Winter

Warm Winter Salad

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This is a delicious hearty winter salad, full of roasted sweet potato and carrots, cumin seeds as well as butter beans, crunchy kale and pretty pink radishes and finally finished off with a zesty basil dressing

Ingredients: 1 parsley root, 100g purple chantenay carrots, 1/2 a sweet potato, 10g basil, garlic, 70g radishes, handful of kale.

Larder: 1 tin of butter beans, 100g quinoa, 1tsp cumin seeds/powder, juice of 1 lemon, 1 tbsp honey, 5-6 tbsp oil, pinch of salt.

 

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.
  • Peel and chop the parsley root, sweet potato and chantenay carrots into small chunks and place in a large roasting tin. Drain and rinse the butter beans and add to the roasting tin.
  • Drizzle with olive oil; add cumin powder or seeds, a pinch of salt and stir to coat veggies and butter beans. Roast for 25 minutes.
  • Make a dressing by combining together minced garlic clove, chopped basil, 4 tbsp oil, lemon juice and honey. Adjust proportions to taste.making-basil-dressing-600px
  • Finely chop the kale, and slice the radishes, pour over the dressing in a salad bowl, mix well so kale is coated and set aside to marinade.
  • Cook the quinoa according to packet instructions.
  • When veggies are cooked and butter beans slightly crisping, remove from the oven, add to the salad bowl with kale and radishes and mix in the cooked quinoa.
  • Serve while still warm.

Cavolo Nero and Barley Hot Pot

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We love a good one-pot wonder of a meal. This is just that – a brilliant warming stew full of veg and barley. We suggest using cider instead of stock, which gives it a lovely rich sweetness.

Ingredients: 2 cloves garlic, 2 shallots, 1 carrot, 1 bay leaf, 1 stick of celery(allergen), 150g potatoes, 70g cavolo nero, 5g thyme.

From the larder: 100g barley, 500ml cider (if you have it) or stock, plus water, 2 tsp Worcester sauce, 1 tsp honey (optional extra: sausages).

Instructions:

  • If using, cook sausages in the oven while making the stew.
  • Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a heavy bottom pan on low heat. Mince garlic, thyme, chop shallots, carrot & celery and potatoes. Add to the sauce pan along with the barley and cook for a few minutes allowing veggies to soften slightly.

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  • Add the cider or stock into the heavy bottom pan and then add the bay leaf, Worcester sauce, honey and a grind of black pepper.
  • Chop the cavolo nero and add to the saucepan.
  • Stir and leave to simmer with the lid on for 25 minutes until barley is soft, but still has a little bite. Stir occasionally and add a little water to just cover the veggies, as the barley will absorb liquid as it cooks.
  • Taste and adjust seasoning before serving alone or with sausages (Toast is also a tasty accompaniment if so desired!).

Beetroot Rosti

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Full of colourful goodness, this beetroot rosti is scrumptious with a little chilli kick and spring onion zing. Served with tenderstem broccoli, feta and seeds, this is a lovely healthy mid week meal.

Ingredients: 1 large, 2 small beetroot, 4-5 new potatoes, 100g tenderstem broccoli, 1 spring onions, 1 green chilli, 2tbsp chopped chives.

Larder: 50g feta cheese, 4 eggs, oil, salt and pepper (optional extra: 2tbsp pumpkin or sesame seeds).

Instructions:

  • Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
  • In a bowl, grate the potatoes and the beetroot. Finely chop the chives, spring onion and deseed and finely slice half the green chilli and add to the bowl. Add 2 eggs and mix well to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Heat a glug of oil in an ovenproof frying pan or casserole dish. Pour the rösti mixture into the pan; spread out and push down gently so that it fills the pan. Cook for approximately 5 minutes, check the underside and when starting to brown, place frying pan in the oven to roast the rösti for 15 minutes.cooking-rosti-on-stove-600px
  • When the rösti is almost ready, roughly chop and blanche the broccoli for 5 minutes by placing in a saucepan of boiling water.
  • While the broccoli is blanching, poach 2 eggs. To save on washing up, you can poach the eggs in the broccoli water after it’s blanched!
  • When the rösti is browning and crispy, remove from the oven. Serve half the rösti per person with a poached egg and broccoli with crumbled feta and mixed seeds sprinkled on top along with a squeeze of lemon if you have it.

Jerusalem Artichoke Risotto

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With purple carrots in the mix, this risotto takes on their colour and creates a beautiful meal, containing tasty jerusalem artichokes, mushrooms and spinach. We think it’s a winner!

Ingredients: 2 shallots, 1 clove of garlic, 150g Jerusalem artichoke, handful of spinach, 70g mushrooms, 1 purple carrot, 4g lemon thyme.

From the larder: 20g butter, 170g Arborio rice, 700-800ml stock, salt and pepper, (optional: chicken pieces and 30g grated parmesan).

Instructions:

  • Chop the shallots, a garlic clove, finely chop the carrot and strip lemon thyme leaves from their stem. Sauté gently together with a knob of butter in a heavy bottom pan for about 5-7 minutes until shallots are soft.
  • Add the Arborio rice and cook for 2 minutes, until the rice looks slightly translucent.
  • Prepare 700ml stock (use some white wine if you like). Add it to the rice ladle-by-ladle until it is all fully absorbed. Stir and allow stock to absorb between each ladle. Add more water if you run out of stock before the rice is cooked. This process can take up to 20 mins, so be patient, while enjoying it turn purple!cooking-risotto-600px
  • While the risotto is cooking, halve and thinly slice the mushrooms and jerusalem artichoke. Fry the mushrooms in a small frying pan on their own and then add to the risotto. Then fry the jerusalem artichoke (and chicken pieces if using) gently until the jerusalem artichoke is soft and slightly crispy in places. Once the stock is absorbed and the risotto al denté, add the spinach leaves, stir to wilt, and then add the jerusalem artichoke and chicken. Remove from the heat, season and add a knob of butter and optional grated parmesan.
  • Leave risotto to rest for approximately 5 minutes before serving.

Roasted Veg with Lentils and a Kumquat Dressing

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Nothing much can beat roasted veg. We have a new found love of brussel sprouts, and roasting them makes them all the more delicious. They are roasted along with beetroot, carrots; all served with lentils and a tasty kumquat dressing.

Ingredients: 2 carrots, 150g brussel sprouts, 1 beetroot, a few stems of flat parsley, 4-5 kumquats.

Larder: 100g puy lentils, ½ a stock cube, olive oil, 1 tsp honey/sugar (optional extra: grilled salmon or chicken).

Instructions:

  • Trim the ends and peel off the outer layer of brussel sprouts. Quarter the sprouts and chop the beetroot and carrots into small chunks.
  • Place in a roasting tin, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast for 25-30 minutes.roasting-veg-in-tin-600px
  • Cook the lentils in 3 times their volume of water, crumble in half the stock cube and cover. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20-25 minutes until lentils are soft, but still have a little bite to them.
  • If using, grill salmon or chicken while the lentils and veggies cook.
  • While the lentils are cooking and veggies roasting, make a kumquat dressing. Without peeling, thinly slice the kumquats, place in a small sauce pan and cover with water (approximately 150ml), add 1 tsp honey or sugar and simmer until slightly syrupy. Taste for sweetness and add more honey/sugar if desired.
  • Chop flat parsley leaves.
  • When veggies and lentils are ready, mix the parsley into the roasted veg and serve on a bed of lentils with the kumquats on top.

Roasted Squash and Mushroom Pasta

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A comforting and easy January supper, this dish is perfect on a busy night as you can chop it all up, pop it in the oven and come back to it for the finishing touches before tucking in.

Ingredients: 200g Butternut squash, 1 clove of garlic, 50g button mushrooms, 40g oyster mushrooms, small sprig of thyme, 70g kale.

From the larder: 175g pasta, 25g Parmesan, 25g breadcrumbs, 3 tbsp crème fraîche and olive oil.

Instructions:

  • Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C and bring a pan of water to the boil for the pasta.
  • Chop the squash into small chunks, halve large mushrooms and crush a garlic clove.
  • Place all in a roasting tin with thyme leaves, salt, pepper and a drizzle with olive oil. Roast for 20-25 minutes.
  • Add chopped kale, after about 10-12 minutes, when you start to smell the roasting mushrooms.
  • At this point start cooking the pasta.
  • During the last 5-10 minutes of roasting, sprinkle breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan over roasting veggies and cook until golden and crispy.added-parmesan-and-breadcrumbs-600px
  • Drain pasta and remove the veg from the oven, mix altogether with the crème fraîche.
  • Serve immediately with a little Parmesan grated on top.

Padron Pepper Frittata

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This is a great way to ease into the new year: A simple frittata containing padron peppers, tomatoes and potatoes and accompanied by a delicious massaged kale and radish salad. You can make frittatas with any combo of veggies so it’s a great way to use up leftover Christmas veggies.

Ingredients: Potatoes, shallots, garlic, tomatoes, padrón pepper, baby red pepper, basil, kale, radish.

Larder: 5 eggs, 2 tsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp olive oil, ½ tsp sugar, salt and pepper, 40g chopped chorizo (optional).

Instructions:

  • Preheat the grill.
  • Thinly slice the potatoes, slice the shallots, garlic and peppers.
  • Heat 1 tbsp oil in a heavy based frying pan; sauté the vegetables with chorizo for 5 minutes.
  • Halve the tomatoes and add to the pan – cook for a further 2 minutes.
  • Beat the eggs and mix in the salt, pepper and chopped basil leaves. Pour the egg mixture over vegetables and cook for 5-7 mins to set the bottom of the frittata. Then place under pre-heated grill for 5-7 mins to cook the top. If you do not have a grill, carefully turn the frittata and to cook the other side.img_0550
  • To make the salad, massage the kale for a few minutes with 1 tbsp oil, lemon juice and ¼ tsp salt until tender. Tear into small pieces and mix with sugar and thinly sliced radish. Serve with the frittata.

Brussel Sprout Risotto

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You can’t get much more wintry than a brussel sprout focussed meal. This risotto is delicious and made better by buttery brussels sautéed with sage and thyme and optional bacon and almonds, creating the perfect savoury salty combos.

Ingredients: Shallots, garlic, brussel sprouts, lemon thyme, sage, and spinach.

From the larder: Butter, 170g Arborio rice, 600-ml stock, 30g Parmesan, 40g almonds and/or 2 slices bacon chopped into pieces (optional).

Instructions:

  • Chop the shallots and garlic. Sauté in butter for 2 mins then add the Arborio rice and cook until it looks slightly translucent.
  • Prepare stock and add to the rice ladle-by-ladle and cook until rice is al denté and risotto creamy. Stir and allow stock to absorb between each ladle. This process should take about 20 minutes. Half way through cooking, add the lemon thyme leaves stripped off the stems.
  • While the risotto is cooking, slice the brussel sprouts, and chop the almonds and sage leaves. Melt a large knob of butter in a frying pan and fry the sprouts until they are soft and starting to brown. When sprouts are softening, add the almonds and sage and fry altogether.frying-brussel-sprouts-and-almonds-600px
  • If using bacon, start frying that first and add the sprouts followed by almonds and sage.
  • When risotto is ready, take off the heat, mix in spinach and grated Parmesan, allowing Parmesan to melt and spinach to wilt.
  • Stir the brussel sprouts, almonds, sage and optional bacon into the risotto and serve immediately.

Christmas Parcel With Flower Sprouts

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A Christmas Pastry Parcel for the week before Christmas. This pastry is packed full of warm Christmassy flavours created by the parsnips, squash, allspice and rosemary and is accompanied by our favourite flower Sprouts.

Ingredients: 1 Shallot, 250g butternut squash, 4-5 baby parsnips or 1 normal-sized parsnip, handful of kale, 4-5 chestnuts, sprig of rosemary and 100g flower sprouts.

From the larder: 1 roll of ready-made puff pastry, 100ml cream, 1 egg, butter, ¾ tsp allspice, oil, salt and pepper.

Instructions:

  • Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Peel and chop the butternut squash and chop the parsnips all into 1cm pieces. Toss in olive oil; place in a roasting tin and roast for 20 minutes.
  • Pierce the chestnuts with a skewer or cut a line in the chestnut shells and place on the baking tray in the oven. Roast for 8-10 minutes and then remove from the oven. Peel the chestnuts or scoop out their flesh and chop into pieces. Set aside for the pie filling later.
  • Chop the shallot and rosemary and sauté in a large sauté pan until shallots are soft. Finely chop the kale and add to the sauté pan.
  • When the squash and parsnips are soft, remove from the oven and mix into the sauté pan along with the chestnuts. Beat together the allspice, egg and cream. Remove the sauté pan from the heat and stir in the egg and cream mixture.
  • Unroll the pastry and place the whole sheet on a baking tray roughly 20cm x 30cm. Place the filling along the centre of the pastry lengthways. Lightly wet the edges with water and fold the pastry around the veg into tube. Brush with milk or left over egg. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes until pastry is golden and crispy. While baking, steam the flower sprouts for about 3-4 minutes.pie-filling-in-pastry-unrolled-600px
  • Serve the Christmas parcel with the flower sprouts and enjoy!

‘Shroom Pasta with Gremolata

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This is a great quick mid-week meal with delicious mushrooms and gremolata, a wonderful mix of parsley, garlic and lemon zest.

Ingredients: 40g Oyster, 100g chestnut and button mushrooms, 60g cavolo nero, bunch of parsley and 3 garlic cloves.

From the larder: 200g fettuccine or other pasta, olive oil, zest and juice of ½-1 lemon, salt and pepper (optional: 2 tbsp white wine, dollop of crème fraîche).

Instructions:

  • Make the gremolata: finely mince the garlic and the parsley. Add the lemon zest and chop together.

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  • Start cooking the pasta in a large saucepan of salted water.
  • Slice the mushrooms and heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan. When hot, add the mushrooms and fry for a few minutes until browning and starting to sweat. If you have it, add 2 tbsp of white wine and continue cooking until wine has evaporated and mushrooms glazed.
  • Add another tbsp of olive oil and the gremolata and cook for another minute or so.

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  • Finely shred the cavolo nero and add it to the pasta water for the last 4-5 minutes of cooking.
  • When pasta is al denté, remove ½ cup (approx. 50ml) of pasta water before draining and add ¼ cup (approx. 25ml) to the mushrooms and stir together along with the juice of ½ a lemon.
  • Drain the pasta and cavolo nero and toss with the mushrooms. If it seems dry, add 2-4 tbsp of the reserved pasta water.
  • Serve in warmed bowls with optional Parmesan grated on top and a dollop of crème fraîche.