Aubergine Involtini

by Liz Child

Involtini in Italian means ‘rolls’ and this aubergine version is one of my all time favourite dishes. I am obsessed with aubergine, perhaps it’s because I used to hate it as a child and now I’m making up for lost time? But whenever aubergine season hits, this recipe is at the top of my list. I also make this with courgettes in place of the aubergines sometimes, especially when there’s a lot of them to use up. Griddled courgette strips are so tasty so give that version a try too.

The filling can be whatever you want it to be. I usually go for something simple like a mixture of cheese (vegan feta or cashew cheese are my favs) and pesto. But roasted and crushed squash with toasted pine nuts or hazelnuts is also really good! Perfect for that summer-autumn crossover. Let us know in the comments what fillings worked well for you?

Liz x

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

  • 2 aubergines
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • 2 jars of Napoli tomato sauce (or make your own tomato sauce by sautéing a diced onion and 4 cloves of garlic with a little olive oil until soft, then add 2 tins of chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste and some torn basil leaves and simmer for 15 minutes or so)
  • 130g jar of pesto
  • 200-300g cheese of your choice (feta works really well here – I use my tofu feta recipe found at the end of this blog post, otherwise we stock a variety of plant based cheeses and organic feta)
  • pasta or fresh bread to serve

Method

  1. Find a medium sized, deep roasting dish and turn your oven to 200C to warm up while you prepare the dish.
  2. If you’re not using our tasty, ready made tomato sauce, make a simple batch yourself using two 400g tins of chopped tomatoes. I sautéed a diced onion with a couple of tbsp of olive oil and 4 cloves of garlic until soft and just starting to colour. Then tipped in the two tins of tomatoes (swirled out the remaining tomatoey juices from the tins with a little water and added that to the pot too) and seasoned with salt and pepper. Then simmered the sauce with some torn basil leaves for around 10-15 minutes until it was rich and delicious.
  3. Keep the sauce warm while you prepare the aubergines and filling.
  4. Slice the tops off the aubergine as close to the stalk as possible, then peel or slice off any still-attached leafy bits. Carefully cut the aubergines into around 4mm thick, long strips.
  5. Pour the olive oil into a small bowl or glass and season it with a big pinch of salt and pepper. Then brush the aubergine slices with the seasoned olive oil and grill them in batches in a griddle pan, or under a hot grill in the oven. Turn halfway through. They should be soft and beautifully charred but still manageable. As they cook, lay them out on a large chopping board or clean worksurface ready for stuffing and rolling.
  6. Meanwhile make your filling. I mashed about 300g of feta with a jar of pesto.
  7. Pour the warm tomato sauce into your baking dish and start assembling the involtini.
  8. Place a tablespoon of filling at the end of a griddled aubergine slice. Then roll it up and tuck the roll, seam side down, into the tomato sauce.
  9. Repeat until all the rolls are stuffed. Then place the dish in the oven and bake for around 15-20 minutes or until hot and bubbling.
  10. Serve with freshly boiled pasta or some crusty bread and enjoy!

Courgette, Feta & Dill Fritters

by Liz Child

Fritters are a fab summer lunch with salads and a great way to use up a glut of vegetables. Courgettes are having their ‘glut moment’ on the farm right now, so here’s a delicious courgette fritter recipe for you to try if you get a lot of courgettes in your box and you’re stuck for ideas.

I usually make a gram flour (chickpea flour) batter of just gram flour, water and seasoning, and then stir in shredded/finely chopped veg to make fritters, but I didn’t have any gram flour so here’s a wheat and corn flour variety which works well too! Fritters are fairly forgiving, just use whatever flour you have in. Courgettes are quite watery vegetables, so I like to grate and salt them, then after the salt has drawn the liquid out, mix in enough flour to make a fairly thick batter. No need to add any other liquid or you’ll end up with soggy rather than crisp fritters!

Liz x

Ingredients (makes 6-8 fritters)

  • 1 large or 2 small courgettes
  • a large pinch of salt (about 1/2 a tsp or to taste)
  • black pepper to taste
  • a big handful of chopped dill or fennel fronds (or any herbs you like – mint or parsley work well)
  • a block of feta, crumbled (or make my tofu feta recipe here)
  • 4 tbsp plain flour (or more/less – see method)
  • 4 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch (or more/less – see method)
  • olive oil for frying
  • lemon wedges, salad & tzatziki to serve

Method

  1. Start by grating your courgettes into a large mixing bowl. Use the course side of the grater.
  2. Sprinkle over the pinch of salt and pepper and mix well. Then taste and decide if you’d like to add more. The courgettes should just taste pleasantly seasoned.
  3. Give the salt time to draw the liquid out of the courgettes and use this time to prepare some salads and make a tzatziki (simply mix grated cucumber through thick yoghurt, season with salt, pepper and a little crushed garlic, stir well and add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and fresh dill or mint).
  4. Once the courgettes are wet, this only takes 10 minutes or less, you can start adding the flour. I like to use an even mix of cornflour and plain flour. The corn flour makes the fritters a little crispier.
  5. Add one heaped tbsp of each flour to the wet courgettes then stir the mixture. Keep adding more of both flours and stirring until you have a thick fritter batter. If your courgette is very watery you’ll need more flour, if it’s drier you’ll need less.
  6. Then stir through the herbs and crumbled feta and warm up a frying pan to medium with a generous slick of olive oil in the bottom of the pan.
  7. Fry spoons of the mixture in small batches in the pan. Turn over after 3-5 minutes, once golden brown and crispy underneath and fry the other side for a further 3-5 minutes.
  8. Keep the heat at medium, don’t be tempted to turn it to high or you may get fritters which are burned on the outside and raw and doughy in the middle.
  9. Serve with salads and tzatziki for a lovely lunch. The fritters are delicious eaten hot with a squeeze of lemon. Or pop the fritters into a burger bun or sandwich as a summery veggie burger or sandwich filler alternative.

Grilled Peaches

by Liz Child

Have you ever tried grilled peaches? They’re amazing on the barbecue but this morning I tried them in my little panini grill and they were really good so I thought I’d share.

No real recipe. Just slice them in half and twist out the stones. Our delicious flat peaches tend to de-stone quite easily but use a small knife if you’re having trouble. Then brush them with a 50:50 mix of olive oil and maple syrup and place on a hot grill until nicely charred, smokey, sweet and sticky. Serve on natural yoghurt with granola for the best summery breakfast! Or serve with ice cream after a barbecue for a refreshing dessert.

Liz x

BBQ’d New Potatoes

by Liz Child

This is my simple and adaptable method for BBQing our gorgeous new potatoes! I have fond memories of pricking large jacket potatoes, wrapping them in foil and packing them in with the food for camping trips. Then we would carefully tuck them into the BBQ coals to bake while the rest of the grilling was done, they’d often come out perfect if we remembered to turn them occasionally, but more often than not, half the potato would burn and half would be raw, or the coals would burn out before the potato was done and there’d be some disappointment… So this way of par-boiling, dressing then skewering little salad potatoes provides a much more consistent result.

Start by boiling scrubbed new potatoes until they are nearly cooked through. Test a few larger ones with a sharp knife or skewer. Then drain the potatoes and allow them to cool in the colander while you prepare a tasty marinade or dressing!

I love potatoes with garlic and herbs. This time I mixed olive oil, salt, pepper, crushed garlic, rosemary and lemon zest in a large bowl. Then toss the par cooked new potatoes in the dressing.

Push the potatoes on skewers (or cook in a BBQ basket) and get them onto a plate or tray ready to pop over the coals.

Cook on the BBQ, turning often until soft, smokey and delicious!

Then push them off the skewers, back into the dressing bowl and toss again to get any last bits of dressing and flavour back over the delicious, charred potatoes. Enjoy!

Summer Fruit Crumble Slice

by Liz Child

This fruity number is just the thing to pack into a tin and take round to a friends garden to have with a cuppa! Use any summer fruit you like, berries or stone fruit work well, and it’s best to cook the fruit down with a little maple syrup into a rough ‘jam’. Very soft fruit like strawberries, raspberries or plums could just be sliced and sprinkled raw on top of the biscuit layer before adding the crumble mix, but I do find a more jammy fruit layer helps the crumble mix stick to the biscuit a bit better. I tend to cover the dish in the oven with a baking sheet or a layer of baking parchment during the last 15 minutes or so to prevent it from browning too much. 

Liz 

Many of our organic groceries come packaged without plastic including flour, oats and blueberries!

Ingredients

  • 125g caster sugar
  • 250g butter/margarine
  • 375g plain flour
  • 100g porridge oats
  • 150g fruit
  • maple syrup to taste

Method

  1. Start by cooking 150g fruit in a small pan until just soft and starting to collapse. Taste and sweeten with maple syrup or any sweetener you like (if needed). Then put it to one side to cool while you make the biscuit dough.
  2. Pre-heat the oven to 175C and line a deep baking dish with baking parchment. I used a dish approximately 25x35cm but any medium sized baking dish will do. Just bear in mind, if it’s a smaller dish, the biscuit will be deeper so will need longer in the oven.
  3. Weigh out the butter, sugar and flour into a large mixing bowl. Rub it together with the tips of your fingers until you achieve a wet-beach-sand-like texture that comes together into dough when squeezed. A quicker way to do this is to pulse the ingredients together in a food processor with the ‘S’ blade attachment.
  4. Tip roughly 2/3rds of the dough into the lined dish and press it firmly into a neat, even layer. Ensure you get into the corners of the dish.
  5. Add the oats to the remaining 3rd of the dough and mix into a rough crumble.
  6. Spoon the fruit onto the biscuit layer and then sprinkle the crumble over the top. Lightly pat the crumble into the fruit.
  7. Then bake for approximately 30 minutes at 175C fan. The time can vary depending on your dish size. I tend to cover the dish with a baking sheet or extra piece of parchment for the last 15 minutes or so to prevent the crumble from browning too much. Just keep an eye on it and see if it needs it or not. No two ovens are alike in my experience!
  8. Remove from the oven and allow the biscuit to cool in the dish. Then carefully transfer it to a chopping board and cut it as you like. 
  9. You should end up with a melt-in-the-mouth shortbread base, a fruity layer and a        buttery, oaty, crumbly layer. Delicious!
  10. The biscuits keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for a week. Enjoy!

Raw Courgette & Hazelnut Salad

by Liz Child

We are in the midst of a classic courgette glut on the farm. Next week we’ll add some free courgettes to all the boxes, we hope you enjoy them. Expect lots of courgette recipes to come your way. We’d love to know your favourite courgette recipes too please! Let us know in the comments or over on our community Facebook group. I’ll start us off with this super simple salad. It’s so easy to make (just a matter of combining raw courgettes with a lemony dressing, then scattering over some toasted hazelnuts) and oh SO delicious! I have this salad often this time of year as a side to pretty much any meal, or it’s brilliant stirred through freshly boiled pasta or bulked out with a drained tin of lentils.

Liz x

Did you know, our organic hazelnuts come in compostable bags?

Ingredients

  • Courgettes (2 small or 1 large)
  • 2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • the juice of half a small lemon (have you tried our new season verdelli lemons?)
  • 1 small garlic clove, crushed
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • a handful or two of hazelnuts, toasted in a dry pan then roughly chopped

Method

  1. Using a potato peeler, slice the courgettes into delicate, thin ribbons. For ease, slice them directly over a serving platter or large salad bowl.
  2. Make the dressing by stirring together the olive oil, lemon juice and crushed garlic with a pinch of salt and pepper.
  3. Drizzle the dressing over the courgette ribbons. You could toss the salad now to evenly coat the ribbons with the dressing, or just leave it drizzly.
  4. Then toast the hazelnuts in a dry frying pan until nicely coloured. Tip them onto a board and carefully chop them up a bit to make them go further through the salad.
  5. Scatter them over the dressed ribbons and finish the salad with a little sprinkle of flakey sea salt. We LOVE Achill Island sea salt for exactly this type of dish.
  6. Enjoy as is as part of a salad buffet or alongside a BBQ. Or make it a light, refreshing meal by tossing through some freshly boiled pasta or a drained tin of cooked green lentils.

Potatoes & Peas with Mint Salsa Verde

by Liz Child

How about a potato salad with fresher flavours? A tangy, herby salsa verde made with mint and capers pairs perfectly with peas and buttery new potatoes. If you don’t have peas in the freezer, switch them with any fresh greens you like. We particularly love this salad with thinly sliced raw courgette in place of the peas or chopped and steamed French beans or broccoli. Anyway you make it, it’s a brilliant bowl to bring along to a BBQ.

Liz x

Ingredients

  • 12 new potatoes
  • 150g cooked peas (or this is lovely with thinly sliced raw courgette or chopped and steamed French beans or broccoli too!)
  • 25g fresh mint leaves
  • 3 tbsp capers
  • 1 garlic clove
  • the juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
some alternative greens which would work in place of the peas

Method

  1. Halve and boil the new potatoes until tender, then drain and cool while you make the salsa verde.
  2. Put the mint, garlic, capers, lemon juice and olive oil into a blender.
  3. Blend into a loose sauce then taste – add more lemon, olive oil or capers to taste. You shouldn’t need to add salt, the capers are plenty salty enough.
  4. Put the cooked and cooled potatoes into a bowl with the peas (or broccoli, French beans or courgette slices) and drizzle over half the salsa verde and toss to combine.
  5. Add more salsa verde or keep left overs in a jar in the fridge and use within a week. It’s great over salads & roasted vegetables, spread into a wrap or stirred through a summery soup or stew.

Beetroot, Yoghurt & Tahini Salad

by Liz Child

The flavours in this simple salad work so well together. Sweet, earthy beetroots, tangy natural yoghurt, nutty tahini and crunchy toasted pumpkin seeds. Serve it in layers like the photo above, or mix it up for a shocking pink platter. This salad goes well with a BBQ or as part of a buffet spread, or even as a meal in it’s own right with some bread to scoop up the juices.

Liz x

Ingredients

  • 3 beetroot, leafy greens included
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 6 tbsp natural yoghurt
  • 3 tbsp tahini
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • the zest of a lemon
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 50g pumpkin seeds, toasted
  • a handful of fresh herbs, chopped (eg chives, dill or parsley…)

Method

  1. Give the beetroot and leaves a good wash. Then chop the leaves off and boil the beetroots whole, in plenty of water until they are cooked through. This can take 30-40 minutes so keep an eye on the pan and top up with more water as needed.
  2. Once they are cooked (you can test this by inserting a small sharp knife into the beetroots), drain and cover with cold water. Then using your hands, rub the skin off. Use a knife for any tough bits.
  3. Allow the beetroots to finish cooling while you get on with the rest of the salad.
  4. Separate the bright stalks from the green leaves and chop them into bites. Sauté with a tbsp of olive oil and a tiny pinch of salt and pepper until soft. Then roughly chop the leaves and add them to the pan to cook for just a few minutes. Then set to one side to cool while you make the yoghurt dressing.
  5. Stir the yogurt and tahini together with a tbsp of olive oil. Grate or crush in the clove of garlic and add the zest of 1/2 the lemon. Stir and taste. Add a touch of salt and pepper if needed.
  6. Then plate up the salad. Spread 1/3rd of the yoghurt dressing on a platter and scatter over the sautéed beetroot leaves. Drizzle with more dressing, then slice the beetroots and add them to the platter. Drizzle with the remainder of the dressing, then scatter over the toasted pumpkin seeds, chopped herbs and the zest of the other half of the lemon.
  7. Enjoy with some good bread or as a side to a BBQ.

Russian-Style Potato Salad

by Liz Child

If you like a classic potato salad with mayonnaise, you’ll love this one. The added extras like tangy sauerkraut and pickles and earthy-sweet carrots and beetroot make it a step up from the norm. What’s a barbecue or buffet without a bowl of potato salad? Try this one with our fresh-from-the-fields new potatoes, carrots and beetroots. You could even make your own vegan mayo, fermented cucumbers and sauerkraut using our farm produce and groceries too if you like! Otherwise we stock mayonnaise, pickles and sauerkraut in our grocery section.

Liz x

Ingredients

  • 12 new potatoes
  • 1 beetroot
  • 2 carrots
  • 3 tbsp aioli/mayonaise
  • 2 tbsp sauerkraut
  • 4 tbsp chopped fermented/pickled cucumbers 
  • large handful of dill/fennel fronds (or chopped chives)

Method

  1. Halve the new potatoes and dice the carrots, then boil together until tender. Drain them and allow to cool.
  2. Boil the beetroot in its skin in a separate pan until tender. This takes around 30 minutes. Then run the beetroot under cold water and rub the skin off and dice into 1 cm pieces.
  3. Dice the fermented/pickled cucumbers.
  4. Chop the dill or fennel fronds.
  5. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
  6. Gently stir the ingredients together then taste and add salt or pepper if needed.

Creamy Tagliatelle with Leeks, Greens & Peas

by Liz Child

This pasta dish has fresh spring/summer vibes. It’s one of our favourites and a great way to use up all the gorgeous greens coming out of the farm at the moment. We stock a large range of organic pastas, I like tagliatelle for this one, but of course any pasta shape will work well.

Liz x

Ingredients (serves 4-5)

  • 500g tagliatelle
  • 2 tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 leeks, sliced and rinsed
  • 4 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 3 tbsp plain flour
  • 3 tbsp nutritional yeast (or sub with grated/crumbled cheese of your choice)
  • a splash of white wine
  • oat milk – enough to cook out the flour and make a creamy sauce
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 200g spinach
  • frozen or freshly shelled peas to taste
  • 3 tbsp pesto – optional (I used my kale and pumpkin seed pesto)

Method

  1. Get a large pot of salted water on to boil, then get on with the sauce.
  2. Sauté the leeks and garlic in the butter and oil until soft.
  3. Add the mustard, flour and nutritional yeast and stir the pan.
  4. Then add the white wine and a splash of oat milk. Stir quickly to avoid any bigger lumps.
  5. Keep adding splashes of oat milk and stirring until you have a thick, creamy sauce.
  6. Get the pasta into the boiling water. Tagliatelle only takes about 8 minutes or so.
  7. Then chop the spinach and add to the sauce. Stir and wilt. Then season with salt and plenty of black pepper.
  8. Add the peas to the sauce just before the pasta needs draining.
  9. Then drain the pasta and stir it into the sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Stir through some green pesto for extra flavour and serve!