Under the Weather

As I said, I have been really ill. I had a serious bronchial, chesty cough and felt really under the weather. I really do believe that you crave what is good for you. Along with my desperate craving for chocolate, I had a yearning for Thai Spicy Sweet Potato Soup.

I know that it is fairly obvious to long for something hot and warming when are ill and we all know that chillies are great for colds. They are known to act as a decongestant, expectorant and pain reliever all at once. But I think it was the Galangal or Ginger, in my homemade red curry paste, along with the mix of fresh and vibrant other herbs and spices, that I was really craving. I could not believe it when I looked up its health benefits, and along with many other great things, Galangal and Ginger are proven to reduce respiratory problems. They are a natural expectorant, are effective in removing mucus from the throat and lungs and combating various respiratory problems such as colds, coughs, flu, bronchitis, asthma, and shortness of breath.



As for sweet potatoes – super high in vitamins C and A as well as B6, magnesium and potassium they also are packed with anti-oxidants and act as a powerful anti-inflammatory.
So once again, I have effectively self-medicated myself,  with nothing more than a delicious bowl of soup.



Spicy Thai Red Curry Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup This red curry paste is really delicious and you will probably have quite a bit left over. If you love fresh coriander like I do, it may not be so much red, as green. The paste will keep in the fridge for about a week, or freeze it in an ice cube tray and use it as you need.
1-2 tbsp coconut oil
2 medium onions, peeled and roughly chopped
750g (2 medium sized) sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

Red Curry paste
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
4 red birds eye chillies, roughly chopped
2 sticks lemon grass, roughly chopped
6 fresh Kaffir lime leaves, roughly chopped
Large chunk of galangal (or ginger), peeled and roughly chopped
4 garlic clove, peeled
1 tsp. salt
Small bunch fresh coriander, roughly chopped
2 tbsp. Naam Pla (fish sauce)
1 small can 400ml coconut cream
1 tbsp. coconut oil
1 lime

Heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and cook gently for 5-10 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the sweet potatoes and cook for another 10 minutes or so. Meanwhile put all the ingredients for the red curry paste in a beaker and blend with a hand blender until smooth. Add a little coconut water from the tin of coconut milk to help achieve a smooth paste consistency. Add a large tablespoon of the curry paste to your saucepan and fry for a few minutes. Just cover the sweet potatoes with water and add a large teaspoon of salt. Simmer for about 30 minutes until the sweet potato is completely soft. Remove from the heat and whiz up the soup with the hand-blender. Check seasoning and add more curry paste if required and cook for a minute more.  Add the coconut milk and re-heat. Do not re-boil as it will kill the taste of the coconut milk. Add a squeeze of lime if you like.

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

Spicy Chipotle Maple Roast Sweet Potato and Brussel Sprout Grain Bowls

Do you know what a “Grain Bowl” is? No, neither did I. Turns out it is a quick and easy, one-dish meal, which contains among other things, one or a variety of grains. In England I guess this is just called “Lunch” but in America, where they simply have to invent a name for everything, they are very big, as part of a healthy, well-balanced diet .

The basic idea is you pick a grain – brown rice, Freekeh, quinoa, Farro or couscous.

Add salad or leafy greens – anything from raw kale, spinach, rocket, radicchio or salad leaves. (Not too much apparently, as then it is a salad and not a grain bowl!)

Add cooked seasonal vegetables– roast beetroot, squash, sweet potato, cauliflower, broccoli or Brussel sprouts for example.

Add protein – fish, chicken, beans, chickpeas, edamame or an egg, poached, fried or hard boiled.

Add dressing or a sauce – a basic vinaigrette or a themed dressing such as Asian, Moroccan or Thai. Use ingredients such as Harissa, curry pastes stirred into yogurt or mayonnaise, coconut milk, miso and lots of herbs and spices.

Add garnishes – toasted nuts, seeds, crumbled cheese, avocado, broad beans or crispy bacon.

So as you can see, the possibilities are endless. My fridge though is packed with sweet potatoes and Brussel sprouts from my weekly veg box, so this seemed a good place to start.

My choice of grain was cous cous although I am a great fan of Farro too. I am off quinoa ever since I discovered that it comes with a heavy environmental footprint. Due to the huge rise in demand, Bolivians can no longer afford to buy Quinoa, as its price is now so over inflated, and as a result they are starving. The demand has also resulted in decreased soil fertility and erosion due to over farming. I don’t know all the ins and outs, but quite frankly I can survive without it. For those who require a gluten free option, try the less popular, and therefore less destructive, Amaranth. But for now Quinoa, along with unsustainable Palm Oil, which is threatening the future of Orangutans, has joined my list of avoided products.

My sauce is based on the Spanish Adobo sauce. It turns up all over the Americas too, in various guises. I opted for a smoked Chipotle chilli, which is my favourite and ready available, and I was really pleased with the outcome. The combination of chilli, garlic, ginger and cumin is one that I use so often, that I know that I will be using this recipe all the time. In fact, I used it again this week in my Spicy Sweet Potato and Bean Burgers.



I have never tried roasting Brussel sprouts before. I never thought they would work, but I was wrong. The combination of the Brussel sprouts roast with sweet potato, maple syrup and my home made Adobo sauce was enough to convince me that I will be making this again too.

Finally, my garnish was Crispy Roast Chickpeas. They are an old favourite, though I have never used them in a "Grain Bowl" before. Up until now I just put them on a salad!

Adobe Sauce
4 or 5 Smoked Chipotle Chillies (soaked in water)
Large knob of ginger
2 cloves garlic (peeled)
2 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp salt
2-3 tbsp olive oil
Peel the ginger by scrapping off the skin with a teaspoon, roughly chop and put together with all the other ingredients. Whiz up with a hand blender. Add a little water if necessary to get a smooth paste.



Spicy Chipotle Maple Roast Sweet Potato and Brussel Sprout Grain Bowls.
200g Brussel sprouts, stems trimmed and cut in half
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon Adobo sauce (more if you like it spicy)
½ small sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 cms chunks
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon coconut oil
100g whole wheat couscous
Wild Rocket
½ lemon
Extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp Mayonnaise (leave out for vegans)
1 tsp Adobo sauce
 Crispy Roast Chickpeas

Preheat the oven 200C. Line a baking sheets with parchment paper. Toss the Brussel Sprouts and sweet potato with the maple syrup, Adobo, a little salt and pepper and coconut oil. (If you keep your coconut oil in the fridge like I do you might want to melt it in the microwave for a minute or two.) Spread on the sheet. You can add your chickpeas (see recipe below) at the same time. Check the veg and chickpeas regularly and move round the trays if necessary to ensure even cooking. The Brussel sprouts are done when they are turning golden brown and beginning to caramelise.

Meanwhile put your cous cous in a bowl with a little salt and olive oil. Mix well and cover with boiling water. Leave to sit for 15 minutes.

Make a dressing from the juice from the lemon, some olive oil and a pinch of salt. Whisk well. Dress your salad leaves with the lemon dressing and put in the bottom of your bowl. Next fluff up your cous cous with a fork and add the roast vegetables. Check seasoning and pile on top of the rocket, finally scatter the roasted chickpeas on top. Mix the mayonnaise with a little more Adobo sauce and let it down with water until you have the consistency of single cream. Drizzle over the salad.

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!

Down Mexico Way

Unfortunately, as much as I love food writing, so far I haven't managed to make a living out of it.  In fact, I haven't managed to make a single penny. So I have to work to pay the mortgage.  One of my main jobs is working for Riverford Organics who have a huge farm based in Devon.  They operate an Organic Vegetable Box delivery all over England.  My job is to entice new customers, as well as to encourage and keep up motivation for their regular clientele.  What this really comes down to, is that I spend a lot of time cooking vegetables.  Thinking up new ways with carrots, kale and kohlrabi. 

Strangely, one of the most taxing vegetables for me recently, that is always popping up in one veg box or another, is the sweet potato. The reason for this immense challenge, is that it is so very sweet and although I have tried balancing its sugaryness in a manor of ways, I still hadn't managed to conquered the vegetable. 

I made a really nice Indian curry with chickpeas, loads of cardamon and spinach and lots of fresh green chillies.  But I felt that the sweet potato still had a sickliness to it.  I added quite a large amount of Tamarind.  It was really good, but at the end of the day, I couldn't help wishing that it just didn't have the sweet potato in it. This was rather missing the point of the whole exercise. So, I was pretty excited to find a Mexican recipe for Chipotle Spiced Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chilli. I have made Black Bean Chilli many times before but without the addition of peppers and sweet potato. I loved the idea of the dramatic combination of black and orange. It made me think of Halloween and sounded like something I like to eat.  It was!  Finally I had conquered the sweet potato.  As you may know I have been on a bit of a wrap mission recently and I have to admit that I have been making quite a lot of Chicken or Steak Fahitas. I am not going to burden you with the recipe when I know that you can get a perfectly good one from "Mad about Mexican", Thomasina Miers.  But this hot and smoky, Chipoltle Spiced Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chilli and was even better. Piled into a warm tortilla with lashings of guacamole, a delicious Pico de Gallo (tomato, chilli and coriander salsa) and big dollop of sour cream on top, it was truly delicious. The harder it is to eat, the better it is.  Add lots of grated cheese and this Chilli also makes a great filling for quesadillas. And, if you still have any left, whiz it up and it makes a delicious soup.

I have always found it almost impossible to acquire any Mexican ingredients in London, so I cannot tell you how excited I was to discover Casa Mexico in Bethnal Green.  Unfortunately, I still haven't managed to get down there personally, as it is right across the other side of London for me, and what with the day job, I don't get much time.  But I can't wait to go.  Not only do they have the most fantastic selection of chillis, beans, moles and salsas but they also sell kitchen ware, furniture and art.  Fortunately, they also have an online shop, so I have stocked up on Mexican staples and even finely managed to get hold of some elusive Chipotle Adobado which I kept on finding, listed as an ingredient in recipes and had almost given up any chance of ever finding. 

Right, now what shall I do with that box of Kohlrabi?



Chipotle Spiced Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chilli

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large Spanish onion, chopped
4 sticks of celery, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
3 large garlic cloves, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
1 to 2 teaspoons sea salt
1 to 2 teaspoons crushed Chipotle Chillis
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried marjoram or handful of fresh oregano
1 bay leaf
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
Juice of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)
Small bunch of coriander, finely chopped

Heat oil in a heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat; add onion and celery. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes or until tender. Add bell peppers and continue cooking for a further 10 minutes or so. Stir often to avoid burning. Stir in garlic, and cook about 1 minute. Add chilli, the salt, the herbs and spices.  Stir and cook 1 minute. Next add the sweet potato.  Give everything a good mix and add tomatoes and enough water to cover the sweet potato. Simmer, uncovered, about 30 minutes until the sweet potato is cooked. Stir in beans, and continue to cook 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf, and stir in lime juice. Finally add the coriander and adjust the seasoning to taste.

Guacamole

The most important factor to perfect guacamole is using good, ripe avocados. Check for ripeness by gently pressing the outside of the avocado. If there is no give, the avocado is not ripe yet and will not taste good. If there is a little give, the avocado is ripe. If there is a lot of give, the avocado may be past ripe and not good.

2 ripe avocados

2 spring onions (finely sliced)

1 fresh red or green Serrano chilli, seeds removed and finely chopped

½ bunch fresh coriander, finely chopped

Juice of 1 fresh lime

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

Freshly grated black pepper

Drizzle of Olive Oil

 Cut avocados in half. Remove seed. Scoop out and put in a mixing bowl. Using a fork, mash the avocado. Add the chopped onion, coriander, lime, salt and pepper and mash some more. Chilli peppers vary individually in their hotness.  Start with a little, add more to taste. Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole to prevent oxidation from the air reaching it. Refrigerate until ready.

Tomato, Chilli and Coriander Salsa (Pico de Gallo)

One clove of garlic (very finely chopped)

One Fresh Red Serrano Chilli (very finely chopped)
¼ red onion, minced (about 1/2 cup)
200g cherry tomatoes (quartered)
Juice of one or two limes
Bunch of Coriander (very finely chopped)
Glug of Olive Oil
Good pinch or two of salt
Freshly ground pepper

Mix garlic, chilli, lime juice and olive oil together.  Season well.  Stir in rest of ingredients.