Barbecued Sweetcorn with Burnt Lime & Sea Salt

I hate to say it but there is distinctly a hint of Autumn creeping into the my Riverford vegbox so I am desperate to give you some recipes this week which really soak up the last of the summer sun. Use the BBQ as much as possible until it is too late! This is a fabulous way of cooking corn on the cob. The husks protect the kernels as they steam, whilst being infused with a fabulous smoky flavour.

The burnt lime adds a delicious sweet and sour twist. Definitely a taste of summer, no matter what the weather!

Barbecued Sweetcorn with Burnt Lime & Sea Salt

If the weather isn’t good enough, or you don’t have a barbecue, use a cast-iron griddle or heavy-bottomed frying pan and fry the corn in their husks, with no oil. Leave them until the husks cook to a dark brown/black colour, then turn every few minutes so the whole husk is coloured, about 15 minutes in total.

4 sweetcorn cobs with the husk still on

2 limes

pinch of brown sugar

butter

flaky or coarse sea salt

Fire up the barbecue (or see above). Soak the sweetcorn cobs in cold water for 20 minutes. Throw the cobs on the barbecue and cook for about 15 minutes, turning frequently. The husks will burn but you should be left with perfect smoky corn underneath.

Cut the limes in half, sprinkle the cut side with a little sugar and rub it in with your thumb until dissolved. Press the lime on to the bars of the barbecue until lightly caramelised. Strip the corn from the husk, slather over some butter, squeeze and rub the lime over the corn and sprinkle with salt.

Nutty Super-food Salad

It is so much easier to eat healthily in the Summer I find. I actually crave salad, whereas in the Winter I crave stodge. Occasionally I pick up lunch on my way home from work, before I pick up the kids. Unfortunately, in my line of work, your job is to cook other people lunch, not cook or eat your own! Marks and Spencer is probably best for ready-made salads. Although I know that Waitrose also do quite and extensive range. Most of the ones I have tried, may sound nice, but are usually disgusting. They always seem to try just a bit too hard, chucking in any combination of trendy ingredients – black quinoa seeds, Camargue red rice, cranberries, amaranth leaf, black barley -  and the dressings are always really nasty – too much Japanese rice vinegar and Yuzu!. 

The other day I bought a selection of two different salads, both which unannounced contained seaweed!  Surely if you are going to add seaweed to your salad, you would mention it in the name, not just hidden in a long list of ingredients which are far too small to read with human eyes. Well my eyes anyway. I couldn’t work out what this slimy, sort "off-fishy" taste was in my salad. Narrowed it down to the Wakame which was eventually mentioned in the list of 30 ingredients, now that I had been forced to put my reading glasses on. I even like seaweed, on say nori rolls, where it is meant to be, but this was disgusting and both pots of salad ended up in the bin. 

However, I am pleased to say, after much trial and error, I finally found a ready-made salad that I really liked. Marks and Spencer Nutty Superfood Salad. Featuring green beans, peas, broccoli, carrots, black-eyed beans and quinoa plus peanuts, almonds and pistachios, it is absolutely packed with delicious ingredients. It comes two ways, either on its own or served alongside a dollop of cannellini bean hummus and with a soy and ginger dressing. 

It may seem like a lot of ingredients, but it is super easy. Make up a large batch and dress it as required. What is so fab about making it yourself, is you don’t have to skimp on your favourite expensive ingredients, which inevitably the supermarkets always do!

Nutty Super-food Salad

To serve 4

2 Broccoli florets, shredded

1 Handful of peas

100g French beans, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 large carrot, finely chopped

100g spelt (wheatberries, barley or farro) you can buy ready cooked

100g soya beans

200g cooked black eye beans (or another type of bean – haricot, cannallini)

50g quinoa (You can buy ready cooked)

1 tsp. poppy seeds

1 handful pumpkin seeds

1 handful peanuts

1 handful pistachios

1 handful almonds

A little freshly chopped coriander

For the dressing, mix together:

2 tbsp. soy

1 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp sesame

1 tsp honey

Juice ½ lime

½ tsp. chilli paste

Put three pans of water on to boil. In the first add the quinoa. Cook 12-15 minutes until all the quinoa has gone squiggly. Drain well. In the second add the farro, cook for 20-30 minutes until tender. Drain well. In the third pan, add a pinch of salt and then the green beans. When cooked, add the shredded broccoli, bring back to the boil and add the peas and soya beans. Bring back to the boil and drain. Drain well.

Combine the salad ingredients.

Mix the dressing ingredients together and drizzle over each portion or alternatively, toss through the entire lot in a large bowl.

Just What the Doctor Ordered!

Not feeling at all well this week. I had a serious bronchial, chesty cough and felt really under the weather. All of my great new year resolutions about healthy eating have gone out the window. I need energy fast and that means chocolate. I am a strong believer that we crave what we need, so I simply must be deficient in chocolate. I even found this article on Net Doctor, although it may be a bit far fetched.

“A study published in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal has shown that eating chocolate could have a positive effect in reducing cough symptoms. The study showed that an ingredient in chocolate, called theobromine, was more effective at stopping persistent coughs than common cough treatments. There’s one study that’s shown some links. But the benefit may well only be due to the sweetness of the chocolate rather than anything else,’ says Professor Eccles. This stimulates salivation and mucus secretion that helps relieve cough symptoms.'”

Rather than eat large mouthfuls of the cooking chocolate straight out of the fridge, I decided to make a chocolate brownie, and so as not to give up on all my good resolutions quite yet, I decided to add some healthy beetroot from my veg box.



There is absolutely no doubt, beetroot is super good for you –

1. Lower Your Blood Pressure
Drinking beet juice may help to lower blood pressure in a matter of hours. One study found that drinking one glass of beet juice lowered systolic blood pressure by an average of 4-5 points. The benefit likely comes from the naturally occurring nitrates in beets, which are converted into nitric oxide in your body. Nitric oxide, in turn, helps to relax and dilate your blood vessels, improving blood flow and lowering blood pressure.
2. Boost Your Stamina
If you need a boost to make it through your next workout, beet juice may again prove valuable. Those who drank beet juice prior to exercise were able to exercise for up to 16 percent longer. The benefit is thought to also be related to nitrates turning into nitric oxide, which may reduce the oxygen cost of low-intensity exercise as well as enhance tolerance to high-intensity exercise.
3. Fight Inflammation
Beets are a unique source of betaine, a nutrient that helps protects cells, proteins, and enzymes from environmental stress. It’s also known to help fight inflammation, protect internal organs, improve vascular risk factors, enhance performance, and likely help prevent numerous chronic diseases.
4. Anti-Cancer Properties
The powerful phytonutrients that give beets their deep crimson colour may help to ward off cancer. Research has shown that beetroot extract reduced multi-organ tumour formations in various animal models when administered in drinking water, for instance, while beetroot extract is also being studied for use in treating human pancreatic, breast, and prostate cancers.
5. Rich in Valuable Nutrients and Fibre
Beets are high in immune-boosting vitamin C, fibre, and essential minerals like potassium (essential for healthy nerve and muscle function) and manganese (which is good for your bones, liver, kidneys, and pancreas). Beets also contain the B vitamin folate, which helps reduce the risk of birth defects.
6. Detoxification Support
The betalin pigments in beets support your body’s Phase 2 detoxification process, which is when broken down toxins are bound to other molecules so they can be excreted from your body. Traditionally, beets are valued for their support in detoxification and helping to purify your blood and your liver.

So as you see, it is just what the doctor ordered!



Chocolate and Beetroot Brownie This is particularly delicious with a dollop of clotted cream. Riverford do a very good one.
 
250g dark chocolate, chopped
200g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
350g beetroot, about 2 medium sized
3 eggs
vanilla extract
200g golden caster sugar
50g cocoa powder,
50g rice flour (ground rice)
1 teaspoon baking powder
100g ground almonds

Preheat the oven to 180C. Wrap the beetroot in tin foil and put in the oven for about 45 minutes. They are cooked when a skewer inserts and removes very easily. Remove the tin foil and allow to cool for 10 minutes or so. Slip the skins off, whilst still warm. (Wear surgical gloves if you have some.) Meanwhile put the chocolate and butter in a large bowl and place it over a pan of simmering water, making sure the water doesn’t touch the base of the bowl. Leave to melt. Alternatively, heat in the microwave for 2 minutes.
Purée the cooked beetroot in a food processor. Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla and sugar, and mix until smooth. Add the cocoa powder, rice flour, baking powder and ground almonds. Whiz up and then mix in the melted chocolate and butter.
Turn the oven down to 170C. Butter and then line with baking parchment a preferably rectangular tin, roughly 28 x 18cm. (I used a round one.) Pour in the mixture and place in the and bake for 30–35 minutes, until just firm to the touch. It’s important not to overcook brownies; a skewer inserted in the centre should come out only just clean. Leave to cool in the tin and then cut into squares.

Spicy Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burgers with Avocado

 

When I was an art student I was. quite predictably some may say, a vegetarian for a few years. I loved cooking huge stir-fries and lentil dishes which were cheap and filling. We had a couple of the first vegetarian cafes in Brighton as well, but I have to admit, my favourite treat was a Spicy Bean Burger from Wimpy. In those days we even had an old fashioned eat-in Wimpy restaurant in Brighton, with waitress service, so you could make quite an outing of it.

I wanted to recreate my own, but I still have a glut of sweet potato so I decided to add them too. I used my adobo sauce from my Spicy Chipotle Maple Roast Sweet Potato and Brussel Sprout Grain Bowls in the mix and also made a Chipotle mayonnaise to go in my burger, balanced out with some cool avocado and I dare say, it was probably a damn sight better than the Wimpy one I so fondly remember.



Spicy Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burgers with Avocado Makes 4
500g / 2 sweet potatoes
350g drained black beans
1 red onion, finely diced
1 tbsp homemade Adobo sauce
1 small bunch fresh coriander, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
High quality vegetable oil or coconut oil
4 hamburger buns (optional)
2 avocados
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tsp homemade Adobo sauce
Polenta flour
Optional other fillings – lettuce, tomato etc

Roast the sweet potatoes: Preheat the oven to 200C. Slice the sweet potatoes down the centre lengthwise. Place the sweet potatoes cut side up on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast until they yield to a gentle squeeze, 30 to 40 minutes or longer. Once the sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove the skin (it should pull off easily).

Meanwhile fry the onion in a little oil until translucent. Add a big tablespoon of Adobo sauce and fry for a minute more. Add the black beans and salt to taste, and mash with a potato masher. Add the chopped coriander and check seasoning. You can now chill the mix or carry straight on, it is up to you. Shape the mix into 4 patties. You can use polenta flour to help if you like.

Pan fry the burgers: (If you chilled the mix, turn on your oven to 180C) Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large heavy bottomed frying pan over medium heat. When it’s hot, place the burgers in the pan, leaving enough room to flip them. Cook for 4-5 minutes until browned on the bottom and flip. If your mix is cold, put the frying pan in the oven and cook for 15 minutes or so until hot all the way through. I you did not chill the mix, then just turn the hob heat right down and cook gently for 10 minutes or so.
Meanwhile stir the mayonnaise in with the Adobo sauce and serve a big dollop on each burger.

(Toast the buns (optional): Place the buns on a baking sheet, cut sides up, and bake until lightly toasted, about 2 to 3 minutes)
Serve with your favourite fillings – avocado, lettuce, tomato etc

Waffle, Charcoal and Carrot Tops

I know I have been super slack in writing my blog and to make matters worse I have just taken on the task of writing a new weekly blog for Riverford. The idea is to help customers get exciting and easy ideas and recipes each week, to help them use up their veg boxes. Then I thought, since my blog is primarily about growing and cooking vegetables, I might as well share with you a few posts from my Riverford Blog.

I would love to be sharing with you more "Recipes from the Allotment" but so far this year all I have managed to grow is a ridiculous abundance of rhubarb. I have exhausted all rhubarb recipes I can think of in the last month but luckily I have just come up with a new use, which I think I shall never tire off. It is Rhubarb Margarita and I am currently working on the recipe which I will share with you as soon as it is perfected.

In the meantime, here are some exerts from my Riverford blog.

This week I started with a Medium Veg Box (less roots). It is an exciting time of year with so many new veg and fruit coming available every day now. Gorgeous bunched carrots and onions, tender baby spinach, new season’s UK asparagus and crisp little gem lettuces to name but some.

I couldn’t wait to get started with a Grilled Asparagus & Baby Gem Salad with Feta & Mint.  Grilling your veg keeps them lovely and crisp whilst adding a delicious hint of smoke. This is a great salad to make if you are having a BBQ at the weekend, as it is so quick and easy, especially if you already have the BBQ lit. Mint is everywhere at the moment. One of the first signs of summer in my garden is when the mint reappears from nowhere, green and lush. If you don’t have any in your garden, be sure to add some to your Riverford order. Like all my recipes you can easily adapt the ingredients and this super salad would have worked just as well with grilled courgettes or even whole spring onions. It occurred to me that a few delicious broad beans would have been lovely scatted on top as well. If you are looking for a good olive oil for this recipe, I would like to recommend Riverford’s Italian Extra Virgin at £5.95 for 500ml. I like the one from Giancarlo in Puglia best – it has a lovely peppery taste.

Grilled Asparagus & Baby Gem Salad with Feta & Mint

Serves 2 as a main or 4 as a side
Bunch of Asparagus
One or two Baby Gem Lettuces (depending on size)
100g Feta
½ a Lemon
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Few Sprigs of Fresh Mint

Snap any woody ends off your asparagus and drizzle with good olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt. Trim the very end off the baby gem lettuce and then cut in half lengthways through the root, taking car to keep it in tack. Cut each half into three wedges. Again drizzle with good olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. Heat your griddle or BBQ until smoking. Lay the flat sides of the lettuces on the grill, turning as soon as they have a clear char mark. Do the same with the asparagus making sure they are just cooked through. (It is imperative that your asparagus is very fresh.) Make a dressing with the juice of half a lemon, whisked up with a good pinch of salt and some extra virgin olive oil. Arrange the baby gem and asparagus on a plate and crumble over some feta. Roll up your mint leaves and finely slice to create a chiffonade. Sprinkle over the top and drizzle on your lemon dressing.

Mushrooms and Spinach just go together for some reason, whether it be in a stir-fry, an omelette or a tart but this week I tried out a Mushroom and Spinach Lasagne with a bit of Goat’s Cheese thrown in as well. Serve alongside some of Riverford’s delicious salad leave and you have a meal in no time.

Riverford don’t do a Goat’s Cheese. Maybe they haven’t managed to find a good organic one. I used Helen’s Farm, which although not organic, does a lovely range of Goat’s milk products and they even come in a variety of strengths so there is something to suit to everyone. I chose the mild hard cheese and even managed to sneak it past the kids without a fuss.

Mushroom, Spinach & Goat’s Cheese Lasagne

Serves 2

One Punnet of Mushrooms
One Bag of Baby Spinach
One large clove of garlic
25g Butter
25g Flour
350mls Milk
50g Parmesan
120g Goat’s Cheese
½ box of lasagne sheets
Olive Oil
Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Finely slice your mushrooms. Heat a glug of olive oil in a large frying pan and add your mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Fry on a medium heat until golden brown. Meanwhile heat a large saucepan with a lid. Add a very thin layer of oil to the bottom to stop the spinach sticking. Add the bag of spinach and add a good pinch of salt. Cover and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Remove the lid carefully. The spinach should be just wilted. Tip the spinach into a colander and wipe out the saucepan. Very finely slice the garlic. Add a glug of olive oil to the pan and add the garlic. Fry until just golden brown. Add the spinach carefully as it may spit. Stir well and turn off the heat.

Heat the butter in a small non-stick saucepan. Once melted, remove from the heat and stir in the flour. Return to a low heat and stir until sandy. Carefully add the milk and whisk over a medium heat until the sauce boils and thickens. Remove from the heat and add the grated parmesan. Season well to taste with salt and pepper. Preheat the oven to 180⁰C
Heat the butter in a small non-stick saucepan. Once melted, remove from the heat and stir in the flour. Return to a low heat and stir until sandy. Carefully add the milk and whisk over a medium heat until the sauce boils and thickens. Remove from the heat and add the grated parmesan. Season well to taste with salt and pepper. Preheat the oven to 180⁰C. Cut the goat’s cheese into small chunks.

Take a gratin dish about 20cms x 15cms and put a very thin layer of béchamel on the bottom. Top with a layer of lasagne sheets. Break up the sheets if necessary. Top with the spinach and 1/3 of the remaining béchamel and 1/2 the goat’s cheese. Next do another layer of lasagne. Then top with the spinach the rest of the goat’s cheese and the next 1/3 of bechamel. Next the final layer of lasagne and finally the rest of the béchamel. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes or so until golden brown on top and a blunt knife inserts easily all the way through.

 

Roast Sweet Potato Wedges with Sweet Chilli Sauce & Crème Fraiche

I never used to know what to do with Sweet Potatoes and I was always concocting

elaborate curries and chillies to use them up but I had forgotten how delicious simple roast Sweet Potato Wedges were until my son asked me to make them for him instead of potatoes. 

What always amazes me is how good sweet potatoes are for you. You cannot believe that something that tastes so, well .... sweet, could do you any good but they pack a powerful nutritional punch. They have got over 400% of your daily needs for vitamin A in one medium sized sweet potato as well as loads of antioxidents vitamin C and E, beta-carotene, fibre & potassium. They have got more grams of natural sugars than regular potato but more overall nutrients with fewer calories.They are low on the glycemic index scale, and recent research suggests they may reduce episodes of low blood sugar and insulin resistance in people with diabetes. 

I lightly sprinkled them with a little salt and some smoked paprika, drizzled them with a little olive oil and roast them in the oven at 190⁰C for about half an hour until soft in the middle but crispy and golden on the outside. I then served them with a couple of dips - Crème Fraiche (Riverford’s is very good) and the other was some Sweet Chilli Sauce (once again, Riverford do make their own) and it soon became a firm, family favourite.

So that is it for this week. I promise lots more recipes next week. Please feel free to comment and let us know what challenges you are facing you this week. I know I never got round to those lovely bunched onions and carrots but I promise to next week and at least I finally found something to do with tops of the carrots which I always hated throwing away. I discovered that Waffle and Charcoal just love them!

Plenty

Usually the necessity of having to work for a living is nothing but a distraction for getting on with my blog. Recently however, I have been doing recipe testing and photography for Riverford, for their soon to be launched "Recipe Boxes".This is a new craze sweeping the nation when you receive, delivered to your door, three easy to follow recipes plus all the ingredients to cook your evening meals. 

I have to admit that I wasn't overwhelmed by the idea until I put them to the test. I like to think I am not the sort of girl who is not short on ideas or creativity when putting together a dinner for two, but I cannot tell you how pleasant it is, just sometime to not have to think about it. To know that everything I need is there at home waiting for me, no shopping, no planning and what turned out to be an even greater plus is that even Hugh, the other half, can cook them too. For the first time in years he actually managed to cook dinner on his own, not once but twice in a week. He found the recipe cards easy to follow and what with the unavoidable convenience of having all the ingredients weighed out, to hand, managed to knock up dinner with practically no fuss at all!  And you would not believe how pleased he was with himself.

In the meantime I needed to deal with my latest allotment glut. Due to my failure to sew few and often, to stagger my crops and in my total over enthusiasm to grow anything at all, I now am reaping the excess crops to mirror my initial excess impatience. I failed to thin my crops sufficiently and I am weighed down with Fennel, Chard and Spinach, all ready at the same time.

Lucky for me, guess what recipes I have been testing this week. Being seasonal, the recipes I am testing exactly match what I am harvesting and these two recipes for Indian Spiced Spinach & Chickpeas and Fennel & Chard Gratin could not have been more perfect for using up my surplus vegetables.  Now I can start dealing with the tomatoes!

Indian Spiced Spinach & Chickpeas with Coconut & Coriander Rice
prep & cook 40 mins, 

serves 2
1 onion (150g)
1 garlic clove (5g)
piece of ginger (25g)
fresh coriander (20g)
20g butter
150g long grain white rice
1 x 400ml tin coconut milk
salt
oil for frying eg sunflower or vegetable
200g spinach (or change to 150g chard)
1 x 400g tin chickpeas
½ teaspoon brown mustard seeds (2g)
½ teaspoon ground cumin (2g)
½ teaspoon garam masala (2g)
¼ teaspoon chilli powder (1g)
¼ teaspoon turmeric (1g)
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon (1g)
400g chopped tomatoes
1 lemon (150g)

Put the rice in a sieve and rinse well under the tap. Peel and chop the onion. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Peel the ginger and finely grate it. Wash the coriander leaves and leave them to dry. Melt the butter in a heavy-based saucepan. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains. Stir the coconut milk so it’s smooth and add to the rice with 150ml water. Season with a good pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, the lower the heat, cover and leave it cook on a bare simmer. Keep an eye on the pan, stirring it every now and then to stop it catching on the bottom. Add a little water or more of the coconut milk if it’s getting too dry. While the rice is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and gently fry without colouring for 6 minutes. While the onion is cooking, rinse the chickpeas well and leave to drain. Wash the spinach and remove any tough stalks. Roughly chop the leaves. Add the garlic, ginger, mustard seeds, cumin, garam masala, chilli powder, turmeric and cinnamon to the onion. Fry gently for 1 minute. Add the chopped tomatoes and a good pinch of salt to the onion. Bring up to a simmer. After the tomatoes have been simmering for 10 minutes, remove the rice from the heat and leave to steam, still covered. Continue cooking the tomatoes for another 5 minutes. Finely chop the coriander leaves. Uncover the tomatoes and add the drained chickpeas and spinach. Stir together and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Taste and add more salt if needed. (It does look like a lot of spinach to start with, but it wilts down). Fluff up the rice with a fork. Squeeze in the juice from ½ the lemon and stir in the chopped coriander leaves. Serve with the chickpeas and spinach.

Fennel & Chard Gratin
prep & cook 45 mins
serves 2
2 fennel bulbs (500g)
olive Oil
salt & pepper
300g chard
2 garlic cloves
100ml white wine
1 whole nutmeg
125ml crème fraîche
fresh thyme
salt & pepper
25g wholemeal breadcrumbs
40g parmesan
1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 190C/180C fan assisted/gas mark 5. Put on a large pan of salted water to boil. While the oven is heating up, trim any large spiky tops of the fennel and remove any tough outer leaves. Cut the bulbs into thin wedges, still with the core intact to keep them together. If a few odd bits fall apart, don’t worry. If you have any feathery fronds on your fennel, keep those and add them when you stir in the cream. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan. Add the fennel and cook it very slowly, stirring every now and then. It will take about 20 minutes, until it’s starting to caramelize. Strip the chard leaves from their stalks. Wash both, then chop the stalks very finely. Peel and finely chop or crush the garlic. Once the water is boiling, plunge the chard leaves in and boil for 3 minutes. Get a large bowl of cold water ready. Drain the leaves and plunge into the bowl to refresh, then drain again. When cool enough to handle, roughly chop the leaves. After about 20 minutes or so, when the fennel starts to look a golden brown colour, add the chard stalks and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the wine and use a fine grater to grate a little of the nutmeg into the pan. Cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the cream, chard leaves and the thyme leaves. Season well with salt and pepper. Transfer to the baking/gratin dish. Put the breadcrumbs in a small bowl. Finely grate enough of the lemon zest over the bowl so you have approximately 1 teaspoon in there. Grate in the cheese too. Mix together then scatter over the fennel mixture. Transfer the dish to the oven (ideally keep the sweet potatoes on the same shelf but move them onto a lower shelf if you need to make room – you might just need to cook them a little longer) and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes, depending on your oven, until the gratin is golden on top.