All the trimmings…

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas… sort of!! There’s no doubt Christmas 2020 will be a very different celebration to what many of us are used to. However, we’re determined to make sure that, despite the changes, Christmas day will be as delicious as ever! While the turkey might still reign supreme as your traditional Christmas showstopper, we’re here to prove that these vegetable sides are just as worthy to take center stage this festive period… and don’t forget the roast potatoes!!!

Celeriac, Rosemary and Leek Gratin

Creamy, herby and full of that delicious celeriac flavour, this is definitely one of our favourites! Whats more, this recipe can be prepared ahead of time and baked on the day!

Ingredients

• 25g butter

• 2 leeks, finely sliced

• 1 sprig rosemary leaves, roughly chopped

• 1 bay leaf

• 300ml double cream

• 300ml milk

• 500g celeriac peeled, quartered and thinly sliced

Method

• Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the sliced leeks, chopped rosemary and bay leaf. Sweat slowly for twenty minutes until well softened.

• Add the milk and cream and bring to a gentle simmer. Season to taste with salt. Remove from the heat and let cool a little. Discard the bay leaf.

• Pour some of the cream and leek mixture into the bottom of an ovenproof dish. Arrange some of the sliced celeriac on top, spoon more of the cream mixture and continue until all your celeriac and cream mix is used up. Either place in the fridge for up to 24hrs or bake straight away.

• Bake in an oven preheated to 180C for 1 hour. It should have a nice golden colour on top and the celeriac should be cooked through. If, during cooking, the gratin is browning too much cover the dish with tin foil.

Some variations

• Add 100g gruyere or cheddar to the top of the gratin before baking for an extra rich side.

• If serving alongside roast beef, stir 1 heaped tablespoon of horseradish sauce into the cream mixture before layering

• Instead of leeks and rosemary try using a few finely sliced red chillis for an extra kick.

Ideas for leftovers

• Lightly toasted sourdough topped with leftover celeriac gratin, a sprinkle of cheese and placed under the grill until golden and bubbling makes the ultimate cheese on toast!!!

Cracked black pepper carrots

A simple glazed carrots recipe with a few fiery twists of black pepper.

Ingredients

• 400g carrots, washed, peeled and cut into 2cm pieces

• 40g unsalted butter

• Pinch salt

• Pinch caster sugar

• Freshly ground black pepper

Method

• Place carrots, butter, salt and sugar into a saucepan and add enough water to just cover the carrots

• Place pan on the heat and cover (we use a circle of baking paper)

• Bring to a boil and cook for 5-6 minutes until the carrots are just cooked,

• Remove the carrots from liquid and set aside

• Place the liquid back on the heat and bring to a boil again, reducing to a light glazing consistency

• Return the carrots to the pan and generously season with the black pepper

• Serve warm

roasted carrots with christmas spices

Another excellent carrot recipe with some great leftover potential!

Ingredients

• 400g carrots

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

• Salt flakes

• Pomegranate seeds (optional)

  
  
  

  
  
  
  

Method

• Peel carrots and chop into equal sized batons

• Line baking tray with baking paper and add carrots, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with spices. Generously season.

• Place into oven preheated to 200C and bake for 35 minutes until well roasted.

• Place into serving dish and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds if using.

Leftover ideas

• Add leftover carrots to food processor alongside 1 tbsp tahini, 1 tbsp lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil, blend until smooth for a delicious spiced carrot hummus.

Griddled Brussels sprouts with maple roasted walnuts

What could be more Christmassy than the controversial Brussels sprout? This glammed up version of the worlds most hated vegetable is sure to win around the most avid sprout avoider!

Ingredients

• 400g brussel sprouts

• Olive oil

• 100g walnut halves

• 1tbsp maple syrup

• Salt to taste

method

• Trim the bottoms of the sprouts and chop in half

• Lay walnuts onto a lined baking tray and drizzle with maple syrup and stir to coat, roast in an oven preheated to 180C for 10-12 minutes, shake the tray every few minutes, until nicely caramelized.

• Season roasted walnuts with salt and set aside

• Heat a large frying pan or griddle to smoking point with a little olive oil.

• Add the halved Brussels sprouts cut side down and cook for about 4-5 minutes - the cut sides should be a nice golden brown, stir the pan and cook for another 5 minutes.

• Stir through maple roasted walnuts and serve!

Some variations

• If you are a meat eater, add some crispy bacon pieces to this recipe for an even more flavourful mouthful.

• Not a fan of nuts? Try adding 1tsp finely chopped garlic, a sprinkle of chilli flakes and the zest of a lemon to the pan for the last 5 minutes instead. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil just before serving for a delicious sprout side.

Leftover ideas

• Mix the leftover sprouts through some mash potato and cook over a high heat in a frying pan for a boxing day bubble and squeak!

Balsamic roasted red cabbage

Delicious red cabbage recipe with a hint of sweet and sour. Another one of our go-to roast recipes.

Ingredients

• 1 red cabbage cut into wedges

• 1tbsp balsamic vinegar

• 1tbsp olive oil

• Fine sea salt

Method

• Add vinegar, olive oil and a good seasoning of salt to a bowl alongside the cabbage wedges. Toss well to evenly coat the cabbage.

• Arrange wedges in a single layer in a deep baking tray and cover tightly with foil.

• Place in oven preheated to 180C for 30 minutes, flip cabbage wedges over, re-cover and roast for a further 30 minutes until the cabbage is cooked through.

• Remove the foil and roast for a further ten minutes to get a nice caramelised finish.

leftover ideas

• One of our all time favourite salad recipes uses red cabbage roasted in this way. Make up a this delicious buttermilk dressing by whisking together 1/2 cup buttermilk, 1/2 cup greek yoghurt, the juice and zest of one lemon, 1 clove minced garlic and 1tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Drizzle the dressing over the cabbage wedges and finish with some crumbled feta and chopped chives.

Sticky Soy and Thyme Glazed Shallots

Sweet and earthy with an umami kick. This recipe delivers big bold flavours with just a few simple ingredients. Don’t be put off by the soy sauce either.. although it may not seem a natural Christmas pairing, it really adds a deep savoury note.

Ingredients

• 400g shallots

• 1 Tbsp olive oil

• 1 Tbsp dark soy sauce

• 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves

• Salt and Pepper

method

• Preheat oven to 180C

• Peel and halve the shallots. Place in a roasting dish, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.

• Roast for 30 minutes.

• Remove from the oven and add the dark soy sauce and thyme leaves. Then return to the oven and cook for a further 20 minutes until the shallots are cooked through and nicely glazed.

Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini, Pomegranate Seeds, Mint and Parsley

Here’s a really simple recipe perfect as a centerpiece for your next family meal or get together with friends. The beauty of this recipe is there’s really not much to do and the results are absolutely fantastic.

Cauliflower can sometimes get a hard wrap. Often cooked to within an inch of its life, it can be a bit of a drab addition, floppy, pale and sad. Its really such a shame because the sweet, nutty, delicious favour is so easily lost completely. I guess there is always cauliflower cheese (and who doesnt love a good cauliflower cheese) but we’re here to make the case that there is a world of possibilities beyond that.

The best place to start is by roasting it! Roasted cauliflower is a completely diiferent thing all together. Beautifully caramelised edges highlight its unique flavour and bring a new lease of life to this glorious veg.

And then there is whole roasting it - allowing the outside to caramelise completely and the inside to cook slowly in its own flavour giving a totally unique result.

And then… there is whole roasting it, rubbed with a spiced tahini dressing, allowing the outside to caramelise completely in an amazing nutty, spicy marinade and the inside to cook slowly in its own flavour and then adding a handful of freshly cut mint and parsley, some fresh pomegranate seeds and another drizzle of that glorious tahini…. That is how we think you should try it next!!!!

The variety we grow on the farm is Skywalker… pretty apt as this recipe is bound to take you to a galaxy far far away!

Ingredients

1 medium to large head of cauliflower
4 Tbsp Tahini (If you can get a middle eastern tahini such as Al-Taj it makes a real difference but if not look for any light tahini)
2 Tbsp cold-pressed rapeseed oil
1 tsp salt
2 garlic cloves
1 lemon juiced
80 ml cold water
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp cumin

1 bunch of mint
1 bunch of parsley
small handful of pomegranate arils

Method

Preheat your oven to 250 C.

Start by making the tahini dressing. First finely chop the garlic cloves and then add a pinch of salt and use the flat side of your knife to press down and scrape the garlic against the chopping board, bring the garlic back together into a small pile and repeat until you achieve a smooth paste. Next combine the tahini, garlic paste, lemon juice and rapeseed oil in a bowl and whisk. Gradually add the water until you have a consistency which is rich and creamy - a bit thicker than double cream. The mixture may appear like it is separating when you first start to combine but as you whisk it will come to form a nice smooth emulsified dressing. Some types of tahini can be thicker than others so you may need to adjust the amount of water accordingly. When you have achieved the desired consistency add the smoked paprika and cumin and season to taste.

Wash and trim the cauliflower and cut the base so that it sits flat on a baking tray lined with parchment or foil. Using half of the tahini dressing rub the cauliflower so that it is fully coated. Place into the oven and bake for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes - reducing the heat to 180 C after the first half an hour. The cauliflower should be a nice golden brown and soft enough to easily insert a skewer.

Finely chop the mint and parsley and scatter generously over the whole roasted cauliflower along with the pomegranate arils and another good drizzle of the remaining tahini dressing. Enjoy!

Turkish Eggs with cherry tomatoes, rainbow chard and garlic yoghurt

Summer - sunny days in the garden, the smell of charcoal barbecues and freshly cut hay, walks on the beach and a paddle in the sea. But for us, nothing quite says summer like walking into our polytunnel full of delicious ripening tomatoes. We rarely resist picking a few from the vine as we go about our daily duties on the farm and let me tell you, there is nothing quite as tasty and refreshing on those hot summer days as a tomato fresh from the vine, almost bursting with ripeness.

This recipe is literally our favourite ever. A perfect brunch for a summer weekend. The creamy greek yoghurt alongside the sweetly spiced tomatoes and some oozing poached eggs, all tied together with a good serving of rainbow chard makes for the perfect mouthful.

Although not actually Turkish, we love to use Ras El Hanout to flavour the tomatoes. This is a spice mix (usually containing at least 12 different ground spices) found throughout Morroco, Tunisia and Algeria. In fact when we were travelling through Morroco a few years ago we stumbled upon a tiny roadside spice shack in the Atlas Mountains that had a Ras El Hanout mix with a blend of 70 (yes 70!) different herbs and spices. Our favourite blend available in the UK is made by Forage Fine Foods (see link below to buy). The spices go really well with the sweet cherry tomatoes, adding a deep rich flavour to the dish.

This is great served with toasted sourdough bread or even a freshly griddled flatbread but its also delicious just as it is. If you don’t eat dairy, try using a dairy free yoghurt instead and if you’re vegan, replacing the eggs with avocado is another great option.

Give it a try and let us know what you think!

Ingredients

250g punnet of mixed cherry tomatoes
250g greek yoghurt
1 clove garlic (crushed)
1 tbsp olive oil
150g rainbow chard (roughly chopped)
Organic eggs
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp ras el hanout (you can usually buy this spice mix in the supermarket but you can also make your own using this recipe. Our favourite mix to buy is the ‘Rose El Hanout’ made by Forage Fine Foods - you can buy some online here. )
1 tsp aleppo chilli flakes
25g butter
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Method

• Preheat oven to 180C

• Place a saucepan of water on the hob and bring to a very gentle simmer

• Into a cold saute pan add butter and heat gently until it starts to turn a nice golden brown and has a sweet, nutty aroma. This is called ‘beurre noisette’ in classic French cookery. Remove the pan from the heat and add 1 tbsp olive oil, the alleppo chilli flakes and the ras el hanout. Stir together to create a nice vibrant oil.

• Toss the cherry tomatoes in the spiced butter mix and place contents in an ovenproof dish (keep the saute pan handy along with a small amount of the oil for cooking the chard). Roast the tomatoes for 10-15 minutes until just starting to burst open.

• Into a metal bowl that will fit over your saucepan, add the greek yoghurt, 1 tbsp olive oil along with the crushed garlic clove and salt and black pepper to taste. Whisk together and place the bowl over the simmering water, stirring occasionally as it warms through.

• Meanwhile, heat your saute pan over medium heat and add your chopped rainbow chard. Cook for 3 minutes then remove from the heat and cover to allow it to continue steaming.

• Finally, set aside the greek yoghurt mix and use the saucepan of simmering water to poach your eggs. Start by adding white wine vinegar to the water. Crack eggs into individual ramekins and drop them into the water very gently. Make sure the water is barely simmering - you want the water to be as still as possible. Poach for 3-4 minutes and remove with a slotted spoon. Drain on some paper towel before serving.

• To plate, add a base of the garlicky greek yoghurt, then a generous serving of the rainbow chard, some of the roasted cherry tomatoes and topped with your poached eggs. Drizzle some of the spiced butter/oil mix from the tomato pan over the yoghurt and finish with some flaky salt and cracked black pepper.
  
  
  

Beetroot and freekeh salad with tahini dressing and crispy kale

Beetroot - you either love it or you don’t! With this recipe we hope to be able to convert some of the nay-sayers. Particularly as here we prepare it in three different ways making sure to showcase this beautiful root in all its glory. This year we’re growing 4 different varieties which means we’ve been putting some seriously colourful bunches into the veg boxes. Our varieties are Avalanche (pure white), Boldor (golden), Chioggia (candy striped) and Jannis (deep red). They are truly a delight in the kitchen, adding texture, colour and a punch of sweet earthy flavour. In this recipe we prepare the beetroot in three different ways to highlight its many virtues! The pickled beetroot brings out the vegetables’s sweetness, the raw provides freshness and crunch and the roasted beetroot brings a deep savory earthiness to the dish. Paired with the delicious tahini dressing it really is a dish full of flavour.
Each element of the dish works well with other combinations too so let your culinary imagination run wild and try some of these methods for using beetroot in your other recipes. We’d love to see what you might come up with!

Ingredients

1 bunch mixed beetroot (about 5 individual beets)
Olive oil
Freekeh
100g freekeh
500ml vegetable stock
1 small onion (diced)
2 cloves garlic (chopped finely)
Olive oil
Pickled Beets
100ml white wine vinegar
100g white sugar
100ml water
1tsp corinader seeds
1tsp fennel seeds
Tahini dressing
2 tbsp tahini
60ml water
30ml olive oil
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
salt to taste
Crispy kale
Few leaves kale
olive oil
salt

Method

Take 2 of the beetroot from the bunch and peel and quarter. Place on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and put in an oven preheated to 180C for approximately 30-40 minutes, roasting until tender.

In a small saucepan combine the white wine vinegar, sugar, 100ml water, coriander and fennel seeds and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, prepare 2 more beetroot by peeling and chopping into bite sized pieces. Once the pickling liquid is boiling and the sugar has dissolved, place the beetroot pieces in a jar or heat proof bowl and pour over the liquid. Allow to cool completely.

For the freekeh, begin by heating olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add diced onion and finely chopped garlic. Sweat for 2-3 minutes. Next add the freekeh and continute cooking for another 5 minutes, stirring often. Add your vegetable stock, bring to a boil and then allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes. Drain off the remaining liquid and set aside the freekeh to cool slightly.

Remove thick stems from kale and tear leaves into bite sized pieces, drizzle with a small amount of olive oil, salt to taste and rub in well. Place on a baking tray in an oven approx 150C for 15-20 minutes until leaves have become crisp.

For the tahini dressing, combine tahini, minced garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, cumin, paprika and water in a bowl and whisk together - add salt to taste. Adjust the consistency with more water if you need.

With your last beetroot, peel and use a mandolin or knife to slice into paper thin discs.

Serve by plating a few spoons of freekeh, followed by roasted beet wedges, a scattering of pickled beetroot and a good drizzle of the tahini dressing. Top with the raw beetroot slices and crispy kale.

Potato and Italian Herb Pizza with Goats Cheese and Kale Salsa Verde

Our little herb patch is one of our the very best parts of the farm. When it comes to harvest day, there is nothing better than the aroma of the freshly picked herbs filling the harvest crates. This week we’ve been selecting an amazing blend of Italian herbs including rosemary, sage, marjoram, thyme and oregano for our veg box customers. By the end of the day, if you closed your eyes in the packing shed, you could well have been transported to the bustling markets of Naples or Rome as the quintessential herbal perfume filled the air.

Naturally we decided to make pizza for dinner! This recipe is classically Italian and while it doesn’t seem like an obvious combination to put potato on pizza, it is absolutely delicious! We added some creamy soft goats cheese and a tangy kale salsa verde which brings the whole dish to life! The pizza dough is a very quick and easy recipe, perfect for knocking together after a long day at work but if you want the true Napoli pizza experience then take the time to follow a recipe like this: https://www.weekendbakery.com/posts/a-pizza-adventure-part-ii-new-24h-dough-recipe/

Our kale salsa verde can be used for lots of other dishes too so if you have extra, make sure to try it stirred through pasta or roasted vegetables too!

We hope you enjoy this recipe, we certainly did… we polished off two big pizzas far too quickly!!

• Preheat your oven to its highest setting at least 45 minutes prior to putting your pizza in. If you have a pizza stone make sure you have that heating in the oven.

Dough

5 cups strong white bread flour + some for dusting
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
2 1/4 cups water

• Weigh out your dry ingredients and mix together well.

• Next add your water and bring together to form a dough - you can use a kitchen mixer with a dough hook or your hands.

• The dough should be sticky but not sticking to the edges of the bowl, if its to sticky simply add a touch more flour.

• Knead the dough well for 8-10 minutes until it is nice and smooth and elastic.

• Bring the dough together in a ball and lightly oil the surface with olive oil. Place back in a clean bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Allow to rise until doubled in size.

• Once well risen, knock back the dough and rest for 10 -15 minutes.

• Stretch or roll the dough into your pizza shape, place onto parchment paper and brush the top with extra virgin olive oil, all the way to the edges.

Kale Salsa Verde

100g Red Russian kale
150ml cold pressed rapeseed oil
1 garlic clove peeled
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt

• Wash and de-stem the kale.

• Combine ingredients in a food processor, use the pulse setting to get a rough pesto consistency. Loosen with some extra oil if necessary. Add salt to taste.
  
  
  

Toppings

4-5 medium sized potatoes
200g soft goats cheese
20g Fresh Italian Herbs (rosemary, sage, oregano, marjoram, thyme)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• Scrub your potatoes clean, place into a pan of cold salted water and bring to boil.

• Cook until they are just turning tender - you should be able to quite easily pierce them with a fork.

• Remove from the water, allow to cool slightly and then slice thinly into rounds

• Top your pizza dough with a layer of potatoes, add a scattering of the Italian herbs.

• Place on a tray in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the base is nice and crisp and the potates are beginning to turn golden brown.

• Finish with a drizzle of the salsa verde, a few good dollops of goats cheese and some cracked black pepper, plus another drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

• This recipe is delicious both warm and cold so definitely keep your leftovers for tomorrows lunch!
  
  
  

Harissa roasted carrots with butterbean and roasted garlic purée

The first carrots of the season really seem to mark the end of the hungry gap and as much as we love all of the tender leafy greens that are so prolific in the springtime it’s so lovely to see some of the first summer crops making their way into the veg boxes again. This recipe is perfect to showcase the sweet crunch of new season carrots, paired with a smooth butterbean purée and fiery harissa it is a real riot of flavour and texture. It is also a fantastic recipe for getting the most out of another favourite early summer vegetable, wet garlic. Wet Garlic is early season garlic picked before the cloves start to fully separate. At this stage the whole bulb can be used and the outer layers which become papery when the crop is left to mature are still tender and delicious. Wet garlic is highly prized due to it’s short season and is a well known delicacy in many European countries but still goes a bit under the radar here in the UK. We’re on a real mission to sing its praises as it definitely deserves recognition for being so amazingly versatile in the kitchen. It is milder than mature garlic and has unrivalled texture. In this recipe it is roasted whole and blended with the butterbeans adding a real depth of flavour to the silky smooth puree. This recipe is one of our firm favourites on our street food stall and if you’ve paid us a visit at one of our markets you may well have had the chance to taste it. We love to serve it with warm flatbreads which makes an excellent starter, it’s also great served as a cold salad alongside some picnic food. If you try this recipe we’d love to hear how you get on!

Ingredients

Harissa roasted carrots

1 Bunch of young carrots
1 Heaped Tbsp rose harissa paste (Our favourite recipe is from Yotam Ottolenghi and can be found here https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/apr/17/harissa-recipes-yotam-ottolenghi . You can also buy harissa paste ready made, we would recommend Belazu Rose Harissa)
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

Butterbean and roasted garlic purée

2 Bulbs of wet garlic or 1 bulb of dried garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil (we like to use smoked olive oil to give extra depth of flavour but it can be a bit difficult to find and regular olive oil also works well)
800g Butterbeans (you can either use tinned or soak and cook from dried)
180ml Cold pressed rapeseed oil
50ml Lemon juice
Salt

Garnish

Dried rose petals
Chopped pistachios

Method

Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees C. Start by roasting the garlic for the butterbean purée. To do this, rub the garlic bulbs with the olive oil and season with salt. Wrap tightly with kitchen foil and roast for about an hour until the bulbs are soft all the way through. If using wet garlic you can use the whole bulbs in the purée with their skins still on. If using dried garlic you will need to pass the garlic bulbs through a sieve in order to separate the garlic paste from the skin.

Whilst your garlic is roasting give your carrots a good wash and scrub as they will be roasted whole with their skin on to trap in all of that lovely flavour. Cut the tops leaving about an inch of green stem on the carrots. In a mixing bowl combine the harissa paste, olive oil, carrots and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper. Rub the mixture into the carrots until well coated and then transfer to a baking tray. Roast in a 250 degrees C oven until the carrots are starting to caramelise but still have a slight bite to them (about 20-25 minutes).

To make the butterbean puree combine butterbeans, rapeseed oil, lemon juice and your roasted garlic in a blender and blend until silky smooth. Season to tase with salt.

Serve the purée topped with the harissa roasted carrots and garnish with rose petals and pistachios. Warm up some flatbreads and enjoy!

Sicilian Kohlrabi Linguine with thyme, white wine and creme fraiche

Kohlrabi - what a funny old vegetable! It almost looks as if it has been grown on another planet! And let me tell you, with its sweet brassica flavour and deliciously refreshing crunch - the taste too is out of this world! You may have received this weeks veg box and be peering down in confusion as to what to do with this strange looking veg but fear not, luckily its actually very versatile and can be used in a variety of salads and side dishes as well as holding its own as the star attraction of a meal. The whole plant is edible so make sure not to throw away the leaves, they cook just like kale and can be used as a side of greens alongside most main courses.

We often use kohlrabi raw, simply sliced into fine strips and thrown together with some chopped coriander, a squeeze of orange juice and lime juice and some chopped fresh chillies make an excellent slaw to go alongside barbeque food or as a Mexican side. A classic Italian preparation is to slice the kohlrabi into rounds, blanche until tender and then serve with a squeeze of lemon juice and your best extra virgin olive oil. We’ve even found recipes layering kohlrabi and potatoes with a garlicy cream sauce to create an intersting variation on dauphinois.

This recipe is one way to utilise kohrabi as a main course. Its inspired by a classic Sicilian recipe and we think it tastes amazing. Its also really simple to make and only takes about as long as you need to boil your pasta!

Ingredients

2tsp olive oil plus extra for drizzling
1 kohlrabi with leaves intact
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
1 tbsp picked thyme leaves
100ml white wine
150g creme fraiche
Dried or fresh linguine
Parmesan shavings to garnish
Salt and black pepper

Method

Bring a pan of salted water to a boil

Prepare your kohlrabi - remove the leaves and set aside. Peel the bulb using a knife or vegetable peeler. Chop the kohlrabi into a 1cm dice

Finely chop the onion and garlic

Place a saute pan over medium low heat with the olive oil. Add the onions, garlic and most of the thyme (leaving a few sprigs for garnish) and sweat slowly.

Meanwhile add the diced kohlrabi to the boiling water and blanche for 3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the pieces - you will use the same water to cook your pasta.

Once the onions have softened nicely add the blanched kohlrabi to the saute pan.

Add the white wine and reduce to a syrup like consistency, Turn the heat down to its lowest setting and add the creme fraiche. Season with salt and cracked black pepper.

Cook the pasta according to the instructions. Add the kohlrabi leaves to the pasta pan for the last 4 minutes of cooking to blanche them.

Drain the pasta and the leaves.

Add the pasta to the sauce and mix well to coat.

Serve the pasta in a bowl, topped with the kohlrabi leaves, a few sprigs of fresh thyme and some parmesan shavings. Drizzle with olive oil and enjoy!

Baby Turnip - Three simple recipes

The humble turnip doesn’t often make the limelight. In fact, we think it rarely gets the attention it deserves. Picked young, sweet bunches of baby turnips are one of our favourite veggies from the farm. They make a perfect mid harvest snack straight from the ground but they also lend themselves to some wonderful recipes to rustle up at home. The other great thing about these neeps is that the tops are totally edible too… and really delicious!

We grow two varieties : ‘Tokyo Cross’ - a white hakurei type and ‘Sweet Bell’ - a white and pink baby turnip. We pick both varieties at around golf ball size which is when they seem to taste their absolute best!

So to celebrate this often undervalued veg, we’ve put together three recipes to try. Each uses the turnip in a different way to show off just how versatile this beautiful root can be!

Raw turnip salad with dill and pink peppercorn vinaigrette

Ingredients

1 bunch baby turnips
Small handful fresh dill
1 tsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp lemon juice
125ml cold pressed rapeseed oil
1 tsp pink peppercorns
Salt
Edible flowers (optional)

Method

To make the vinaigrette, whisk together the mustard and the lemon juice. Slowly add the oil whisking as you go. be careful not to add too much oil at once or you may split the dressing.
Finely chop the dill and add to the dressing along with the pink peppercorns, salt to taste and up to 1 tbsp of water to adjust the consistency.
Using a mandolin or sharp knife, finely slice the turnips into rounds.
Place turnips onto a plate and drizzle over the dressing. Finish with a scattering of edible flower petals if you have them.
Enjoy as a side salad at lunch or serve as a nice fresh starter.

Roasted baby turnips with turnip tops, rosemary and Parmesan

Ingredients

1 bunch baby turnips with tops on
1 tbsp oil
Few springs of rosemary
Drizzle of olive oil
25g parmesan or other hard cheese

Method

Preheat oven to 180C
Remove the tops from the turnips and set aside
Slice turnips in half lengthways and season cut side with salt
Heat oil in an ovenproof saute pan until very hot
Once hot, add turnips cut side down to the pan and fry for 3 minutes until starting to turn golden brown
Add the rosemary sprigs to the pan and place into the oven - cook for 8 minutes
Meanwhile, saute the turnip tops in a little olive oil until just wilted
Remove turnips from the oven and serve on a bed of the sauteed greens, finish with a grating of parmesan.

Blanched baby turnips with miso yoghurt dressing and crispy turnip tops

Ingredients

1 bunch baby turnip with their tops
100g yoghurt ( you can also use dairy free yoghurt if you’d prefer)
1 tsp white miso paste
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp mirin (optional)
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 garlic clove chopped to a fine paste
Black and white sesame seeds
Peanut oil
Salt
Pepper

Method

Whisk together the yoghurt, miso, mirin, vinegar, cumin and garlic until well combined, season with salt and pepper
Bring a pan of salted water to a boil
Remove the tops from the turnips, leaving about an inch of greens attached. Blanche the turnips for 6 minutes, remove from the pan and place immediately in cold water to cool.
Slice the rest of the green tops as finely as you can.
Heat about half a cup of peanut oil (you can use vegetable oil as well) until very hot.
Add the sliced greens to the oil and fry for 30 seconds - 1 minute until crispy
Remove from the oil using a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel
Serve by placing a dollop of the yoghurt dressing on a plate and stand the turnips on top. Finish with a spinkling of sesame seeds.
To eat, dip the turnips in the yoghurt dressing (the stem makes a great handle) then dip into the crispy greens, eat and repeat!

We hope you enjoy these recipes, we’d love to know your favourite!!!

Rhubarb Tartlet with caramelised white chocolate crème pâtissière

One of the great joys of April is the first pickings of rhubarb. There is something really satisfying about walking through the rhubarb patch harvesting the long vibrant stems. Plus its always such a treat to look forward to the first fruit of the year (in fact its a vegetable but you can’t serve most vegetables with custard!!).
This recipe is a bit more involved but well worth the extra effort. We pair the rhubarb with caramelised white chocolate to create a flavour filled little tartlet… perfect for eating in the garden on a nice sunny day!
You could skip the step where we caramelise the chocolate but we think its makes all the difference. It introduces a deep caramel flavour to the sweetness of the white chocolate and we think its a game changer!
As always, if you do give it a go, let us know how you get on - we’d love to see your results!

Caramelised white chocolate crème pâtissière

200g white chocolate - chopped into small pieces
600ml milk
6 egg yolks
20g cornflour
20g plain flour
20g sugar

First make the caramelised white chocolate - to do this, spread the white chocolate evenly on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in an oven on its lowest setting and cook for 40 -60 minutes, stirring the chocolate every 10 minutes. The chocolate may turn lumpy or chalky but this is normal. Cook the chocolate until it is a golden brown colour - similar to peanut butter.

Remove the chocolate from the oven and allow to cool

Place the milk and white chocolate in a saucepan and bring to a very low simmer over a low heat

Meanwhile whisk the egg yolks with the sugar, flour and cornflour

When the milk is just starting to steam pour half of the hot milk onto the egg mix and mix well, return to the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens and comes to a boil.

Immediately remove the mix from the heat and decant onto a cold baking tray, cover with cling film, making sure to press the cling film onto the surface of the custard and allow to cool.

Sweet pastry

125g butter (softened)
50g caster sugar
1 egg
200g plain flour
Pinch of salt
Zest of half a lemon

Add sugar to softened butter and cream together using a whisk

Add the lemon zest and slowly add the egg, whisking to incorporate

Add the flour and salt and bring together to form a dough being careful not to overwork it

Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for half an hour

Once chilled, roll the dough to a thickness of about 3mm. Line your tart case or rings (we use 4x greased 10cm stainless steel chefs rings). Fill tart cases with baking beads and blind bake for 10 minutes in an oven preheated to 180C. Remove the baking beads and cook for another 8-10 minutes until the pastry is a nice golden brown.

Rhubarb Compote

200g fresh rhubarb
40g caster sugar
20ml water

Chop the rhubarb into 2cm pieces

Place the rhubarb in a saucepan along with the sugar and water, cover and cook over a medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Once the rhubarb has completely broken down, remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Roasted Rhubarb

200g rhubarb
20g sugar

Prepare the rhubarb by cutting into batons about 10cm long.

Toss the rhubarb batons in a baking tray with the sugar. Leave for 20 minutes, then cover with foil and bake for 15–20 minutes. The rhubarb should hold its shape and not be too soft or mushy. Allow to cool and then slice as thinly as possible.

Assembly

Place the set creme pâtissière in a bowl and using a whisk, knock it back until smooth.

In the bottom of the cooked tart case, place a spoonful of rhubarb compote. Top this with the white chocolate creme pâtissière and finish with an arrangement of your sliced roasted rhubarb.

Chill for an hour and enjoy!

Potato rosti with soft poached egg, wilted spinach and wild garlic pesto

Is there anything better during a sunny springtime walk than suddenly being met by the unmistakable aroma of beautiful wild garlic. This time of year is perfect for finding this amazing ingredient straight from natures own larder. The whole plant is edible including the flower heads and bulbs but we like to make the most of its flavourful green leaves. A wild garlic pesto is the perfect way to utilize this foraged produce. Its great stirred through pasta, used as a dip for cheese on toast or you could try this delicious springtime recipe. Paired alongside a nice crisp potato rosti and an oozing soft poached egg, this dish makes a luxurious breakfast or a nice light supper.
We have experimented with a few different ways of perfecting the humble rosti, whether to par boil the potatoes first, use egg or flour to bind the mix or to add onion or not but we think the simpler the better. Our recipe uses just potato, butter and salt and pepper. We pour boiling water over the grated potato and leave it to sit for a few minutes which softens the potato just slightly prior to shaping and cooking.
As always, the fresh ingredients for this weeks recipe are contained in our veg boxes. If you dont currently receive a veg box why not make use of your daily walk , find yourself some wild garlic and cook up a storm!

Ingredients

Rosti
500g potato grated
50g melted butter
salt and pepper

Spinach
150g spinach
knob of butter

Wild Garlic Pesto
75g wild garlic
100ml rapeseed oil
25g parmesan
25g pine nuts
1/2 lemon juiced
salt

Poached Egg
fresh organic eggs
white wine vinegar

Method

• First, make the wild garlic pesto - toast the pine nuts either in a dry pan or spread evenly on a baking sheet in the oven (180C) for a few minutes until just starting to turn a light golden brown - remove from heat and cool

• Wash wild garlic leaves thoroughly and place in a blender alongside the oil and lemon juice - blend to a rough paste

• Add the toasted pine nuts and parmesan and pulse together in the blender - you’re aiming for a slightly rough consistency, not a smooth paste.

• Next start the rosti - grate the potato coarsely and place in a heat proof bowl - pour boiling water from the kettle over the grated potatoes until they are just covered and allow to sit for 2-3 minutes.

• Drain the potatoes and press out any excess moisture

• Stir through melted butter, salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper

• Bring a non stick pan to a medium high temperature, we use metal chef rings to shape the rostis in the pan, to do this simply place the ring in the hot pan and press the potato mix into the ring to a depth of about 1cm. Cook until golden brown and crisp, flip over the rosti and cook the other side. If you do not have metal rings, simply push the rostis into shape using a spatula as they cook.

• Next make the wilted spinach by placing washed spinach into a pan with a knob of butter, place on a medium heat and cover. Leave for 1-2 minutes to allow leaves to wilt.

• For the poached egg, bring a pan of water to a very gentle simmer - you want the water to be a still as possible. Add a splash of white wine vinegar to the pan to help the egg hold together. If making one egg at a time, create a vortex in the water and drop the egg slowly into the centre of the vortex, allow to cook for 3-4 minutes or until the egg is holding its shape. If doing more than one egg, simply drop each egg slowly into the pan without creating a vortex as this tends to break apart one of the eggs.

• To serve, place a bed of wilted spinach on a plate, place the rosti on top followed by the poached egg and a good dollop of wild garlic pesto.

Roasted Hispi Cabbage with yoghurt, dukkah and garden herb salsa

This weeks Seed to Plate recipe makes use of one of our favourite and most versatile vegetables from the farm - hispi (or sweetheart) cabbage. Its a real springtime treat and when you’re digging into a mouthful you’re bound to think of blooming yellow daffodils, newly born lambs and the sweet smell of the first blossoms of the year. Its a perfect starter, a great side or can even be enjoyed just as it is. The great thing about this recipe is that it can be so easily adapted. There are no strict rules about what makes the dukkah spice mix and the garden herb salsa would work with just about any fresh herb so feel free to experiment until your hearts content. Dukkah is an Egyptian mix of nuts and spices and is usually served with with bread and olive oil. We usually make a big batch and store it in a kilner jar which means its close to hand to sprinkle on just about anything. It works really well as a salad topper or anywhere you want to add a little texture and spice.
We stir some slow roasted garlic through the yoghurt to give a delicious sweet allium flavour which works really well to add depth of flavour. Simply wrap a few garlic cloves in tin foil with a sprinkle of salt and some rapeseed (or other) oil and pop into a medium low oven for about an hour. The smell of the slowly cooking garlic is bound to get your mouth watering. Once its done simply remove the cloves and when cool enough, push them through a sieve (a drum sieve is easiest) which gets rid of the paper husk and leaves you with a delicious puree.
As always we’d love to hear if you try this recipe, or any of the elements.

Ingredients

Dukkah
50g hazelnuts
50g almond flakes
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp black onion seeds
2 tbsp sesame seeds

Garden herb salsa
30g fresh garden herbs ( we used a mix of french tarragaon, flat leaf parsley and chives)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt

Yoghurt
225g greek yoghurt
6 garlic cloves (unpeeled)
Salt and black pepper

Cabbage
1 hispi cabbage cut into quarters or eighths lengthways so they form wedges
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 knob butter
Salt and black pepper

Method

Dukkah
Spread the nuts in a single layer onto a baking tray and place in an oven preheated to 180C for about 8 minutes, checking every few minutes, until nicely toasted - remove and allow to cool
Meanwhile, add the whole spices to a dry pan and place on the hob over a medium heat, keep the seeds moving as they toast - they will smell really aromatic when they are done (probably 2-3 minutes)
In a food processor, pulse together the ingredients making sure to leave some texture in the nuts, you want quite a chunky mix not a fine powder.
Use immediately or store up to 1 month in an airtight jar.

Garden Herb Salsa
Roughly chop the herbs and add to a pestle and mortar, grind the herbs with a pinch of salt until you have a paste.
Add the apple cider vinegar and continue to grind, mixing the vinegar into the herbs. Slowly add the olive oil, mixing all the time.
If you dont have a pestle and mortar its just as easy to chop the herbs very finely with a knife and then whisk together with the acid and oil.
Alternatively you could just pop everything in a food processor and whizz!

Roasted Garlic Yoghurt
Separate 6 garlic cloves and place them on some tin foil ( there’s no need to peel the garlic) drizzle with rapeseed (or any other) oil and sprinkle with salt. Fold the tin foil over the garlic, creating a parcel. You might want to double wrap with tin foil. Place in an oven preheated to 150C for about 1 hour.
Once cooked, remove from parcel and allow to cool.
Using the back of a spoon push the garlic cloves through a fine mesh sieve - this will remove the husk and give you a fine puree. Simply scrape the puree from the sieve and stir through the yoghurt. Use a wooden spoon or spatula rather than a whisk as this might make it very runny. Season with salt and black pepper.

Roasted Hispi
Preheat oven to 180C
Heat 1 tbsp rapeseed oil in an oven proof frying pan or roasting tray over a medium high heat.
Slice the cabbage into wedges length ways - either quarters or eighths and season with salt.
Once the oil is hot, place the cabbage cut side down into the pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the cabbage has turned golden brown.
Flip the wedges onto the other cut side and add a knob of butter to the pan.
Place the pan in the oven and roast for 12 minutes until cabbage is softened.

To serve
Spoon some of the roasted garlic yoghurt onto a plate and drizzle with some of the garden herb salsa. Place the roasted hispi on top of the yoghurt and sprinkle with the dukkah mix. You can drizzle some more salsa on if you like too!

Sri Lankan Rainbow Chard and Potato Curry

This weeks seed to plate recipe transports us back to the bustling streets of Sri Lanka. In January, we spent a few weeks exploring the south of this amazing country and were lucky enough to taste some mouth watering food and learn some incredible home recipes. From the farm this week, we have some beautiful rainbow chard which works perfectly with the creamy rich coconut flavour which is found throughout Sri Lankan cuisine. This recipe uses tinned coconut milk but you could always make your own if you can get your hands on some fresh coconut. High in the Sri Lankan hill country town of Ella we were shown how to ‘milk a coconut’ by first scraping out the flesh and then squeezing with a splash of water to produce the most amazing tasting coconut milk we’ve ever tried. Special coconut scraping kitchen tools are commonplace in Sri Lankan kitchens (essentially a piece of serrated metal on a stick which you hold in place using your hip) however we’ve found a zester or microplane does the trick just as well and takes a little less practice to use!
We serve ours with red rice which is found with most meals in Sri Lanka, you can buy this from whole food shops but it works just as well with white rice and/or a good flat bread.
If you can’t find rainbow chard you can substitute for swiss chard or any other leafy green. The potato variety we used in this recipe is Valor - a generally good all rounder, try to avoid using potatoes which are too floury in this recipe as they will not hold their form as well.
As always, let us know if you try this recipe. We’d love to hear how you get on!

Iranga teaching us how to ‘milk a coconut’

Ingredients

1 1/2 Tbsp coconut oil
1 1/2 tsp yellow mustard seeds
10 curry leaves (fresh or dried)
1 onion (thinly sliced)
1 inch thumb of ginger (finely chopped)
2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
3 green chillies (finely chopped)
3 tomatoes (seeds removed and diced to 1cm)
1 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garam masala
400g tin coconut milk
100ml water
500g potato (peeled and cut into equal size pieces)
2 kaffir lime leaves
100g rainbow chard (or other leafy green) roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 lime
Coriander leaves to garnish

Method

Begin by heating the coconut oil over a medium high heat in a heavy bottom saucepan
Once the oil is moderately hot, add the mustard seeds and curry leaves and fry for 30 seconds until the seeds start sizzling and popping - be careful not to burn the seeds as this will add a bitter flavour.
Turn down the heat to low and add the onions, garlic, ginger and green chillies - cook for 3-4 minutes until the onion has softened
Next add the diced tomato along with the dry spices, mix well and cook for another few minutes
Add the coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, potatoes and just enough water so the potatoes are completely covered
Bring to a boil, and allow to simmer for 25 minutes or until the potatoes are tender
Season with salt and pepper
Add the chopped rainbow chard and cook until the leaves are just wilted
Finish with a squeeze of fresh lime juice
Serve with boiled red rice and fresh coriander leaves

Soul Warming Spinach and Saffron Stew

Well, times have been pretty tough the past few weeks and I don’t know about you but for us the best ‘pick me ups’ come in the form of some delicious food. This spinach and saffron stew with chickpeas is bound to lift your spirits and warm your soul. Not only is it really simple to make, its good for you and it feels super indulgent. With a rich tomato sauce and warm spiced flavour this really is our definition of comfort food! After a long day growing vegetables on the farm there is nothing that helps us cosy down for the night more than a good bowl (or two) of this. 

We normally serve ours with a good helping of silky mashed potato (we’ll have to share our recipe for that soon too) but it would also work well with rice, whole grains or simply on its own. To finish we top with Za’atar, a middle Eastern spice made up of dried herbs and sesame seeds. This is increasingly easy to find in most supermarkets but if you are struggling to find it you could substitute some plain toasted sesame seeds or just leave it off altogether.

Let us know if you try it out, we’d love to know what you think!

Ingredients

1tsp vegetable oil
1/2 leek (halved lengthways and finely sliced)
4 cloves garlic (minced)
1 tbsp tomato puree
100ml white wine
1 pinch saffron strands
4 large tomatoes (diced to 1cm)
400ml vegetable stock
400g can of chickpeas
100g spinach (washed and roughly chopped)
15g flat leaf parsley (washed and finely chopped)
Za’atar
Extra virgin olive oil

Method

Sweat the leek over a medium low heat until softened, add the chopped garlic and cook for another minute
Next add the tomato paste and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes
Pour in the white wine and reduce until at a syrup like consistency
Add the stock, chopped tomatoes, saffron and chickpeas and bring to a boil, reduce the heat and cook on a low simmer for 30 minutes
To finish, add the chopped spinach and parsley and cook until just wilted.
Season with salt and cracked black pepper
Serve over creamy mashed potatoes and finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of za’atar