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Kacha Tomato – tangy green tomato relish

– a refreshingly sharp relish that tastes best when freshly made.

from PRASHAD by Kaushy Patel

3 medium green tomatoes, quartered
1 handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 fresh green chilli, seeds left in
1 clove of garlic

Put all the ingredients into a blender and blitz to a coarse texture. Take care not to liquidize it, as good-sized tomato chunks bring a burst of flavour.

Penne con Melanzane

From River Cafe Cook Book via via Witek

INGREDIENTS
2 medium aubergines
3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
5 tbs finely chopped flat leaf parsley
2 dried chillies, crumbled
2 tins (800gm) chopped tomatoes or 1.3kg fresh, skinned and seeded
250 gm penne
150 gm mozzarella di bufala, grated
120 gm grated parmegano
olive oil
salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS
Thinly slice the aubergines, de-gorge them for 30 minutes, rinse and dry them.
In the meanwhile heat 3 tbs of olive oil in a large pan and add the garlic, parsley and chilli. Fry gently for 5 minutes and, when the garlic has browned, add the tomatoes and cook for a further 20 minutes. The sauce should be quite liguid.
Heat 3 more tbs of olive oil in a frying pan and fry the aubergine until light brown and crisp. Drain well and fry the remaining aubergine in batches.
Cook the penne in salted water, drain thoroughly and return to the pan. Mix in the sauce, the aubergine and the grated cheese and serve at once

Ballymaloe spiced pumpkin soup

When we saw Darina Allen at the Abergavenny Food Festival she cooked this with coconut milk and Thai green spice paste, omitting the tomatoes

900g (2 lb) peeled and seeded pumpkin or winter squash, cut into cubes
175g (6oz) onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
25g (1oz) butter
450g (l lb) very ripe tomatoes or 1 x 14oz (400g) tinned tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1 sprig thyme
1.2 litres (2 pints) homemade chicken stock
salt, freshly ground pepper and nutmeg

Spice
40g (1 1/2 ozs) butter
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon white mustard seeds
2 inch (5cm) piece of cinnamon stick

Put the cubes of squash into a pan with the onion, garlic, butter and thyme. Cover and sweat over a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring once or twice. Add the chopped tomatoes, (add 1/2-1 teaspoon sugar if using tinned tomatoes), puree and cook until they have dissolved to a thick sauce. Stir in the stock, salt, freshly ground pepper and a little freshly ground nutmeg and simmer until the squash is very tender. Discard the thyme stalk, then liquidise the soup in several batches and return to the pan. You may need to add a little more stock or milk if the soup is too thick for you liking. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Just before serving, gently reheat the soup and pour into a warm serving bowl. Heat the coriander, cumin and pepper, and crush coarsely. Melt the butter and, when foaming add the crushed spices, mustard seeds and cinnamon. Stir for a few seconds until the mustard seeds start to pop. Quickly pour over the soup and serve, mixing in the spice butter as you ladle it out, having removed the cinnamon stick.

Pumpkins vary in intensity of flavour; some are much stronger than others so you may need to add some extra stock or milk. I sometimes add a can of coconut milk with delicious results.

 

Grosmont produce show success 2015

 

May Day brunch

Wild garlic pizza

More an idea than a recipe…

Pick wild garlic from hedgerows; layer on top of pizza dough and tomato sauce. Add grated parmesan when pizza is cooked.

Butter Bean and Pancetta Casserole

Never quite sure what to do with chard, this caught by eye.  The orange/smoked paprika combination works very well, but I would say that the skin of a whole orange is a little bit too much, so I’ll use less next time.  It is from Yotam Ottoleghi in The Guardian; he describes it as ‘a glorious Spring stew’:

3 tbs olive oil, plus extra to finish

1 onion, peeled and finely diced

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 tsp caraway seeds

shaved strips of skin from 1 orange

1/4 tsp caster sugar

400g tinned tomatoes

200g pancetta lardons

460 g cooked butter beans, rinsed (tinned are fine)

300g Swiss chard, tough white stems removed

salt and black pepper

Heat the oven to 160 C.  Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a medium ovenproof saute pan for which you have a lid.  Add the onion and saute for 8 minutes.   Mix in the garlic, paprika, caraway seeds and orange skin, and stir for a minute.  Add the sugar, tomatoes, half a teaspoon of salt and a generous grind of black pepper.  Simmer gently for 8 minutes until you have a thick sauce.

While this is cooking, fry the pancetta until slightly golden; no oil is needed.  Add the pancetta, butter beans and 250 ml of water to the tomato sauce and bring to a gentle simmer.  Cover, and braise in the oven for 40 minutes.

Cut the chard into 5cm-wide pieces, rinse and dry well.  Heat a large saucepan and add the remaining tablespoon of oil.  Add the card and a third of a teaspoon of salt and cook on a high heat for 2 minutes, stirring all the while.  Remove from the heat and arrange the chard over the hot beans, without covering them completely, gently pressing some chard into the sauce, but don’t stir.  Return the casserole to the oven and cook uncovered for a further 15 minutes, remove from the oven, leave to rest for a couple of minutes, then drizzle with oil and serve.

Green tomato jam with lemon and vanilla

Another slightly odd-sounding green tomato recipe. This jam is bright green and clear, and tastes rather like gooseberries.

2 lb green tomatoes
1 lb sugar (I used jam sugar with pectin)
1 vanilla pod
Juice of 1 lemon

Cut the tomatoes in half, squeezing out the seeds if they seem to have a lot, and dice them. Slit the vanilla pod in half and scrape out the seeds.

Place the tomatoes, sugar, vanilla and lemon juice in a preserving pan. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil, stirring, then reduce the heat and let the jam bubble and reduce until thickened, which can take up to 2 hours. It should look like a syrupy green jelly. To test for set, drip some of the liquid onto a cold plate. If it wrinkles, the jam is done.

Fill sterilized jars with the jam while both are still very hot. Seal with clean lids. Makes about 2 jars.

Green Tomato and Borlotti Bean Soup

I found this on the web when looking for green tomato recipes. It sounds improbable, but it’s quite delicious. The original called for butter and cream; this is my edited version.

Olive oil
1 lb green tomatoes, diced
1 lb potatoes, peeled and diced
1 onion, chopped
2 pints stock (I used Marigold)
Good handful of podded fresh borlotti beans
Sprig of rosemary

Saute the onions in olive oil, add diced green tomatoes, then diced potatoes, and cook until slightly softened. Add the beans, stock, rosemary, salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Simmer for 45 minutes or until everything is tender. Blend about half the soup until thick (I used a stick blender, but could use potato masher or liquidizer), reheat if necessary and adjust seasoning.

Turlu Turlu

This is a Turkish dish, similar to a spicy ratatouille. The vegetables used can change according to season.  It is good with a salad and crusty bread.

Take carrots, potatoes, peppers, onion and beetroot, scrub them, cut into chunks and place in an earthenware dish. Toss in olive oil, then in ground toasted coriander seeds, salt and black pepper. Roast in a hot oven until beginning to soften and take colour, then add courgette chunks and stir well. Cook until tender and golden.

Meanwhile in a pestle and mortar crush two cloves of garlic with a little salt. Add two chillies and some toasted cumin seeds and grind to a paste, then add two tablespoons of olive oil and amalgamate. In a pan, soften some chopped tomatoes, then add the spice paste. Cook until the raw smell disappears.

When the vegetables are cooked, toss in the spicy tomato sauce, and sprinkle with chopped fennnel and toasted hazelnuts. Serve with a salad of sliced fennel, nasturtium & courgette flowers and mixed leaves.

Recipe originally from the Moro cookbook; this version adapted by GROW.