Autumn

Roasted Veg with Quinoa and Sprouting Flowers

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Born from a cross between kale and brussel sprouts around 15 years ago, they have a lovely sweet nutty flavour and have been classed as a ‘superfood’ for being vitamin rich and packed full of dietary fiber. Developed through traditional breeding techniques, we enjoyed finding out that the breed was named by a reader of Good House Keeping in a competition run on the magazine’s website!

Ingredients: 150g new potatoes, 1-2 small beetroot, 100g chantenay carrots, 1 grelot onion, a small bunch of basil, 80g sprouting flowers.

From the larder: 100g quinoa or couscous, 1 tin black beans or kidney beans, 1-2 tbsp honey, juice of ½ a lime, 3 tbsp olive oil (optional extra: ½ tsp cumin powder, grilled salmon or poached eggs).

Instructions:

  • Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
  • Chop the potatoes, beetroot and the bulb of the onion into 1-2 cm chunks. Chop any larger carrots in half.
  • Place in a roasting tin with a drizzle of olive oil, sprinkle with cumin powder, salt and pepper. Roast for 25-30 minutes.roasting-veg-600px
  • Meanwhile, make the dressing; finely chop the basil and combine with 2 tbsp olive oil, lime juice, honey and a pinch of salt. Taste and add more salt, lime, honey or oil according to taste.
  • Cook the quinoa or couscous as per packet instructions. Trim the ends of the sprouting flowers. Add them whole to the quinoa during the last 3 minutes of cooking and then drain. If using couscous, steam the flowers separately in a small saucepan of water for 3 minutes.
  • Drain and rinse the beans and mix in to the quinoa.
  • To serve, place roasted veggies on top of the quinoa, beans and sprouting flowers and drizzle with the basil dressing.

Butternut Daal with Mushrooms

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This week, whether you are American or not, celebrating Thanksgiving or not, there’s always time and place for a daal -lop of thankfulness. So, while cooking up a butternut squash flavoured feast and watching it simmer, take a moment or two to ponder something you’re thankful for. We’re pretty sure it’s been proven to be good for you!

Ingredients: 2 banana shallots, 2 cloves garlic, 12g ginger, 10g turmeric, 1-2 stems of fresh curry leaves, roughly 200g butternut squash, large handful of spinach, 60g mushrooms, small sprig of coriander.

From the larder: 75g rice, 120g red lentils, oil (coconut or other), 1 stock cube, 1tsp cumin powder (optional: 1tsp mustard seeds).

Instructions:

  • Chop shallots and coriander stems, peel and mince 1 garlic clove, ginger and turmeric. Sauté the shallots and garlic in oil for 3 minutes until soft and then add the lentils, turmeric, ginger, whole curry leaves, coriander stems, cumin and optional mustard seeds. Sauté for a minute.
  • Cover with 2cm of water (approx. 600ml) and crumble in the stock cube. Bring to the boil and reduce heat to simmer.
  • Peel and chop the butternut squash into 1-2cm chunks and add to the lentils. Cook for 25-30 mins until lentils are soft and butternut squash is tender. Stir regularly and add more water as the lentils and squash cook and absorb the water. The daal should end up like a very thick soup.butternut-squash-daal-with-spinach-600px
  • While the daal is cooking, cook the rice according to packet instructions.
  • Slice the mushrooms and chop the second clove of garlic. In another frying pan, fry both in a knob of butter until soft and juicy.
  • When lentils are ready, stir in the spinach and cook for 1 min to wilt. Season and serve on a bed of rice with mushrooms and chopped coriander leaves popped on top.

Autumn Stir Fry

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Baby parsnips are the sweetest! Not only are they tiny and cute but also lovely and sweet to taste. Combined with the star anise, this is a delicious and slightly different stir fry perfect for this time of year. Just remember that those tiny chillies will pack a punch, so use a small amount and add according to taste.

Ingredients: 1 clove of garlic, 2 shallots, 12g ginger, 1 red thai chilli, 100g cavolo nero, 1 carrot, 4-5 baby parsnips, 1 star anise, handful of fresh coriander.

From the larder: 175g egg noodles, 2 tbsp vegetable oil, 1-2 tbsp soy sauce, juice of ½ a lime (optional extras: prawns or steak and rice wine vinegar)

Instructions:

  • Prepare all your veggies before you start cooking. Finely chop the garlic, shallots, ginger and ¼- ½ chilli. Chop the cavolo nero and slice the parsnips and carrots into thin matchsticks approximately 3 cm long.
  • Start cooking the noodles at the same time as you start stir-frying the veg.
  • Heat a glug of vegetable oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add the star anise, shallots and chilli and stir-fry for about 1 minute and then add the steak or prawns, if using, and fry for about a minute.
  • Add the carrot and parsnips and continue stir-frying for another few minutes until softening but so they still have a crunch. Finally add the cavolo nero and stir-fry until wilted. Stir in the soy sauce and if you have it a small splash of rice wine vinegar.stir-fried-veg-600px
  • Drain the noodles, and stir into the stir-frying veg for a final minute before serving.
  • Remove the star anise and serve with a generous squeeze of lime and torn coriander leaves on top.

Warm Gem Squash Salad

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This warm salad is a yummy combo of bitter and sweet flavours found in the slightly bitter chicory and a sweet cranberry dressing combined with delicate gem squash and hint of mint.

Ingredients: 1 gem squash, 150g cauliflower, 1 small head of chicory, 2 stems of mint, 40g cranberries.

Larder: 75g rice or farro, ½ -1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1-2 tbsp honey, 3 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper (optional: feta, grilled salmon or chicken).

Instructions:

  • Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
  • Peel, scoop out the seeds, and slice the gem squash into thin ½ cm rounds; break the cauliflower into small florets and place in a large roasting tin.
  • Drizzle generously with olive oil, season and roast for around 20 minutes until veggies are soft and cauliflower is crisping slightly.
  • Meanwhile, start cooking the rice or farro according to the packet instructions, and if using, grill the salmon or chicken.
  • Make a dressing by placing cranberries in a saucepan with 150ml water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5-7 minutes until reduced by about half. Stir to break up the cranberries as they burst open. Remove from the heat and combine with 3 tbsp olive oil, ½-1 tbsp vinegar, 1-2 tbsp honey. Adjust honey and vinegar to taste.
  • Cut the end of the chicory stem off and break apart the leaves. Slice the leaves down the middle. Chop the mint leaves.squash-and-cauliflower-cooked-600px
  • When rice or farro are cooked and roasted veggies are ready, transfer all to a salad bowl and combine together with the mint, chicory and if using, crumbled feta. Serve with optional fish or meat.

Curried Sweet Potato and Crab Apple Stew

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Ingredients: 2 shallots, 1 clove of garlic, 2 coriander stems, 10g turmeric, 10g ginger, 1/2 a sweet potato, 2 carrots, 2 crab apples, generous handful of kale and 1/2 a red chilli.

Larder: 650-750ml stock, 1 tin of butter beans, knob of butter, salt and pepper, glug of oil and 2 dollops of crème fraîche.

Instructions:

  • Chop the shallots, and finely chop the garlic and coriander leaves and stems. Peel and grate or finely chop the turmeric and ginger.
  • In a heavy bottom saucepan, heat a knob of butter and gently sauté the shallots, garlic, turmeric, ginger and coriander stems until translucent.
  • Meanwhile peel and chop the sweet potato into 1-2cm chunks. Wash and chop the carrots and crab apples (no need to deseed them).
  • Add the sweet potato, carrots and crab apple to the saucepan and sauté for a few minutes while you prepare the stock.
  • Add 650ml stock and simmer for about 15-20 minutes until the veggies are soft.
  • Add the butter beans and coriander leaves for the last 5 minutes of cooking. Add more stock if it’s too thick.stew-overhead-with-beans-600px
  • While the stew is cooking, chop the kale and slice half the chilli on the diagonal. In a frying pan, heat another glug of oil and fry the kale and chilli on high heat until just starting to crisp. Season generously with salt.
  • When the stew is ready, serve in bowls with kale and chilli on top and a dollop of crème fraîche.

Parsnip Fritters with Shredded Sprouts

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We decided to mix things up a little and take a step away from tradition when it came to brussel sprouts this week. This recipe calls for shredding those sprouts and adding mint. It’s are a delicious variation of slaw and a great winter salad.

Ingredients: 1 parsnip, 2 shallots, 2 garlic cloves, 250g potatoes, 200g brussel sprouts, 2 sprig of mint, 2 stems of flat parsley.

From the larder: 4 eggs, 1 tbsp flour, salt and pepper, olive oil, juice of half a lemon (optional: chopped almonds).

Instructions:

  • Parboil the potatoes in a saucepan of water for 5 minutes.
  • Peel and grate the parsnip and grate the potatoes into a bowl. Finely chop the garlic cloves, shallots and parsley and add to the bowl.
  • Add 2 lightly beaten eggs, flour, salt and pepper; mix together.
  • In a frying pan start cooking the fritters. Heat the oil on medium heat, then add serving spoon-sized spoonfuls of fritter mixture to the pan and spread out so that they are around 1cm thick. Fry for 4-5 minutes on one side until golden and then flip over to cook the other side until golden as well.fritters-second-side-600px
  • While the fritters are cooking, remove the outer layer of leaves on the brussel sprouts and then grate or finely slice them. Finely chop the mint and if using, chop almonds. Place all in a bowl and combine with lemon juice, a pinch of salt and a glug of olive oil.
  • Poach 2 eggs and serve the fritters with shredded sprouts on the side and poached eggs on top!

Creamy Mushroom and Chard Pasta

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The combination of chard, mushrooms and rosemary is too good to be true! This is a delightful pasta dish and tasty to boot!

Serves 2

Ingredients: Chestnut mushrooms, maitake mushrooms, dried mushrooms, swiss and rainbow chard, shallots, garlic, rosemary.

From the larder: 200g Pasta, olive oil, pinch of salt and pepper, 150ml cream, 25g Parmesan or pecorino.

Instructions:

  • In a small bowl place the dried mushrooms and cover with 150ml boiled water.
  • Mince shallots and garlic. Slice the fresh mushrooms, separate chard leaves and stems, chop both. Strip rosemary leaves from their stem.
  • Cook the pasta to the boiling water and cook for 9-11 minutes until al denté.
  • Meanwhile heat 3 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan, and fry rosemary leaves for 2-3 minutes. Remove the rosemary from the oil and set aside on paper towel.rosemary frying 600px
  • Using the same oil and frying pan, fry the fresh mushrooms until soft and browning and then add the garlic and shallots into the same pan, sauté for 2-3 minutes until soft. Keeping the mushroom water, chop the refreshed mushrooms and add to the frying pan.
  • In another sauté pan, cook the chard stems for 2 minutes and then add the leaves and cook until wilted.

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  • While the chard is cooking, add ¾ the dried mushroom water, cream, a knob of butter, rosemary and salt to the mushrooms and garlic.
  • Cook for 4-5 minutes so that it is bubbling and reduces slightly and then mix in the pasta and chard.pasta final 600px
  • Divide between 2 plates and serve with grated parmesan on top.

Parsley Root Rosti with Kale and Red Currants

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The leaves are turning and autumn colours are beginning to show. This autumn rosti served with kale and red currants is full of colour not to mention full of flavour too!

Serves 2

Ingredients: 200g purple and new potatoes, 1 parsley root, 1-2 carrots, 2-3 shallots, 1 garlic clove, small bunch of tarragon, 60g red currants, a large handful of kale.

Larder: 2 eggs, 3 tsp sugar, oil salt and pepper.

Instructions:

  • Parboil the potatoes for 5 minutes. Drain and run under the cold tap to cool them down enough to handle.
  • Grate the parsley root, carrot and parboiled potatoes into a bowl. Chop tarragon leaves and add to the bowl along with 2 eggs.
  • Finely dice the shallots and garlic clove. Add ¾ to the rösti bowl and set the other ¼ aside. Mix the rösti mixture well and season.
  • Place the remaining chopped shallot and garlic into a small saucepan with a tsp of oil and start to sauté. Pick the red currants from their stem and add to the pan along with 3 tsp sugar. Just cover with water and simmer for a 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently until a saucy consistency. Add more water in tiny amounts if needed.cooking-rostis-600px
  • Heat a little oil in a large frying pan. Using a large serving spoon, spoon out portions of rösti into the frying pan and flatten. Don’t worry if they are loose – the egg will bind the mixture together. Cook for about 3-5 minutes until golden on one side before carefully flipping over and cooking the second side. When golden and crispy on both sides, remove from the pan and place on a plate.
  • Chop the kale, place in a saucepan and cover with boiling water. Cook for 3-4 minutes until bright green and a little crunchy.
  • Serve the röstis with red currant sauce and kale on the side.