Cooking in:Now you've grown your vegetables, here's how to cook them
It's a time of year when being vegetarian makes sense. Turning vegetables into a course of their own is an Italian eating habit I endorse - how about Swiss chard with olive-oil-slicked cannellini beans, or peppers stuffed with cherry tomatoes, mozzarella and anchovies?
The other night we had wilted spinach with garlic-and-chilli-infused olive oil and poached egg on top, a kind of eggs Benedict with attitude. We saw off the last of the winter savoy cabbages with smoked bacon and peas. And a mixture of greens - pak choi, spinach and red chard - tossed with ginger, soy and oyster sauce, and served with a chicken leg and rice, made a fast supper recently.
Stuffing vegetables is not something I had considered until recently. But an onion quarter-split and stuffed with bacon, butter and herbs takes no time to prepare and delivers oodles of flavour.
Likewise, butternut squash with some left-over stir-fried rice baked inside proved a winner recently - vegetables given pride of place for a change. Who can be meat-mad or fish-focused when there are dishes such as these to cook?
Recipes serve 4
PARMA HAM, SPINACH AND TOASTED PINE NUTS
1 heaped tbsp pine nuts
olive oil
1 tbsp chopped fresh marjoram
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
500g baby spinach, washed and drained
8 slices Parma ham or similar
1 lemon, trimmed and quartered
Toast the pine nuts in a hot dry frying pan until they are lightly coloured, then transfer them to a cool plate and set it aside. Heat a saucepan large enough to take the spinach and, when it is hot, add two tablespoons of olive oil. Add the marjoram and parsley. Cook for a few seconds, then add the garlic and spinach, toss, cover the pan with a lid and reduce to a moderate heat. The spinach will take only about a minute - you don't want to overcook it. Squeeze the spinach gently to remove the water, then divide between four plates. Lay the Parma ham to one side of the spinach and serve with a lemon quarter, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of pine nuts.
COURGETTE SALAD
2 medium-sized courgettes
Tabasco
juice of ½ lemon
extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp flaked and toasted almonds
1 bunch radishes, trimmed, washed and halved
2 tbsp chopped peppermint
2 large handfuls watercress
12 anchovy fillets
Trim and wash the courgettes before slicing them lengthways, preferably on a mandolin - they need to be thin. Combine in a bowl with a few drops of Tabasco, the lemon juice, four tablespoons of olive oil and a seasoning of salt and pepper. Set aside for at least 10 minutes; 20 minutes is better.
Add the almonds to the courgettes, along with the radishes, mint and watercress. Check the seasoning; you may also need a little more olive oil. Divide between four plates, piling the spinach loosely on each. Top with the anchovies and serve
BRAISED LITTLE GEM WITH PEAS AND PANCETTA
4 little gem, trimmed and quartered lengthways
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp finely chopped shallots
6 slices pancetta, cut into lardons
200g frozen peas
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
Blanch the little gem in boiling salted water for two minutes, drain and refresh. Melt the butter and gently saute the shallots and pancetta for five minutes, without colouring. Stir in the peas, add the little gem and braise for five minutes, turning once or twice. Stir in the lemon juice and zest, along with the parsley, season with salt and pepper and serve.