18/10/2010 by D.

This delicious recipe is adapted from Diana Henry’s excellent book ‘roast figs sugar snow’.  It is an elegant way to use up the piles of pumpkin you are left with once you’ve made your lantern.

Rich shortcrust pastry:
6 oz plain flour
2 oz oats
6 oz butter
1/2 tsp salt
tbsp very cold water

Filling:
1 medium pumpkin or squash
tbsp olive oil
bunch spinach (or chard)
2 eggs
9 fl oz double cream
2 oz parmesan
1 tsp grated nutmeg
7 oz Gorgonzola

Make the pastry by cutting the fat into the flour.  Quickly rub the cut up fat into the flour with the tips of your fingers until it resembles bread crumbs.  Add the oats and salt, then, stirring with a knife, slowly add a little water and bring the mixture together.  Wrap it in foil or clingfilm and pop it in the fridge for half an hour (or overnight). 

Preheat the oven to 180c.  Roll the pastry out and press into a 9 inch tart tin (or into several mini tins).  Prick the bottom of the pastry and bake blind in the oven for 7-10 minutes.

Scoop out the pumpkin with a spoon and set aside to make a lantern.  Mix the scooped out pumpkin (seeds discarded) with the oil and spread out on a tray.  Bake for 20 mins or until just tender.

De-stalk and wash the spinach.  Chop finely, then wilt in a pan for 4 minutes and discard any water.  Make the custard by mixing together the eggs, cream, nutmeg and parmesan.

Spread the spinach in the bottom of the tart, then top with the pumpkin.  Crumble over the gorgonzola, then top with the custard.

Bake for 40 minutes if one big tart (25-30 for smaller ones) until the custard is set and the pastry golden.  Cool for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Posted in Pumpkin, Spinach, Chard, Recipe, Organic Box | Print | No Comments »

23/05/2010 by D.

This recipe is adapted from one of my favourite American cookbooks: generations eats by Amy Rosen.

1 pack fresh spinach (or chard)
1 jar artichoke hearts
1 cup grated mozzarella
2 minced garlic cloves
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp salt
some grinds of black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180c.  Drain all but 1 tbsp of the oil from the artichokes (if you are using tinned artichokes in water, once you have drained them, add a tbsp olive oil or mayonnaise to this recipe).  Wash and dry the spinach (or chard) and remove the tough stalks.

Roughly chop the spinach and artichokes and mix with the rest of the ingredients and bake for around 40 mins until browned on top.  Serve while warm with melba toast, toasted bagels, pitta or baguette.  Soooo nice.

You can mix it up in advance, then bake later, so great for parties.

It can also be made with defrosted frozen spinach, just squeeze out the excess water before chopping.

Posted in Spinach, Artichoke, Dip, Mozzarella, Garlic, Chard, Vegetarian, Lemon, Recipe | 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 »

16/09/2009 by D.

1 tsp oil
1 onion, chopped
1 bag chard - any type, washed and shredded, stalks and all (or spinach)
1 lemon (juice only)
1 tsp nutmeg
1 stock cube (veg or chicken, I like kallo ones) disolved in 2 tbsp hot water
1 tub ricotta

heat oil, add onion and fry until transparent.  add chard, half the lemon juice, nutmeg and stock.  Leave to simmer for a five minutes until chard is wilted.  Add ricotta, then blitz with a blender (I use one of those hand held things straight into the pot).  Season to taste, add more lemon juice/salt as required.

I serve this with linguini, freshly grated parmesan and some dry pan-toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds.  Or else I use the sauce to stuff cannelloni or pancakes, then cover them with a thick tomato sauce and a layer of cheese before baking for half an hour.

Posted in Spinach, Ricotta, Pasta, Vegetarian, Onion, Chard, Recipe | Print | No Comments »