Show Time!

The Allotment "Annual Show" is drawing near and even though I have grown nothing even half good enough to enter, I already feel a vague sense of panic. If I had know the format of "show enteries" I may have applied some purpose to my haphazard and ramshackle, random planting. For example the "Melville Cup" - Best Collection of Vegetables which requires three items from the following list

• THREE carrots with 75mm (3in) top foliage
• SIX French Beans with stalks attached
• THREE onions
• SIX peas with stalks attached
• THREE runner Beans with stalks attached
• SIX tomatoes with stalks attached, any variety

The only item I could get even close to is the tomatoes, although mine are still totally green and unlikely to ripen in time for next weekend.  My French beans are unpredictable, my peas are all finished and I am assuming that the emphasis on "stalks attached" is to prevent you from supplementing the odd category with a little produce from the local supermarket.

My chances with the next Class - "the collection of THREE distinct salad vegetables in groups of three" is no better. From the list

• Beetroot, cabbage, celeriac, celery, chicory, cucumber, endive, Florence fennel, kohl rabi, lettuce, onions, spring onion, potatoes, radishes, sweet peppers, tomatoes and turnips 

I have only managed to grow five of the named salad vegetables and the stress of worrying whether any of them, let alone three of them, may be in "show condition" on the day is really too much - I mean THREE cucumbers or THREE Florence fennel - which must be "even-sized, unblemished and undamaged" is just not going to happen - well, not this year anyway.

Even in the photography competition I fear I do not really have one photo which recapitulates "Life on the Plot" in its entirety.

Next I contemplated the "John Grey Cup for Home Produce" and my options from the list

Unless stated use your own recipe
ONE jar of marmalade, made in the past 12 months
ONE jar of chutney, made in the last 12 months
ONE jar of soft fruit jam, made in the last 12 monts
SIX pieces of shortbread
SIX rock cakes
Victoria sponge - using the following recipe and an 18cm (7inch) cake tin:
110g (4oz) butter or margarine
110g (4oz) caster sugar
110g (4oz) self-raising flour
2 eggs
3-4 drops vanilla essence
Jam for the filling

Although I do have a selection of home made jams, marmalades and chutneys on my shelves, I have failed to label any of them and have no idea which of them were made in the last 12 months. Shocked by my failure in this basic house keeping practice, I feel almost compelled to make amends by baking a perfect Victoria Sponge but I have no 7inch cake tin and besides, it is not exactley the most inspiring recipe. Surely no one has used margarine in a cake since the end of rationing after the Second World War!

So finally, the only option left to me is the Best Trug Display until I notice that not only is my trug the wrong size BUT the display must include vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers and since I don't have any fruit (since rhubarb is classified as a vegetable) or flowers, I do not qualify! Never mind. Next year!

In the meantime I am proud to say that I have managed to grow something apart from courgettes. This is my Borlotti Bean harvest and I think there is actually enough for one small meal! These beans are delicious with so many things but especially fish (Red Mullet, Scallops or Sea Bass), Meat (Roast Lamb or Bacon) or with braised bitter green vegetables like Cicoria or dark leafy greens such as Cavalo Nero. (I am very proud to say that I grew the Cavalo Nero as well.) Here is one of my favorite recipes from The River Cafe.

Pan-fried Scallops, Borlotti Beans, Braised Cavalo Nero and Anchovy and Rosemary Sauce

Fresh beans will take about 45 minutes to cook, but you're more likely to get dried beans, they are cheap and very reliable to cook. However, they will need soaking for at least 12 hours.

For the beans:
300g dried Borlotti or cannellini beans, soaked in cold water for at least 12 hours
3 cloves garlic, peeled
A few sprigs fresh thyme
A sprig fresh rosemary
3 bay leaves
Extra-virgin olive oil

For the Scallops:
12 scallops

For the Cavalo Nero:
1 head Cavalo Nero
Couple of good glugs of Extra Virgin Olive oil
3 cloves of garlic 

If using dried beans then drain the soaked beans, then give them a good wash. Place them in a deep pot and cover them with cold water. Throw in the garlic, herb sprigs and bay leaves. Place the beans on the heat and slowly bring to the boil. Cover with a lid and simmer very gently for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on whether you're using fresh or dried, until soft and cooked nicely. Skim if necessary, topping up with boiling water from the kettle if you need to.

When the beans are cooked, drain them in a colander, reserving enough of the cooking water to cover them halfway up when put back in the pot. Remove the herbs from the beans. Mush up the garlic cloves and stir back into the beans. Season well with salt and pepper, and pour in 3 generous glugs of extra-virgin olive oil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and reduce until slightly creamy and delicious.

Strip the Cavalo from its stems.  Blanch in a large pan of boiling salted water for about 3 minutes.  Remove and leave to cool preferably on a dry tea towel, spread out flat.  When cool, squeeze out the excess water with the tea towel.  Roughly chop.  Very thinly slice a few cloves of garlic and fry in a large frying pan with some good olive oil until light brown.  Add the Cavalo, stir well and cook for a further minute or two. Season with a little sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Season the Scallops with a little salt and freshly ground pepper. Fry them in a hot frying pan with a little sunflower oil.  Cook them on one side for a few minutes until toasted, golden brown and fry then turn them over, leave for a minute and turn off the frying-pan. Pile a little Cavalo Nero onto your plate, scatter with the warm home-cooked beans and a little of the juices and finally top with the scallops. Drizzle with Anchovy and Rosemary Sauce.

Anchovy and Rosemary Sauce

2 tbsp. fresh young rosemary leaves, very finely chopped
12 anchovy fillets
Juice of 1 lemon
150mls very good extra-virgin olive oil

Place rosemary leaves in a mortar and grind as finely as possible. Add anchovy fillets and grind to a paste. Add lemon juice, mix well, and then, stirring constantly, add oil, a few drops at a time. Transfer sauce to a small bowl.

Winter Greens

One thing I love most about Winter is that the Brassicas are at their best and along with the more obvious broccoli and cauliflower, cabbages and of course brussel sprouts the markets, and my veg box, fill up with a variety of Kales including the wonderful Cavalo Nero. Kale grow excellently in our climate as they freeze well and actually tastes sweeter and more flavourful after being exposed to a frost. Fabulously good for you, they need nothing more than stripping from their stems, blanching for a few minutes in plenty of boiling salted water, draining and leaving to cool before squeezing out any excess water. Then fry plenty of garlic slithers in lots of extra virgin olive oil (preferably Tuscan), until golden brown and add your leaves, roughly chopped if you like. A quick stir, a little sea salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Delicious! I like mine on a piece of toasted Polaine (or sourdough) bread, drenched with a little more olive oil. So simple and you have one of the best and healthiest snacks around. I have a theory, though completely unsubstantiated, that winter greens act as some sort of natural anti-depressant. Winter greens beat the blues.

I have also been working with Russel on a particular fine Chicken, Chorizo and Butter Bean Stew. I have made this a couple of times but felt it needed refining.  I narrowed it down to the quality of Chorizo which I felt was laking, so I set about sourcing some better Chorizo, which can be quite hard to find.  In the end, I got some from Brindisa, who stock many local shops, as well as of course their own wonderful shop in Borough Market.  They and are also on-line. The finally addition to lift this dish from everyday to extraordinary was some Kale and on a cold winters day, I defy you to find a better stew.

Cabbages are another Brassica that are wonderful right now and the King of all Cabbages has to be the Savoy. One of my favourite recipes is this bizarre Italian mountain soup, Zuppa di Aosta. The combination of cabbage, stale bread, cheese and anchovy, sounds nothing short of  horrid. But somehow these flavours merge together to create a harmonious yumminess that is beyond words.  It is actually a big bowl of Umami. Almost addictive, just don't tell anyone what is in it!




Zuppa d'Aosta
The original recipe that I used to use was in the first River Cafe Cook Book, but Jamie Oliver adds bacon in his more recent version in Jamie at Home and I do rather like it, so here is his recipe.  Fontina is an Italian mountain cheese from Aosta.  If you cannot find it then use Gruyere instead.

3 litres good-quality chicken or vegetable stock
1 Savoy cabbage, stalks removed, outer leaves separated, washed and roughly chopped
2 big handfuls cavolo nero and/or kale, stalks removed, leaves washed
and roughly chopped
About 16 slices stale country-style or sourdough bread
1 clove garlic, unpeeled, cut in 1/2
Olive oil
12 to 14 slices pancetta or smoked streaky bacon
100g can anchovy fillets, in oil
3 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves picked
200g Fontina cheese, grated
150g freshly grated Parmesan, plus a little for serving
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F.
Bring the stock to the boil in a large saucepan and add the cabbage, cavolo nero and/or kale. Cook for a few minutes until softened (you may have to do this in 2 batches). Remove the cabbage to a large bowl, leaving the stock in the pan. Toast all but 5 of the bread slices on a hot griddle pan or in a toaster, then rub them on 1 side with the garlic halves, and set aside.
Next, heat a large 10cm deep ovenproof casserole-type pan on the stove top, pour in a couple of glugs of olive oil and add your pancetta. When the pancetta is golden brown and sizzling, add the anchovies, rosemary and cooked cabbage and toss to coat the greens in all the lovely flavors. Put the mixture and all the juices back into the large bowl. Place 4 of the toasted slices in the casserole-type pan, in 1 layer. Spread over 1/3 of the cabbage leaves, sprinkle over a 1/4 of the grated Fontina and Parmesan and add a drizzle of olive oil. Repeat this twice, but don't stress if your pan's only big enough to take layers - that's fine. Just pour in all the juices remaining in the bowl and end with a layer of untoasted bread on top. Push down on the layers with your hands. Pour the stock gently over the top until it just comes up to the top layer. Push down again and sprinkle over the remaining Fontina and Parmesan. Add a good pinch of salt and pepper and drizzle over some good-quality olive oil. Bake in the preheated oven for around 30 minutes, or until crispy and golden on top. When the soup is ready, divide it between your bowls.  Add another grating of Parmesan.

Chicken, Chorizo, Butter Bean and Kale Stew

If you do not have a slow-cooker just cook on the stove top, covered, for about two hours.

8 Chicken Thighs or 4 Chicken legs, Free-range or Organic
Olive oil
3 sticks of celery, finely chopped
3 medium onions, finely chopped
6 fat cloves of garlic, very finely chopped
Fresh Rosemary, Thyme or Dried Oregano
200g of Chorizo, Picante, chopped into cubes
2 tins of plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 tsp Smoked Paprika 
2 tins of Butter Beans, drained
2 large handfulls of Kale or Cavalo Nero, stripped from the stem, washed and dried.

Fry the chicken skin side down in hot oil.  If you do not like the skin, then skin the chicken and place in the slow-cooker.  In a large saucepan heat a good glug of olive oil and place just a medium heat.  Add the onion and celery and fry for about 10 minutes until soft and just beginning to go golden. Add the garlic and herbs and fry for a few minutes more.  Next add the chorizo and then the tomatoes, some salt, freshly ground black pepper and the paprika.  Bring to the boil and tip the whole lot over the chicken in the slow-cooker.  Add the butter beans, put on the lid and cook for 5 hours high or 7 hours low.  If you do not have a slow-cooker, cook covered on the stove top for 2-3 hours, very slowly, checking regularly to make sure that it does not catch.  15 minutes before the end of cooking time, remove the lid and check the seasoning.  Add more salt, pepper or Paprika to taste.  Roughly chop the Kale/Cavalo Nero and add it to the slow-cooker or saucepan. Make sure it is submerged in the liquid. Cook for another 5 minutes.  Turn off the cooker leave to sit for a further 10 minutes or so before serving.