Blue cheese and hazelnut vegetable crumble, baby roastie and carrot

Ooops... tucked in before I remembered to snap a pic - but it was worth recording, so I snapped this of the leftovers.  The baby roasties were so nice we had scoffed the lot.

Start with roasties, then the crumble - takes about an hour and 15 minutes.

 

Potatoes

Olive oil

 

Chop potatoes into bite sized pieces, parboil for about 5 minutes.  Drain, chuck into hot olive oil, move about until all covered - stick 'em in the oven at 180 for just over an hour.  Move them about a bit a couple of times so that they are crisp on all sides.

 

Crumble

 

olive oil

Leeks

Garlic

Fennel

Green beans

mushrooms

celery

mixed herbs

stock cube

white wine

gram flour

spinach

rolled oats
blue cheese
olive oil
chopped hazlenuts

1.  Sweat off leeks in olive oil - add chopped veg and soften a bit.
2.  Add herbs, garlic, white wine, stock cube and some water.  Simmer until nearly done.
3.  Add sprinkling of gram flour to thicken sauce, and spinach.
4.  Put into oven proof dish.
5.  Mix oats, crumbled cheese, hazlenuts and olive oil and plenty of seasoning - until moist, but still a crumble.  Put on top of the vegetables.
6.  Bake for about 45 minutes.

Carrots
Butter
Black pepper

Steam until just overcooked, chop them with a sharp knife, so that they are not mash, but they are in tiny pieces - add butter and black pepper.  Keep warm in the oven.

Scoff .. go ooops forgot to take pic!

Veg box this week



This array is the contents of the organic veg box this week.  The next few posts will show you what this all turned into.

Jordanian pilau ... kinda, sorta, maybe...

I knew I fancied lentils and rice, and there were loads of mushrooms - and I bought myself "Veggiestan" for Christmas (oops) - so I thought I would go there for a bit of inspiration - and I found it, then adapted it, a bit, and this is what we had.

I started with the lentils, and put the rice on - then made the casserole - and transferred the rice to the oven.  Then carried on with the casserole - made the yogurt sauce - shredded the kale - drained the lentils - put the kale on to steam - put the seeds in the oven for a minute - mixed the rice and lentils etc - then served.  This scheduling of stuff made it possible to complete - start to finish just within an hour (with some chatting and wine drinking as I progressed).

The proper recipe is in this here book - buy it - http://foratasteofpersia.co.uk/shop/books/veggiestan/  (or from elsewhere... this is the author's blog link, I believe)


But this is what I did.

Rice and lentils

Big handful of lentils - in this case small brown lentils
Big handful of brown rice
olive oil
turmeric
cinnamon
fried onions

1.  Put lentils on to boil in plenty of water (NOT salted)
2.  Put rice on to boil - when it hits boiling point - lid on, in a medium oven to finish.
3.  When lentils are done (keep an eye on the water, add more if necessary) drain.
4.  Five minutes before serving, heat olive oil in big frying pan add cooked rice - turn over quickly add turmeric and cinnamon - about a teaspoon for 4 servings - and a big handful of of fried onions and the drained lentils.
5.  Stir them all together and tip onto serving plate.

Casserole

olive oil
large onion
fennel seeds
cumin seeds
garlic, crushed
chili flakes
red pepper
aubergine (4 yummy small ones from the asian supermarket, but 1 standard one would be fine)
about 12 mushrooms
4 large tomatoes, in chunks

1.  Sautee onions in olive oil, until a bit soft, chuck in spices and garlic (not chili, add that just before you add water/ stock, so that you don't get the pungent smoke).
2.  Chop veg into bit sized pieces and keep adding them to the onions and stir in.
3.  Stir around now and again - add water and stock so that it looks like a stew - this is when the chili should go in.
4.  lid on  - simmer - check it doesn't go too dry - should take about 30-40 minutes.

Yogurt sauce

olive oil
chopped mint
loadsagarlic
natural yogurt
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Mix together, taste ... put in fridge until you are ready

Seeds

I had a bag of mixed seeds - so I sprinkled a layer onto a baking tray and put into the oven for about 2 minutes.

Kale

well, kale .. shredded and steamed for about 6 minutes (from the water boiling)

It is, in some ways, a bit faffy - as you progress through the dishes to get them all to finish up together - but the result is absolutely worth it.  I wasn't slaving the entire hour - I was chatting and checking.. I've had seconds, and am now very very full.
(have put vegan on labels - vegans know perfectly well that they can omit or substitute the yogurt :)  )

This wasn't just fish, chips and peas

It's national chip week.  I have resisted all week, so I am celebrating with tonight's tea.

The fish is from the asian supermarket in Bradford, and I can't fully remember the name of it pang..... fillets.  Very tasty, not quite as firm as cod or haddock, but mild in flavour, and a bargain to boot.

So, chips - potatoes (skins on) cut into chiplike pieces, par boiled, drained and put into hot olive oil on a baking tray.  Into a hot oven (190+) for 45 minutes or so.

Thaw fish, pat dry, and splash through batter - fry in olive oil.  Batter is actually left over pancake batter , let down with soya milk and seasoned with caribbean seasoning.  Splosh fish through batter.  Fry until golden brown.

Veg are chopped onions, softenned in olive oil, add garlic and a half glass of white wine, big handful of frozen peas - simmer for 2 minutes - then add spinach - stir until wilted.

Scoff - congratulate yourself shamelessly ... well, that's what I did.

Pasta bake with spinach and pine nut salad

Assorted veg in the fridge, lovely curry last night - wanted something to ring the changes a bit tonight.  It, in all honesty, wasn't as nice as I had hoped - I am trying to keep cheese to quite a low level - if there was cheese sauce instead of yogurt it would have been much richer and nicer ... having said that - it was low fat, tasty and full of good stuff.

olive oil
onion
celery
mushrooms
green beans
fennel bulb (1/2)
italian herbs
macaroni (gluten free for us)
white wine
gram flour
parmesan
natural yogurt
black pepper

spinach
pine nuts

1. Sweat chopped onions, celery and chopped fennel in olive oil.
2. Add, as you chop them the mushrooms and chopped ans and crushed garlic.
3. Sprinkle in italian herbs, season and splosh in white wine.
4.  Simmer for a bit, sprinkle in gram flour to create a bit of a sauce, stir in.
5.  Simmer until veg are at a done-ness where they are nice to eat.
6.  Meanwhile, cook pasta (in our case GF macaroni) to 1 minute before packet instructions.
7.  Turn off heat under veg when there is still a little, but not watery, sauce.
8.  Drain pasta, stir in, also add grated parmesan and enough yogurt to keep it all together.
9.  Stick it in the oven (more cheese on the top if you have it) to bake for 20 minutes.


Meanwhile...

1.   Put washed spinach leaves on a plate.
2.  Toast pine nuts in a hot frying pan - don't walk away from them - just toss them for a little while, and take off the heat before they start burning.
3.  You could make a dressing with oil, vinegar, seasoning and italian herbs ... but it's really not essentail

Serve - scoff - have seconds!  To be brutal I would prefer more soft cheese than yogurt for the bake, cos it was a bit sharp - but I enjoyed it anyway.

mushroom, fennel, kholrabi and blue cheese risotto

Well, I was so hungry that I forgot to take a pic until I was half way through my bowl of risotto.  However, it was a success, so I think I'll bung it on the blog - as it were...

We had big scoffy bowls full, and there is loads left, so I think there is enough for 6 servings...

1 onion
1/2 bulb fennel
1/2 kholrabi
garlic
risotto rice
white wine
veg stock
cavolo nero
frozen peas
blue cheese
black pepper

1.  Sautee chopped onion and fennel in olive oil.
2.  Add peeled and chopped kholrabi and crushed garlic, turn over in the oil.
3.  Add a handful of risotto rice, turn over so that every grain is lightly coated in oil.
4.  Chuck in a glass of white wine - listen to it sizzle and boil off, then add a ladle of veggie stock (OK, I cheat - crumble in a stock cube, and then add water as the risotto cooks)
5.  Keep stirring and add more liquid as you need it.  it should take about another 20ish minutes.  Season carefully.  Stir in shredded cavolo nero.
6.  When rice is just off done add a handful of frozen peas and blobs of blue cheese.  Simmer a little longer.
7.  Turn the heat off, and let sit for 5 minutes - then serve.

Enjoy the lovely silky texture.  If, like me, you have LOADS left, let it cool completely before freezing.

Butter bean casserole, roast potatoes and steamed vegetables

This was a very nice dinner - but the roastie 'tatoes were absolutely delicious.

Right... there is one recipe ... butter bean casserole - and one technique - roastie 'tatoes - OK, two - prepare and steam some veg - for about 15 minutes when everything else is just about ready.

The potatoes take longest, so start with them - heat oven to about 180.  The trick with roasties is to heat the oil enough, then chuck the 'tatoes in and make sure they are tossed about to have a film of oil over every
facet of the surface.

So, potatoes...  I didn't peel them

1.  Chop into bite sized pieces, and boil in salted water for 5 minutes.
2.  Put a baking tray in the oven with 3tbsp olive oil in it.
3.  Drain potatoes, chuck into hot oil, toss about a bit, sprinkle on salt and chuck in oven for about an hour (check and toss when necessary).

Butter bean casserole

olive oil
leek
celery
white wine
italian herbs
garlic
tin of butter beans

This is easy - but don't let it dry out - add more wine/ water as it cooks.  Don't add salt until the end so that the skin of the butter beans don't harden unpleasantly.

1.  Sautee chopped and washed leek and celery in olive oil.  Soften a bit.
2.  Add crushed garlic, herbs and white wine.  Simmer gently for a bit.
3.  When veg are nearly done add drained butter beans.
4.  Simmer, add water if necessary.... etc

Meanwhile, steam veg (carrot and savoy cabbage today) - then serve and scoff - was delish.

Mushroom, veg and lentil curry

I'm a bit behind with updating the blog, and I'm not sure that I can remember exactly what I put in this curry, but these are the general instructions.  By the way, if you are a regular reader, please don't be put off by recent "malware" warnings - I have checked my blog, and am re-assured that there is no threat within the blog.

Anyway... this is what I think I did...

olive oil
1 leek
2 stalks of celery
carrots
spice mix
mushrooms
garlic
lentils
passata (or chopped tomatoes)
creme fraiche

brown rice

Cook rice as you normally do - I make mine in a cast iron pot, covered with water to the level of the rice plus about an inch - bring this to the boil on the hob, then cover tightly and put in a lowish oven for 20 minutes plus ... could be 3 hours, if you are chatting or generally carrying on ... brown rice takes longer than white

Curry

1.  Sautee chopped leek and celery in olive oil until a bit soft.
2.  Add chopped carrots and mushrooms, soften a bit more.
3.  Add crushed garlic and spice mix.
4.  Add a good handful of red lentils - then add water - simmer the mixture, adding more water when you need to, to stop it drying out.
5.  After about 10 minutes add passata.
6.  Keep tasting etc - I think it should take about half an hour, and the lentils are soft - turn the heat off - when it has cooled a bit add a couple of spoons of creme fraiche.

SCOFF

Grilled mackerel, beetroot in horseradish and leftover root veg bake

The only part of this which is a "recipe" is the beetroot in horseradish.  The root veg are yesterdays leftovers heated through, and the mackerel is grilled on a hot grill - skin side first, with a little olive oil on the fish.  My grill was not hot enough - it needs to get really hot.  I also braised some celery - in the oven, with olive oil and white wine - covered with foil.


Beetroot
olive oil
garlic
natural yogurt
horseradish

1.  Put beetroot, washed and whole in a baking tray, add splosh of olive oil and a small handful of garlic cloves.
2.  Cover with foil and roast for an hour or so.
3.  Peel and chop the roast beetroot, squeeze on the roast garlic, leave to cool slightly.
4.  Mix together 3 spoons of natural yogurt and 1 spoon of horseradish.  Stir into the slightly cooled beetroot.

Root vegetable bake, with cheese and mustard.

This was absolutely delicious, though I say it myself.  The veg box has created a surplus of carrot and parsnip, and I wanted something comforting.  I made this up.

1 onion
6 carrots
1 parsnip
1/3 swede
3 potatoes
olive oil
cheese (cheshire)
grainy mustard
garlic

1.  Grate the onion, carrot, parsnip, swede and potatoes.  You could also grate the cheese, but I just crumbled it.  Mix it all together.
2.  Add big slugs of olive oil, spoonful of mustard and crushed garlic.  Season well - then add more black pepper.  Mix together really well.
3.  Microwave for 6ish minutes.
4.  Put olive oil in baking dish, add in mixture - keep the top a bit rough to get the delicious crunchy browned peaks.  Bake for 45 minutes or so.


I also roasted cherry tomatoes in olive oil, sprinkled with salt - and served with steamed brocolli and cavolo nero.  It would have served 6 easily - so I reckon it's about  94p per portion (including veg) 45p per portion by itself.

Mozzarella might be interesting, to make it stringy - and to make it vegan, just omit the cheese or replace it with that peculiar dairy free stuff, or toasted pine nuts.

Leek, cavolo nero, pea and blue cheese risotto

Fresh, tasty and very easy.

olive oil
1 leek, chopped and rinsed
2 stalks celery, chopped
garlic
risotto/paella rice
white wine
vegetable stock
cavolo nero
frozen peas
blue cheese (rocquefort in this case)
lemon juice & black pepper

All the measurements are vague - because it's done by eye - but enough for 4 I would say - 2 small handfuls of rice and about 3/4 litre of stock.

1. Saute leeks and celery in olive oil, gently - let them go a bit soft.
2. Add rice and stir until every grain is coated in oil.
3.  Add a glass of white wine and let it simmer in.
4.  Add vegetable stock - a bit at a time, until rice is al dente - each time simmer and stir until it gets soaked in - then add some more (.
5.  When nearly ready, add shredded cavolo nero and frozen peas, turn into risotto and leave to cook for 3-4 minutes.
6.  Turn off heat, add in blobs of cheese and let them melt in.  Lid on, rest.... and for another 2 minutes after that, so that it's oozy and comforting, and not watery.
7.  Squeeze on lemon juice (optional), grind on black pepper (NOT optional, in my opinion).

Scoff :)

Beetroot and carrot burgers with roasties and red cabbage slaw

What do you do with loads of beetroot and red cabbage?  Well, we did this ... and it was delicious.

Burgers

1 onion
garlic
2 large beetroot
4 carrots
porridge oats
cumin seeds
salt & pepper
1 egg
Blue cheese
tomatoes

Potatoes
olive oil
salt

Red cabbage slaw

1/2 red cabbage
2 carrots
1 onion
mustard seeds
lemon juice
balsamic vinegar
olive oil

This is a job for the food processor!

Start the potatoes

1. Chop and par-boil
2.  Tip into oven tray with hot oil - toss, sprinkle with salt, and roast for 1 hour (ish) at 180.

Other stuff

1.  Start with the slicing blade and shred red cabbage wedges.
2.  Swap the blade for the grater blade, grate the all the onion and carrot - split into 2 batches - 1/2 with the salw, 1/2 for the burger mix.
3.  Take furry bits from beetroot, scrub well and grate them too - add to the burger mix.
4.  To the burger mix add cumin seeds, oats and 1 egg to make a sticky batter.
5.  To the slaw add lemon juice, onion seeds, vinegar, seasoning and olive oil - mix well, and stick in the fridge until ready to eat.
6.  Heat olive oil in pan - add spoonfuls of beetroot mix - squash down into patties - you might want to shape a bit with wooden spoons, but it's not important really.  Fry for about 4 minutes, turn over and fry on the other side.
7.  Keep warm in the oven until everything is nearly ready - the add cheese on top (if you fancy) and (again, if you fancy) sliced tomatoes.

Scoff

Excellent use of veg box goodies.

Could have been vegan if there was no cheese and omitted the egg from the mix - it works, the patties just don't hold together as well (I made some without egg, so I know it works).