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UNUSUAL ITEMS Occasionally your bag may contain an unusual item of veg that you may find difficulty in identifying. We try to remember to pop an explanatory leaflet in the bag with some cooking tips and maybe a recipe or two. Cavolo nero (also known as black kale) originates in Tuscany, although ours is grown locally. It is dark and intense and will add years to your life, but can be a little tough, so here are some cooking tips. It works well as an ingredient in soups with beans and potatoes, so if you have a recipe for minestrone you could try it as one of the mixed vegetables. Recipe 1 Strip the central stalk from each leaf, and chop the leaf into small pieces. Boil for about 4 minutes. Meanwhile heat some olive oil in a frying pan and very gently fry some chopped garlic. Add the drained kale and cook for a further 5 minutes. Recipe 2 Ingredients: 1 litre stock; 1 onion - sliced; 2 cloves garlic - finely chopped; 1 chilli - finely chopped. 4 potatoes - diced; 1 bunch cavolo nero - stripped from stalks and finely chopped; 2 tbs sour cream. Method: Gently fry the onion, garlic and chilli for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and 1 cup of stock. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the stock and the kale. When the potatoes are cooked through take 1 cup of the soup and blend it, returning it to the rest with the cream and any seasoning that might be needed. Recipe 3: Caldo Verde Ingredients: 4 Medium-sized
potatoes, peeled and chopped into ¾-inch dice Preparation: In a large pot, combine the potatoes, onion, kale, garlic, and salt. Add 6 cups water and bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat, and simmer very gently for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until kale is quite tender. In as many batches as necessary, pour the soup into the container of an electric blender or food processor and blend until you have a smooth texture. Pour soup back into soup pot and taste for seasonings. Add more water if the soup seems too thick. Just before serving, add the olive oil and black pepper. Recipe 1: Celeriac Gratin Serves 4. Tasty and warming - just what you need on an English Summer day. Ingredients: 600g celeriac,
peeled and thinly sliced Method: Preheat the oven to 160°C. Interleave the potato, the celeriac and a third of the cheese in an ovenproof dish. Pour the cream over the top and sprinkle on the rest of the cheese with the rosemary. Place uncovered in the centre of the oven, for 40 minutes. How to cook and eat them Choose fresh heads with smooth green 'petals', allowing one per person. Wash thoroughly by vigorously agitating the heads upside down in a bowl of clean cold water. Remove the stalk and place the heads in a large pan. Cover with water and bring to the boil. Cook for approximately 20 - 40 minutes, depending on the size of the head, until a petal pulls easily away from the head. Drain and place in a bowl. Serve with a dressing of melted butter or a warm vinaigrette. Eat them with your fingers, pulling away the petals and dipping them in dressing. The edible flesh is found as a lobe at the bottom of each petal. When all the petals are gone remove the 'hairy' choke from the centre and eat the tender heart - basically if it's too tough to eat don't eat it. Recipe 1: Kale and Potato Cakes This will make about 6 to 8 depending on the size as you shape them. Ingredients: 2 peeled medium,
floury potatoes approx 400g total Method: Boil the potatoes until they are very tender. Cook them whole if you have time (as they absorb less moisture that way). Allow them to cool thoroughly and then mash them, dry. Strip the kale leaves from the stem. Blanch the leaves in plenty of water at a rolling boil. Give it 3 to 5 minutes so that it is very tender. Now chop it as finely as possible. Fry the bacon until it is crispy. Now combine the bacon, onions, potatoes, kale, egg and seasonings. Heat a frying pan, with any oil you like. When it is good and hot, add a good dollop of the mixture and fry over a medium heat until browned and crispy on either side (should take about five minutes). Serve immediately. Recipe 1: Salad First a couple of salad combinations, to use your runner beans. Scrub some new potatoes and set to boil. Top and tail the beans and remove "string" if necessary, cut into ¾" lengths and steam lightly, cooling immediately under a cold tap. Combine with a little chopped onion (red white or spring) some chopped tomato and pieces of cooked, cooled new potato. Serve with balsamic vinaigrette. This salad is also good with the addition of pieces of artichoke heart. Recipe 2: Risotto This "Risotto", also using courgette, beans and tomatoes is tasty, as well as very good for you. Using 6oz Millet, toast it in a skillet pan in a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the pre-prepared chopped onion, 6oz courgette, 4oz runner beans, 4 chopped ripe tomatoes and a chopped red pepper. Cook for approx 7 mins. Add 1 pint veg stock, dried herbs, the rind and juice of a lemon, and a squirt of harissa paste. Cook until all the water is absorbed and the grain soft. Then add a tablespoon of tamari/shoyu and some black pepper. Serve with a garnish of flat leaf parsley Recipe 1: Stuffed Summer Squash Improvisation Ingredients: 1 Summer Squash per person Optionals for the stuffing: fried mushrooms, button or wild Method: Cut off the top of the squash and retain as a lid. Scoop out the pulp and place both pieces upside down on a baking sheet; this allows moisture to evaporate from the squash and avoids stuffing becoming soggy. Bake in a preheated moderate oven, Gas Mark 5, until nearly cooked, (approx 25 - 35 mins.). Meanwhile prepare the stuffing. Chop and fry the onion for about five minutes, until soft. Add garlic, breadcrumbs and other stuffing ingredients - allow your imagination to run wild. The squash has no great flavour of its own and requires a little help from its stuffing! A theme maybe helpful - Indian, Mediterranean or North African. Season with salt and pepper. When the squash is nearly cooked remove from oven and turn up the right way. Stuff with the stuffing mixture, place lid on top and return to the oven for about twenty minutes to reheat and allow cheese to melt - if used. Enjoy with a tomato sauce, a dressed green salad and a glass of chilled white wine. |
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