Seasonal Ideas for your fresh vegetables!

I tried this at the weekend...quick and really quite delicious...and very little washing up.  My kind of cooking! (from Mary Mc Cartney's recipe book)  I know courgettes arn't in season yet, there will be more ideas when our lovely local ones come in but just for a change, I have to say, this worked well.  And the fresh fragrant herbs DO make a difference, hope you have some handy in the garden, if not we do have a few plants left (honestly not a plug).

Courgette and Lemon Spaghetti Serves 2

200g spaghetti

3 tblsp light olive oil, plus more for drizzling on the drained spaghetti

2 cougettes, thinly sliced lengthways (I used a potato peeler)

3 cloves of garlic

1 1/2 tbsp chopped fresh sage

1 1/2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

2 tblsp. grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese, plus more for serving (optional)

100g feta cheese  crumbled (optional) I used Lancashire sheep's cheese...it was great

the zest of 1/2 lemon

Cook the spaghetti in a large pan of boiling salted water. Stir every so often so the strands don't stick together.  When the pasta is cooked (al dente), drain, then drizzle with a little olive oil and mix lightly to coat the pasta.  Set aside.

I started this next bit in a separate pan whilst the spaghetti was cooking

In a saucepan (use the same one if you like), pour in3 tblsp. of olive oil and bring to a medium heat, then add the courgettes and saute for 4 - 5 minutes before adding the garlic and herbs and mixing well. Saute for a couple more minutes, to allow all the flavours to come together and the courgettes to cook through.

Return the cooked spaghetti to the pan and heat through, then mix in the cheese and lemon zest, and season with a little sea salt (be careful if using salty cheese...taste) and a good grind of black pepper.  serve with a little more grated parmesan if you wish.

There you have it...dinner in minutes!  Hope you enjoy this.

Celeriac

Quick and easy ideas for celariac

Celeriac makes a lovely creamy puree and is equally good cooked with potato and mashed/pureed, adding a rich flavour to everyday mash! It is also great sliced, baked or braised with cream and nutmeg.

Celeriac goes deliciously sweet when roasted and is wonderful in soups or thinly sliced into salads.

Try this for a change Celeriac Remoulade

For 4

7 tblsp good mayonnaise (or make your own)

3 tblsp Dijon mustard

approx 500 gm celeriac

Method

1) In a large bowl, mix the mayonnaise, mustard and lemon juice together thoroughly with a generous sprinkling of freshly ground salt and black pepper so it all becomes one sauce.

2) Peel and slice the celeriac, then, working quickly, cousley grate or cut into thin julienne  slices.  Stir into the sauce till evenly coated.

Serve with toast and hot salad leaves such as watercress or rocket

This will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days

Red Cabbage

The wonderful appearance of the red cabbage brings vivid colour and interest to the table, as a cooked vegetable or raw in salads. It is rich in vitamin C and offers carbohydrates, calcium, iron, protein, thiamine, riboflavin, potassium and dietary fibre. Red cabbage combines beautifully with a variety of fresh herbs or spices choose your flavouring to create your own individual take on seasoning. And of course, red cabbage is perfect for pickling. To ring the changes try this delicious way to cook red cabbage

Braised Red Cabbage with Apple and Onion You don't need to be exact with this recipe, it's really tasty and freezes exceptionally well. You can store any left over in fridge and it re-heats easily in the microwave. ½ Red cabbage (or one small) Butter Olive oil ½ large onion, chopped 1 Bramley apple, peeled and roughly chopped 50 ml dark malt or red wine vinegar Tsp. brown sugar Salt and pepper Grated zest of orange (optional) 1) Core cabbage and slice thinly 2) Put butter and splash of oil in a pan, add chopped onion, soften, then add red cabbage. Keep stirring to coat cabbage well, add apple, vinegar, orange zest (if using) and brown sugar. Season with salt and pepper and cook over gentle heat or in a moderate oven 3) Check cabbage regularly to make sure it is not sticking and add more vinegar if necessary. Make this as sweet or sour as you like by adding more sugar or vinegar. 4) The cabbage and apples will have softened after about an hour and should have a lovely glossy deep red, with nearly all the liquid absorbed. Some people also like to add a few raisins with the apple.

Another tasty idea Try stir frying finely shredded red cabbage in butter and oil with ground spices like cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, some chopped apple, a splash of red wine vinegar and a sprinkling of sugar. Delicious with sausages and roast ham. (from Eat Seasonably)