Recipe idea

Real Parsley Sauce
From Hugh Fearnsley Whittingstall – ‘River Cottage Cookbook’

He says – ‘Good parsley sauce is hard to find but easy to make. The secret is to flavour the mild for the béchamel sauce with bay leaf and veg.’

1 carrot
½ onion
1 celery stick
1 bay leaf
500ml full cream milk
50g butter
50g plain flour
A good bunch of parsley (100g approx when stripped) chopped
Salt and fresh ground black pepper

Grate the veg and place them in a saucepan with the bay leaf and milk. Bring to the boil, then take the pan off the heat and leave to infuse for about an hour. Strain out the veg and bay leaf.
Melt the butter in another pan and stir in the flour. Cook the roux gently for a couple of mins, then whisk in the milk, a third at a time, to get a nice smooth sauce. Let it simmer very gently for 5 mins. If it is too thick, thin it with a little more hot milk. Finish just before serving, by stirring in the chopped parsley and seasoning to taste with salt & pepper.

Dill Tzatsiki

A cool & fresh dip for pittas, baked potato or to serve with appetisers

Ingredients:

* 1 container (16 ounces) plain creamy yogurt
* 1/2 cucumber, not peeled, finely chopped plus a few thin slices
* 1/1-2 teaspoons salt
* 1 to 2 garlic cloves, chopped
* 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh dill plus additional sprigs
* 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
* 1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preparation:
In colander set over bowl, toss chopped cucumber with 1 teaspoon salt. Let drain at least 1 hour at room temperature. In batches, wrap chopped cucumber in kitchen towel and squeeze to remove as much liquid as possible. Pat dry with paper towels, then add to bowl with yogurt.

With flat side of chef’s knife, mash garlic to a paste with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add garlic, chopped dill, oil, wine vinegar, and pepper to yogurt and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate. Serve tzatziki sauce chilled or at room temperature, topped with cucumber slices and dill sprigs.

Recipe idea

From Grandmas’ Best recipes
This cake is very easy to make – my favourite kind where you throw all the ingredients in together, with no fuss!

Ingredients:
125g self raising flour
Pinch of salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
125g soft brown sugar
2 eggs
100ml sunflower oil
125g carrot, peeled and finely grated
25g desiccated coconut
25g walnuts (we used ground almonds because we don’t like walnuts)
Walnut pieces to decorate (or whole almonds if substituting)
25g sultanas

Icing:
50g butter, softened
50g soft cream cheese (eg Philadelphia)
22g icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 180c. Lightly grease a 20cm square cake tin (or 2lb loaf tin) and line base with greaseproof paper.
2. Sift the flour, salt and ground cinnamon into a large bowl and stir in the brown sugar. Add the eggs and oil to the dry ingredients and mix well.
3. Stir in the grated carrot, coconut, nuts and sultanas.
4. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 20-25 mins, or until just firm to the touch. Leave to cool in tin.
5. Meanwhile, make the icing. In a bowl beat together the butter, soft cheese, icing sugar and lemon juice until the mixture is fluffy and creamy.
6. Spread over top of the cooled cake and decorate with nuts.

Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

From – www.allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS

* 120 ml balsamic vinegar
* 1 small onion, chopped
* 15 ml soy sauce
* 45 ml honey
* 10 g white sugar
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 g crushed red pepper flakes
* 160 ml extra-virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the vinegar, onion, soy sauce, honey, sugar, garlic, and red pepper flakes into a blender. Puree on high, gradually adding the olive oil. Continue pureeing 2 minutes, or until thick.

Beetroot Relish

Delicious with cold meats or on crackers.

from www.theopensauce.com – Submitted by Joanna (jwh) from New Zealand.
serves many prep 10 mins cook 20 mins
1kg beetroot, cooked (with skin, roots and stalk attached in water) and peeled
500g onions
1 cup vinegar
3 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 tsp ground mixed spice
pinch cayenne pepper ( a big pinch if you like it hot)
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp extra vinegar

1) Peel and mince the beetroot and onions.
2) Place in a large saucepan with the vinegar, salt, sugar, spice and cayenne.
3) Boil for 20 minutes.
4) Mix cornflour and extra vinegar together. Stir into relish.
5) Cook for 3 minutes.
6) Spoon into clean, hot, dry jars and seal.

Recipe idea

Braised leeks & carrots
From the Farmers Market – round the seasons cookbook

Ingredients:
65g butter or olive oil
675g carrots, thickly sliced
2 fresh bay leaves
75ml water
675g leeks, cut into 5cm lengths
120ml white wine
30ml chopped fresh chervil (or mint)
Sea salt & ground black pepper

1. Heat 25g of the butter or oil in a pan and cook the carrots gently for 4-5 mins.
2. Add the bay leaves, seasoning and the water to the pan. Bring to the boil, cover lightly and cook for 10-15 mins, until the carrots are tender. Uncover, then boil the cooking juices until they have all evaporated, leaving the carrots moist and glazed.
3. Meanwhile, heat another 25g butter in a frying pan. Add the leeks and fry them very gently in the melted butter over a medium to low heat for 4-5 mins, without allowing them to brown.
4. Add seasoning, the wine and half the chopped herb. Heat until simmering, then cover and cook gently for 5-8 mins until the leeks are tender.
5. Uncover the leeks and turn them in the buttery juices. Increase the heat slightly, then boil the liquid rapidly until reduced to a few tbsps.
6. Add the carrots to the leeks and reheat them gently, then swirl in the remaining butter/oil. Adjust seasoning. Serve in a warmed dish and sprinkle with remaining chopped herbs.

Recipe idea

Creamy sauteed rainbow chard with leek, garlic & mushroom

This is a great dish to serve as a side to most main courses or to mix through pasta as a creamy sauce with grilled bacon. Rainbow chard is in the same family as spinach, with a coloured stem and large green leaf.

Ingredients:
200g Rainbow chard chopped – including stem
3-4 medium leeks – sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic – chopped
Butter & olive oil
Cream

1. Heat the butter and oil together in a frying pan.
2. Add the leeks, garlic and mushrooms and sauté over a medium heat for about 5-10 mins, until softened.
3. Add the chopped chard, cover with a large lid, and allow to wilt for 1 or 2 mins.
4. Stir, season with black pepper, salt (or soy sauce).
5. Add some cream and cook with lid off until the cream has reduced and chard is softened.
6. If you would like some heat you cook add a chopped chili at the start of cooking.

A simple comfort tea with really good gravy.

From ‘Student Cookbook’ by Sam Stern

Ingredients:
6 best quality pork or pork & apple sausages

Onion gravy:
Knob of butter
1 large onion, thinly sliced
Pinch salt
Pinch sugar
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ tbsp plain flour
½ pint chicken/veg stock
Good shake Worcestershire sauce
Splash balsamic vinegar
Fresh sage chopped
Salt & black pepper

Mash
1lb old potatoes
50-75ml milk, warmed
Bit of mustard
Knob of butter
Salt & pepper

1. Gravy: Melt butter in pan. Add onions, salt, sugar, garlic. Cook very gently without colouring for 10 mins.
2. Add flour. Stir for 2 mins (removes floury taste).
Gradually add stock, stirring. Add sauce, balsamic vinegar, herbs. Season.
(Can substitute bit of stock for Guinness and ketchup for fuller flavour)
3. Simmer on very low heat for 15 mins. Taste. Adjust seasoning.
4. Mash: Boil potatoes til tender. Drain. Dry over heat for 1 min. Mash with hot milk, mustard, butter. Season well.
5. Sausages: Grill, fry or bake the sausages slowly. Eat with brown rice, apple chutney, red cabbage.

RECIPE IDEA

Wild Rocket Pesto

Courtesy of Rebecca, Ballyknavin, Bridgetown, Co Clare

This is a really delicious pesto – and rocket is available for a much longer season in Ireland than basil

Ingredients:
600g Wild rocket
150g Ground almonds
Extra virgin olive oil
4 -6 cloves garlic chopped
220g Parmesan

Blend the rocket, garlic, ground almonds and grated parmesan in a food blender. While blending pour the olive oil in until the desired consistency is reached. Store in sterilized jar in the fridge.

Gratin of Jerusalem Artichokes & Leeks (serves 6) – by Anna, one of our customers.

50g butter
300g leeks, washed and sliced ½cm thick
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
1kg Jerusalem artichokes (or potatoes)
350ml cream
Salt & pepper

Parboil Jerusalem artichokes in their skins for about 15 minutes, then cool under cold running water and peel (easier than peeling them raw!) and slice ½cm thick.
Preheat oven to 180oC (160 oC for fan oven). In a pan, melt butter, add leeks, garlic & thyme, cover with butter wrapper and cook on a low heat for about five minutes.
Butter gratin dish, layer potatoes and leek mixture into dish then pour over cream, season to taste and bake 40-50 minutes until golden.