Welcome to my blog all about the things I love to grow and cook. You'll find a collection of seasonal gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan-friendly recipe posts, as well as a round up of my gardening throughout the year. I wish you good reading, happy cooking and perfect planting!
Courgette and white bean salad with fried pine nuts, basil, gluten-free flat bread and extra virgin olive oil. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Amazingly, the heat is still on full blast here in the UK. The sky has been gloriously blue, day after day, and the sun is shining down strongly. No rain in the forecast; the water butt has been dry for days!
Plenty of time to enjoy the garden at a more leisurely pace. The thought of preparing and eating hot food is not so appealing at the moment, so salads are featuring heavily on my menu. I picked my first courgettes this week – all the extra watering by hand has been worth it – and made an exception by doing a little bit of cooking. I made them into a tasty cold dish with some canned beans and a rich tomato sauce.
The first of this year’s home-grown courgettes. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
You can adapt the recipe to use other vegetables and pulses – aubergine and chickpeas make a good combination too, especially seasoned with some cumin and fresh coriander. The salad makes a good sauce for pasta when served freshly made, and I have also served it as a filling for a warmed pastry case.
Platter of salad and accompaniments. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Serves: 4
Ingredients
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 onions, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 fresh bay leaves or 1 dried
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
150ml dry white wine
400g can chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp. tomato purée
2 teasp caster sugar
1 teasp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
250g cooked cannellini beans
500g courgettes, trimmed and chopped into 2cm dice
Fresh basil, fried pine nuts, gluten-free flat bread and extra virgin olive oil to serve
Heat the oil in a large covered frying pan and gently fry the onion, garlic and herbs, with the lid on, over a low heat, for 15 minutes, to soften without browning.
Prepared onion and garlic with fresh bay and rosemary, ready for the pot. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Pour in the wine and stir in the chopped tomatoes, tomato purée, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the rosemary and bay leaves.
Courgette cut into 2cm dice. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Stir in the beans and courgette, making sure they are well covered in the sauce. Bring to the boil, cover, reduce the heat, and simmer gently for 7-8 minutes until the courgette is just tender. Leave to cool completely.
Making the sauce and cooking the salad. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
Transfer to a bowl and chill until ready to serve. Best served at room temperature for more flavour. Delicious spooned over warm flat breads, sprinkled with fresh basil, fried pine nuts and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Bon Appétit 🙂
The perfect lunch for a sunny day. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Sea kale growing on chalky cliff face. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
A bit of a departure from my usual blog posts this week. I’ve had some time away from my home in Scotland, and spent a few days in Sussex, where I grew up, visiting friends and family, and enjoying some fine late spring weather.
On a walk along the South Downs, I climbed down to a secluded cove, only accessible when the tide is low, to discover sea kale growing on the sand and shingle beach and out of the chalky cliffs. The afternoon was still and warm, and the frilly edged, grey/blue-green leaves of the kale appeared silvery in the bright sunlight; the sweet smell of honey hung in the air from its many flowers which grow in clusters above the leaves.
I’ve never discovered sea kale growing wild before, and have never cooked nor eaten it. The opportunity and temptation was too great and I picked 2 or 3 of the smaller leaves from a few established plants. I knew that sea kale kept well – sailors used to take it on voyages as a source of vitamin C – so I put the leaves in a jug of water, in the fridge for a couple of days, before taking them back to Scotland to experiment in the kitchen.
As with most leafy vegetables, I guessed that the smaller leaves would be the most edible. Apparently, sea kale (Crombemaritima) is not actually kale, it’s a type of chard and belongs to the cabbage family. All parts are edible, raw and cooked. but in the interests of conservation, I picked just a few leaves.
Small sea kale leaf. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
And so, to the kitchen. I treated the sea kale as if it were a leafy cabbage or curly kale. I gave it a good soak to remove any sand, etc, and then sliced out the stems. I shredded some of the leaves, and decided to roast the rest whole as I do with kale.
Preparing sea kale. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
Stems with balsamic vinegar – trim the ends and then slice the stems down the centre, lengthways. Blanch in boiling water for 1 minute, drain well and pat dry with kitchen paper. Heat a frying pan until hot, drizzled with a little olive oil and stir fry the stems for 2-3 minutes until softened and browned a little. Turn off the heat, season with balsamic vinegar, salt and black pepper. Cover with a lid and stand for 5 minutes. Serve sprinkled with freshly chopped chive stems and flowers.
Leaves with garlic, chilli and soy – shred the leaves as you would Savoy cabbage and cook in boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain well. Stir fry chopped leek and garlic in a little oil until softened and then add the boiled sea kale and stir fry for 2-3 minutes until tender. Season with dark soy sauce and sweet chilli sauce.
Cooked sea kale stems and leaves. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
To bake sea kale, choose the thinnest leaves, remove the stems if coarse, and pat dry with kitchen paper. Place in a bowl and toss in a little olive oil, and massage it through the leaves to coat them lightly. Spread out on a baking tray lined with baking parchment and season well with smoked salt, pepper and caster sugar. Bake at 200°C (180°C fan oven, gas 6) for 10 minutes, turn the leaves and bake for a further 5-10 minutes until dark and crispy. Season with chilli flakes and serve with extra sugar and smoked salt for dipping.
Roast sea kale leaves with smoked salt, chilli and sugar. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
The verdict: if you like strong-tasting cabbage and seaweed ( which I do), then you’ll like sea kale. It’s not a flavour for the faint-hearted that’s for sure. It can be also be seasoned with other strong flavoured ingredients. I was surprised that it is not salty at all. Some of the slightly larger leaves had a slight medicinal bitterness to them, which makes me think that the much larger leaves would be inedible.
If you’re lucky enough to find some, it’s definitely worth trying. I feel fortunate to have stumbled across such a fabulous freebie courtesy of Mother Nature 🙂
Also growing out of the chalky cliffs, a beautiful sea poppy. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Packed full of flavour, spiced chickpea, spinach and sorrel roll. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Hello everyone 🙂 Hope you’ve had a good week. The sun’s been shining a lot with me and everything in the garden has taken off, especially in the herb garden. Lots of fresh new growth and lush looking bright green leaves. Delicious.
I can find everyday uses for all of the herbs I grow, but the clump of sorrel often remains untouched. I pick off any little leaves to throw into a salad, but the larger leaves I admit, I seldom use. However, this week, as I was cooking up some spinach for my planned bake, I remembered to mix in a few of the larger leaves to add a slightly sharp and acidic tang to the filling.
Spring greens – fresh garden sorrel. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
I’ve turned to spelt flour to make the suet-crust pastry for my bake this week, although I have mixed it with some gram flour. I haven’t tried the recipe with all gluten-free flour; I can image it would work ok, but it would be more challenging to roll up. I have fond memories of sweet and savoury roly-poly puddings from my childhood and school cookery classes. Suet-crust is one of the easiest pastries to make, and it takes next to no time to put together. It is light and fluffy in textue, and when baked, has a crispy, crunchy outer shell.
The key to this recipe’s success is to make sure you dry the cooked spinach as much as possible. Cook it in only a minimum amount of water and then squeeze out the excess by pressing it against the side of the strainer as it drains, and then blot with kitchen paper. This will help keep the bake as crisp as possible. If you don’t have fresh sorrel, then just cook up a little bit more spinach. I hope you enjoy it.
Preparing and cooking fresh spinach. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
Serves: 6
Ingredients
For the filling:
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 teasp ground cumin
1 teasp each of ground coriander and ground cinnamon
25g fresh garden sorrel leaves, well washed and stems removed
250g fresh spinach
100g cooked chickpeas
40g toasted pine nuts
40g sultanas
1 teasp salt
1 – 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil (optional)
For the pastry:
150g spelt flour
50g gram flour
12g baking powder
100g vegetable suet
Approx. 150ml cold chickpea cooking water, canning water or plain water
First make the filling. Heat the oil in a small frying pan and gently fry the onion, garlic and spices over a gentle heat, with a lid on, for 15 minutes until softened but not browned. If you’re using sorrel, rip up the leaves and once the onion is cooked, add to the mixture, cover and leave to wilt in the steam. Leave to cool completely.
Meanwhile, rinse the spinach, shake off the excess water and pack into a saucepan whilst still wet. Heat until steaming, cover, and cook over a medium heat, for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until wilted. Drain well, pressing out the excess water, and leave to cool. Chop and blot away the excess water using kitchen roll.
Put the cold onion mixture in a bowl, mix in the cooked spinach, chickpeas, pine nuts and sultanas. Season with salt. Cover and chill until required.
When ready to assemble, the roll, preheat the oven to 190°C/ 170°C fan oven/ gas 5. Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Mix the flours in a bowl with the baking powder and suet. Pour in sufficient water to make a soft, scone-like dough. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to make a rectangle approx. 30 x 25cm.
Spread over the filling, right to the edge, and the roll up from one of the shorter sides. Carefully transfer to the prepared baking tray, seam-side down, and bake for about 45 minutes until golden brown.
Roly-poly preparation. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
The pastry will probably crack during baking – I have rarely made one that hasn’t split slightly on one side. For extra richness, brush generously with extra virgin olive oil as soon as it comes out of the oven. Best served hot or warm.
Out of the oven, and ready to serve. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Soba noodles with asparagus. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
It is the height of the home-grown British asparagus season right now, and I’m eating as much as I can while these fresh, green, juicy stems are available to buy. I rarely do anything fancy with asparagus, just enjoy it on its own, steamed, griddled, or baked in the oven, and seasoned simply with a little salt and pepper. Delicious.
In season. British asparagus. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
This is a very simple, yet very tasty, combination that makes a lovely light lunch or quick supper dish. If you want to make it in advance, it’s just as good eaten cold as a salad, or boxed up for a picnic or packed lunch.
Three favourite seasonings for soba noodles. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
To serve 2: prepare 200g fresh asparagus spears by trimming away about 3cm of the stem – this is usually a bit woody and tough to eat. Then cut the rest of the stems into short lengths. Brush a non-stick frying pan with a little sunflower oil and heat until hot. Stir fry the asparagus for 3-4 minutes until just tender. Turn off the heat and add a good glug of gluten-free teriyaki marinade. Immediately cover with a lid and leave to stand. Leave to one side while you cook the noodles, or leave to cool completely for serving as a salad.
Trimming fresh asparagus, and stir-frying. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of unsalted water to the boil and add 100g soba (buckwheat) noodles. Cook for about 5 minutes until tender, then drain well and place in a heatproof bowl, or rinse in cold running water, and leave to drain and cool completely.
When ready to serve, toss the asparagus and pan juices into the noodles along with 4 tbsp. freshly chopped chives, 2 teasp sesame oil and 1 tbsp. mirin. Pile into serving bowls and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Enjoy 🙂
Sweet potato, spinach and coconut stew. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
A deliciously fragrant and comforting recipe for you this week. An old favourite of mine which works just as well with potatoes if you’re not a fan of the sweet variety. It makes a good side dish, but I usually serve it as a main course, spooned over rice.
Preparing sweet potatoes. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
The stew is very easy to make. You can change the proportions of the individual spices to suit your taste. The overall flavour is reminiscent of a green Thai curry without the lemongrass or lime leaves. I’m not a huge chilli fan, I like a hint of heat rather than a major blast, so you may want to increase the chilli-factor for more of a spicy kick. If you have fresh green chillies, grind them up in the spice paste as an alternative to using the dried flakes.
If you have any leftover, the stew makes a good soup the next day. Just blend it up in a food processor with stock or more coconut milk. I hope you enjoy it 🙂
Spice paste ingredients. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Serves: 4
Ingredients
6 cardamom pods
1 teasp each of coriander and mustard seeds
1 small red onion or shallot
2 garlic cloves
3cm piece root ginger
Dried chilli flakes, to taste
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
400ml canned coconut milk
650g sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3cm thick chunky pieces
225g prepared spinach
1 teasp salt
A small bunch fresh coriander, roughly chopped
Remove the green casing from the cardamom pods and put the seeds in a pestle and mortar along with the coriander and mustard seeds. Lightly crush them, then toast them in a small frying pan, over a medium heat, for 2-3 minutes until fragrant and lightly toasted but not brown. Leave to cool.
Peel and roughly chop the onion, garlic and ginger and place in a food processor or blender. Add 1 tbsp. oil and the toasted spices and chilli flakes to taste. Blend for a few seconds to make a paste.
Toasting spices and making a spice paste. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Heat the remaining oil in a large, deep-sided frying pan or wok and gently fry the paste for about 5 minutes until softened but not browned. Pour over the coconut milk, bring to the boil, and stir in the sweet potato pieces. Bring back to the boil, cover, reduce the heat and simmer gently for about an hour until tender.
Add the spinach in batches, stirring well to make sure it gets completely coated in the coconut liquor. Add the salt, cover and continue to cook gently for a further 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until then spinach is wilted and the sauce is thick.
The 3 stages of stew. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
To serve, sprinkle the stew with a generous amount of chopped, fresh coriander, and extra chilli if liked. Serve immediately, spooned over rice.
Sweet potato stew, ready to serve. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
The hardiest of all the Brassica family, and probably the closest to wild cabbage, kale (or kail) is one of the most traditional of Scottish vegetables. The robust leaves withstand harsh frosts and snow, and are said to taste all the better for it. In the past, kale was dismissed as animal fodder, but today it is one of the most trendy vegetables on the menu.
Kale is one of my favourite greens. I love the strong flavour, it is bursting with vitality in every bite, and it is one of the few vegetables tasty enough to stand its own on a plate with other bold flavours.
Keeping kale fresh in a bowl of water. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
As with all leafy vegetables, cook as soon as possible after purchase. Choose firm stalks with fresh, dark or bright green leaves. If you do want to keep them for a couple of days, arrange the stems in a bowl or large jug of water as you would a bunch of flowers, then put in the fridge. I find kale is one of a few vegetables that doesn’t freeze very well – it loses texture and flavour, and becomes a bit slimy when cooked.
Kale leaves. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
Simple to prepare, just rinse kale well in cold, running water to flush out any trapped earth caught in the tight, curling leaves, and then shake off the excess water. Pull off the lower, frilly leaves and keep to one side – these softer leaves are perfect for eating raw in winter salads. Slice out the central stem, and then shred the leaves into the desired size.
Preparing curly kale. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
If you are steaming kale, pack the wet leaves into a steamer and cook for 10-15 minutes until tender. Alternatively, pack the wet leaves into a saucepan, turn on the heat and when the contents begin to steam, put the lid on, reduce the heat to medium and cook with the lid on, turning occasionally, for about 10 minutes – don’t have the heat too high otherwise the leaves will dry and burn. Drain well and chop finely.
For baking and deep-frying, rinse the leaves then make sure you dry them as much as possible in order to cook them to a crisp. Blotting them between layers of absorbent kitchen paper is a good way. If the leaves are too damp, you will end up steaming them in the oven rather than drying them out. In hot oil, the contents will spit and hiss if water still clings to the leaves.
Recipe ideas and serving suggestions
Shredded kale makes fantastic “crispy seaweed”: deep-fry in hot vegetable oil for a few seconds, then drain well and toss in a little salt and white sugar. Season with Szechuan pepper or Chinese 5 spice.
Toss raw, small, tender kale leaves with finely shredded raw leek and grated apple in a lemon vinaigrette and season with freshly ground black pepper. Serve as a crunchy, bold winter salad sprinkled with toasted walnuts.
Steamed kale is delicious, finely chopped, tossed in butter or good quality olive oil and seasoned with black pepper and ground nutmeg. An ideal accompaniment to a bold, red wine gravy based game, meat or bean stew.
Mix finely chopped, steamed kale with cooked brown rice or pearl barley, toasted pine nuts and grated Parmesan (or Vegan cheese) and use as a filling for baked Portobello mushrooms.
Tray-baked kale leaves make a healthy sprinkle for salads, soups, rice and pasta dishes. Here’s what to do: preheat the oven to 150°C (130°C fan oven, gas mark 2). Line 2 large baking trays with baking parchment. Prepare 200g kale leaves as above, then rinse and dry thoroughly. Roughly chop the leaves and place in a large bowl. Toss in no more than 2 tbsp. sunflower oil and arrange over the trays – too much oil will make the leaves go soggy. Mix 1 teasp smoked salt, ½ teasp ground black pepper and 1 teasp ground cumin together and sprinkle over the oily kale.
Baking kale. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Bake for 25-30 minutes until crisp. Drain well, leave to cool, then pack into air-tight containers or jars to store. The baked kale will keep and stay crisp in this way for up to 2 weeks.
I like all root vegetables, but sadly I struggle to grow anything other than potatoes. Fortunately, I am able to buy a good variety from local farm shops and this feels like the next best thing to growing them myself. This week’s recipe can be made with any root you have to hand. The cooking method bakes the different vegetable layers to a melting-tenderness and is a perfect choice if you want a vegetable dish suitable for preparing ahead. Once the basic layering and baking is done, the cooked vegetables will sit quite happily in the fridge for a couple of days before baking again to serve. You can scale the recipe up easily if you’re feeding a crowd and mix and match the vegetables you use.
Turnip, sweet potatoes and King Edward potatoes ready for preparation. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
My version makes an 18cm square layer which cuts neatly into 9 portions and uses sweet potatoes, turnip (or swede, depending on where you come from) and potatoes, but carrots, parsnips and celeriac work fine as well, and you can also use just 1kg of your favourite root, if you prefer. The most important things to remember are to slice the vegetables thinly and evenly (preferably use a food processor or mandolin) and make sure you cook the vegetables until completely tender during the first baking – test with a skewer to be completely sure.
400g main crop potatoes such as King Edward or Maris Piper
75ml vegetable stock
3 tbsp. olive oil
40g dairy-free margarine (or butter if you eat it)
1 large clove garlic, peeled and crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Freshly chopped parsley
Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan oven, gas 4). Grease and line a straight-sided, deep 18cm square cake tin with baking parchment.
Peel and thinly slice all the vegetables – I use a food processor for this. Either layer in the tin individually or mix all the vegetables together and arrange evenly in the tin.
Layering the root vegetables in individual layers. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
Pour over the stock and drizzle with the oil. Cover the top of the tin with foil and bake for at least an hour until completely tender. Remove the foil and leave to cool completely.
Cut a square of firm cardboard the same size as the inside of the tin and wrap in a layer of foil. Place a sheet of baking parchment over the vegetables and sit the foil-wrapped board on top. Weigh down the vegetables evenly using 3 or 4 same-weight cans or jars and chill overnight or for up to 2 days before serving.
Pressing the vegetable layer. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan oven, gas 6). Remove the weights, foil board and baking parchment and carefully remove the pressed vegetable square from the tin.
Cut into 9 squares and arrange on a lined baking tray. Melt the margarine (or butter) and mix in the garlic and seasoning. Brush the mixture generously over the vegetable squares.
Ready for baking. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
Bake the squares for about 30 minutes until golden and hot. Serve immediately sprinkled with chopped parsley. A great accompaniment to any kind of roast.
Just baked root vegetable squares. Image: Kathryn HawkinsRoot vegetables: meltingly tender and packed full of flavour. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Cauliflower roasted, stir fried, and steaks. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
When it comes to the winter months of the year, trying to buy only home-grown, British vegetables (as is my want) can be quite challenging especially if you desire something other than starchy root crops. In my opinion, the humble cauliflower reigns supreme at this time of year as it is a welcome diversion in flavour, taste and texture.
However, my thoughts haven’t always been so positive towards the cauliflower. At school, cauliflower was boiled beyond all recognition and served as a watery, soft mush – enough to put anyone off the vegetable for life. Yet, today, it is one of the “on trend” vegetables. If you cook it correctly, cauliflower has a meaty texture, sweet flavour, and best of all, it can be cooked in many ways. It’s full of vitamin C and K, as well as B vitamins and dietary fibre. Easy to prepare, you can eat just about all of it from the inner the cream-coloured curds to the outer wrapping of juicy leaves.
Preparing cauliflower. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
The leaves help protect the curds, so try to buy the vegetable with as much greenery as possible. If you want to store cauliflower for a few days, keep the leaves intact and place the stalk-end in a shallow depth of water in a bowl, in the fridge, and the cauliflower should keep fresh for up to a week.
To prepare, discard any damaged outer leaves, but keep the inner, more tender leaves – these can be cooked like cabbage. Once the curds are free from leaves, slice or break the head into florets. Prepared cauliflower florets dehydrate quickly so are best cooked soon after preparation.
I rarely cook cauliflower in water, but if I do, it is for a very short time only – the curds can get very spongy very quickly when cooked in water, and the flavour will be lost.
Following are my current 3 favourite ways of cooking cauliflower for maximum taste and texture: roasting, griddled steaks and stir-fried sprouting stems.
Roast cauliflower with Indian spices. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Toss chunky florets of cauliflower and thickly sliced red onion in sunflower oil. Season with garam masala to taste. Spread out on a baking tray, season with salt and pepper and roast at 200°C (180°C fan oven, gas 6) for about 30 minutes, turning occasionally. Mix in cooked chick peas and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes until everything is lightly browned. Drain well, then serve sprinkled with black onion seeds. For a main meal, mix into freshly cooked Basmati rice and sprinkle with fresh coriander and roasted cashew nuts.
Probably the most popular way to serve cauliflower at the moment is as a steak. I usually cut the prepared curds into 2cm thick slices and poach them in simmering water for a couple of minutes before frying or placing on a griddle or barbecue – a large frying pan is good for poaching as it enables you to lift out the steaks more easily. Use tongs to make sure you drain the steaks well, and dry them on kitchen paper so that excess cooking water is removed before cooking in oil.
Pre-cooking cauliflower steaks. Image: Kathryn HawkinsCauliflower steaks with Italian flavours. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Brush the prepared cauliflower steaks lightly with vegetable oil on one side. Heat a griddle pan or frying pan until very hot, then add the streaks, oiled-side down. Press into the pan, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 2-3 minutes until golden or lightly charred. Brush the top with more oil, and turn the steaks over. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes or until cooked to you liking. Serve straight from the pan drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic glaze or reduction, and toasted pine nuts. Top with griddled cherry vine tomatoes and fresh basil.
One of the new kids on the block in the cauliflower world, is a variety with fine green stems and small, flowery curds. I was a bit sceptical when I first saw it (mainly because of the price), but I have since been converted. The stems are best cooked for a minimum time, just as you would for asparagus – steamed, griddled or stir fried – in order to retain the crisp texture. Unusually, the stems become even brighter green when cooked. The flavour is mild and sweet. To make sure the stems cook evenly, break or cut the stems up so that you have same-size thickness pieces.
You can keep these stems in a jug of water in the fridge for a couple of days to keep them fresh, as they do lose texture quickly. These sweet stems are a perfect choice for a single serving or to add to a combination of other vegetables.
Heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a deep-frying pan or wok until hot. Add prepared raw stems and stir fry in the hot oil for 3 minutes. Cover with a lid, reduce the heat, and cook for a further 1 minute. Turn off the heat, add finely chopped garlic to taste and drizzle with a little honey or agave syrup and gluten-free teriyaki marinade. Put the lid back on and leave to stand in the residual steam for a further minute. Drain the stems, reserving the juices, and pile into a warm serving bowl. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Mix a little sesame oil into the pan juices and serve alongside the stems as a dressing or dip. Utterly delicious 🙂
Teriyaki and sesame dressed cauliflower stems. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Great name for a recipe eh? What’s more, I haven’t made it up. This is a Scottish classic, and I’ve chosen to post it now for 2 reasons. It’s been very cold here this week and this is fabulous comfort food, and also with the festive season nearly upon us, it is an excellent recipe for using up leftovers. It uses 2 of my favourite vegetables, potatoes and kale (or cabbage).
I love kale. So much flavour and texture, I think it out-strips cabbage and other greens in every way. Up until a couple of years ago, Cavelo Nero, Italian black kale, was my favourite variety, but then along came mini kale and my mind was changed. Very quick to cook, simple to prepare, with a milder, slightly sweet and nutty flavour, it looks very pretty too. The small leaves are also excellent raw in winter salads.
Mini kale. Image: Kathryn HawkinsHeads of mini kale, up close. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
So on with the recipe. Traditionally, this is a very simple combination of leftover cooked potatoes and cabbage fried with onion and then grilled with cheese on top. What’s not to like? The name, by the way, is believed to come from the combination of the “thumping” sound associated with mashing potato and the mixing together of the ingredients (a “rumble”). Here’s my version.
Serves: 3 to 4 as a side dish
Ingredients
150g mini kale, kale, cabbage or other greens (if you have leftovers, you’re halfway there with the recipe already)
500g cooked potatoes (I had some boiled small potatoes with skins on to use up)
25g butter or dairy-free margarine
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 leek, trimmed and shredded (or use thinly sliced onion if you prefer)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
50g grated Scottish Cheddar or dairy-free/vegan grated cheese
If you are starting from scratch, prepare the greens and cook them in lightly salted water for 3-5 minutes until just tender. Drain well.
Put the potatoes in a bowl and mash them to crush slightly.
In a large frying pan, melt the butter with the oil and gently fry the leek for 3-4 minutes until softened (if you’re using onion, cook it gently for longer, until tender).
Stir in the potatoes and greens, and stir fry the vegetables gently together for 5-6 minutes until thoroughly heated. Season well and transfer to a heatproof dish.
Basic preparation of Rumbledethumps. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Preheat the grill to medium/hot. Sprinkle the vegetables with grated cheese and grill for about 5 minutes until golden and bubbling. Serve immediately.
Comfort with every spoonful. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
The best things in life are often the simplest. These wise words certainly apply to my recipe this week. There aren’t many dishes more straightforward than a tattie scone. Just 3 ingredients, plus some oil to cook them in, and that’s it.
The tattie (potato) scone is synonymous with Scotland. Just about every self-respecting baker makes his or her own, and no supermarket bakery aisle is complete without them. The scones are a good way of using up leftover boiled potato which is mashed and bound with wheat flour, but gluten-free works fine. Tattie scones are usually quite thin, but I make mine a bit thicker (about 1cm) as I find the mixture easier to work with. Eat them warm as part of a savoury meal (often served as part of a hearty breakfast) or as a snack spread with butter and jam. The scones make a great alternative to bread as an accompaniment to a soup or stew as they are perfect for mopping up gravy or a sauce.
A tea-time favourite: tattie scones and jam. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
I dug up the last of my home-grown potatoes this week, and decided that there was no better way to enjoy them, than by making up a batch of my own scones. I’ve been growing the same main crop variety (Pink Fir Apple) for a few years now, and haven’t found any other to rival it in texture or flavour. The potatoes are pink-skinned and can be very knobbly indeed. The flesh is creamy-yellow in colour, sometimes flecked or ringed with pink, and when cooked, it becomes dry and floury in texture. The flavour is slightly sweet and earthy. Pink Fir Apples potatoes are perfect for crushed or mashed potato. and also roast well. They can be cooked and eaten peeled or unpeeled.
My last harvest of Pink Fir Apple potatoes. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
Here’s my recipe.
Makes: 6
Ingredients
400g main crop potatoes
1 tsp salt
40g gluten-free self-raising flour blend (such as Dove’s Farm)
Vegetable oil for frying
Peel the potatoes thinly, cut into small pieces, and place in a saucepan. Cover with water and add half the salt. Bring to the boil and cook for 8-10 minutes or until completely tender. Drain well through a colander or strainer, and leave to air-dry for 10 minutes.
Return the potatoes to the saucepan and mash finely with a potato masher. If you have a ricer, use this to achieve a super-smooth texture.
While the mash is still fairly hot, add the remaining salt and sift the flour on top. Gently work the ingredients together to make a pliable dough.
Ricing the potatoes. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
Making and rolling the potato dough. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
Turn the dough on to a lightly floured work surface and roll to form a round about 18cm diameter – roll to 20cm for slightly thinner scones. Cut into 6 triangular wedges.
Brush a large frying pan or flat griddle pan generously with oil and heat until hot. Cook the scones for 2-3 minutes on each side until lightly golden. Drain and serve warm. You can reheat the scones successfully, by either popping them in the frying pan again or under the grill to lightly toast them.
Straight out of the pan and spread with my favourite topping: homemade raspberry jam. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
