April

 

 

Spring Onion Pancakes

Put 500g of Flour with 1 tsp Salt in a food processor. Mix in Boiling Water (approx 250-300ml) until a dough forms. Knead into a ball, cover with a damp cloth and leave to relax for half an hour. On a floured surface, roll dough into a snake and cut into equal sections (size depends on how big you want the pancakes). Roll each piece into a thin circle, brush with Sesame Oil and sprinkle with very finely chopped Spring Onions. Roll each circle into a cigar shape and coil the cigar into a spiral. This makes layers of dough that will trap air bubbles, since the dough is unleavened. It also distributes the Spring Onions evenly throughout the pancake. Repeat for the rest of the dough pieces and let them rest for another half-hour. Heat some Peanut or Sunflower Oil over medium heat in a non-stick pan. Roll the pancakes flat again, being careful not to roll too hard and lose the air bubbles and fry them two or three at a time, depending on the size, three minutes on a side. Drain on paper towels or brown paper bags. Eat immediately.  Serve with your favourite dipping sauce.

 

Rabbit with St Georges Mushrooms

This delicious, seasonal recipe can be made cheaper by mixing in 25-50% of small Button Mushrooms with the St Georges.  Chicken may be used instead of Rabbit.

Bone two Rabbits, cut the meat into cubes and brown in Bacon Fat with chopped Smoked Bacon, a diced Carrot, Onion and Celery Stick. Add some Parsley, Salt and Pepper. Pour in 1/2 pint of Stock (preferably made from the Rabbit Bones, but bought Chicken Stock will do) and 1/2 pint of Dry Cider. Cook in a low oven until meat is tender, then add plenty of finely sliced St Georges Mushrooms and 1/2 pint of Cream and return to simmer for a few minutes. Serve with Wilja Potatoes and Spring Greens, and top the dish with a sprinkling of Parsley.

 

Broad Bean Pesto

Simmer 250g of shelled Broad Beans for 5 minutes in plenty of unsalted Water, to which a sprig of Thyme has been added. Drain and rinse with cold water. Peel the Beans (early in the season when the beans are tender it may not be necessary, but removing their greyish skins does brighten the colour of the pesto and make it taste sweeter. Put the Beans in a food processor with a handful of Basil leaves 1 large chopped clove of Garlic (or a handful of chopped Ramson or Wild Garlic Leaves if in season) and 25g Grated Parmesan. Begin to blend and then with the motor running, slowly pour in 100ml of a light, pale Olive Oil. Add Salt and Pepper to taste. Serve with your favourite pasta, topped with torn Basil and big flakes of Parmesan.

 

Champ-ion ideas … for Number One Onions

Easiest recipe for our new Number One Onions (our Va-Va-Va-Voom Veg on Page 1) is Champ: just fold these too-easy–to-chop onions into creamy mashed potatoes. Add grated cheddar, if you fancy.

Jamaica’s Mocking Bird Hotel has a sensational-taster which uses them: Coconut and Garlic Soup.  Take 1 or 2 Number One Onions; 1 medium Onion, chopped; 10 cloves garlic, crushed; (a little) hot pepper to taste; milk of one dried coconut (you can cheat and use canned); 1 litre of vegetable stock; salt and pepper to taste. And … Sauté thed ordinary onion and garlic. Add stock, coconut milk. Then the chopped Number One Onions, hot pepper. Season. Bring everything to the boil and let simmer until soup has a rich consistency. That’s it!

Nutrient Note: Number One Onions contain Vitamins B and C, Folate and Fibre. Onions are relatively high in flavonoids, an antioxidant that is thought to protect against cancer and heart disease.

 

 

Waitrose is, like 4DegreesC, accredited by Leaf Marque, the body which links the environment and farming. This seasonal dish, from its chefs, serves four.

Ingredients ; 2 mangoes, peeled, stoned and cubed; 1 large avocado, peeled, stoned and cubed; ½ red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped; 10g fresh mint, roughly chopped; 12g fresh basil, roughly torn (don’t chop, it alters the flavour); 10g fresh coriander, roughly chopped; Juice of 2 limes and grated zest of 1 lime; 4 yellow-fin tuna steaks (900g total), about 2cm thick, 1 tbsp olive oil

Here’s how: Place the mango, avocado, chilli, herbs, lime juice and zest in a bowl and season. Mix together and set the salsa aside. Brush the tuna steaks with the oil and season. Place them on the griddle and cook for 1-1½ minutes on each side for rare, or 2 minutes on each side for medium. Serve with the salsa, lime wedges and a salad.

Loquat Tatin

Make half a kilo of All-Butter Sweet Shortcrust Pastry. Blanch 1kg of fresh Loquats or Nisperos in boiling water for 1 minute then plunge into cold water. Halve, peel and remove the seeds from the fruit, put the halves in a bowl with the juice of half a Lemon and 3 tbs Demerara Sugar and stir. Heat 25g Butter in a large, metal-handled frying pan and place the Loquat halves seed-side up, in it. Caramelise the fruit over a high heat then splash in 2-3 tbs Calvados and flambee. Add any syrup that is left in the bowl, then remove from the heat and cover with a thinly rolled disc of pastry, larger than the pan. Tuck excess down between the edge of the Loquat pieces and the wall of the pan. Pierce the top of the pastry. Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden and then turn out onto a large plate. Serve with Cream or Vanilla Custard.

Spiced Sweet Potato Soufflé

Preheat oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Bake a couple of large Sweet Potatoes until soft. Scoop the flesh into a bowl, mash with a little Butter and add a teaspoonful of lightly-fried fresh Ginger, crushed Cardoman seed and ground Cinnamon.

Add in a little Honey and Lime juice. Vigorously stir in 4 Egg Yolks until well combined.
In a clean bowl, whisk 4 Egg Whites to form soft peaks, then gently fold them into the Potato mix. Pour into an ovenproof dish and cook in the preheated oven for 5-6 minutes until well risen, and serve immediately!

Spring Herb Soup

The perfect soup for this time of year, can be served hot with crispy ciabatta croutons on a cool day, or chilled if we get a heatwave.

Finely chop the leaves and stem of one stick of Leaf Celery, a bunch of Spring Onions and 500g Peeled Potatoes. Fry gently in 75g Butter with plenty of freshly ground White Pepper until tender. Add three pints of good Veg Stock. Bring to the boil. Add 500g Watercress and 100g Wild Garlic Leaves (both chopped) and simmer for seven minutes. Chop and add 75g Sorrel and two glasses soft, fruity White Wine and bring back to the boil. Simmer for a further 5 minutes, or until the leaves are tender. Whizz with a blender and pass through a sieve if you wish (I prefer it with a bit of texture). Add 500ml Double Cream re-whizz just before serving. Reduce the amount of cream by half if serving cold.

Indonesian Coconut Beef

I picked up this recipe whilst on holiday in Padang, Western Sumatra. It's so good that I've strayed from my veg-based brief to share it with you. Lightly colour 1 kg of Rump Steak in a little Corn Oil. Add a sliced Onion, and one crushed Garlic Clove. Sprinkle in 1 tsp of each of the following:- Ground Ginger, Ground Turmeric, Ground Cumin, Ground Coriander, and Chilli Powder. Add in half a shredded Coconut, 2 tsp Light-Brown Sugar, a little Lemon juice and 1 pint of Beef stock.

Simmer uncovered, stirring regularly until mixture is thickened and the Beef is tender. Add a good handful of thinly sliced Red Peppers, 1 tsp chopped Green Chillies, a sliced small Red Onion, and cook for a further 2 minutes. Garnish with slivers of Red Pepper, Green Chillies and a sliced Small onion. Season and stir in a little Double Cream, Chopped Coriander and Mint to finish. Boiled Rice or Glass Noodles go well with this slightly unusual curry-style dish.

Goan Style Pumpkin and Tomato Curry

I've chosen to make this generic Goan Curry recipe with Pumpkin and Plum Toms, but it can be used for most Vegetables and/or light Meats and Fish. For the Marinade, mix 1 tsp Paprika, ½ tsp Turmeric, 1½ tbs Coriander, 1 tsp Cumin, 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper (all ground) with 1 tbs Lemon juice, ½ tsp Salt, and 75ml of Water to make a paste. Marinate 1kg of large diced Pumpkin in the paste for about 30 mins.

Heat 3 tbs of Vegetable Oil in a deep, heavy-bottomed pan, add 2 tbs of Mustard Seeds. When they start to pop and jump about in the pan, add 250g sliced Onion and 3 cloves sliced Garlic. Cook until golden brown then add the Pumpkin and Paste. Fry over a gentle heat for about 3 minutes, then add 800ml (2 cans) Coconut Milk. Simmer until the Pumpkin has softened and the sauce has thickened slightly.

Add 500g of quartered Plum Tomatoes and a little Fresh Coriander. Season with Salt if necessary and serve with Rice or Naan bread.

Spring Risotto

A deliciously simple risotto featuring new crop Asparagus, Fresh Peas and Saffron.

Gently fry 100g of chopped Shallot in a little Olive Oil until it becomes translucent. Add 300g of Arborio Rice and stir for a couple of minutes over medium heat making sure the rice grains are well coated with oil. Add a ladle at a time of hot Saffron-infused Vegetable Stock (the Rice will take roughly 750 ml) and continue stirring until the rice is cooked and all the stock has been absorbed. Meanwhile, trim and steam 500g of Asparagus and slice into roundels, reserving the tips as a garnish.

Add a knob of Butter, the Asparagus Roundels, a handful of fresh Peas, 30g of grated, fresh Parmesan, a good grinding of Black Pepper and some chopped Flat Parsley to the Risotto and give it a stir. Serve in warm bowls garnished with the Asparagus Tips and shavings of Parmesan.

Aubergine Parmegiana with Plum Vine Tomatoes -
and a Cucumber Salsa.

Thickly slice a medium Aubergine, sprinkle with Rock Salt and set aside. Slice a couple of ripe Plum Tomatoes and toss with a little Basil Oil and some thinly sliced Wild Garlic Leaves. Wash and dry the Aubergine slices, lightly Flour, Egg and coat with a mixture of Breadcrumbs and freshly grated Parmesan. Shallow fry in Olive Oil taking care not to over colour.

Stack the sliced Tomato and fried Aubergine in alternate layers. Season and sprinkle the top layer with Parmesan Cheese. Pop this into a hot oven for a few minutes to heat through and brown the Parmesan Cheese.

Place into warm serving dish surrounded by a Cucumber Salsa made with freshly chopped Parsley, Mint and Tarragon combined with a little Sweetened Vinegar, diced, seeded and peeled Cucumber and a touch of Olive Oil.