RADishes

There's radishes galore on the patch at the moment...

found a great recipe in Sarah Ravens garden cookbook using radishes and their leaves

For 4:
25 radishes with their leaves
350g pasta
3 tbs olive oil
1 onion, choppd
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
75g pine nuts, toasted
75g parmesan cheese, plus more to serve

-cook pasta
-heat oil in pan
-sweat onions for 3 -4 mins
-add sliced radish, chooped leaves, garlic & pine nuts and cook until the tops wilt and soften
-remove from heat and season
-drain pasta and add radishes & parmesan

Yummy

We got the style

Oh it's getting hot out here
Must be something in the atmosphere
Oh I should be blogging about it
And making the most of the true French climate

I've seen,
The seedlings on the veg patch growing lately...

...potted on coriander, pumpkins, courgettes
...planted out red cabbage & tomatoes
...sowed two varieties of french bean
...built support structure for mange tout
...harvested salad leaves, radishes & strawbs
...weeded & watered (lots)
...declared slug wars!

Saltmine Theatre Co. - Fri Lunch

Saltmine Theatre Co. - Thurs Eve

Saltmine Theatre Co. - Thurs Lunch

Saltmine Theatre Co. - Weds Eve

Saltmine Theatre Co. - Weds Lunch

Pesto Potatoes

By Sarah Raven

Serves 4

4 Baking potatoes
200ml creme fraiche
175g grated Wensleydale or another crumbly hard cheese (I like to use feta)
150ml Pesto (I often do this with wild garlic pesto)
2 cloves of garlic (leave out if using wild garlic pesto)
salt and black pepper

Preheat oven to 180C.
Wash the potatoes and score round the full diameter of the potato with a sharp knife, only just piercing the skin. This makes it easier to cut them precisely, so that you get two perfect halves.
Bake the potatoes for about an hour, until they're cooked all the way through. Remove them from the oven, keeping it on, and cut them in half. Carefully scoop out the potato from the skins and put into a bowl.
Add all the other ingredients to the potato flesh and mix thoroughly with a fork. Spoon the mixture back into the potato skins, piling them up above the edges, so that they look generously filled. Return them to the oven for about 15 mins, until the tops become golden.

These can be made in advance and kept in the fridge for up to two days to cook when needed. They are also suitable for freezing at the just-stuffed stage.

Banoffee Pots

Serves 8

150g digestive biscuits (petit lait works if you live in france), crushed
75g melted butter
1/2 jar confiture de lait (equivalent filling made from condensed milk in UK)
2-3 bananas, sliced
300ml cream, whipped to stiff peaks
chocolate, grated, to serve

Combine the crushed biscuits with the melted butter and distribute evenly between 8 ramekin dishes. Smooth biscuit lightly with the back of a teaspoon into each pot. Heat confiture de lait in microwave gently, till smooth and almost runny. Layer 2-3 tsp of confiture de lait over the biscuit base of each pot. Add a layer of sliced banana to each pot and top with the whipped cream. Sprinkle with the grated chocolate.

Spiced Courgette

This is so quick and simple and tastes great served with my cous cous salad and merguez sausages!

Serves 4

Olive oil
2 courgette, diced
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1x400g tin chopped tomatoes

Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the courgette. When courgette start to soften, add the spices and mix through. Cook for a couple of minutes then add the tomatoes. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 15 mins or until sauce has started to thicken.

Cous Cous Salad

Serves 4

240g cous cous
25g butter, cut into cubes
240ml veg stock
handful raisins
fresh mint, finely chopped
fresh chives, finely chopped
200g feta cheese, crumbled

Place cous cous in shallow dish/salad bowl. Add the raisins and mix through. Dot the butter around the cous cous and then add the hot veg stock. Cover the dish and leave for 5 mins. Fork through the cous cous. Once loose throughout, add the chopped herbs and crumbled feta and combine.

I often serve this with spiced courgette and merguez sausages. Or try adding diced cucumber for a refreshing edge.

Apple Galette

Serves 8

1 sheet puff pastry
1 egg yolk, beaten
frangipane (see below)
2 green apples, peeled, cored, quartered, thinly sliced
melted butter, for brushing
1 tbsp runny honey

creme fraiche to serve

Preheat oven to 220C. Place pastry sheet on a greased baking sheet. Score a 1cm border around the edge of the pastry. Prick area within border all over with a fork.
Spread frangipane evenly over pastry within scored area. Layer the apple slices over the top, brush lightly with melted butter and bake for 15 mins. Drizzle with the honey and bake for another 15 mins or until golden. Drizzle with extra honey and serve.

Frangipane:
75g butter, softened
75g icing sugar
75g ground almonds
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream together the butter and sugar. Gradually mix in the almonds, egg yolk and vanilla. Mix until smooth.

Sausage Penne

One of my fave meals!

Serves 4

Glug of olive oil
350g Penne pasta
4 good quality chunky sausages
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 fennel bulb, stalks removed, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
350ml passata
150ml red wine
handful fresh basil, roughly chopped
50g parmesan, plus extra to serve
100g Ricotta (optional)

Put the sausages in a pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 mins. Remove sausages and set aside to cool. Once cooled, remove skins and crumble the meat with your fingers.
Fry the onion, fennel and garlic in the oil until soft. Add the crumbled sausage meat, wine and passata and cook for 10-15mins. Add the basil and season.
Cook the pasta in boiling water until al dente, then drain. Stir the sauce into the pasta. Add the parmesan into the pasta and stir through.
Place tbsp of ricotta (if using) on each plate. Spoon the pasta over the top of the ricotta, but do not combine. Serve with the extra parmesan.

Honey and Mustard Dressing

4 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp runny honey
2 tsp french mustard
2 tbsp lemon juice (half a lemon)
Pinch salt
Grind of black pepper

Mix oil, honey, mustard and lemon juice together until well combined. Season with salt and pepper.

Ham and Egg Salad

Serves 6

125g lambs lettuce
2 hard boiled eggs
handful of shredded smoked ham
honey and mustard dressing

Create a bed of lambs lettuce on a large serving platter. Dice the boiled eggs and scatter over the lambs lettuce. Scatter the ham over the egg. Drizzle with the dressing.

Leek and Potato Soup

A variation by Sarah Raven

Serves 8

1 onion, thinly sliced
25g butter
6 large leeks, sliced
3 medium potatoes, sliced very thinly
1 ltr veg stock
500 ml milk
handful fresh basil
5-6 tbsp single cream/creme fraiche

In a large heavy-based pan, saute the onion in olive oil and butter until soft. Add the leeks and potatoes, and cook for 6-7 mins. Add the stock and simmer until the veg are tender.
Liquidise and add enough milk for the desired consistency, then bring to the boil.
Remove from the heat, add the basil and cream. Season to taste.