Vegetable Recipes
Miso Butter Roast Potatoes
2 kg floury potatoes
4 tbsp. olive oil
For the miso butter:
3 tbsp. olive oil
50 g unsalted butter, softened
4 tbsp. white miso paste
Preheat oven to 190°C (170°C fan) mark 5. Peel the potatoes and cut into large, even chunks. Put into a large pan and cover with cold water. Cover and bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce heat, uncover and simmer for 8-10min.
Pour the oil into a large roasting tin that will hold the potatoes in a single layer. Heat in the oven for 15min.
Drain the potatoes well and leave to steam dry in a colander for 5min. Return the potatoes to the empty pan and shake to rough up their edges. Carefully add the potatoes to the hot oil and turn to coat. Roast for 1hr, basting and turning occasionally.
For the miso butter, mix all the ingredients in a small bowl until combined. Carefully remove the potatoes from the oven, add the butter mixture and turn the potatoes to coat. Roast for 15min more, basting and turning once, until golden and crisp. Check seasoning and empty into a warm dish to serve.
2 large beetroots, peeled and roughly chopped into chunks
1 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
4 celery sticks, finely chopped, celery tops kept separate
4 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 small bunch of basil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
400g wholemeal pasta
75g crème fraîche
100g feta cheese
Boil a large pan of salted water on a high heat, then add the beetroot chunks. Simmer for 5 minutess, then transfer the beetroot to a plate using a slotted spoon. Set the pan of cooking water aside.
Put the olive oil in a large frying pan set over a medium heat, then add the onions, celery and carrots, and cook for 8 minutess until softened. Finely chop the basil stalks and celery tops, then add to the pan along with the garlic and fry for another 30 seconds.
Tip the pasta into the pan of beetroot water and simmer for 13-15 minutes until just cooked.. Drain, reserving 200ml of the pasta water and tip the pasta back into the pan.
Put the beetroot with half of the fried veg into the bowl of a food processor with most of the basil leaves and the crème fraîche, then blitz until smooth. Gradually add the reserved pasta water to loosen until you have a thick mixture.
Stir this sauce through the pasta along with the remaining fried veg and some seasoning. Divide between bowls, crumble over the feta, then scatter with the remaining basil leaves. Season with freshly ground black pepper.
Potato & Green Bean Salad
500g waxy new potatoes
200g fine green beans, trimmed roughly chopped
bunch spring onions, chopped
150g basil pesto (recipe below or use bought)
ground black pepper
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook potatoes for 10-15min until tender. Add beans for final 4mins of cooking.
Drain, hold briefly under cold running water to stop beans overcooking, then drain again thoroughly.
Tip potatoes and beans into a large bowl, add pesto, spring onions and plenty of freshly ground black pepper; mix gently.
Basil Pesto
125g pine nuts
125g Parmesan cheese
1 large bunch fresh basil leaves
1 clove garlic, crushed
200ml extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
squeeze lemon juice
Heat a dry frying pan over a medium heat. Add the pine nuts and toast them for a few minutes until browned and fragrant.
Place the parmesan chunks in a food processor and add the basil leaves, garlic, toasted pine nuts, lemon juice and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Blend for a few seconds until it begins to come together and is smooth.
The pesto can be stored in a jar and will keep for a week in the fridge or put into ice-cube trays and freeze.
Zesty Lemon Potato Bake
1-1.5kg floury potatoes
50ml olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
Grated zest and juice of 1½ lemons
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
2 fresh thyme sprig leaves
Slice the potatoes very thinly, placing them in a bowl of cold water as you go, then drain and pat dry with paper towel. Stack the slices upright in lines along the length of a buttered large oven dish. Pack tightly together.
Mix the olive oil, garlic, lemon zest and juice with dried thyme and oregano. Drizzle the mix over the potatoes, then sprinkle with salt and fresh thyme leaves. Cover with foil and bake at 200C/180Cfan/gas 6 for 30 minutes then remove the foil and bake for a further 30-40 minutes until crisp and golden.
Yellow Pepper Soup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small knob butter
1 large potato, peeled and sliced
1 yellow pepper, seeds removed and sliced
1 orange pepper, seeds removed and sliced
2 sticks celery, sliced
500ml water, or as needed
1 chicken or vegetable stock cube
Heat oil and butter over medium heat. Add sliced potato and cook gently for 5 minutes or until potatoes have softened slightly.
Add the sliced peppers and celery and continue to cook gently for another few minutes.
Pour in the water and add the stock cube. Bring the soup to a boil and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
Carefully blend the soup until smooth, season with salt & pepper, scatter with croutons and serve.
Runner Bean & Mozarrella Salad
Salad:
300g runner beans, diagonally sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
100g peas
handful pea shoots
200g mozarrella cheese
500g flaked almonds lightly toasted in a dry pan
Salsa Verde:
large handful mixed fresh herbs
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp capers (washed, drained and roughly chopped
1 shallot finely chopped
100g pitted green olives roughly chopped
finely grated zest & juice of 1 lemon
1 red chilli, seeds, removed finely chopped
75ml olive oil
salt
Prepare the salsa verde first mixing all the ingredients in a small bowl, then set aside.
Heat a pan until very hot. Toss the beans with olive oil and sear in batches, turning once or twice, for about 5 minutes. Remove and leave to one side to cool.
Cook the peas in boiling water for about a minute, then drain and cool under cold water.
Mix the beans, peas and half the salsa verde on a platter and scatter pea shoots, torn pieces of mozarrella and toasted almonds. Drizzle the remaining salsa verde.
Beetroot, Cucumber & Feta Cheese Salad
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp rock salt
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 lge beets cut into roughly 1/2″ pieces
1 medium cucumber seeded, halved, and thinly sliced
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
fresh dill, roughly chopped
Watercress (optional)
To make the dressing: In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk the lemon juice and salt together until the salt is dissolved. Drizzle the extra-virgin olive oil gradually, whisking as you go, to incorporate all the ingredients completely.
Place the beets in a large bowl. Add half the dressing to the bowl and mix together.
Just before serving, add the cucumber, feta cheese, fresh dill and remaining dressing to the bowl and toss together. Sprinkle torn watercress if liked.