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RECIPES Here are some recipes for some of the more unusual items of fruit and vegetable we sell in the shop. See also the list of unusual organic vegetable bag items for more ideas.
Those with a gluten intolerance may find the following recipes useful:
Borlotti Beans in Tomato Garlic and Olive Oil
Ingredients: 450g (1lb)
Borlotti Beans in their pods Method: Pod the Borlotti beans and place in a pan. Add the sage, garlic cloves, and whole tomato(es) among the beans. Cover with water and then add olive oil to form a generous layer on top of the water. Bring to the boil and simmer until tender - check them after about 15 minutes. The beans will absorb the water - add more if necessary, but don't add salt until the beans are tender as this will toughen the skins. When the beans are done lift out the tomato skins and stir the pot to draw the ingredients together. Season to taste. Serve with crusty bread or as a side vegetable with new potatoes. Khalal dates
can sometimes be crunchy when bought, like an apple. They then further
ripen into the soft (rutab) stage, and then later to the drier,
chewy stage usually found for sale. Recipe 1: Indonesian Fresh Date Salad Serves 6 - 10 minutes preparation Ingredients: 3 cups brown
rice, cooked and cooled Dressing: ¾ cup frozen
orange juice concentrate Method: Mix all the salad ingredients a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients together and pour over the salad. Toss the salad and serve on lettuce leaves. You may serve with hoisin sauce or chutney on the side. Recipe 1: Creamy Pumpkin and Red Pepper soup Ingredients: 1 butternut
squash, halved, seeds removed To serve: Method: Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Loosely wrap the butternut squash halves in foil and place on a baking sheet in the oven and roast for 40 minutes along with the red peppers. Meanwhile place the chopped onion, chilli and stock into a large pan and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for ten minutes until the onion is soft. Wrap the garlic cloves in foil and fifteen minutes before the end of cooking for the butternut squash and the red peppers add the garlic to the baking sheet and cook until the end. Remove the skin from the peppers and halve and remove the seeds and roughly chop the flesh. Scoop out the soft flesh from the butternut squash and add to the pan with the chopped peppers, garlic cloves and plenty of ground black pepper. Bring to the boil and simmer for about five minutes. Either using a hand held blender or food processor blitz the soup until smooth. Serve with a dollop of low fat Greek yoghurt and a sprinkling of chopped fresh chives to serve. Recipe 2: Pumpkin Risotto Ingredients: 1 munchkin or
other small pumpkin Method: Recipe 3: Japanese Pumpkin Salad Preparation time 30 mins to 1 hour - Cooking time 1 to 2 hours Ingredients: 1 small pumpkin
or butternut squash, seeded and quartered For the dressing: 3cm/1.5in fresh
ginger, grated Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Roast the pumpkin, sprinkled with salt and pepper and drizzled with oil, for 20 minutes, then add the frozen chestnuts and roast for a further 15 minutes. Leave to cool. If using butternut squash, roast for 30 minutes before adding the nuts. Scoop or chop the pumpkin or butternut squash into bite-sized pieces. Mix with the chestnuts and the remaining prepared vegetables. For the dressing, whisk the dressing ingredients together, pour over the salad and toss well before serving.
Plantains are large
members of the banana family, but they must be cooked and are not edible
raw. They are widely used throughout Africa and the Caribbean and can be
cooked in a variety of ways whether green or overripe - roasted, boiled,
mashed or fried - and eaten either as an appetizer, in soups, as a
vegetable or as dessert. Recipe 1 - Fried Ripe Plantains  The plantains must be very
ripe, soft to the touch and almost black if possible. Allow about half a
plantain per person. You will also need oil for frying
Method: Wash the plantains then peel, by slitting the skin and pulling away from the flesh. Cut each one crossways in half then slice each half lengthways into 3 or 4 slices. Heat the oil in a heavy frying pan and fry the slices of plantain on both sides until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and serve. Ideal as an accompaniment to curried dishes. Recipe 2 - Plantain Fou-Fou Serves 2-4. a dish from the West coast of Africa which was brought to Indies during slave trade.
Ingredients: 3-4 Large Green
Plantains Method: Peel and wash the plantains with the juice of half the lemon to stop it browning. Bring it to the boil in salted water with the juice from the other lemon half. Cook until tender. Place in a mortar with the butter salt and pepper and pound into a smooth paste - alternatively place the ingredients in a food processor and whizz! Season to taste and serve warm with a sauce of your choice or a stewed bean dish. Recipe 3 - Sese Plantains Ingredients: 2 large green
plantains Method: Peel and cut each plantain into 6 rounds. Put into a saucepan with water and boil for 10 mins. Add the tomatoes, pepper and onion and cook for another 10 mins. Crumble in the vegetable stock cube and add the palm oil. Cover the saucepan and let it simmer for at least 5 mins, before stirring the oil into the food. Let it cook for another 10 mins and season to taste. Sprinkle with roasted cashew nuts to serve. The dish should be cooked on a medium heat and salt should only be added after the plantains are done. Navratan Pullao - Mixed Vegetable pilaf The name of this
classic vegetarian rice is sometimes translated as the nine jewels pilaf.
The 'nine jewels' - navratan - were nine brilliant ministers at the court
of the Emperor Akbar. Here the jewels are transformed into nine different
fresh vegetables. If you wish, perhaps for the sake of convenience, you
can use ready-prepared mixed vegetables from the supermarket; you can even
use fewer than nine different kinds. Ingredients: 500 g (1 1b)
basmati rice, washed, then soaked in cold water for 30 minutes Method: Drain the rice into a sieve. Prepare the vegetables; cut those that need cutting into equal sizes. Divide the cauliflower and broccoli into small florets. Heat the ghee or oil in a large saucepan. Fry the onions, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Add the cumin seeds, cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon stick, curry or bay leaves and chilli powder. Continue to stir for 30 seconds, and then add the vegetables. Stir for a few seconds and cover the pan. Let the vegetables cook in their own juices for 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the rice, and give the whole thing a stir for 10 seconds. Now add the water. Stir again to mix and bring the water to a rolling boil. Stir again and immediately lower the heat and cover the pan. Simmer undisturbed for 20 minutes. Move the saucepan,
still tightly covered, onto a wet tea towel and leave it there for 5
minutes. © Sri Owen Recipe 1 - Wild Mushroom Risotto Serves four people. Ingredients: 300g Risotto
Rice Method: Wash the wild mushrooms carefully and tear up the large ones. Slice the other ones. Fry in 2 tbsp olive oil for 5 mins on high heat. Add garlic, season well and cook for another 3 mins. Set aside in a separate dish. Heat the rest of the oil and half the butter and fry onion gently until soft. Add the rice and stir until well coated with oil. Heat the stock in a pan and add a couple of ladles of stock. Stir regularly and allow liquid to be absorbed before adding more, a ladleful or two at a time. When the rice is almost cooked (about 20 mins) add the mushrooms. Don't let the rice get soggy - it should still have 'bite'. Add parsley, butter and Parmesan. Stir and serve. Morels
Morels are an unusual
and tasty spring mushroom well worth trying; benefiting from simple
preparation and cooking. Recipe 1 - Basic Vegan Pancake Mix Add herbs, garlic, vegan bouillon powder, grated vegan cheeses or toasted crushed seaweed for savoury pancakes. Add sugar, vanilla, cocoa, raisins, chopped apricots or zest of lime for a sweet pancake. In a very hot non stick frying pan put a dribble of olive oil and enough mix to barely cover the bottom of the pan. Swirl the mix around in the pan to get an even thickness and wait for bubbles to rise and the mix to start to set. Then toss and cook the other side. If a savoury pancake you can fill with stir-fry etc. If it's a sweet one fill with bananas and ice cream and drizzle with syrup. Recipe 2 - Standard Pancake Mix Ingredients: Directions: Chinese Taro is a diet staple in many tropical areas of the world, and is the base for making poi in Hawai'i. The plant is actually inedible if ingested raw because of raphides in the plant cells. Taro corms are very high in starch, and are a good source of dietary fiber, vitamin B6, and manganese. Oxalic acid may be present in the corn and should be avoided or eaten in moderation by people with kidney disorders, gout, or rheumatoid arthritis. Taro is typically boiled, stewed, or sliced and fried as tempura. The small round variety is often used peeled and boiled. Recipe 1 - Niangao: In China, taro is often used as an ingredient in niangao, a kind of dense cake made from glutinous rice flour eaten during Chinese New Year. Ingredients: Recipe 2 - Taro Chips: Peel raw taro corms and slice thin with slicer. Deep fry in oil heated in 380 F. Drain on paper towels and salt generously. These may be frozen in jars for later use. Recipe 3 - Taro Chips: Boil whole unpeeled taro till cooked through. Chill. Then slice as thin as possible. Fry in hot oil until crisp (about 10 minutes). Use frying pan or deep fryer. Drain on cake rack, absorbent paper or newspaper, and sprinkle with salt or garlic salt. They may be frozen if desired.
a cobnut is a type hazelnut. Most of the hazelnuts grown in Britain are named variety Kentish Cob which was introduced early 19th century but growers now beginning to plant other varieties too. However they all taste relatively similar more than different apple for example. More cobnuts Kent anywhere else there commercial producers several countries too. Cobnuts are marketed fresh, not dried like most other nuts such as walnuts and almonds. Consequently they can usually only be bought when in season, typically from about the middle of August through to October, although stored nuts may be kept until Christmas. At the beginning of the season the husks are green and the kernels particularly juicy. Nuts harvested later on have brown shells and husks, and the full flavour of the kernel has developed. Nutritional Value: Cobnut kernels typically contain 12%-17% protein by dry weight, and about 10%-15% fibre. They are very rich in vitamin E and in calcium, typically containing about 21mg and 141mg per 100g kernel (dry weight). They provide about 0.4mg and 0.55mg of vitamins B1 and B6 respectively per 100g dry weight. Roasting Cobnuts: Roasting enhances the flavour of cobnuts. Only a few ounces, coarsely ground, lend a nutty tang to dishes savoury or sweet. To roast cobnuts, shell them and place them in an oven at 300 degree F/150 degrees C/ Gas Mark 2 for up to an hour, depending on their size and freshness, until they are hard and browned, but not burnt. About 4oz nuts in their shells will produce 1.5oz of roasted kernels, but be generous - they are so delicious some may never reach the dish. Buttered Cobnuts: A delicious hors
d'oeuvre or snack which is very easy to make. Pawpaw and papaya are botanically very different fruits, but the cause of much confusion especially in Britain where the word pawpaw is frequently applied to the papaya. Recipe 1 - Spiced Papaya with Mustard and Curry Leaves Serves 2-3 Ingredients: Method: Cut the papaya in half and scoop out the seeds. Chop into 2cm pieces and wash them thoroughly under running water. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Tip in the mustard seeds. When they
splutter, add the curry leaves followed by the Add 200ml of water, the tomato and ginger, and replace the lid and cook on a low heat for 5 minutes until the papaya is tender. Serve hot with chapatis or pitta breads and a yogurt salad. >©Manju Malhi Recipe 2 - Spiced Papaya with Mustard and Curry Leaves Serves 2-3 Ingredients: Cut the papaya in half and scoop out the seeds. Chop into 2cm pieces and wash them thoroughly under running water. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Tip in the mustard seeds. When they
splutter, add the curry leaves followed by the Add 200ml of water, the tomato and ginger, and replace the lid and cook on a low heat for 5 minutes until the papaya is tender. Serve hot with chapatis or pitta breads and a yogurt salad. >©Manju Malhi
Originally "sampiere" from the French "Saint Pierre". Samphire - the word is a corruption of St. Peter - was named after the patron of fishermen because it grows in rocky salt-sprayed regions along the sea coast. It can also be found in coastal marsh areas. It is an annual plant specific to salty areas that begins growing in late autumn and vegetates throughout the winter until the first warm weather arrives. Then the first stems and internodes form and by mid-spring the plant measures 6 to 8 cm. In the old days, samphire ashes were used to make soap and glass (hence its other old English name, "glasswort"). In the 14th century glassmakers located their workshops near regions where this plant grew, since it was so closely linked to their trade. Samphire has long been eaten in England. The leaves were gathered early
in the year and pickled or eaten in salads with oil and vinegar. It is
even mentioned by Shakespeare in King Lear: Culinary Uses: The crisp, salty, fleshy tender stalks of young samphire, gathered in May or June, can be eaten raw, plain or with a vinaigrette, alone or in a salad with other ingredients. As the season progresses samphire becomes a bit bitter and it is better to blanch it. Just a few minutes in boiling water will remove its bitterness and excess salt. Sometimes called "poor man's asparagus," it is delicious when boiled and served on its own or sautéed in a pan with butter, garlic and parsley. It's also delicious made into soup with twice its weight in half-cooked potato, a little butter and pepper. Preparation: Wash the fresh samphire thoroughly with cold water. Boil in unsalted water for 5 to 15 minutes until the green flesh can easily be stripped from the stalk with your fingers (samphire takes longer to cook as the season progresses). Drain off the water and serve. Samphire is traditionally served with vinegar or melted butter. |
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