“Roast and Serve Salad” – Sweet Potato & Halloumi

by Lou Robbie

This is such a great way to make and serve salad this summer. Your choice of roast veggies, chickpeas, halloumi and seeds on a tray then on the same tray toss through green leaves and dressing and serve into a big salad bowl! I think these roast and serve salads will be very popular this summer.

You can roast up any root veg you have in your veg box, parsnip, carrot, beets, even potatoes, cauliflower or broccoli, add some cheese if you wish and a delicious dressing to finish.

Will you try it? Let us know.

Lou x

Ingredients

  • 1 large or 3 small sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, washed and diced
  • 1 red onion, peeled and diced
  • 1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained
  • salt, pepper, oil
  • 1 pack halloumi (225g), diced
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (70g)
  • 50g spinach/rocket or lettuce leaves

For the dressing

  • juice 1/2 orange
  • juice 1/2 lemon
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 heaped teaspoon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup
  • small pinch salt

Method:

  • Step 1: Preheat the oven 180ºC fan. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper. Put the sweet potato, chickpeas, red onion and diced pepper on the tray. Drizzle with salt, pepper and oil, shake or rub to coat everything. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes, checking half way through. After this time add the diced halloumi and roast for a further 15-20 minutes.
  • Step 2: Put the pumpkin seeds on a separate tray and toast in the oven, along with the veg, for about 10 minutes, check half way through- they may need more or less time.
  • Step 3:Make the dressing, add all the ingredients except the oil to a bowl, whisk well, then slowly pour the oil in while whisking to emulsify the dressing. Taste it and adjust if needed.
  • Step 4: Let the veg cool for 20 minutes then top with the green leaves, pour over the dressing, gently toss together. Lift the parchment paper and tip into a serving dish.
  • Enjoy!

Quick & Easy: Butterbean Red Thai Curry

by Lou Robbie

Delicious, easy, nourishing, and packed with plant power! We love this one pot dish and we think you will too!

The organic red Thai curry paste has all the aromatics added already and is a quick way to pack in the flavour.

Feel free to add some steamed rice or quinoa to make this dish go further. Its so tasty for lunch or dinner and your gut will be delighted with all the organic veggies in there.

Make sure you add it to your meal plan this January.

Lou x

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 butternut squash , peeled and chopped into small cubes
    1 tin of coconut milk
  • 3/4 tin water
    1.5 tablespoons of red Thai curry paste
  • 1 small head cauliflower, broken into florets
  • 1 tin butter beans, drained
  • 1 large handful of washed spinach

Method:

  • Step 1: A wide pot works well for this, add the diced butternut squash, the red curry paste, coconut milk and water. Simmer on a medium heat for 15 minutes.
  • Step 2: Next add the cauliflower florets and the butterbeans, stir to coat in the sauce and cook for a further 15-20 minutes. Check that the squash is soft, the cauliflower should be cooked but not to mushy, then take the pot off the heat. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Step 3: Stir through the spinach and serve.

Incredible Nut Roast – Parsnip, Mushroom & Blue Cheese

by Lou Robbie

This is a wonderful nut roast bursting with flavour. This is a recipe I came across in the Guardian newspaper many years ago and I’ve made it many times since. It’s a great one to make ahead of the big day. After cooking it will keep in the fridge for 3 days. Cut slices when its cold fry on a frying pan to sear and then heat through in the oven.

Someone recently said a nut roast is like a posh stuffing and I guess it really is. This one is a celebration of some of the gorgeous organic vegetables available at this time of year, cabbage, mushrooms and earthy parsnips with kicks of sweet and sour cranberry and salty Cashel blue from Co. Tipperary.

We really hope you try it.

Lou 🙂

Ingredients:

  • 2 large parsnips, peeled and diced
  • Salt and black pepper
  • Oil, to grease
  • 1 savoy cabbage, 6-8 outer leaves only
  • 1 onion, finely diced
  • 150g chestnut mushrooms, finely diced
  • 150g toasted hazelnuts, chopped
  • 40g butter, reg or vegan
  • 40g dried cranberries
  • 100g breadcrumbs
  • 1 small bunch fresh sage, leaves picked and finely chopped
  • 100g Cashel Blue Organic Bio (or vegan-friendly cheese of your choice), optional
  • ½ tsp mixed spice
  • 1 egg, or 1 flax egg (to make 1 flax egg mix 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons water, leave for 15 minutes then use like an egg)

Method:

Step 1: Boil or steam the parsnips and mash them when they are soft, set aside to cool.

Step 2: The cabbage leaves will line the loaf tin. Prepare the leaves by cutting off the stems and blanch them in boiling water, remove from the pot and run under cold water. Dry thoroughly. Oil a loaf tin, line with tin foil, oil the foil, then line the tin with the cabbage leaves, leaving no gaps.

Step 3: Meanwhile, sauté the onion in the butter until soft, then add the mushrooms, a pinch of salt and pepper and cook until they become dry. Stir in the chopped hazelnuts, cranberries, breadcrumbs, chopped sage and mixed spice. Stir in the cooled mashed parsnips, the beaten egg and break in the blue cheese if using. Season and then carefully fold the mixture together but keep the lumps of cheese intact. To check the seasoning fry off a small piece and taste, adjust if needed.

Step 4: Spoon the filling into the lined loaf tin, push down with a fork. Cover with the cabbage leaves, and finish with tin foil.

Step 5: Bake in the oven for 45 minutes. leave to set in the loaf tin for 20 minutes then slice. Or cool completely in the loaf tin, store in the fridge overnight and slice the next day. If serving the next day fry on a pan and warm through in a hot oven. Serve with Christmas veg and gravy.

Vegan Wellington – Christmas Centrepiece

by Lou Robbie

Every Christmas dinner needs a centrepiece and this is a delicious one. Organic butternut squash with mushrooms, herbs and nuts tastes delicious wrapped in crispy puff pastry with all the usual side vegetables.

You can make this ahead of time and keep it wrapped on a tray in the fridge for 3 days. If you fancy making your own gravy check out our recipe Groovy Gravy.

Save the recipe to try this Christmas.

Lou 🙂

Ingredients

  • 2 pack of ready rolled puff pastry – most are vegan (375g per pack)
  • 1 butternut squash – 500g approx, peeled and diced
  • 1 pack chestnut mushrooms, 250g, diced
  • 1 onion, finely diced
  • 1 small leek , cleaned and finely diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon sage, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1 cup chopped nuts – walnuts/hazelnuts/almonds/cashews/pecans
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 80g breadcrumbs

Method:

Step 1: Preheat the oven 180ºC, line 2 trays with parchment paper. Take the puff pastry out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. Put the diced squash on one tray, drizzle with oil, salt and pepper and roast until soft, 30-40 minutes.

Step 2: Warm a frying pan on a medium heat, add a tablespoon of oil and the chopped onion, cook to soften for 5-10 minutes. Next add the garlic, leeks, some salt and pepper cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook them fully for 15 minutes. Once cooked add in the sage, parsley, chopped nuts, soy sauce, maple syrup, stir to coat.

Step 3: When the squash is cooked add it to the pot with the cooked mushroom and mash with a fork or potato masher. Pour in the breadcrumbs and stir well. Set aside to cool.

Step 4: Unroll both packets of pastry lay one on the second baking tray. Spoon the squash and mushroom filling into the middle of the pastry and make a long sausage shape mound. Mould it with your hands so its compact. Lay the second piece of pastry on top. Cut away the extra pastry (use it for something else) seal the edges with a fork, score a diamond shape on the top. Brush with milk or egg-wash.

Step 5: Bake in the oven 180ºC for 1 hour 20, until golden brown and cooked through.

Comfort Food- Lentil Pie with Celeriac Mash

by Lou Robbie

The clocks have gone back, the nights are drawing in and the air is crisp and cold, its time to amp up the comfort food. Warm spicy lentils topped with buttery celeriac and potato mash, just what you need to comfort the soul. Celeriac isn’t always an obvious root veg choice, you wont always find it in the supermarket, but we proudly grow it and it tastes delicious served this way. Plus it is great for you too, high in vitamin C and K!

What’s more this dish cooks in under 1 hour, will feed a crowd, it freezes and reheats really well.

Pop a celeriac in your online basket soon.

Lou 🙂

Ingredients: serves 6

  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 medium onion- finely diced
  • 3 cloves garlic- finely chopped
  • 2 small sweet potato (380g approx)- diced
  • 200g red lentils, washed and drained
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes (400g)
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 heaped teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
  • 1 heaped teaspoon cumin
  • 1 tablespoon thyme leaves
  • 1 tablespoon chopped sage
  • 500ml hot veg stock (or stock cube with water)
  • 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce (vegan)

For the mash:

  • 1 small celeriac 450g
  • 4 potatoes – 450g
  • 50g milk – of choice
  • 75g butter – of choice
  • salt & pepper

Method:

Step 1: Being with the mash. Peel and dice the celeriac and potato and steam until tender. Then mash with butter, milk, salt and pepper.

Step 2: While the celeriac and potatoes steam start the lentils. Warm a wide pot on a medium heat, add the onions and cook slowly to soften, 5-10 minutes, add the garlic, chilli, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper and cook for a further few minutes to toast the spices. Next add the diced sweet potato, stir to coat in the spices. Then add the thyme leaves, chopped sage, red lentils, chopped tomatoes and hot stock. Simmer on a low heat for about 30-40 minutes until the sweet potato is cooked through, stir occasionally to stop the lentils catching on the bottom of the pot. . Taste and stir in the worcestershire sauce. Keep the lentils in the same pot or transfer to a wide baking dish 25cm x 25cm approx.

Step 3: Turn on the grill. Top the cooked lentils with mash and use a fork to make a nice design. Grill the pie until the top is golden and crispy, then serve.

Roast Pumpkin, Kale & Feta Salad w/ Roast Garlic Dressing

by Lou Robbie

You can have your Pumpkin and Eat it!! Pumpkins are not just for decoration around Halloween they are sweet, earthy and delicious to eat. The skin is edible too, just wash them well and slice into thin wedges. You can make this salad with butternut squash too if you wish, it will be equally delicious.

Salads are not exclusive to the warmer months. We like to serve the pumpkin and roast red onions warm from the oven with shredded kale and crumbled feta. Pomegranate is recommended for colour and pops of sweet and sourness.

Organic ingredients are “Better for you and Better for our Planet”.

Lou 🙂

Ingredients: serves 4

  • 1 small pumpkin, chopped deseeded, sliced into wedges
  • 1 medium red onion, sliced into wedges
  • pinch salt/pepper/paprika

For the dressing

  • 1 bulb of garlic – roasted until soft
  • 1 tablespoon light tahini
  • 100ml neutral oil
  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
  • salt and pepper

To finish

  • 1/2 pomegranate, deseeded
  • 100g kale, washed, stripped off the stalk & very finely chopped
  • 180g feta- sheep’s cheese feta used here
  • 1/2 tin chickpeas – drained (200g)
  • 2 tablespoons toasted pumpkin seeds

Method:

Step 1: Preheat the oven 180ºC. Prepare the garlic bulb, chop off the top of the bulb to expose the cloves. Put the pumpkin wedges, red onion wedges and garlic bulb on a baking tray. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and a bit of paprika drizzle with oil, rub the veg to coat in the oil and seasoning. Roast veggies for 30 minutes. the garlic may take 10 minutes longer.

Step 2: Add the finely chopped kale to a mixing bowl, drizzle with a small amount of olive oil, season with salt and pepper and massage with your hands to tenderise.

Step 3: To make the dressing add the soft roasted garlic to a small blender along with the tahini, oil, cider vinegar, salt and pepper. Blend until completely smooth. Taste and adjust if needed.

Step 4: Build the salad. Add the kale to a big serving plate, top with the chickpeas, layer on the roast pumpkin, red onion, break over the feta. Roll the pomegranate to loosen the seeds, with a wooden spoon to dislodge the seeds and scatter over the salad. Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds and top with the roast garlic dressing.

Pickled Courgette & Carrot

by Lou Robbie

Homemade pickles are lovely to make. This is a great one if your a beginner. It doesn’t make a massive amount just enough to get you started on your pickling journey. Pickles are sweet and sour and go great with sharp cheese or deep rich tomato sauces or slow cooked bean stews. It adds a pop of zing and excitement!

Pickling is a great way to preserve vegetables for the winter, this pickle will keep for up to 1 month in the fridge. It’s also a nice gift for a friend.

Grab your peeler and give this a go!

Lou 🙂

Ingredients: makes 1 large jar or 2 small

  • 1 small courgette, washed
  • 3 small carrots, washed
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 200ml apple cider vinegar
  • 45g brown sugar 
  • 1 tsp turmeric 
  • 1 bay leaf 
  • 2 tsp mustard seeds 
  • cold water to top up if needed 

Method:

Step 1: Using a peeler, peel lengthways to make ribbons with the courgette and the carrots. When you get to the point where the vegetable is tricky to peel you can stop and use these bits for soup. Put all the courgette and carrot ribbons into a sterilised jar.

Step 2: Make the pickle liquid. Add the vinegar, sugar, turmeric, mustard seeds, bay leaf to a small pot. Warm on the hob until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool. Once cool pour into the jar. If the liquid does not cover the vegetables add some water. Seal the jar and store in the fridge for 3-4 weeks.

5 “Back to School” Handy Wholesome Dinners

by Lou Robbie

Back to school and back to busy schedules for the whole house! September can be a great time to reset your eating habits, its a bit like new year. We love to pull out the recipe books and plan some wholesome hearty meals, using lots of vegetables from the farm, to make September run smoothly and enjoy the cosy autumn evenings.

We’ve put 5 of our favourite recipes together for you. Most of them just need one pot and some need an extra one for the rice or pasta, so minimal fuss. The vegetables from the farm make each dish sing, cauliflower, courgettes, cherry tomatoes, squash, spuds and kale. Theres something for everyone.

We like to get back to having family meals together in the evening, talking about the school day, new friends, new subjects and all the time taking enjoyment in the food we eat.

We hope you enjoy these recipes, please let us know if you try them in the comments below.

Lou 🙂

Click on the recipe below to bring you to each recipe:

  1. 3 Bean Chilli – slow cooker

2. Veggie Thai Green Curry – slow cooker

3. Creamy Courgette Orzo Pasta– one pot

4. Cauliflower & Potato Satay Curry – one pot

5. Cherry Tomato Pasta – quick meal

Simple Grilled Red Pepper & Feta Dressing w/ Chopped Salad

by Lou Robbie

This a great recipe when you have odds and ends to use up. I did a raid on the salad drawer this morning. I had peppers, a cucumber from my friend’s garden, cherry tomatoes from the Green Earth Organics poly tunnel, baby leaves, all so fresh and delicious all that was needed was a quick dressing.

Jars of organic grilled peppers are so handy for a quick addition to any dish. They are soft and sweet and stored in sunflower oil. Simply whizzed up with a feta and a few spices they make a perfect dressing or dip if you make it thicker by adding more feta.

Add your favourite toasted nuts or seeds for some extra goodness.

Lou 🙂

Ingredients: makes a jar of dressing, salad serves 2

  • For the dressing: 
  • 100g feta, add more if you like a thicker dressing
  • 1 jar of red peppers grilled in sunflower oil (190g)
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
  • Juice ¼ lemon 
  • ½ teaspoon chilli flakes
  • ½ teaspoon paprika
  • For the chopped salad:
  • 6 chopped cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • 3 inches cucumber, diced 
  • ½ yellow pepper chopped 
  • 1 tin black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 handful lettuce leaves, washed
  • ½ cup pecans, toasted 

Method:

Step 1: Make the dressing, to a powerful blender, add the jar of red peppers, feta, honey, lemon juice, chilli flakes and paprika. Blend until smooth. We used a Ninja smoothie blender. 

Step 2: Wash and chop the tomatoes, cucumber, and yellow pepper. Toast the pecans in the oven or air fryer at 170ºC for about minutes. 

Step 3: Build the salad, add the tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, lettuce leaves and black beans to a large plate or bowl. Drizzle over the dressing, toss to coat and scatter the pecans on top. 

You can serve the dressing on the side if you prefer. 

Irish Root Veg and Feta Frittata

by Lou Robbie

This frittata is so handy to make and works perfectly with gorgeous Irish root veg! You can add just about any cooked veg to your frittata, here we are using delicious turnip and potato thats delicious with spinach and feta. Any left over cooked veg can be used think beetroot, peppers, courgette, carrots, parsnips, broccoli or peas it’s a real #zerowaste hero recipe.

This recipe makes a large frittata that is great for feeding a crowd for lunch, dinner or picnic. The best part is you can have it hot or cold.

Make a root veg with your next veg box.

Lou 🙂

Ingredients: makes 8 big slices

  • 300g cooked turnip/swede, cooled and diced
  • 300g cooked potato, cooled and diced
  • 150g feta
  • 18 eggs
  • zest 1 lemon
  • salt and pepper
  • handful spinach

Method:

  • Step 1: Preheat the oven 180ºC and line a baking tin (20cm x 30cm) with parchment paper.
  • Step 2: Scatter the cooked turnip and potato, evenly, over the bottom of the tray.
  • Step 3: Chop the baby spinach roughly and put it on top of the turnip and potato.
  • Step 4: In a bowl whisk the eggs along with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Zest the lemon into the egg and mix well.
  • Step 5: Pour the egg mix over the veg and push any veg sticking up down with a fork.
  • Step 4: Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, until cooked through.
  • Serve warm with a salad or cold on a picnic.