River Cottage

Dear all,

Starting a new job has filled up my life again and I have a touch of ‘meeting myself coming backwards’ none-the-less the veg cooking continues.

Quick cous cous salad with peppers and feta – I prepared this as our ‘pot luck’ contribution to lunch in Coventry when BA was teaching.  I love ‘pot luck’ lunches. Almost with the same joy there is when eating tapas with a little of a lot of choices. Coventry has been a sanctuary for me and we share many beautiful meals together and I love spending time with my friends there.  Especially, my new and rather beautiful friend, Maya.

Spring onion gallete – I am smiling inside and out when I write about this long awaited dinner with our cracking neighbours J & R and my AMIL and AFIL.  I wanted to get them together for so long and we finally got to share a meal.  Spring onion gallete was the main event and looks so lovely and elegant but was surprisingly easy to put together. 

Pasta with raw tomato - Wow! This is another one of those great moments with cooking from River Cottage Veg.  Living in the knowledge you have learned something that you will cook again and again.  As simple as it is, this ticks a lot of boxes for us.  Especially when preparing food to share with others.  This is so simple, I can’t help but wonder how I hadn’t tried it before.  It’s likely we have all the ingredients to hand (or could get them wherever we are in the world) plus the ingredients are adaptable but the far best thing about this is the magnificent end result of letting raw tomato, raw garlic, capers, chilli, basil and oil just sit together for an hour.  Such a marvelous, fresh flavour, and one I feel blessed I know now.

Frittata with summer veg and goats cheese – I let out a giggle when I saw the photo of this frittata.  It reminds me of the North, South differences in our food during our childhoods.  BA talks so fondly of a Yorkshire Spanish Omelette he remembers eating as a child and I smile because it initially sounded a touch bonkers to me, the Southerner who never put peas in an omelette.  This is pretty close to the Yorkshire SpanishOmelette I have shared with BA and I love it.

Halloumi, new potato and tomato kebabs – In the absence of the weather suited to a barbeque, we opt for grilling.  Even without that lovely smokey quality this is pretty wonderful.  I particularly enjoy the flavours created on the plate by squishing the tomato with the back of my fork where it mingles with the marinade and can dress everything you have on the plate.  I did burn the bay leaves…but feel sure it’s done the work.

Fish-free salad nicoise – We don’t miss the fish, not a bit.

Squash and fennel lasagne – I have come to realise I have come to enjoy the simple pleasure of steeping onion and bay in milk.  My only wish, and not specific to RC lasagne is it seems creamy white sauces seem to go cold on the plate too quickly and it changes the flavour experience for me.  Hot and bubbling is my preference so it will do for me to remember to warm the plates, serve a smaller portion and then go back for warm seconds.

Red cabbage, parsnip, orange and dates – I am beginning to sound as if my palate was limited before embarking on this project as so many pages in the book are a first time flavour experience for me.  This dish is another first.  Raw parsnip is not something I have considered before and I just can’t imagine why not?  It’s a real head scratcher.  This winter salad is delicious and crunchy and I feel the familiar vibration that my insides have received food that is doing me good.

With continuing affection for RC, vegetables and willing family and friends.

Clair.