Corn, Squash & Bean Soup

A vegetarian or vegan corn chowder recipe, inspired by leftover crown prince squash, corn on the cob, and beans

Serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, peeled & diced

1 large stick celery, diced

4 cloves garlic, peeled & crushed

Half a small squash, peeled & grated

200g sweetcorn, fresh, tinned, or frozen

1 can mixed beans in water

1 baking potato, grated

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp smoked paprika

500ml dairy or plant based milk

500ml recently boiled water

2 vegetable stock cubes, crumbled

Fry the onion in the olive oil over a medium high heat in a pan large enough to hold about 2 litres.

After a few minutes, when the onion starts to look clear, add the celery.  After another few minutes, stir in the garlic, squash, and potato.  

Stir and fry for a few more minutes then add the rest of the ingredients, including the liquid in the beans and sweetcorn.

Bring to the boil, cover, and turn down to a simmer.  Cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the potato and squash are tender.

Serve with a Tex Mex hot sauce like Tabasco or Chipotle, and jalapeños if you want more punch.

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Chickpea 'Butter Chicken'

A vegan version of Butter Chicken (aka Murgh Makhani) with chickpeas, cashew cream, and no butter.  Chicken, dairy cream, and butter can be used if preferred.

Serves 4

4 tbsp vegetable oil

500g carton of passata2 cans of chickpeas and their liquid

1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped

5 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

5cm piece of ginger, roughly chopped

1 cinnamon stick

8 cloves

1 tsp black peppercorns

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp chilli powder

6 cardamon pods

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp hot chilli flakes

1 tsp garam masala 

1/2 tsp ground turmeric 

1 tsp salt

100ml cashew cream (40g cashews soaked in 100ml hot water) 

Liquidiser the onion, garlic, and ginger with enough water to make a smooth double cream like puree.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium high heat, then add cinnamon stick, cloves, peppercorns, bay leaves, cumin seeds and cardamon pods. Stir until the seeds start to they start to pop.

Carefully pour in the onion puree into the pan.  It will spit violently! Stir regularly until the puree reduces, starts, darken in colour,  and threatens to stick to the bottom of the pan.  

Add the passata, chickpeas, and their liquid. Add the rest of the ingredients (chilli flakes, garam masala, turmeric, and salt) apart from the cashew cream.  Cover and bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer for 20 minutes.

Pour 100ml boiling water over the cashews and leaves to soften while the curry is cooking.

Bring to the boil and pour over the chicken thighs in the slow cooker.  Stir the chicken into the sauce and leave to cook on High for 6 hours.

After 20 minutes, liquidise the cashews and water and stir into the curry. Bring back to piping hot, then serve over basmati rice.

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Green Tomato Chilli con Carne (or Veggie)

A bumper haul of green beefsteak tomatoes from someone at the allotment gave me the inspiration to attempt to recreate a Green Chilli we had in Cortez, New Mexico over 24 years ago.  

There are many Green Chilli recipes online.  Most are from the US, and call for a range of chilli peppers that are not readily available in the UK.  The chilli I ended up making does not taste like my memory of this long ago eaten chilli, but I am still pleased with it, particularly as all ingredients (apart from the green tomatoes) are readily available in UK supermarkets.

Serves 4-6

3 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, peeled and diced

3 large cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp ground coriander

1 tbsp dried oregano

500g minced chicken or turkey (optional)

3 green peppers, deseeded and roughly chopped

800g/3 large green tomatoes, roughly chopped

10 sliced pickled jalapeños

1 can pinto beans with liquid, or 2 cans if not using chicken

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 chilli powder

1 tsp salt

Fry the onions in the oil over a medium heat in a casserole dish until just starting to brown.

Stir in the garlic, cumin, coriander, and oregano and fry for a further minute.

Add the chicken/turkey mince if using and fry for about 5 minutes, breaking up any lumps with a wooden spoon, until no raw meat can be seen.  If not adding meat, skip to the next step.

Liquidise the tomatoes, peppers, and jalapeños and pour into the casserole dish.

Add the beans and their liquid, smoked paprika, chilli, and salt.

Mix well, bring to the boil then cover and simmer for 30 minutes. 

At the end of the cooking time, you may wish to remove the lid and boil for a further 10 minutes if there is too much liquid for your taste.

Serve over white rice.

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Quick Harissa Paste

My tried and tested Harissa recipe calls for roasted peppers, but not having the time to roast peppers (nor having a jar of roasted peppers) I experimented with making a smaller quantity with a small pointed red pepper.

Makes about 4 tbsp

1 red pepper or a whole roasted red pepper from a jar, roughly chopped and deseeded

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 small garlic clove, peeled & crushed

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

A pinch of salt

Add all the ingredients to a blender cup and blitz to as smooth paste as you can (a little hard with not much in the blender cup).

We mixed this into cooked couscous to serve with merguez.

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Green Cheesy Pasta (or Rice)

I have been making Green Cheesy Pasta/Rice ever since my now adult kids were little.  Like many kids, they were wary of vegetables but loved pesto.

One teatime I didn't have ingredients for my usual Watercress Pesto, so had to improvise with chard.  A suspiciously toddler poked the green pasta and asked what it was. I simply said it was green, cheesy, pasta.  She loved it, and the name stuck.  You can also make Green Cheesy Pasta with chard, spinach, kale, beetroot tops

Serves 2 as a main dish

200g dried (wholemeal) pasta
200g large leaf spinach, chard, kale, beetroot tops
50g mature cheddar or parmesan, grated
1 small clove of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
Extra virgin olive oil

Bring a large pan of lightly salted water to the boil.  Add the pasta and about a teaspoon of olive oil.  Stir the pasta around, cover, and bring back to the boil.

Once the pasta is boiling again, poke in the greens.  You need large leaved greens so you can fish them out again!  Crack the lid of the pan open and boil for 5 minutes, then fish the greens out and leave to cool in a pasta bowl.  Continue cooking the pasta for the remaining cooking time.

When the pasta is cooked, reserve about half a mug of the cooking water, and drain.  Toss the hot pasta in 1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. 

Place the cooled green is a blender cup, stripping out the tough stems if using kale.  Add the cheese, garlic, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt, and liquidise to the consistency of double cream, adding a little reserved pasta water if needed. 

Scrape all the sauce onto the pasta and mix thoroughly, again adding more water if you want a looser sauce.

This sauce works well with cooked rice, sticking the rice grains together, and making it easy for toddlers to eat.

The cheese can be replaced with 30g cashew nuts (soaked in hot water before liquidising) if preferred.

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Potato, Green Bean & Feta Salad

Still almost inundated with green beans (and the wonderful purple 'Violetto di Trionfo' French climbing beans), I have added them to a Greek style potato salad.

Serves 2 as a lunch

500g salad potatoes

500g green beans, cut into 3cm lengths

1/2 mild red onion, thinly sliced

100g feta

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp dried mint or greek oregano

Salt & pepper

Boil the potatoes whole for 10-20 minutes.  They are ready when a knife slides into them easily without the potato falling apart.  My homegrown potatoes only take 10 minutes, otherwise they fall apart. But some shop bought salad potatoes can take 20 minutes to cook.

Steam the beans over the potatoes for the last 3-5 minutes.  Alternatively microwave in a covered bowl with a couple of tablespoons of water for 4 minutes. I cooked my beans in the air fryer, as I had cooked potatoes leftover from the day before. 

When the potatoes are cooked, drain them and leave to cool. When cool enough to touch, slice into 1cm rounds.

In a serving dish, or individual bowls, layer up the potato followed by the onion, beans, crumbled feta, mint/oregano, then drizzle over the olive oil.  Season to taste.  Can be eaten at room temperature, or cold from the fridge.

Since making this, I have seen a similar recipe adding Kalamata olives, which would be a great addition if you have any.

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Air Fryer Green Beans

I have a glut of runner beans and purple Trionfo Violetto French beans, and am constantly on the look out for new recipes.

I saw a recipe for griddled green beans, but thought it would be a lot simpler to air fry green beans.  Once cooked, I added these to a potato salad.

Handful of beans per person

Toss in a drizzle of olive oil and a tiny pinch of salt.

Air fry for 10 minutes at 180C, stirring half way through the cooking time.

Serve as a side with a drizzle more of olive oil, and garlic if liked. Or add to a salad like me.

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Blackberry Soda

Came across a TikTok post from @woodsboundoutdoors for Blackberry Soda, and as I have a thicket of fat cultivated blackberries on my allotment, I thought I would give it a go.

Makes 1 litre

1 US cup blackberries

1/4 US cup sugar

Filtered water

Squish the blackberries into a pulp with a fork in a one litre capacity glass jar.

Add in the sugar and fill the jar with water.

Stir and cover with a paper towel secured with an elastic band.  Store in dark place for 24 hours, stirring every now and then to keep the berries submerged.

After a day, strain the liquid into a flip top bottle designed to hold carbonated drinks.  I used a washed out beer bottle.

Leave the bottle in the dark again for a further 24 hours, then refrigerate.  

As we are currently in the midst of a 30C+ heatwave I only left the bottle out for 12 hours. The resulting soda was only very slightly fizzy, but tasted delicious.  To find your desired level of fizz will probably take several trials!

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Courgette, Chickpea & Pasta Salad

Keeping on top of the courgette glut at the allotment with this Courgette, Chickpea, & Pasta Salad.

Serves 4

200g macaroni
1 can chickpeas, drained 
2 large courgettes, grated (I used green & yellow courgettes)
200g Feta, crumbled 

Zest & juice of one lemon 
30g broad leaf parsley, finely chopped

2 tbsp pumpkin or mixed seeds

Cook the macaroni according to the instructions on the packet.  Drain, toss in a little olive oil, and leave to cool.

Fry the courgette in 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil over a medium high heat, stirring regularly, until soft and lightly golden in colour. This takes about 20 minutes.

When the pasta has cooled to room temperature, mix all the ingredients together. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

I didn't have feta or parsley when I made this, so used a couple of heaped tablespoons of pesto instead.

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Fasolakia, Greek Green Bean & Potato Stew

Fasolakia is such a simple, wholesome plant based dish, ideal to use up surplus green beans.  It can be made without potatoes if preferred - just double the beans. 

The traditional Greek recipes I looked at all cooked the potatoes and beans for 40 minutes, but my homegrown potatoes would have dissolved after much more than 10 minutes cooking, and a prefer a slight crunch to my beans.

Serves 2-3 as main dish

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, peeled & crushed

1 tin chopped tomatoes

500g salad potatoes, halved lengthways

250g green beans, topped & tailed and cut in half

In a wide saucepan, fry the onions over a medium heat until they start go a slight golden colour. Stir in the garlic, then the chopped tomatoes, half a can of recently boiled water, and the potatoes. Scatter the beans over the top.  Bring to the boil, then cover with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender when poked with a fork.

Serve with crusty bread.  Fasolakia can be sprinkled with feta, or served as a side to sausages, or simply cooked meat, chicken, or fish.

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Rebujito, Andalusian Sherry Cocktail

Two girlfrien's and I recently enjoyed a food & drink packed day trip to Alicante (06.55 flight out, 21.40 flight back) for one friend's 60th birthday.  Between the three of us we drank Sangria, beer, Tinto de Verano (red wine with lemonade), Mojito, Cava, Manzanilla and Fino Sherry.  In the last bar I noticed several Sherry Spritz after I had ordered, so took a photo of the drinks menu and vowed to try at least one at home.

Tonight, on a balmy summer's evening (8pm, and still 22C outside), I have made a Rebujito.  A very simple sherry cocktail. Not technically a Spritz as there is no Prosecco (or Cava).  If you feel so inclined, you could add 60ml of Prosecco and 60ml of 7Up to the sherry.

Serves 1

60ml fino sherry (I used Cream Sherry, hence the caramel colour)

120ml 7Up or Sprite (you want a lemon & lime flavour)

A sprig of mint

A wedge of lemon or lime

Ice

Fill the glass with ice, then add the other ingredients. Mix gently and enjoy.

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Pastitsio, Greek Pasta Bake

After 14 years of driving to the South of France every summer, due to my eldest daughter's access and equipment needs, last week we treated our younger two now adult children to a last minute package holiday.  My son likes history and Greek mythology, my middle daughter likes sun and sea, and we all like food, so we settled on Rhodes.  They tried their best to eat most of the popular Greek dishes, but the one of the dishes they didn't try was Pastitsio, a layered lasagne like pasta bake, so I introduced them to it.

Serves 4-6

500g long pasta tubes, pastitsio no.2 aka bucatini, or penne
2 tbsp olive or sunflower oil
1 large onion, finely diced
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 courgette grated, or a bag of baby spinach leaves (optional)
500g beef or pork mince, or a mixture of both
150ml red wine
500g passata
1 tsp dried mint

1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp cinnamon

1 bay leaf
2 eggs

500g greek style yoghurt

1/4 tsp nutmeg
100g grated halloumi, cheddar, or parmesan

Gently fry the onion in 1 tbsp olive oil in a saucepan. 

When the onion starts to look translucent add the courgette if using.  Fry for 5-10 minutes until soft.  Add the garlic and mince, breaking the mince up as you cook it.  When broken up and with very few raw pink bits, add the passata, rinse the carton out with the wine and add this, and the herbs & spices, apart from the nutmeg.  Cover and bring to the boil then turn down to a simmer, stirring from time to time, whilst you cook the pasta.

Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet.  

Just before the pasta cooking time is up, check the pasta sauce. It should be slightly thick, like single cream. If still too watery, take the lid off and continue to simmer whilst you drain the pasta.

Drain the pasta, tip into a large high sided baking dish, and stir through 1 tbsp olive oil. 

Turn the oven on to 180C.  

Beat the eggs into the yoghurt together with a pinch of salt and nutmeg.

Pour the meat sauce evenly over the pasta (if being traditional the pasta should be lined up all the same direction in the baking dish, but I have yet to bother to do this), then evenly cover this with the yoghurt and egg mixture.  Top with the grated cheese.

Bake for 45-60 minutes at 180C in the middle of the oven or until golden brown and bubbling. You may wish to turn the grill of for a couple of minutes to brown the top, but keep a close eye on it - the cheese burns quickly! 

Serve with a big green salad.

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Budget Marinated Olives

 

I lived in Lisbon 1995-1996, working for a British bank. A work colleague took pity on me living on me living on my own and invited me to join his wife and family on a bank holiday weekend in Nazaré, 77 miles to the north.  Preparing for an extended family gathering (his elderly mother told showed me her charm bracelet with a charm for each of the 18 children she had had!), he showed me this quick way to make marinate cheap olives.

1 tin of pitted black or green olives, or a mixture of both

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp oregano or mixed herbs

1 small garlic clove, peeled and crushed 

Simply mix everything together and leave for a few minutes, if you can, for the flavours to infuse.

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