(Asparagus) tip of the week

Just quickly whilst that lovely photo of asparagus in Salon is up there. I'm reminded of some tasty ways to use every bit of asparagus whilst it's around..

In the UK, it's prime season but elsewhere the season is coming to an end. Either way, you shouldn't waste any of this beautiful vegetable- even if the ends are becoming a bit woody.

Asparagus is at its most delicious, simply steamed or boiled and served with butter, hollandaise, or mayonnaise (aioli). However, the steaming or cooking water is a gem in itself and do conserve it in a screw topped jar in the fridge for up to 3 days.

The asparagus tips will always make a lovely meal- accompanying meat or fish- or baked in a quiche (printanier style with spring onions).

As the season progresses, and the  stems become a little coarse- don't disregard them. Firstly, they yield a flavoursome stock and secondly, they can be made into a wonderful veloute or asparagus cream soup.


Cook your bundle of asparagus - steamed over boiling water or cooked in boiling water. Above all, keep this asparagus-scented water for your soup.

Cut off the tips to use as you wish. (So many ways to enjoy this delightful vegetable.)

Chop the leftover stalks and soften in olive oil with celery, onion and a handful of garden peas.

Add the leftover asparagus water and cook for 10 mins until all veg are soft.

Blitz the, soup - season and add a dash of milk.

A delicious asparagus soup from stuff that might otherwise be left on plates- all the more satisfying for that!

16 (or more) fruit and veg a week? A challenge?

I've just been hearing on the TV that 'experts' recommend we eat at least 16 different fruit and veg a week to keep healthy. The TV panel seemed overwhelmed by the idea - how can anyone keep up with all this health advice, they moaned. 5 a day is hard enough- but 16 a week? (Hmmm...I may not be a mathematician but it's not 1973 and we aren't on a 3 day week, are we....yet?)

Anyway, snidiness apart- I wondered how many different fruit and veg I'd planned for this week's menus. I emptied the fridge and laid them all out: grapes, pineapple, mandarin segments, leftover broccoli, potatoes, tomatoes, apples, carrots, rocket leaves, onion, spring onion,  peas, mushrooms, haricot beans, butter beans, yellow pepper, red pepper and  parsnips (18 I reckon- plus lentils and leftover veg for soup).

What about you- dear blog reader? How many can you boast?

Well, here is how I used this trolley of delights:


Pot roast beef with all the trimmings (parsnips, peas, carrots and roast potatoes)
apple crumble
fruit salad
pineapple upside down cake ( see April)
vegetable stir fry (with leftover Sunday veg, mushrooms and spring onions) with poached chilli salmon

Sussex cassoulet (see February)

Quiche Lorraine- (also see February) with salad Day 1 and beans Day 2

Stuffed peppers with carrot and nut salad, tomatoes and green leaves

Then a chicken curry (with leftover salads and rice) and a lentil casserole with chipolatas- with the leftover lentils, veg and stock made into a thick soup to have with bread and cheese to finish the week.

If you need some inspiration to think fruit and veg then take a look at this pic of the market in Salon de Provence last week- a whole stall given over to fat white asparagus! And you can bet the stall holder had sold out by midday! Delicious!

Go on! Rise to the challenge!

                                                                                                                                             

Scots wha hae!

April has been a really busy month for me- lots happening foodie wise but no time to write about it!

At the beginning of the month I went to Bouches du Rhone - to visit family and to attend a food festival called Artisans 13 held in the Conseil Municipal in Marseille.

I ate so well over those 4 days in April- and there will be lots of pics and recipes appearing over the next few months inspired by my long weekend. However- back to the food festival.

Glasgow, as I'm sure we all know, is the European Capital of Culture- but will be handing over the baton to Marseille and the region of Provence in 2013. To begin the handover, artisans from Glasgow and from Marseille came together to present their wares.

Marseille is no stranger to offal- witness here it's renowned dish 'Pieds Paquets'- and how about this stall in the Camargue selling every type of sausage that can be made from a bull !-  so it's no surprise that the haggis stall at the festival attracted lots of buyers.

Being superscrimpers, we managed to blag a couple of baby haggises- and took them home to tempt French eaters. We finely sliced the haggis and fried it in butter before serving on green leaves with a simple lemon vinaigrette. It was a hit!

This recipe would work well with other similar meats such as black pudding or liver sausage.

Tout est fruity!

There can never be a good reason for throwing away fruit- unless it has gone completely mouldy and maggoty. If it's just a bit tired and wrinkly then (like most of us) - it can be put to good use.

There really is so much that you can do with it- crumbles, compotes, fruit salads (warm or cold), add it to gin to make a fruit liqueur- or put it into cakes.

Use a basic sponge mixture (125 g butter creamed with 125g caster sugar, beat in 2 eggs and 125g self raising flour) or even use a packet mix from the store cupboard- the possibilities are endless...

My Sister Dolly's Pineapple Upside Down Cake


I don't really have a sister called Dolly- but this is a nod to Private Godfrey from Dad's Army who did have- and who was famed for her pineapple upside down cake!

Ingredients:


1 portion cake mix (as above)
4 slices pineapple
(Cherries or walnuts/pecans if you have any)
50 g soft brown sugar
50g butter

Thoroughly grease a 20cm cake tin.
Melt the butter and sugar together and pour over the base of the cake tin.
Lay the pineapple slices in the sugar syrup and add nuts/cherries if you want
Pour on the cake mix and bake in a moderate oven  (180 degrees ) for 30-40 mins until risen, golden and firm to the touch.

Allow to cool for 10 mins and then turn out onto a plate- the syrup should still be sticky on the surface.

Variations on this include Apple Cake (with the apples mixed into the cooking mix rather than laid on the surface).....


Or how about a Lavender Cake- with flowers picked and washed from the garden?

And finally- what about a Banana Cake?


Many people throw bananas away when they start to go a bit too spotty- but this is actually when they are beginning to reach their best!

When they reach the spotty stage- put them in the fridge in a plastic container with a lid (for up to a week). When you open the lid, they will be all black and slug-like and not at all appealing- but don't be fooled!

When you unzip them- they will be perfect inside and ready to slice into your cake mix- and then ready to pour into muffin cases and bake for tea!

You can adapt any of these recipes with whatever fruit you want to use up- apricots or peaches instead of pineapple, pears instead of apples, red fruits instead of bananas.... just don't throw any of it away unless you really, really have to!

Fishing for compliments

I often return from holidays with delicious ingredients- soupe de poissons, caviare d'aubergines, tapenade, mustards and herbs and spices (no prizes for guessing where my holidays are spent!)- and then spend the winter months puzzling over how best to use them up.

This is how I put a jar of soupe de poissons to good use: firstly, served as it should be with garlic toast and some grated gruyere.

Next I made a sort of bourrride: a fish stew with saffron potatoes based on a dish I eat in my favourite Marseille restaurant La Nautique. (A brilliant resto for the economically savvy- all the millionaire feel of Marseille's vieux port with none of the over-hyped price tags.)www.restaurantlanautique.fr

Ingredients:

half a jar of soupe de poissons

2 waxy potatoes (peeled)

selection of fish (salmon, cod, prawns)

pinch of saffron

teaspoon of turmeric

parsley ( finely chopped)

1. Boil the potatoes until soft but not falling apart in a mixture of water, salt, saffron and turmeric

2. Warm the soup in a saucepan and add the cod and salmon. Cook for 6-7 minutes until the fish is cooked through and flakes if carefully tested with a fork.Add the prawns and cook through a further minute.

3. Drain the potatoes (but  retain the saffron stock).

4. Put a portion of potatoes in a dish, pour the soup around and lay the pieces of fish on top.

5. Sprinkle with parsley (purists might also want a dollop of garlic mayonnaise too) and serve.

Final fish dish- a fish pie.

Ingredients:

Assorted fish- smoked haddock, prawns, salmon, cod etc

Cold mashed potato

peas

grated cheese (cheddar/parmesan)

leftover saffron stock (from last recipe)

creme fraiche

1. Skin the fish and poach gently in a little milk mixed with the saffron stock and peas.

2. Remove the heat and add the prawns  for a further minute or two.

3. Flake fish into a dish and mix with a little poaching liquor and creme fraiche .

4. Top with mashed potato and grated cheese and bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden and bubbling.

Cheap cheep

Or how to get every last little bit from your leftover chicken or duck.

First roast your bird- I slow roasted a duck crown yesterday in the slow cooker for 4 hours (having rubbed some Chinese five spice into the skin and seared it in the frying pan first.)

The result was gorgeous- the meat fell from the bone and carved beautifully. I was able to take every last scrap away from the carcass with ease. This made a wonderful roast meal- and also some shredded duck meat was left for gyoza.


The sorry little pile of bones left behind from your chicken or duck can make another meal easily.

Making stock


I used to make stock in my pressure cooker - and this is still a quick and efficient way to do it- but my recent conversion to using the slow cooker has led me to an even simpler and more delicious way to obtain a good pot of stock.

I put the carcass along with some celery and carrot, salt and pepper and 1 litre of water into the crock pot and leave it to cook on Low for 4-5 hours (or pressure cook for 30 mins).

I scoop out the bones and pass the liquid through a sieve before allowing the stock to cool. Once cool you can skim off the fat and are left with a clear and flavourful stock.

From stock to soup


I love a golden vegetable soup and also a chicken or duck noodle soup.

For the vegetable soup- put carrots, celery, potato, bouquet garni (bundle of fresh herbs tied with string) and any other leftover veg in with the stock. (Peas, spinach and sprouts can make this a muddy colour though, so save those for a different dish). Season well and cook until the veg are soft. Remove the bouquet garni.

Blend with a stick blender, adjust seasoning and serve with a swirl of creme fraiche.

For the noodle soup- bring the clear stock to simmering point, add fine egg noodles, chopped spring onion, mushroom, spinach leaves, carrot shavings (or any leftover veg such as peas, finely shaved green pepper, even shredded lettuce leaves are good).

Serve as soon as the noodles are soft, with a dash of soy sauce to season.

I've served mine with duck gyoza (leftover shredded duck, spring onion and hoisin sauce, wrapped in spring roll wrappers and fried until golden) and chilli dipping sauce.

Full of Eastern Promise...

This weekend we had a dinner guest from Malaysia- used to spicy food. She has been eating mainly vegetarian food in the UK, as she should only eat halal meat otherwise.

I have a good repertoire of vegetarian recipes- family members will know why!- but I feared they might be rather bland for our guest's tastes- pizzas, pasta, quiches, salads and so on.

I opted to make spiced lamb patties (my local Asda providing halal lamb sausages) with a couscous and chickpea salad, flatbreads and a vegetable tagine. This also gave me the chance to use some of the dinky mini-tagines and mini soupieres that I buy (or am given) at any opportunity for accompaniments to the dish too.

To make the lamb patties I took the sausages from their skins and then followed my burger recipe- see February- but substituted ras el-hanout ( moroccan tagine spices) for the Worcestershire sauce. (These were so delicious, they all disappeared before I could take a photo!

The vegetable stew was made from whatever was to hand in the fridge- courgettes, leftover green beans, leftover baked beans (yes really!), shallots, tinned tomatoes, lots of ras el-hanout paste spices and chilli. All cooked for 4-5 hours in the slow cooker-mmmm!

And the leftovers made a delicious vegetable lasagne and a pasta lunchbox for me!