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Curried Parsnip Soup

A delicious and warming winter soup.

Curried parsnip soup is just what we need for the cold-dark months – nourishing, comforting, and just a little bit spicey. I’ve made it for years, following recipes from several books, mainly Jane Grigson’s classic Vegetable Book, and The Goodness of Potatoes and Root Vegetables by John Midgley. Here is my version.

  • 1 Kg parsnip, cleaned and cut into large lumps
  • 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
  • a clove or two of garlic, chopped fine
  • 1 litre stock
  • 150 ml cream
  • 2 tbs butter, heaped
  • 1 tbs flour
  • 1 or 2 tbs garam masala
  • ground chili to taste

Boil the parsnip until it softens a bit, then drain and let it cool. Now you should be able to lift the skin off easily with a sharp knife. Cut into smaller lumps and combine with the onion, garlic and butter in a heavy bottomed pan. Fry gently, with the lid on for about ten minutes, then add the flour and spices. Fry for another couple of minutes, stirring occasionally, then slowly add the stock and leave it to cook. When the parsnip is really tender, purée it, warm it up again and add the cream. Serve garnished with parsley, chives, or coriander.

Joe Foster

Mini Root Cellar

Simple way to keep root crops fresh and safe through the winter.

How can you keep root crops like carrots and beetroot fresh and crisp until the middle of winter? A friend from Ash Road Allotments told me how: a mini root cellar. It is just a large flower pot sunk into the ground in a sheltered place, maybe a greenhouse. You layer dry sieved leaf mould or spent potting compost with roots. This protects them from frost or drying out.

Dig them out when you need them and just clean them off a bit. They are ready to use.

Simple mini root cellar

Joe Foster

Pumpkin au Gratin

A simple but comforting bake of pumpkin, potatoes and cheese.

This works with many kinds of pumpkin and winter squash, including Butternut and Golden Hubbard – my current favourite. The inspiration came from Jane Grigson’s Vegetable Book We have been making it for many years, adapting it to our own taste.

Serves four.

  • About 1 Kg pumpkin flesh
  • 400g or so of potato, peeled and chopped
  • A good lump of butter, or a mix of butter and olive oil
  • Two eggs
  • About 150g of grated Gruyère plus some Parmesan.

Boil the potatoes and pumpkin flesh* until they are soft and drain them well. Add the butter/oil, the eggs and most of the grated cheese and mash them all together. Tip the mixture into an oven dish, scatter the rest of the cheese over the top with some dots of butter, to help it brown. Bake in a medium hot oven until the top is brown and golden.

*Butternut squash has very thin skin which comes off easily with a peeler, but some pumpkins have quite tough skin. You can cut these into large chunks, take out the seeds and stringy bits and bake the chunks until they are soft. Then the flesh can be scooped out easily and added to the cooked potatoes for mashing.

From Joe Foster

Rahkomenakakku

A versatile Finnish cake with apples or other fruit.

This versatile recipe for an Finnish apple cake was published in 1978 by the Leeds branch of the National Childbirth Trust in a little booklet called Growing Up With Good Food. The booklet was a collection of recipes from Leeds mothers, edited by Catherine Lewis. We still occasionally use our old copy, now dog-eared and food-stained.

Rahkomenakakku has been a long time favourite in our family.

Fennel Baked with Parmesan Cheese

If you manage to grow good fennel…

I’ve only recently discovered how to grow fennel without it bolting while it is still small. The answer (for me) is to keep the carrot fly away from the plants by covering them with fine mesh netting.

I’ve tried several recipes for fennel, and my current favorite comes from our ancient copy of Jane Grigson’s Vegetable Book. It is very simple, and simply delicious.

  • Some heads of fennel
  • Butter
  • Black pepper
  • Parmesan cheese

Quarter the heads of fennel and boil them in salted water until they are just tender – neither crisp nor mushy. Drain them and lay in a generously buttered oven dish. Grate Parmesan over them along with plenty of black pepper. Bake them at 200deg C until they are bubbling in buttery juice and the Parmesan is golden.

Joe Foster

Cauliflower

Two simple “Greek” recipes

Occasionally I manage to grow some good cauliflowers, and when I do I appreciate these two simple recipes. I call both of them “cauliflower a la Grecque” – my versions of French versions of real Greek cooking. They do actually taste very good even though they may not be strictly authentic.

Part of the trick of cooking cauliflower is to catch them just as they soften, but before they go mushy. Your nose can help here. You get to recognize the the change of smell when they are done.

Cauliflower Salad

  • A cauliflower, broken into florets
  • Olive oil: two measures
  • Lemon juice: one measure

Prepare a dressing in a bowl by whisking together the olive oil and lemon juice – just enough for the amount of cauli you have. Steam the cauliflower in a covered pan with just a bit of water until it softens, and drain it. Add the florets to the bowl and gently mix with the dressing. Serve either warm or cold.

Cauliflower in Tomato Sauce

  • A cauliflower, broken into florets
  • Tomato sauce

I like to make enough tomato sauce to have some left over for dishes like this. Tomato sauce made with onions, garlic and oregano works well, but other sorts are good too. Just add the florets to a pan with enough sauce to cover them when you mix them together. You may need to water the sauce down a bit to stop it sticking and burning. Cover the pan and steam until the cauliflower is just done. Serve hot.

Joe Foster

Courgette Kuku

Delicious way to use up courgettes!

Jenny Ward brought this amazing Persian dish to one of our autumn shows, where it was quickly polished off. Not only is it delicious, but it also uses up lots of courgettes – just the sort of recipe we need!

  • 500g of courgettes – in 5mm slices
  • 6 eggs
  • 100ml milk
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • Handful of dill and parsley, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, grated
  • Spice mixture:
    • 1/4 tsp ground cumin
    • 1/4 tsp ground coriander
    • 1/4 tsp turmeric
    • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 4 tbsp olive oil

Fry the onions in 2tbsp olive oil until soft. Remove from the pan. Then fry the courgettes in batches until coloured and remove from the pan. Add more oil if needed. Whisk the eggs and milk in a bowl, then add the rest of the ingredients. Pour the mixture into the pan, and cook on a low light. Finish off under the grill to brown the top.

Jenny Ward

Autumn Show 2021

Autumn show Sunday 12 Sept. 2021.

Sunday, 12 September 2021.

Refreshments from 11:30, “pay as you feel”. Donations of cakes and savouries welcome.

Snail racing from 11:30. Bring your own competitor, or choose one from our racing stable.

Members only this year, because of the pandemic. All entries from plotholders are welcome. This is intended to be fun, not a ‘professional’ show or one for ‘expert’ gardeners.

Entries

Entries accepted between 12.00 and 1.30pm. Cost is 20p per entry for the first ten entries. Additional entries are FREE.

All produce must be grown by the plotholder.

Maximum of 3 entries per class for each exhibitor.

All exhibits shown as multiples should match. Please be ready to state variety if known, as this is helpful for others.

Schedule

  1. 3 white potatoes
  2. 3 coloured potatoes
  3. 3 runner Beans
  4. 4 French Beans
  5. 4 pods of peas
  6. 3 onions, white or red (3 of the same colour)
  7. 3 shallots
  8. 1 cabbage
  9. 3 beetroot
  10. 2 leeks
  11. 2 sweetcorn
  12. 1 marrow
  13. 3 courgettes
  14. 3 carrots
  15. 1 squash (any variety)
  16. 3 different salad vegetables
  17. 3 medium tomatoes
  18. 3 apples
  19. 1 dish of soft or stone fruit
  20. 1 display of mixed produce in a container not larger than 12 inches x 12 inches
  21. 1 vegetable monster
  22. 1 exhibit of fruit or vegetables not elsewhere in the schedule
  23. Novice class, for the Gillian North Award: if you have never entered before, please select 3 things which you have grown on your allotment and present them beautifully.
  24. 1 jar of jam (this will be tasted by our team of volunteers)
  25. Joe Maiden Cup: 5 sweet peas + 1 potato + 1 other vegetable of your choice.
  26. Best in Show

Prizes to the value of £10 for overall points winner, and for the best exhibit in the Show, will be awarded at the Annual General meeting.

Tips for showing

Peter Blakey has kindly put together some tips for those who are new to exhibiting vegetables. The judging is done according to the guidance given by the RHS in The Horticultural Show Handbook.

  • French Beans: Straight. Fresh. Pods with talks. Even length. Good colour. No outward sign of seeds.
  • Runner Beans: Long. Uniform. Straight. Good colour. With stalks. No outward sign of seeds.
  • Globe Beetroot: 60-75 mm in diameter. Taproot in place. Foliage trimmed to about 75mm.
  • Cabbage: Fresh. Solid heads. 50mm of stalk.
  • Carrots: Fresh. No sign of side roots. Foliage trimmed to about 75mm.
  • Cauliflower: Heads  fresh and solid. 50mm of stalk.
  • Courgettes: About 150mm, long 35mm diameter.
  • Leeks: Clean, Firm, Long barrel.
  • Marrows: Fresh. Less than 350mm long. Tender.
  • Onions (large exhibition): Over 250gm. Large. Well ripened. Thin necks. Intact root plates
  • Onions under 250 gm:  Firm. Thin necked. Blemish free bulb.
  • Peas: Pods long, with stalks. Well filled with tender peas.
  • potatoes: About 175-225g. Few eyes. Clear-skinned.
  • Squash: Young. Tender. Well matched.
  • Sweet corn: Fresh. Well set, including the tips. Straight Rows
  • Tomatoes (medium): Approx 60mm diameter. Ripe but firm. Calyces attached.
  • Tomatoes (small): Less than 35mm diameter. Calyces attached.

Broad Bean Salad

Delicious and very simple.

We discovered this way of doing broad beans so long ago that we can’t find the original recipe. I think it is a Greek. Anyway it is delicious and very simple if your broad beans are still young and tender.

  • Broad beans
  • Lemon juice
  • Olive oil

If your broad beans are still young enough, just steam them in a bit of water until tender – only a couple of minutes – and drain them. Make a bit of dressing of olive oil and lemon juice in a serving bowl and tip in the broad beans and stir them in. If the skin of your broad beans has started to get tough you may want to go to the trouble of skinning them.

Serve them cool or still warm, as you prefer.

Joe Foster

Bean Squeezing

When are they ready to pick?

I find myself giving my beans a gentle squeeze to judge if they are ready to pick. This can be especially useful when there are lots of leaves in the way so that you can’t see the beans clearly.

  • Broad Beans: I especially like them when the beans are still tender and not too big. You can feel them through the skin of the pod. As the beans mature and start to get tough the pods develop a smooth, hard surface.
  • Green Beans: French beans and runner beans for eating green are best before the beans inside start to swell and the pods become stringy.
  • Dried Beans: Beans for drying, Borlotties for example, get a papery feel to the pods when the beans inside are nice and dry.

Joe Foster