Cherry Tomatoes

Mediterranean Tart

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A simple summery tart for supper! What more can you want? Courgettes, tomatoes, cheese accompanied by new potatoes, make this a tasty weeknight supper.

Serves 2

Ingredients: 200g potatoes, 150g cherry tomatoes, 3-4 baby courgettes or 1 courgette, 2 shallots, a few stems of oregano, small bunch of chives.

From the larder: 1 roll ready-made puff pastry, tomato purée, 100g goat’s cheese or 1 ball mozzarella, 1 tbsp olive oil.

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 200 degrees and bring a pan of water to boil for potatoes.
  • Slice the tomatoes, courgettes and shallots and chop oregano leaves.chopped veg 600px
  • Unroll the whole roll of pastry onto a baking tray. Leaving a 1cm border, spread with tomato purée, and sprinkle with the oregano.pastry with tom puree + oreg 600pxpastry with veg + moz horizontal 600px
  • Cover with the chopped tomatoes, courgettes and shallots and tear over the mozzarella.
  • Place in the oven and bake the tart for 15-20 minutes, or until golden.tart close up
  • Meanwhile, halve potatoes and boil for 10-15 minutes. When soft, drain them and chop chives. Mix together with a splash of olive oil and season to taste.
  • Remove tart from the oven when puffed and serve with potato salad.plate plus tart.jpg

Lovage Crustless Quiche

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These mini crustless quiches are delightful. They’re made with tomatoes and citrusy fresh lovage and are served up with potatoes, green beans and mint.

 

Serves 2

Ingredients: 100g Cherry tomatoes, 1 spring onion, 10g lovage, 100g purple potatoes and 150g new potatoes, 75g green beans, sprig of mint.

From the Larder: 3 eggs, 50g cheese (cheddar), 25 ml milk, pinch of salt and pepper, butter for greasing the tin (optional: smoked salmon or sliced ham cut into small pieces).

Instructions:

  • Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
  • Slice the tomatoes and spring onion and chop the lovage leaves. Grease or line with grease proof paper 4-6 cupcake tin moulds.
  • Beat eggs, milk, grated cheese, salt and pepper together. Stir in the spring onions, lovage and tomatoes (and optional salmon/ham) and then pour into the prepared moulds dividing the mixture equally between them. Fill moulds until just level with the top, do not over-fill.Crustless quiche mix in a bowluncooked in tin
  • Place in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes until quiches are set, golden and puffed up.cooked quiches in tin 2
  • Meanwhile, slice potatoes into small chunks and place in sauce pan of water. Bring to the boil and cook for about 10-12 minutes until they are soft to poke with a knife.
  • Top, tail and halve the green beans and add to the potatoes for the last 4 or so minutes of cooking and then drain them both.
  • When the quiches are cooked, take out of the oven and carefully remove from the tins.
  • Serve quiches with potatoes and beans with torn mint, a drizzle of oil and a pinch of salt.plated landscape overhead 4

Rainbow Tabouleh

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Serves 2

Ingredients: 100g red cherry tomatoes, a few stems of small curly parsley, a few stems of flat parsley, 2-3 stems of mint, 1 romero pepper, 1 carrot, 1 baby cucumber.

From the Larder: 100g couscous, 5 tbsp oil, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 200g halloumi, pinch of salt and pepper, (optional lamb or grilled chicken).

Instructions:

  • Gather all the veg and herbs. Quarter the tomatoes, chop the pepper into 1cm squares, grate or finely chop the carrot. Quarter the cucumber lengthways and slice it. Finely chop the mint and parsley.chopped herbschopped veg
  • Place all in a salad bowl.
  • Whisk olive oil, lemon juice salt and pepper and pour over salad.
  • Make the couscous according to packet instructions and grill meat.
  • While waiting for the couscous to cook, slice the whole block of halloumi into thin slices ½ cm thick and fry on each side until turning golden.frying halloumi
  • Mix couscous into the salad and mix well so that dressing is mixed through.chopped veg landscape
  • Serve tabouleh with halloumi and optional meat, adding more oil or lemon if desired.angle tabouleh landscape 2

Smashed Potatoes and Fixin’s

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Comfort food for the soul. Smashed sweet and new potatoes with plenty of fixin’s like sautéed leeks, cherry tomatoes, radishes and rocket. Served with a dollop of yoghurt or grated cheese, this meal goes down a treat!

Serves 2

Ingredients: 1/2 a sweet potato, 4-5 new potatoes, 1 leek, sprig of thyme, 100g tomatoes, 60g radishes, 50g bunch of rocket.

From the larder: 2 knobs of butter, salt and pepper (optional: grated cheese, dollop of yoghurt and/or bacon bits).

Instructions:

  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
  • Cut up the sweet potato into chunks and halve any of the larger new potatoes. Place in a saucepan of cold water. Bring to the boil and boil potatoes for 15 minutes while you prepare the fixin’s.chopped sweet potato
  • Pop the radishes on a baking tray, drizzle lightly with oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven to roast for approximately 15 minutes or until you’re ready to eat.roasted radishes
  • Meanwhile, slice the leek and melt a knob of butter in a saucepan, add the leek, cover and gently sweat until soft and translucent.sweating leeks
  • Wash the rocket and quarter the cherry tomatoes.
  • When the potatoes are soft to poke with a knife, drain, add a knob of butter and thyme leaves, and then season and crush with a fork.seasoned potatoessmashed potatoes
  • Serve potatoes piled high with leeks, roasted radishes, rocket, tomatoes and optional grated cheese, dollop of plain yoghurt and/or bacon bits.

Quinoa Salad

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A spring salad to boot. Cook the quinoa and everything else is raw- packed with nutrients, vitamins, minerals and flavour!

Ingredients: 50g kale, 5 multi-coloured heritage radishes, 120g cherry tomatoes, 1 baby cucumber, 1 carrot, 2 stems of tarragon and 2 stems of parsley.

From the larder: 160g quinoa, 5tbsp olive oil, 1tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp honey, juice of ½ a lemon, salt and pepper (optional: any grilled meat or fish).

Instructions:

  • Place the quinoa in a saucepan, cover with double the volume of water, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
  • Roughly chop the kale, place in a salad bowl and squeeze over the juice of ½ a lemon and a pinch of salt. Massage for a minute or so that the kale breaks down and becomes slightly softer. Leave in the bowl while you prepare other veg.squeezing lemon
  • Slice the radishes, quarter the tomatoes, quarter the cucumber length ways and then slice it, peel and grate the carrot and chop the parsley leaves.grating carrots
  • Make a dressing by whisking together the oil, vinegar and honey and mix in chopped tarragon leaves.
  • Test the quinoa and if ready (soft but still with a little bite), remove from the heat and drain any remaining excess water.
  • Add the veggies and quinoa to the salad bowl with the kale and then stir in the dressing and mix well to ensure salad is fully dressed.kale in salad bowlmixing salad
  • Serve on it’s own or with any meat/fish accompaniment and enjoy this raw bowl of goodness.DSC_0361

Garlicky Samphire Pasta

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This is an interesting and slightly different pasta dish. Salty samphire, lots of garlic, yellow chilli, parsley, tomatoes and bread crumbs make a tasty and very flavoursome meal.

Ingredients: garlic, chilli, shallots, tomatoes, samphire, spinach, parsley.

From the larder: 200g tagliatelle or spaghetti, 40g breadcrumbs (1 slice of bread finely grated), 5 tbs olive oil, juice of ½ a lemon, salt and pepper, 2-3 big dollops of crème fraiche.

Instructions:

  • Bring a large pot of water to the boil for the pasta.
  • Finely slice the chilli and dice the garlic. Quarter the tomatoes and roughly chop the spinach.
  • Start cooking the pasta.
  • Heat a frying pan and dry fry the bread crumbs for 2-3 minutes until they are crispy but not burnt. Remove from the pan and set aside in a bowl.
  • Return the pan to the heat and add a glug of oil. Add the chilli, garlic and shallots and cook for 2-3 minutes.
  • Add the tomatoes, spinach and samphire and cook for a further 5 minutes.

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  • Stir in 2-3 dollops of crème fraiche, the breadcrumbs, a pinch of salt and squeeze in the juice of half a lemon.
  • When the pasta is al denté, drain and stir in a generous glug of olive oil and a pinch of salt and then combine with the sauce.
  • Serve with chopped parsley sprinkled on top.

Wild Garlic Leaf Pesto Pasta

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Mostly foraged in the woods, or along country lanes, wild garlic is one of our favourites.  The season is short and sweet and so to make the most of it, we’re keeping it simple and have created a delicious homemade pesto with pasta.

Ingredients: A big handful of wild garlic leaves(approx. 30g), 20g curly parsley, 10g basil, 90g cherry tomatoes.

From the Larder: 175g pasta, 30g Parmesan, 5 tbsp olive oil, 50g cashews/pine nuts, salt and pepper.

Instructions:

  • Bring a pan of water to the boil and start cook the pasta for 10-12 minutes or until pasta is al denté.
  • Halve the tomatoes, sprinkle with a little salt to bring out their juices and set aside.
  • Wash the garlic leaves well, they can be quite muddy!wild-garlic-leaves
  • In a processor or with a hand blender, whizz together the garlic leaf, parsley, basil, ¾ of the grated parmesan, nuts and 4-5 tbsp oil to make the pesto. Add more oil if you like a runnier consistency.garlic-leaf-pesto-ingredients-600pxgarlic-leaf-pesto-600px
  • When the pasta is al denté, drain and mix in the pesto.
  • Serve with tomatoes and their juices, remaining parmesan and garnish with any remaining herbs.
  • If you have any pesto left over, spread it on toast, eat with cheese, or stretch it to another pasta dish.