Our member Roselyne, who runs cookery courses professionally, has kindly offered to provide recipes and tips for making the most of our produce. They will be posted here every week or two, and we hope you enjoy them!
So this week our ‘garden-field’ has produced a colourful selection of a star-studded yellow cucumbers and green cucumbers, purple beetroots, some cherry tomatoes, some multicoloured beets, charlotte potatoes, and small and large courgettes! What an array! Let’s see what can be made with these!
First, I grabbed the
home-grown organic green cucumber and prepared it in the way, we French, would
do it; peel the tough skin off using a peeler, and slice thinly using a
mandolin or the slicer edge of a cheese grater. Sprinkle each layer of cucumber
slices with a pinch of sea salt. Cover with a plate and leave in the fridge for
30 minutes to 1 hour. Drain and serve as part of a plate of crudités. Delicious
and fresh, you cannot beat the taste of home-grown cucumber! Half a cucumber
will serve one to two people. The same process can be used with the
star-studded yellow cucumber.
Then, I took the medium size beetroot to complement my salad
plate; peel and grate it raw on the cheese grater side. Dress it with 1 to 1 ½
tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice and ½ teaspoon dried basil. Mix well.
That’s all, but it will taste delicious!
The nitrates in beetroot are converted into nitrites which help open
blood vessels; this helps increase blood flow and bring oxygen to part of the
body lacking in it; it is for that reason that betroot is praised as helping to
improve the performance of sportsmen and women – and those digging the garden!
No doubt!.
Serve the cucumber and beetroot salads with a few cherry
tomatoes.
Charlotte potatoes are also delicious cooked and served
dressed as a salad, but here is a
Courgette and Potato Gratinee recipe which you can make with them: wash and
slice the potatoes thickly (0.5 to 1 cm / ¼ to 1/3 inch) and cook in salted water until the
potatoes are tender. Meanwhile, peel and chop an onion and fry in olive oil
until soft (approx 8 mins), in a medium to large saucepan or skillet. Chop the
courgettes in chunky pieces or thick slices and add to the pan; cook for 4 – 5
minutes, basting them with the oil; you can also add the chopped stalks of the
beets at this stage to this gratinee; (the leaves can be cooked like
spinach). if the stalks are tough, you
can remove the fibrous part by peeling them with a peeler – like you would
celery. Add either four to five fresh
chopped tomatoes or 4 or 5 organic tomatoes (chopped) from a tin, to the pan.
Add fresh chopped thyme, plenty of garlic, some cooked peas or flageolet beans
and seasoning – salt, pepper and 2 tsp bouillon powder. Mix well but gently,
and simmer covered for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and add to the pan.
Transfer onto a baking dish, cover with some grated cheese – cheddar or
parmesan or both, and pop under the grill until golden. Enjoy the taste of the
potatoes, courgettes and beets!
Of course you can make much more using courgettes, soups,
purees, ratatouille, fritters, etc. I am
sure that more courgettes will come our way, so more on using courgettes next
week!
