and finely diced
I large potato finely diced
1.25 litres of cold water
3 tablespoons of good quality red wine vinegar
1 small bunch of flat leaved parsley
100g of yogurt (ideally Greek) thinned with a little milk and seasoned with 1 garlic clove crushed with a little salt
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and pinch of salt. Cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally until the onions begin to colour. Now add the garlic and cumin and cook for 2 more minutes to release their flavour followed by the beetroot and potato. Pour in the water and bring to a gentle simmer and cook until soft about 15 minutes. Place the vegetables and cooking liquid in a blender or food processor and blend until just smooth. Return to the pan and add the vinegar and half the parsley and salt and pepper to taste. You may need salt to balance out the acidity.
Serve with a little yoghurt on top and the some of the parsley and an extra dribble of olive oil.
Cook the onion, garlic and parsnip gently in butter or oil with the lid on the pan for ten minutes.
Stir in the flour and garam masala, cook for a couple of minutes stirring around. Add stock. Leave to cook until the parsnips are tender about 15-20 minutes.
Blend.
If needed, dilute with a little water
Check seasoning and add the optional cream and herbs to serve
1 chopped onion
3 cloves of garlic
a green chilli (I used variety cayenne)
2 lemon grass sticks
grated fresh ginger
15-20 kale leaves - Cavolo Nero
small pack of button mushrooms
large bunch of coriander
vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of medium curry powder
1 tin of chickpeas
1 lime juiced
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of thai fish sauce
1 tin of coconut milk
Cavolo nero con peperoncino e aglio / Black Kale with Chilli and Garlic
1 head of cavolo nero
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed
½ to 1 red chilli, roughly sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Good fresh bread such as ciabata sliced
1 extra clove of garlic
Pull the green parts away from the hard stalks of the cavolo nero and wash them under cold water. Finely shred the leaves and put them in a steamer or salted boiling water for 5 to 7 minutes until just cooked. Drain but reserve a few tablespoons of the cooking water.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan, when hot add the garlic, chilli, salt and pepper. Fry for a couple of minutes until they soften but watch they don't burn. Add the cooked cavolo nero and fry for around five minutes stirring constantly. If necessary add a little cooking water to stop it sticking. The cavolo nero should have wilted and become coated in chilli and garlic oil.
Meanwhile slice and lightly toast the bread. Slice the clove of garlic in half and scrape over the bread.
Serve the cavolo nero on the bread and drizzle with extra olive oil.
For 4 - 6 people
3 tbs oil (rapeseed, olive or sunflower)
1 or 2 onions, diced
Salt and black pepper
1 medium parsnip, diced
1 potato, diced
500g pumpkin, diced
1 small swede, diced
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp or more of chopped or dried coriander leaves
Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and cook gently until softened. Add the curry powder, stir for one minute and then add the rest of the vegetables and coriander. Add enough water to just cover the vegetables, bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
When the vegetables are fully cooked use a liquidizer and whizz until smooth. Serve with a spoonful of crème fraiche or soured cream if desired.
As a tasty alternative add some cooked beans such as Borlotto beans and serve as a vegetable stew without liquidizing. The vegetables can be varied according to what is available from the community garden.
Ingredients for 2 dinner portions,
1 large colander of spinach, well washed
Cottage cheese
1 onion
nutmeg
pepper
2 eggs
100g plain flour
pinch of salt
1/2 pint of milk and water
Grated Cheddar to garnish
Oil to cook pancakes
what you do - Make the pancakes with flour and salt seived into a bowl, - 1 egg broken into a dip in the middle of the flour, and then the milk and water whisked in to make a batter. Use a medium size frying pan, and add oil and cook the pancakes one at a time. Add oil between each pancake, draining off any excess.
Wash the spinach and put in a saucepan without shaking off the water to wilt. Meanwhile, in a separate pan chop the onion and fry in a little butter, add cottage cheese nutmeg, pepper and mix in the other egg. Stir as this cooks. When the spinach is wilted, push all the water out of it with the back of a spoon over a seive or colander, and chop, then add to the cheese mixture.
Now layer the pancakes with the spinach and cheese mixture, top with some grated cheese and put under the grill until the cheese has melted.
I sometimes use up other cheese that's in the fridge, - Feta and soft cheese's go well. Yum.
Squash and Sage Risotto
Serves 3/4
Ingredients
1kg squash , peeled and cut into bite-size chunks (Crown Prince is great)
3 tbsp olive oil
bunch sage , leaves picked, half roughly chopped, half left whole (plenty in the garden)
1.5 l vegetable stock (Marigold will do)
50g butter (omit if on low cholesterol diet)
1 onion , finely chopped
300g risotto rice
1 small glass white wine
50g parmesan , finely grated
1. Before you make the risotto, heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Toss the squash in 1 tbsp oil together with the chopped sage. Scatter into a shallow roasting tin and roast for 30 mins until it is brown and soft.
2. While the squash is roasting, prepare the risotto. Bring the stock to the boil and keep on a low simmer. In a separate pan, melt half the butter over a medium heat. Stir in the onions and sweat gently for 8-10 mins until soft but not coloured, stirring occasionally. Stir the rice into the onions until completely coated in the butter, then stir continuously until the rice is shiny and the edges of the grain start to look transparent.
3. Pour in the wine and simmer until totally evaporated. Add the stock, a ladleful at a time and stirring the rice over a low heat for 25-30 mins, until the rice is cooked al dente (with a slightly firm, starchy bite in the middle). The risotto should be creamy and slightly soupy. When you draw a wooden spoon through it, there should be a wake that holds for a few moments but not longer.
4. At the same time, gently fry the whole sage leaves in a little olive oil until crisp, then set aside on kitchen paper. When the squash is cooked, mash half of it to a rough purée and leave half whole. When the risotto is just done, stir though the purée, then add the cheese and butter and leave to rest for a few mins. Serve the risotto scattered with the whole chunks of squash and the crisp sage leaves
Serves four
4 tbsp sunflower oil
3 onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
1 small green chilli, halved, deseeded and thinly sliced
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp garam masala
1 butternut squash or equivalent Crown Prince squash about 1kg peeled, deseeded and cut into 2cm chunks
100g red lentils, rinsed
About 700ml vegetable stock
400g tinned plum tomatoes
1 big handful fresh coriander, tough stalks removed, leaves chopped
Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onions and sauté with a pinch of salt until softened and turning golden, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and green chilli, and cook, stirring, for about five minutes. Add the ground coriander, cumin and garam masala, stir for a minute, then toss in the cubes of squash and lentils, and stir until well coated. Pour in the stock and tomatoes, crushing the tomatoes against the sides of the pan with a fork to break them up a bit.
Simmer, part-covered, until the squash and lentils are very tender, about 30 minutes, stirring from time to time. Stir in about two-thirds of the coriander, taste and check the seasoning - add salt and pepper if desired. Serve with basmati rice or the pilaf recipe below, some thick yoghurt and the rest of the coriander scattered over the top.
Roast Squash, Chilli and Walnut Salad
You could add some shredded, roasted pheasant or chicken if you like.
Serves four to six.
1 medium or 2 small squash such as butternut or crown prince
4 cloves garlic, unpeeled and bashed a bit
3-4 sprigs fresh marjoram
2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary
1-2 red chillies, deseeded and chopped
60ml olive oil, plus a little extra olive or rapeseed oil for dressing the finished dish
Salt and pepper
1 good handful walnuts, toasted
2 handfuls fresh flat-leaf parsley, tough stalks removed, then roughly chopped
Juice of ½ lemon
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Peel and deseed the squash, then cut it into chunks.
Pack the squash quite tightly into a roasting tin along with the garlic, marjoram, rosemary, chillies and oil. Season well, then pour over a couple of tablespoons of water. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the foil and roast for a further 30 minutes, turning over a couple of times.
Take the tin out of the oven, remove the herbs, then tip the pumpkin into a bowl. Toss with the walnuts and parsley, season and squeeze over the lemon.
Dress with a little olive or rapeseed oil before serving.