Greenfeast Read online

  CHEESE, THYME, GRAPES

  Molten, oozing cheese. Cold sweet grapes.

  Serves 2

  a whole small Camembert or Tunworth cheese, preferably one in a wooden box

  thyme 4 sprigs

  black peppercorns 6

  olive oil 2 tablespoons

  crusty bread, to serve

  grapes, to serve

  Set the oven at 200°C/Gas 6. Remove the cheese from its waxed paper and return it to the little wooden box. Wrap the underside and edges of the box tightly with foil to prevent the cheese leaking. Put the thyme sprigs and peppercorns on the surface of the cheese and moisten them with the olive oil.

  Bake for twenty minutes, or until the cheese is molten inside. Serve with bread, preferably with a good crisp crust, and some sweet black grapes.

  • Check that the wooden box the cheese comes in is stapled, not glued. If glued then it is inclined to come undone in the oven and your liquid cheese will escape.

  • I sometimes add half a dozen juniper berries, lightly crushed, to the surface of the cheese as well.

  CHICKPEAS, RADICCHIO, BUTTER BEANS

  Soft, floury beans and chickpeas. The sweet juice of roasted lemon.

  Serves 2

  chickpeas 1 × 400g can

  shallots, medium 6

  olive oil 4 tablespoons

  a lemon

  thyme 6 bushy sprigs

  butter beans 1 × 400g can

  tahini 2 teaspoons

  a small orange

  radicchio or red chicory 400g

  Set the oven at 200°C/Gas 6. Drain the chickpeas in a sieve. Peel the shallots, halve them lengthways and put them into a roasting dish, cut side down. Tip the chickpeas into the roasting tin, then trickle with the olive oil and grind over a little black pepper and salt.

  Cut the lemon in half, squeeze lightly over the shallots, then tuck the lemon halves into the tin. Pick the thyme leaves from their stems, scatter them over the chickpeas and shallots, then roast for about thirty minutes, until the shallots are soft and their undersides are golden.

  Lift the roasting tin onto the hob and transfer the shallots to a serving dish, leaving the chickpeas in the tin. Place the tin over a moderate heat and tip in the butter beans, drained of their canning liquor. Squeeze the roast lemons over the beans and chickpeas, then stir in the tahini and the juice of the orange.

  Continue cooking until all is hot, then return the shallots to the roasting tin, tear the radicchio leaves into large pieces and fold together before transferring to a serving dish.

  • It is useful to have a stash of roasted chickpeas around. You can make them and set them aside for a day or two, to be used as you wish: tossed as above with bitter leaves and citrus or folded into a salad of young spinach leaves or piled onto thick olive-oily toast.

  FENNEL, CREAM, PINE KERNELS

  Aniseed, citrus, crumbs and cream.

  Serves 2

  fennel 750g

  olive oil

  double cream 250ml

  fresh, white bread 45g

  parsley leaves 10g

  zest of 1 orange, finely grated

  pine kernels 25g

  Set the oven at 200°C/Gas 6. Trim the fennel, then slice into pieces no thicker than a pencil. The thicker you slice them, the longer they will take to cook. Warm a thin layer of olive oil in an ovenproof frying pan, then add the fennel, a few pieces at a time if there isn’t room for them all at once, and let them cook until pale gold. Remove from the heat and pour in the double cream.

  Tear up the white bread and place in the bowl of a food processor. Add the parsley leaves, the grated zest of the orange, a little salt and black pepper and the pine kernels. Process briefly to give a rough-textured crumb mixture.

  Scatter the seasoned breadcrumb mixture over the surface of the cream. Trickle a little olive oil over the crumbs. Bake for twenty to twenty-five minutes until the cream is bubbling around the edges.

  • Cooking fennel in this way softens the vegetable’s aniseed notes. You can also make this recipe with celery instead of fennel, cutting the ribs into short lengths and baking with the cream as above.

  • I sometimes bake small, floury potatoes at the same time, then spoon the fennel cream over the baked potato, mashing the aniseed-scented cream into the soft flesh of the potato.

  LENTILS, SWEET POTATO, TOMATOES

  A deep dish of comfort.

  Serves 4

  split yellow lentils 250g

  ground turmeric 1 teaspoon

  vegetable stock 750ml

  sweet potatoes 750g

  onion 1

  olive oil 2 tablespoons

  ginger 60g

  garlic 2 cloves

  cumin seeds ½ teaspoon

  green cardamom pods 10

  chilli flakes ½ teaspoon

  curry leaves 12

  ground cayenne 1½ teaspoons

  chopped tomatoes 1 × 400g can

  a little melted butter or oil, for baking

  Wash the lentils in cold water, until the water is no longer milky. Tip them into a medium-sized saucepan with the turmeric and stock and bring to the boil. Lower the heat, partially cover with a lid and simmer for ten minutes, until most of the stock has been absorbed and the lentils are almost tender.

  Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into slices about a half a centimetre in thickness. Put them in a steamer basket or colander over a pan of boiling water, covered by a lid. Steam for about seven to eight minutes until soft to the point of a knife. Remove the pan from the heat.

  Peel and roughly chop the onion. Warm the oil in a deep pan over a moderate heat, add the onion and cook until it is soft and pale gold – a matter of twenty minutes. Peel and grate the ginger. Peel and finely slice the garlic, then stir into the onion with the ginger and cumin seeds. Continue cooking for two or three minutes. Crack open the cardamom pods, extract the seeds, grind to a coarse powder, then stir into the onion together with the chilli flakes, curry leaves and ground cayenne. Add pepper and half a teaspoon of salt, stirring for a minute or two. Set the oven at 200°C/Gas 6.

  Put the lentils over a moderate heat, stir in the tomatoes, then mix in the onion and remove from the heat.

  Carefully lift the sweet potatoes from the steamer with a palette knife. Using a baking dish measuring approximately 24cm, place half the lentil mixture in the base, then add half the sweet potatoes over the surface, followed by a second layer of lentils and then the remaining sweet potatoes. Brush with butter or oil. Bake for thirty to forty minutes until bubbling around the edges and lightly browned on top.

  • One of those dishes that is somehow even better the next day, when slowly reheated in a moderate oven.

  MUSHROOMS, CHICKPEAS, TAHINI

  A mushroom as thick as beefsteak. A silky purée.

  Serves 2

  large ‘portobello’ mushrooms 2

  olive oil 8 tablespoons

  garlic 2 cloves, peeled

  ground sumac 2 teaspoons

  juice of half a lemon

  chickpeas 1 × 400g can

  tahini 2 tablespoons

  thyme leaves 1 tablespoon

  black sesame seeds 1 tablespoon

  white sesame seeds 1 tablespoon

  Set the oven at 200°C/Gas 6. Cut out the stalks from the mushrooms, then place the mushrooms gill side up on a baking tray. Score the inside of each mushroom with the tip of a knife – it will allow the oil to penetrate – then pour one tablespoon of olive oil into each.

  Use a pestle and mortar to crush the garlic, then pound in four tablespoons of the olive oil, the sumac, lemon juice and a little salt. Drain the chickpeas, then mash half into the oil and garlic paste. Stir in the tahini, thyme leaves and half of both the sesame seeds.

  Fill the mushrooms with the chickpea paste then cover each with the reserved whole chickpeas. Finally, trickle over the last of the olive oil and scatter with the reserved sesame seeds. Bake for about thirty minutes.

  • The best mushrooms
for these are the very large portobello mushrooms with upturned edges to hold the filling.

  ONIONS, TALEGGIO, CREAM

  Caramelised onions. Melting cheese.

  Serves 4

  onions, medium 8

  bay leaves 3

  black peppercorns 12

  olive oil 3 tablespoons

  butter 60g

  thyme 8 sprigs

  double cream 250ml

  Taleggio 200g

  Bring a large, deep pan of water to the boil. Set the oven at 200°C/Gas 6. Peel the onions, keeping them whole. Add the bay leaves and peppercorns to the boiling water, then lower in the peeled onions. Leave the onions at a brisk simmer for about thirty minutes, till they are soft and yielding.

  Lift the onions out with a draining spoon and put them into a baking dish. Pour the olive oil over the onions, add the butter, the leaves from half the thyme sprigs and a little black pepper, then bake for about thirty minutes, basting once or twice as they cook.

  Warm the double cream in a small saucepan over a low heat. Cut the Taleggio into small pieces, then leave to melt in the cream, without stirring, adding the remaining sprigs of thyme.

  Serve two onions per person, together with some of the Taleggio and thyme sauce.

  • I sometimes serve this with a tangle of boiled noodles, or a spoonful of gnocchi to stir into the cheese sauce. The onions and their sauce are wonderful on thick slices of sourdough toast too.

  PARSNIPS, SHALLOTS, GOAT’S CURD

  Sweet, crisp and chewy parsnips. Thick and glossy gravy.

  Serves 4

  parsnips, medium 6

  olive oil 160ml

  rosemary 6 sprigs

  dried porcini 15g

  large (banana) shallots 4

  plain flour 2 tablespoons

  thyme 10 sprigs

  goat’s curd 100g

  Set the oven at 200°C/Gas 6. Peel the parsnips, cut them in half lengthways, then in half again. Put them into a roasting tin with 100ml of the olive oil, the rosemary and a little salt and black pepper. Let the parsnips roast for an hour, turning them halfway through.

  Bring a litre of water to the boil in a deep saucepan. Add the porcini, cover with a lid and continue cooking on a very low heat for twenty minutes.

  Peel the shallots and cut them into thick slices, then cook them in the remaining oil for fifteen to twenty minutes over a moderate heat till soft. As they turn translucent and pale gold, add the flour and continue to cook, stirring regularly, for three minutes.

  Pour the porcini and their broth into the shallots, a little at a time, stirring almost continuously. Remove the leaves from the thyme and stir in. Turn up the heat and let the sauce bubble for five minutes or so until you have a rich, quite thick gravy.

  Remove the parsnips when they are golden and lightly crisp, spoon over the shallot and porcini gravy, and serve with the goat’s curd.

  • The shallots need to cook until they are golden and you can crush them between your finger and thumb, but stop well before they become nut brown and caramelised. Sticky, pale gold and translucent is perfect.

  PARSNIPS, SMOKED GARLIC, FETA

  Smoky, salty, sweet and toasted.

  Serves 2

  red onions 2

  swede 600g

  parsnips 2

  carrots, medium-sized 4

  thyme 6 bushy sprigs

  smoked garlic a whole head

  olive oil 6 tablespoons

  fennel seeds 1 teaspoon

  yellow mustard seeds 1 teaspoon

  feta 200g

  Set the oven at 200°C/Gas 6. Peel the red onions, cut them in half, then into thick segments. Peel and thickly slice the swede, then cut each slice into pieces roughly 4cm long. Do the same with the parsnips. Scrub the carrots, then cut into thick pieces and mix with the onions, swede and parsnips in a large roasting tin.

  Tuck the thyme and smoked garlic amongst the vegetables, then pour over the olive oil. Roast for twenty-five minutes, then turn the vegetables over in the roasting tin and cook for a further twenty minutes. Remove the garlic from the roasting tin. Scatter the fennel and mustard seeds over the vegetables and return to the oven for a further twenty minutes till all is sizzling and the vegetables are knifepoint tender.

  Squeeze the smoked garlic flesh from its papery skin, crush it to a paste with a pestle and mortar or using a spoon, then crumble the feta into it. Remove the roasted vegetables from the oven, then toss gently with the garlic and feta.

  • A fine way to utilise the swede that turned up in the vegetable box. You could use pretty much any root vegetables in this, including young turnips or celeriac. If using the latter, make sure to baste regularly.

  POTATOES, BRUSSELS SPROUTS

  A cure for everything.

  Serves 2

  baking potatoes 4

  garlic a whole head

  double cream 250ml

  Brussels sprouts 300g

  olive oil 3 tablespoons

  Prick the skins of the potatoes here and there with a fork. Bake them for about an hour at 200°C/Gas 6, until their skins are crisp and the inside is fluffy. Put the garlic in the oven and roast for forty-five minutes, till the cloves are soft inside.

  Remove the garlic from the oven, squeeze the cloves from their skins and crush the flesh to a paste with a fork. Put it in a saucepan, pour in the cream and bring to the boil, then remove from the heat.

  Quarter the Brussels sprouts. Warm the oil in a shallow pan, add the sprouts and let them brown lightly. Take the potatoes from the oven, slice off their tops and scoop the flesh into the pan with the sprouts. Fold the vegetables together, then stir in the warm garlic cream. Season with salt and black pepper, then spoon the filling back into the empty potato skins.

  Return the potatoes to the oven for ten minutes, till piping hot.

  • There isn’t much I haven’t stuffed into a baked potato in my time. From smoked mackerel and cream to crisp bacon and its fat, but a big fat tatty responds to other vegetables too. Try spooning over greens that you have sautéed in olive oil and lemon, a purée of green peas and mint, fried mushrooms with garlic and butter and mint, or cauliflower cooked with cream and Parmesan.

  • The Brussels sprouts work well with a baked sweet potato too. They probably shouldn’t, but the slight bitterness of the sprouts is surprisingly happy with the caramelised flesh of the sweet potato.

  POTATOES, SWEET POTATOES, CREAM

  The peace of potatoes and cream. The warm glow of spice.

  Serves 4

  butter 20g

  onions, large 2

  olive oil 5 tablespoons

  baking potatoes 500g

  sweet potatoes 500g

  mild paprika 2 teaspoons

  yellow mustard seeds 2 teaspoons

  chilli flakes 2 teaspoons

  double cream 750ml

  Lightly butter a shallow, ovenproof 30cm dish. Set the oven at 160°C/Gas 3. Peel the onions and slice them into 1cm-thick rings.

  Warm the olive oil in a deep pot, add the onions and let them cook until golden and soft. Expect them to take a good twenty-five to thirty minutes, with the occasional stir.

  Peel and cut the baking potatoes into 0.5cm thick slices, then peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into slightly thicker slices, but no more than 1cm.

  When the onions are golden, add the paprika, mustard seeds and chilli flakes, a good grinding of salt and black pepper, then pour the cream over and bring to the boil. Immediately remove from the heat.

  Layer the potatoes of both varieties and the paprika cream in the buttered dish, then bake for an hour and half until bubbling and golden.

  • Dauphinoise, updated with sweet potatoes and a generous hit of spice. Some salad leaves are needed with this, I think, something crisp, like chicory and iceberg lettuce or frisée with watercress. A sharp or piquant dressing would be my first choice – I’m thinking of red wine vinegar, peppercorns in brine, capers or something citrussy.

  POTATOES, TAHI
NI, THYME

  Roasties. Sesame. Lemon.

  Serves 2

  yellow fleshed potatoes 800g

  olive oil 5 tablespoons

  thyme 8 sprigs

  garlic cloves 2

  fennel seeds 2 teaspoons

  spring onions 2

  For the dressing:

  juice of a lemon

  tahini 1 tablespoon

  olive oil 2 tablespoons

  Set the oven at 200°C/Gas 6. Without peeling them, cut the potatoes into ‘roast potato’-size pieces. Boil them in deep, salted water till just tender, about fifteen minutes.

  Drain the potatoes, put them on a roasting tin or tray with the olive oil, thyme sprigs and unpeeled garlic and scatter with the fennel seeds. Turn the potatoes so they are coated, then roast for about fifty minutes until golden and crisp, removing the garlic after thirty.

  Cut the spring onions into 3cm lengths and add to the roasting tin for the final ten minutes. Squeeze the garlic from its skin, then crush the soft, golden flesh with the lemon juice and tahini. Stir in the oil from the roasting tin. Should the dressing need it, add a little more olive oil to bring it to a smooth, pourable consistency.

  Divide the potatoes between plates and spoon over the tahini dressing.

  • I have yet to finish a jar of tahini. I usually need a couple of tablespoons for a special recipe then don’t use any more for weeks or even months. Finding an everyday recipe that uses it is something of a gift and may help with getting through an entire jar before its sell-by date.