Page 10 - Simply Vegetables Autumn 2020

From the Kitchen...
Roasted fennel with red onion & walnuts
Borscht
1 onion, finely chopped
500 Gms beetroot peeled and chopped
2 celery sticks chopped
1 small red pepper chopped
4 ozs mushrooms chopped
1 large cooking apple chopped 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
Few sprigs of thyme
2 bay leaves
Juice of 1 lime or 1⁄2 lemon
2.5 pints of vegetable stock. Salt and black pepper
A little oil and butter for frying
Heat the oil and butter in a large pan on a low heat then fry the onion slowly until it turns light brown. Add the celery and fry for another 2-3 minutes. Add the cumin seeds stir and fry for another 2 minutes. Add the remaining vegetables and apple, stir and cook gently with the lid on for 5 minutes. Add thyme, bay leaves, lemon juice and stock season to taste. Simmer gently for 30 minutes until the beetroot is tender. Remove the bay leaves. Blend in a Liquidiser until smooth. Serve garnished with a swirl of soured cream.
Note: You can chop the beetroot in a food processor if you wish.
Freezes well.
Serves 2
2 Fennel bulbs cut lengthwise into quarters if small, or six if large
1 Red onion cut into wedges
1⁄2 cup walnuts
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar Few shavings of cheese to serve
Salt and pepper
Arrange the Fennel and onion on
a baking tray, drizzle over the oil,
season with salt and pepper. Roast in
the oven at 180C for 25 minutes. Scatter over the walnuts and the Balsamic vinegar. Return to the hot oven for a further 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish and top with a little shaved cheese.
Serving suggestions: Creamed potatoes and a green vegetable
Chunky Tomato Soup
This recipe is useful to use up ripe tomatoes now that we are at the end of the season and you may wish to clear your greenhouse or polytunnel.
1 onion
2lbs ripe tomatoes
2 sticks celery
1 pint vegetable stock A pinch of sugar
Olive oil for frying Seasoning to taste
2 tablespoons of chopped basil A dash of balsamic vinegar
Chop the onion and celery and fry in the olive oil for 8 to 10 minutes, peel and chop the tomatoes while the onions
are frying. Add the tomatoes, vegetable stock, a pinch of sugar and the basil to the onions and simmer for 20 minutes. Add a dash of balsamic vinegar and season to taste and serve.
Parsnip and Potato Cakes
225gm parsnip
1 small clove garlic
1 teaspoonful (5ml) dry mustard
4 tablespoons (60ml) seasoned plain flour 3 slices wholemeal bread
Sunflower oil for frying
225gm floury potatoes
15gm butter
Salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs
2 tablespoons (30ml) sesame seeds
Peel the parsnips and potatoes and cut them into chunks, place them in salted water and boil until soft. While that is happening crush the garlic and cook it gently in the butter. Drain the parsnips and potatoes
when they are soft and mash them until they are smooth and add the garlic, butter and mustard, season well. Allow the mixture to cool and then chill it for about thirty minutes. It is best now to have three bowls, one for the seasoned flour, one into which you beat the eggs (do this now) and the last one to process the bread into crumbs and mix with the sesame seeds (do this now). Make about ten balls of parsnip and potato mixture, rolling each ball first in the flour, then the beaten eggs and finally the bread crumb / sesame seed mixture. Keep them on a plate and chill till required. Just before serving deep fry the balls until they are a nice golden brown and serve piping hot.
Rob Foster
10 Simply Vegetables
LINDA HARGRAVE FNVS and MARY THOMAS FNVS