20/11/2009 by D.

1 pomegranate
1 pack feta
1 box rocket (or a bag of hackney salad)

Cut the pomegranate in half and crumble out the seeds into a bowl, peeling off the skin as you go.  Rinse the seeds.  Rinse the salad.  Put the pomegranate seeds and salad in a bowl and crumble over the feta.  Mix well.

The brilliant thing about this combination is each element tames and compliments the other two.  In this case, three truly is the magic number.  If you really can’t face a naked salad, a little olive oil is all you’ll need.

To truly taste the flavours, serve it with something plainish like baked potatoes or chicken.  It is also lovely stuffed into pitta pockets for lunch.

Posted in Feta, Pomegranate, Salad, Rocket, Hackney salad, Recipe, Vegetarian, Organic Box | Print | No Comments »

20/11/2009 by D.

Fruit: Coxes apples, oranges, pomegranate, Packham pears, bananas
Veg: Mushrooms, parsnip, carrots, onions, Jerusalem artichokes, Nicola potatoes, fennel, leeks, kale

Hurrah for the pomegranate.  It’s just what I fancy this week to offset the peppery salad.  Some people think them a bit of a hassle, but I find the best way to deal with the blighters is to cut the fruit in half, tear the side a bit and then sort of crumble/rub off the seeds into a bowl, peeling the skin and membrane as you go.  I can do the whole fruit in two minutes so it really isn’t a big job and if you have kids, they’ll happily do it for you.  The fresher the fruit, the easier it is, so there is an incentive to use it this week!  Once you’ve got it in the bowl it’s just a case of picking out any bits of white pith and giving the seeds a quick rinse if they are a bit sandy from the skin.  Pomegranate seeds are great for colour and tang in fruit or rice salads and pilafs as well as breakfast cereals, rice pudding and even on pizzas!  This one is going into my pomegranate, feta and rocket salad, which I will post later.

The Jerusalem artichokes will do a nice soup, teamed with a dash of lemon and some smokey pancetta, and I fancy some more fajitas with the fennel.  The leeks will go into my favourite beef, leek and lentil soup which is one of those timeless accident classics that get made because you are using something up and then it remains on the menu as it was simply fantastic (that’s if you can remember how you threw it together in the first place!).  We’ll do some gorgonzola and pear pitta pizzas, try the ‘kale on toast’ recipe from the growing communities flyer and I’m planning to do a lovely guinness and beef stew using the parsnips, mushrooms, potatoes and carrots.  What a fantastic bag we have this week!  And I also want to add a round of applause for the amazing apples from Stocks farm.  Really delicious. Thank you.  We shall be up to the market in Stokey to get some more.

Posted in Pomegranate, Organic Box | Print | 1 Comment »

13/11/2009 by D.

2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 onion
4 tomatoes (or a tin)
2 peppers (red or green)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano or chopped fresh parsley
4 eggs

Heat the oven to 200c.  Chop the onion into thin strips and roughly chop the tomatoes and peppers.  Peel and crush the garlic.  Mix them all with the oil, salt and oregano and place in a shallow oven proof dish.  Bake for 40 mins.

Remove dish from oven and use a spoon to make four holes in the sauce.  Break an egg into each hole, cover the dish with some foil and return it to the oven for 4 to 8 mins, depending on how done you like your eggs. 

I like this best with the big turkish flat breads from my local shop.  I put them in the oven when the eggs go in to warm though.

There are many variations to this: you can add feta, ham or mushrooms, different herbs, smoked paprika, chilli etc to keep it interesting.  I love grated cheddar on top!  This makes a fantastically easy and scalable brunch dish for the whole family.  It is very filling and definitely a perfect antidote to this torrential rain.

Posted in Eggs, Oregano, Brunch, Parsley, Garlic, Recipe, Onion, Tomato, Toddler | Print | No Comments »

12/11/2009 by D.

Those of you who have tried making gnocchi before and have given up as it’s too much hassle and they don’t work… guess what?  It’s time to try again!  These are so delicious that the extra hassle of getting your hands sticky will become a badge of honour that you’ve finally cracked these pesky little numbers.  The full version of this recipe is in one of my favourite cookbooks: bowl food (by murdoch books).  It’s one of those small desert island cook books that covers loads of one pot meals very nicely and has each recipe on its own page with a picture to entice you!

for the gnocchi:
2 large potatoes
1 sweet potato
1 egg yolk
2 tblsp milk
pinch ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp salt

for the sauce:
1 tbsp olive oil
4 rashers bacon or 100g lardons
1 small onion
large dash sherry, vermouth or sherry vinegar
500g spinach (or chard)
40g butter
toasted pinenuts to serve

Bake the potatoes on a tray in a hot oven (220c) for around an hour. 

While they are baking you can dry roast the pinenuts in a pan, shaking regularly and keep an eye, they have a tendancy to burn.  Also make the sauce.  Chop the onion, bacon and wash the spinach.  Fry the onion and bacon in the oil until golden, add the sherry and leave to reduce for a couple of minutes.  Add the spinach and butter, stir well then turn off the heat and put a lid on the pan.

When the potatoes are ready (the sweet potato may take a little less time that the others), cut them in half and leave to cool a little.  Scoop out the flesh and push through a sieve/use a ricer/mash thoroughly to make absolutely sure there are no lumps.  I have to be honest, pushing them through a sieve is a bit of a pain, and I actually bought a potato ricer specifically to make this dish as I love it so much.

In a large bowl, mix the potato, milk, nutmeg, salt and 1 cup of the flour and stir well.  Flour your hands, then take a small spoonful of the mixture out and briskly roll into a ball between your palms.  It should roll, but still be sticky.  If you just end up with potato smeared hands and not a little gnocchi, add some more flour.  It is important to get the balance right as too much flour will make the gnocchi too heavy and more like boiled bits of dough, too little and the next step will be almost impossible!

Put a big pan of salted water on to boil.  Lightly flour a baking tray, a chopping board and your hands.  Gently knead the mixture in the bowl and divide into two.  Take out half the mixture and roll into a long snake 2cm thick (this is the playdough bit!) on the chopping board.  Using a knife, cut off 2cm diagonal lengths and push them onto the baking tray with each cut.  Repeat with the second half of the mixture.  If you are feeling fancy (or have a bored child, friend or spouse handy), gently indent your gnocchi with a fork.

Cook the gnocchi in the boiling water (I flick them off the baking tray into the water, trying to avoid the flour) in batches for 2 or 3 mins each; don’t crowd them as all your hard work will go to waste.  Do about four batches, depending on the size of your pan.  Generally the rule is once they float, they are ready.  Try one if you are unsure.  They should be firm and not taste of raw flour.  Scoop out with a slotted spoon and then spread them out on a plate whilst the next lot are cooking.  When you are done, drain the excess water off the plates and add the gnocchi to the sauce.  Taste and season.  Give it all a couple of minutes to reheat, then serve immediately with pinenuts sprinkled on top.

If you are freezing the gnocchi, leave them on the plate to cool.  Freeze in a box and again, respect their space a little or you could end up with one large gnocch!

Posted in Spinach, Pinenuts, Gnocchi, Sweet potato, Bacon, Potato, Onion, Chard, Recipe | Print | No Comments »