Bubble and squeak with a fried egg avec sauce de tomate

Had roast chicken, mashed potato, steamed cauliflower and broccoli and petit pois for lunch ... delicious - but come 7 o'clock we were peckish, so mashed up the vegetable left overs - fried it off in olive oil and butter.

Fried egg on top and squirt of tomato ketchup.

I know it's not a proper recipe ... but, don't neglect your leftovers.

Mushroom rarebit

Busy, busy day.  Work stuff, and family stuff.  But also yummy stuff in veg box.  So, my solution here was quick and easy stages, with some time for phone calls in between the cooking.

Olive oil
Garlic
Mushrooms, field
4 eggs
Cheddar, grated
Tomatoes
Brocolli
Runner beans


So, whack oven up to HOT.

Put mushrooms into a baking dish which has had a splosh of olive oil to lubricate it.
Roast mushroom (stem side down) for about 15 mins
Meanwhile, prep and chop vegetables for steaming.

Put veg on to steam.
grate cheese, stir in mustard - stir cheese and seasoning into lightly whisked eggs.
Stick egg & cheese mix onto upturned mushrooms - bake for 20 mins.
Realise there is too much egg and cheese, and that you forgot to put the sliced tomatoes on the mushrooms - so make tomato rarebit as well - egg& cheese on tomatoes - baked for 20 minutes

It was absolutely delicious.  No really!

Leek, mushroom and cavolo nero risotto

Late home - but a new veg box - so it's a bit like ready, steady, cook.... I think this took about 30 minutes start to finish.  It was tasty and filling - and there is some left for lunches.

By the way, have I mentioned that I LOVE cavolo nero?

It was the mushroom, cavolo nero combo which led me to this as the first of the new veg box dishes.  (The veg box is getting autumnal, so more inventiveness will be required from now on eg. 2 different squashes, beetroot, 2 cabbages and sweet potato languishing in the fridge as I type).

But, for today...

Olive oil
2 leeks - chopped (rinse well)
garlic, crushed
mixed herbs, good pinch
rice - basmati - because that is what I had - purist would quake - a good handful
chopped mushrooms (100g -ish)
veg stock
cavolo nero, shredded

1.  Sweat leeks in olive oil until nearly soft, add garlic and herbs.
2.  Add rice, toss until every grain is covered with a film of oil.
3.  Add chopped mushrooms and stir in.  Add stock/water/wine.  Simmer
4.  Stir liquid in, and let simmer until looking dry again - then add more liquid.
5.  When rice is a bit done, but still chalky in the middle add shredded calvolo nero.
6.  Carry on adding liquid, simmering etc .. until nearly done, taste and season as you go.
7. Let sit for a few minutes before serving.

Scoff.  I added loads more black pepper - but, that's just me, apparently.

Macaroni vegetable cheese

I'm not supposed to have too much lactose - but I love cheese.  So, the compromise on this was to make the cheese sauce with strong cheddar and soya milk.

Also, finishing off the end of the veg box meant not cauliflower cheese, but everything else in the fridge cheese.

Steam veg (Leeks, runner beans, carrots, cabbage).  Boil pasta shapes (gluten free).  Make cheese sauce by boiling soya milk, adding slaked cornflower, mustard and cheese.  Mix together with halved cherry tomatoes, sprinkle more cheese on top and bake at a high heat to brown the top.

Delish.  And an end of the veg box victory.  Enough left for tomorrow's lunches, and dinner I think.

Salmon fishcakes, stir fried radish and pak choi, steamed green beans

I don't much like tinned salmon - but I think it's fantastic in fishcakes.

These fishcakes are gluten free, and very simple.

There was radish, pak choi and cucumber left from the veg box, and I didn't actually quite fancy salad, so I did a bit of a stir fry.  I would recommend it.

So,  from start to finish...

Potatoes
Tinned salmon
polenta
olive oil
green beans
Onion
Bunch of radishes
Pak choi
cucumber
fennel seeds
chili flakes
celery salt
garlic
white wine


1.  Peel and boil potatoes.  Mash.
2.  Stir in drained tinned salmon and season.
3.  When cooled, squish into patties and toss in polenta.  (Put them in the fridge if you have time).
4.  Fry in olive oil, keep warm in the oven while the other stuff is finished off.
5.  Steam beans.
6.  Stir fry chopped onion in light olive oil, add pak choi stems, fennel seeds, radish, cucumber, garlic and chili flakes.

Yum. Light, fresh and filling and somehow suited today's autumnal sunshine.

Rice & lentils, roast tomatoes and steamed vegetables

There is a "rule" in our house ... use up last week's veg box first - perhaps adding special stuff from the new box, particularly if it's a thing which will go off quickly.  Usually this requires self-control as all the lovely fresh veg comes in ... but tonight it was a bit of a relief, because the mix of new veg is quite a challenge - it's going to be an inventive week.  Something I can tackle tomorrow with a bit of thinking time - but not when I got in at nearly 7pm tonight.

So, from the old veg box - cherry tomatoes, cabbage, lemon.

From the new veg box carrots and runner beans.

From the larder basmati rice, puy lentils, dried fried onions, olive oil, garlic.

From the fridge natural yogurt.

1.  Cook rice & boil lentils.
2.  Roast tomatoes with olive oil and salt.
3.  When the rice, lentils and tomatoes are approaching ready (after about 30 minutes) steam the chopped veg.
4.  Stir crushed garlic, lemon juice and seasonning into yogurt.
5.  When cooked mix together rice, lentils and onions.

Serve all the elements together, and let people mix what they wish to on their plates.  Surprisingly a really well balanced bunch of flavours and textures.  One word of warning - when you squish the tomatoes to get the juice into the ricey mixture the juice is i) very very hot and ii) squirts everywhere.

Now, what do I do with... pak choi, radishes, leeks, carrots, beetroot, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, cucumber, green beans, french beans, onions and potatoes?  Lots of lovely ingredients, but how to make them work together?  (fortunately still some tomatoes and cabbage left to factor in)

Asparagus risotto with roast tomatoes

Very thrilled to get asparagus in the veg box.  But it's also a school night, so no real desire for multiple courses (ie. asparagus luxury as a starter) but wanting to use it at its best.  The other fresh organic veg also coming to the party - delicious but showcasing the asparagus.

olive oil
1 red onion finely chopped
crushed garlic
risotto rice - a big handful
Italian herbs
red pepper, diced
green beans, cut into in bite sized pieces
about 3/4 litre
bunch of asparagus - stem cut into 2ish cm pieces, spears left whole
80g parmesan, grated

Roast tomatoes

olive oil
tomatoes
sale

So, start with the tomatoes - roast in a little olive oil with salt in a medium oven.  For 40 minutes + ... just bring them out when the risotto is finished.

Risotto

1.  sautee onion in olive oil (and celery and/or carrots finely diced,  if you have them) gently for about 6 minutes
2.  Add rice, turn until every grain is coated.
3.  Add herbs, garlic and vegetables and some stock.
4.  Stir, simmer, add stock etc.  When nearly done add asparagus spears.
5.  After another couple of minutes, turn off heat, stir in parmesan, and leave to sit for a couple of minutes.

Serve, scoff.

Last of the veg box dinner

Left from the veg box - new potatoes, vine tomatoes, an onion, a few mushrooms and a cabbage - but it was also for a birthday tea, so I wanted to try to make it a bit more special.

Boil new potatoes
Crush in hot olive oil
Chuck in chopped olives and roast for 40 minutes.

Bake tomatoes in olive oil and a sprinkle of salt for 40 minutes

Chop the onion

Fry half with chopped mushrooms and garlic, in olive oil.  Add a splash of white wine and a drained tin of butter beans.

Fry the other half until a bit soft, add cumin seeds, crushed garlic and shredded cabbage.  Toss about a bit.

Scoff - celebrate birthday with nice wine.

Leek and potato soup

Olive oil
Leeks
potatoes
mustard
garlic
herbs
salt and pepper
water (and some veg stock if you wish)

Sweat down chopped leeks in olive oil.
Add chopped potatoes, and some water.
Simmer, add herbs, mustard and garlic.
Season etc
Simmer until veg is soft - Zizz


You could remove some veg to keep some chunk texture, but today I choose not to - so it's quite a thick, smooth lovely creamy texture.

Equally, you could add cream, you could serve with creme fraiche - but you don't have to.

We had this with gluten free crackers and cheddar.  There are 6 more portions for the freezer for weekday lunches.  Win-win.