The Galway farmers’ market is one of my favourite places in all the world. It takes place every Saturday, and when I can spare the time, I head up town on my push bike and fill the basket with locally grown treasures. I’ll throw in a few of Danny’s doughnuts, Mike’s oysters, the pea and potato curry and some of Flo’s falafels, if there’s any room left in my basket.
Farmers’ markets can be relied on to offer some of the more unusual varieties of fruit and vegetables, like the courgette flowers and kohlrabi used in this week’s recipes.
In Galway, you can get a great variety of seasonal vegetables from Sloe Hill Farm. Gannet have the finest display of local fish, and they are right next door to Layla and her fantastic sourdough bread. Then there is the multi-award winning Castlemine Farm and The Friendly Farmer with their lovingly reared free-range pork, beef and chicken. You can pop into Sheridans cheesemongers for lots of other lovely produce too.
And joining in a Galway food tour, run by Sheena Dignam and Gosia Letowska, experts in everything about our local food, comes highly recommended. I've done this tour several times with friends and family and can highly recommend it.
If you grow courgettes, you’ll find this quiche recipe a useful way of using them up. And if you can’t get hold of them, you can substitute a few thin slices of courgette or tomato.
This unusual slaw, made with kohlrabi, is a good accompaniment to a slice of the quiche, as is a spoonful of the piccalilli – but you’ll have to wait a few weeks after making it to enjoy the crunchy, mildly spiced pickle.
COURGETTE FLOWER AND GOAT’S CHEESE QUICHE
For the pastry:
300g plain flour
150g butter
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp cold water
Pinch of salt
For the filling:
1 log of goat's cheese, cut into 1cm slices
10-15 whole basil leaves
5 courgette flowers
3 eggs plus one 1 yolk
250ml cream
Salt and pepper
Method
1 Grease a 9-inch tart tin, preferably one with a removable base.
2 Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips until it resembles
breadcrumbs, add the yolk and mix to combine, adding some cold water incrementally if needed to bring the dough together. Don't overwork the dough. Wrap it in cling film or parchment paper and chill it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
3 Meanwhile, get your filling ready. Whisk the eggs with the cream and season well with salt and pepper.
4 Roll the pastry on a well-floured surface into a circle wider than your tart tin, to about 5mm thick. Using your rolling pin, fold the pastry over the rolling pin and lift it into the tart tin.
5 Gently press the pastry into the edges of the tart tin. Trim the edges. Line with parchment paper and baking beans or rice and blind bake in the oven at 190 degrees Celsius, or equivalent, for 15 minutes.
6 Remove the parchment when the edges are just starting to brown and the base looks dry. Bake for another five minutes, brushing with egg wash for the last two minutes. You don't want to over bake it as it'll be going back in with the filling.
7 Place the goat's cheese slices, courgette flowers and basil in an even layer on the base. Bring the tart over to the oven and place on the middle rack.
8 Carefully pour in the filling, then slide the quiche into the oven and bake until golden brown on top and just set.
9 Leave to cool for a few minutes before cutting. Serve warm.
KOHLRABI SLAW
Serves four
Ingredients
3 medium kohlrabi
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
Half tsp mustard
A few fennel fronds, or fresh dill
Small bunch of mint
Salt and pepper
Method
1 Cut the top and bottom off the kohlrabi and, using a sharp knife, peel the tough outer layer.
2 Grate the kohlrabi on the coarse side of a grater or cut into thin matchsticks.
3 Mix the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper together and add to the kohlrabi.
4 Mix in the mint leaves and serve in a wide bowl with more mint leaves and fennel fronds or dill for decoration.
GRANNY’S PICCALILLI
Makes six to eight jars
Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
100g green beans, trimmed and cut into 2cm pieces
1 red pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced
1 yellow pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
1 white onion, peeled and thinly sliced
100g salt
150g sugar
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 litre apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp mustard seeds
1.5 tbsps turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp ground ginger
Method
1 Cut the vegetables into small equal-sized pieces and cover with the salt. Mix well, cover and leave overnight in the fridge.
2 The next day, rinse the vegetables under cold water and drain well.
3 Bring the vinegar to the boil with the sugar, garlic, mustard seeds, turmeric, cumin, coriander and ginger and boil for two minutes.
4 Mix the cornflour with a little cold water and add to the vinegar. Cook for another few minutes then remove from the heat and add the vegetables.
5 Spoon into sterilized jars – you will need about six-eight depending on the size of your cauliflower – seal and store for at least three to four weeks before eating.
