3 Fresh Ways To Cook With Veg This Season
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By now, many of us have cut down or reduced our meat, fish and dairy consumption to some degree. This is now a baseline norm and not a revolutionary idea. The choice to eat as a vegetarian or a vegan all or some of the time is left entirely open – there’s no judgement here, only an abundance of vegetables to choose from.
Vegetable and plant consumption is fundamental to good health. I’ve always found the basic concept of eating vegetables to be exciting, especially when you really look at the display of fresh produce on offer and take in the sheer range: the colour, the tastes, the shapes, the textures. They are infinitely tempting, and so representative of the changing seasons. We should also use their energy as fuel, as well as benefitting from their vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and fibre.
Fittingly, I believe that the carrot works better than the stick. Instructing or haranguing rarely convinces people to alter their eating or cooking habits, even in the short term. Most know perfectly well what they ‘should’ be doing – it most probably includes eating a few more vegetables – but practical obstacles stand in the way, from time restrictions to a lack of inspiration or cookery know-how.
We all need encouragement to eat better, even if it isn’t always possible. I wrote these recipes to emphasise the delicious and celebratory rather than dour duty. Fresh vegetables are the worthy focus throughout this book but, nutritionally speaking, there is nothing to stop you subbing in frozen veg at times. Let’s not be too precious.
I build each meal around vegetables. It’s worth bearing colour, variety, seasonality, balance, flavour and wholegrains in mind. I know it sounds like a complex list of caveats, but once you get the hang of it, the veg-based meals will begin to flow. If you aim to vary the colours you eat throughout the day and across the week, it really is possible to get a taste for this way of eating – and to hit or exceed the ‘five a day’ quota. Focusing on veg is a largely economical way to cook too, both in terms of financial cost and cost to the environment.
Inspired? Here are three of Alice’s recipes to try at home…
Baked Courgette & Pea Spirals with Halloumi & Tomato
This recipe was inspired by an uncredited picture of baked courgette pinwheels on Pinterest. I’ve little clue what the original roll-ups contained – these are a muddle of peas, spinach and ricotta with summer herbs and salty halloumi, baked in a cinnamon-spiced tomato sauce – but I loved the idea, even if it is a little fiddly. To compensate for the careful rolling of courgette ribbons, the dish can be made a few hours or a day ahead of time and kept chilled, ready to bake, or even cooked through and served at room temperature on a hot day.
Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas Mark 5.
To make the tomato sauce, put the passata, 2 tablespoons of the oil, 2 crushed garlic cloves and the cinnamon sticks in a 23cm diameter round or 25cm square ovenproof dish. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 25 minutes until browning at the edges and reduced in volume slightly. Set aside.
Using a wide vegetable peeler or a mandoline, pare the courgettes into wide ribbons from top to bottom (about 2mm thick). There should be 35-40 full-width ribbons in total. Work on getting 8-10 per courgette. Toss with 1 tablespoon of oil. Chop the remaining, unused pieces of courgette as finely as possible – tiny dice are ideal here.
Soften the sliced spring onions and finely chopped courgette leftovers in the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan set over a lowish heat, stirring often; this should take about 5 minutes. Add the remaining crushed garlic clove and cook for a minute more, followed by the peas with a tablespoon or so of water. Cover with a lid and cook gently for 4-5 minutes to cook the peas, then add the spinach and stir through for a minute or so until the spinach wilts and any liquid evaporates. Tip the pea mixture into a large bowl and let cool for at least 10 minutes.
Gently stir the ricotta, halloumi and chopped basil and mint into the pea mixture. Season with black pepper and minimal salt.
Remove the cinnamon sticks from the sauce dish and season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste, remembering there will be considerable salt added later by the tapenade and halloumi.
Lay the courgette ribbons out on a chopping board in a single layer (you’ll be repeating this step until all the courgette has been used). Spread a dab of tapenade over each ribbon, then add about a tablespoon of the pea mixture to one end of each, spreading it about halfway down the length of the slice as best you can. Now roll up from the filling end, sitting each one, spiral-side up, in the tomato sauce. Repeat to use all the courgettes, tapenade and filling, arranging the spirals in one snug layer in the dish. There should be 35-40 in total, but due to the variety of courgette sizes around, this won’t be an exact science.
Bake for about 45 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the courgettes are tender and turning golden on top. Let cool for 10 minutes before scattering with the reserved basil and mint leaves. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature. Accompany with a green salad and perhaps some warm bread, lentils or rice.
Courgette-Sweetcorn Fritters With Pickled Salsa
A good strategy for getting more colourful vegetables on the plate generally – veg fritters go so well with chopped salsas (such as the lightly pickled cucumber one below) and leafy/tomato/lentil/wholegrain/potato salads. Swap in any plain flour for the chickpea flour, as needed, but chickpea is notable for its flavour, marginally higher protein content and gluten-free credentials.
If making the pickled salsa, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and set aside for 20 minutes, stirring now and then.
To make the fritters, turn the oven on low to keep the cooked fritters warm while you finish the batch.
Put the grated courgettes in a bowl and mix the salt through thoroughly. Set aside for 10 minutes. Tip the lot into a clean cloth or tea towel and wring out over the sink, squeezing very tightly to remove as much excess water as possible.
Add the wrung-out courgettes to the sweetcorn, chickpea flour, baking powder, egg, garlic, onion and parsley in a mixing bowl, seasoning with black pepper and a little salt. Fold together to combine – this makes a thick batter.
Put a large frying pan over a medium heat and add about 1½ tablespoons of olive oil. Once the oil is hot, drop in a heaped tablespoon of batter per fritter, to resemble thick scotch pancakes. You should be able to cook 3-4 at a time, depending on size. Cook for about 2 minutes before flipping them over and cooking for 2 minutes more. They should be golden and set, so turn the heat down a notch if they’re browning too quickly. Transfer to paper towels and keep cooked fritters warm in the oven while you cook the remainder in the same way, first adding a little more olive oil to the pan.
Serve the fritters straight away, with the salsa spooned over. A tomato, basil, olive and olive oil salad, plus lemon wedges to squeeze over make excellent accompaniments, as do a few slices of crumbly feta or griddled halloumi.
Roast Tomato, Tarragon & Crème Fraîche Tart
Compared to many of the recipes in the book, a buttery puff and cool crème fraîche tart is a more indulgent option, even when generously stacked with the roast tomatoes. Make the components ahead of time and assemble just before serving with a rocket and lentil salad. Alternatively, dispense with the pastry element and serve the roast tomatoes with a grain or pulse (spelt and puy lentils would be good) as a salad, perhaps mixing a quarter quantity of the crème fraîche mixture with a dash of red wine vinegar and plenty of good olive oil to make a dressing. A final thought: double up on the roast tomato quantities, if possible; they make an instant pasta sauce when crushed into their roasting juices and folded through pasta with torn basil.
Preheat the oven to 170°C/Gas Mark 3.
Thickly slice the tomatoes if large, halve them if medium-sized and leave whole or on the vine if small. Spread them out in a roasting pan. Tuck in the whole garlic cloves. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the oil, scatter with thyme and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 50 minutes or so, depending on their size until the tomatoes are slightly shrivelled and sticky.
Turn the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6.
Make an egg wash by whisking the egg yolk with the milk in a cup. Unfurl the puff pastry on a lightly floured board and roll out to a 25cm x 30cm rectangle, trimming the edges straight with a sharp knife. Score a 2.5cm border around the edge (like a picture frame) with the point of a knife and prick the surface inside the border all over with a fork; this should encourage the strip around the edge to puff up and the middle to stay low as it cooks. Transfer to a large baking sheet, brush with the egg wash and bake for 18 minutes or so until the pastry is puffed-up and golden. Set aside.
Squeeze the garlic flesh from the roast cloves into a bowl and crush to a purée with a fork. Stir in the horseradish and mustard with three-quarters of the finely chopped tarragon, then fold in the crème fraîche and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Transfer the tart base to a serving platter or board. Spread thickly with the crème fraîche mixture. Arrange the tomatoes on top in a generous layer. Scatter with the remaining tarragon leaves and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to serve.
The Magnificent Book of Vegetables: How to eat a rainbow every day by Alice Hart and is available to buy here
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