The best bit, however, is the fun of not knowing what I’m
going to receive in each delivery, encouraging me to be inventive with new
recipes, and to cook with some vegetables that I haven’t used before (I’m a big
fan of Jerusalem artichokes now!).
 |
| My delivery! |
What I received this week:
·
Cauliflower
·
Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes
·
Spring onions
·
Peppers
·
(Giant!) Carrots
·
Onions
·
Cabbage
My first challenge was to find
some tasty recipes for Cauliflower, other than Cauliflower cheese! Much easier
than I thought…
Fancy pizza and chips that count towards your ‘5 a day’? Try
Cauliflower Base Pizza served
alongside some Paprika Sweet Potato
Wedges:
Cauliflower Base
Pizza
1)
Break up 1 cauliflower into florets and whizz in
a food processor to make crumbs.
2)
Put the crumbed mixture in the microwave and
cook for 3 minutes. Leave to cool.
3)
Wrap the mixture up in a tea towel and squeeze
to remove as much water as possible.
4)
Put the cauliflower in a bowl and mix with 1 egg
yolk, a bunch of chopped fresh herbs and seasoning to make a mock ’dough’
mixture. Don’t worry, it won’t go into a ball, but the egg should bring it
together slightly.
5)
Spread the mixture out onto some greased baking
paper in a pizza base shape. Cook at 180⁰C for 20-25 minutes until starting to
brown.
6)
Top the pizza with a thin layer of tomato puree
(you don’t want anything too wet, as the base will still hold some water!) and
toppings of your choice. Turn the oven up to 220⁰C and cook for 10-15 minutes
until golden. Prepare to be amazed!
These Cauliflower and
Cheese Fritters are so versatile: Rich and flavoursome on their own with a
salad, they are also perfect as a quirky side dish to any meat course, to accompany
a barbeque, or served cold with some dips at a picnic!
Cauliflower and
Cheese Fritters
(Makes 12)
1)
Break up
½ large cauliflower into small florets and boil for a few minutes. Drain and
pat with paper towel to dry off. Set aside.
2)
Whisk together 100g plain flour with 4 eggs to
make a batter. Stir in 100g cubed cheddar cheese, a cubed mozzarella ball, a
handful of chopped parsley, the cauliflower, a squeeze of lemon juice and
seasoning.
3)
Spoon small amounts of the mixture into a
greased hot frying pan to make circular fritters. Cook until lightly browned on
both sides.
 |
| Cauliflower Fritters and Red Pepper Dip |
With my cauliflower, sweet potatoes and spring onions used
up, I decided to make my own delicious Red
Pepper and Chickpea Dip with the peppers in my delivery. Use like hummus
with crisps or crudités, serve with the cauliflower fritters above, or even use
in sandwiches!
Red Pepper and
Chickpea Dip
1)
Slice 2 red peppers and an onion. Cook gently in
a frying pan until softened and slightly browned.
2)
Put the pepper mix in a food processor, and add
1 tin chickpeas, 1 garlic clove, a bunch of fresh coriander, juice of ½ lemon
and seasoning. Blend until smooth.
Tip: If you want the dip to be slightly wetter, add a
drizzle of olive oil and blend again. Add ½ chilli if you fancy a hint of
spice!
After all of these savoury recipes, I wanted to make
something sweet using my vegetable box and couldn’t resist making a juicy Carrot Cake:
Carrot Cake with
Lime Buttercream Icing
1)
Cream together 125g unsalted butter and 125g
brown sugar.
2)
Whizz in 2 egg yolks (Keep the whites for
later!).
3)
Stir in the juice and zest of ½ orange, ½ tsp. baking powder, 85g self-raising flour,
75-100g chopped nuts (I used walnuts and hazelnuts), 1 large handful grated
carrots,1/2 tsp. cinnamon, pinch of ground nutmeg and ¼ tsp. ground ginger.
4)
Whizz the egg yolks separately, until they form
stiff peaks. Gently stir into the cake mixture.
5)
Put in a lined bread tin tray, and bake at 180⁰C
for 50–60 minutes. Leave to cool.
6)
Make your
icing. Cream together 1 part unsalted butter to 2 parts icing sugar. Whizz in
lime zest and juice to taste. Spread a thick layer of the top of the cake and
decorate with nuts. You won’t stop at one slice!
I used the cabbage to make some tasty Stuffed Cabbage parcels. I browned off some mince with chopped onion,
garlic and dried oregano, before wrapping the mixture up in cabbage leaves and
cooking in the oven at 180⁰C for 30 minutes. I served them with some roasties
and honey-roasted carrots.
Another successful vegetable box, with all my contents put
to good use! A friend has already followed suit and had her own box delivered.
Why not see if something similar is offered in your area? Or have a hunt at
your local market or supermarket for some different vegetables to what you
usually buy.
I’m jetting off to the States now to sample the culinary
delights of the West Coast, so look out for my next post when I return!
Inspiration: My
Cauliflower recipes are adapted from BBC Good Food website, and the Carrot Cake
recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver. And Dom for starting our vegetable deliveries!
