Recipes from the Garden

Culinary inspiration for your garden produce

Cooking from your garden is a wonderful way to save money, eat healthily and appreciate the fruits of your labour. Nothing beats picking a fresh salad to accompany your BBQ, gathering a handful of garden veggies to breathe new life in to a left-overs supper, or simply knowing you have all the ingredients to rustle up something delicious whenever you feel like it. With a few garden basics and some fresh herbs anything is possible. Here is some culinary inspiration to help you impress in the kitchen as well!

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Fennel Baked with Butter and Parmesan

Aubergine and courgette caponata

Fragrant spinach

Artichokes with lemon herb butter

Stir fry chilli broccoli

Fennel Baked with Butter and Parmesan

By kind permission of Nigel Slater from “the 30 minute cook”

450g /1lb Fennel bulbs 50g/ 2oz butter 50g/2oz freshly grated parmesan cheese.

1) Cut fennel bulbs in half. Drop them in boiling water and simmer for 5-6 minutes until slightly translucent. 2) Drain and put into an ovenproof dish (cut edges up). 3) Dot with butter, season with fresh ground pepper and top with grated cheese. 4) Bake in a preheated oven 200?C/400?F until golden, basting once with buttery juices.

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Aubergine and courgette caponata

By kind permission of Neil Haydock

1 large aubergine (pale aubergine if you can get them) 2 medium sized courgettes 300ml good olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped 2 Garlic cloves, crushed 3 Celery stalks, chopped 8 Plum tomatoes peeled and chopped 10 Green olives, pitted and quartered 3 tablespoons of pine nuts toasted 50g of fine capers 200ml of red wine vinegar 2 tablespoons of sugar

Wash the aubergine but do not peel. Cut into 2cm cubes and season with salt. Fry in hot olive oil until tender and golden brown. Take out and set aside. Do the same with the courgette. Reduce the heat and sweat the onion in the same oil until tender. Add garlic, celery, tomatoes, and olives. Cook slowly for 10 minutes. Add aubergine, pine nuts and capers. Heat vinegar and stir in sugar. Add to vegetable mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes longer. Serve either hot or room temperature

Before joining The Hotel & Extreme Academy, Watergate Bay, Neil was Executive Chef at Fifteen Cornwall, plus top London restaurants such as Bluebird and at the exclusive Sandy Lane Hotel in Barbados.

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Fragrant spinach

By kind permission of Nigel Slater “the 30 minute cook”

4 large double handfuls of spinach 75g butter, or ghee, 1” knob of fresh root ginger peeled and grated. 1 small, hot green chilli pepper, seeded and chopped. ½ teaspoonful each of cumin seeds, mustard seeds and fennel seeds. 1/2 teaspoonful of garam masala lemon juice.

1) Wash spinach and remove stalks, and plunge leaves into boiling water for 30 seconds and drain. 2) Warm two thirds of the butter or ghee in a high sided pan and add the ginger and chilli. 3) Cook over a low heat for 5 minutes or until soft. Meanwhile, grind the whole spices (seeds) and add them to the pan. Then add the spinach, and cook for a minute over a slightly higher medium heat. 4) Melt the remaining butter into a small pan, add the goram masala and let it foam. Then tip the foaming spice butter over the spinach. 5) Squeeze a little lemon juice over the dish and serve while hot and fragrant.

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Artichokes with lemon herb butter

Jeremy Hosking’s favorite recipe!

Ingredients. 2 globe artichokes 1 teaspoon of finely grated lemon rind. 1 teaspoon spoon finely chopped flat leaf parsley. 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh basil. 50g butter.

1) Cook Artichokes on a large pan of boiling water for 40-45 minutes, until leaves can easily be pulled from the globe. 2) Gently heat the butter and add the lemon rind, parsley and basil. 3) Before serving, drizzle the herb and lemon butter over the Artichokes and serve.

For those who haven’t experienced this delicious vegetable before, full off the leaves and eat the succulent flesh from the base of the leaf, leaving the heart (the best) until last.

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Stir fry chilli broccoli

By kind permission of Nigel Slater “the 30 minute cook”

For 4 as a side dish 2 table spoons ground nut oil. 2 small chilli peppers, seeded and chopped. 1 medium onion finely chopped. 1 clove of garlic, sliced 450g broccoli in large clusters.

Heat wok and pour in the oil. As oil starts to smoke, throw in the chillies onion and garlic. Turn down heat and cook continuously for 2 minutes. When the onion is golden, add the broccoli and stir fry for 5-7 minutes, until broccoli is bright in r and tender to the knife point.

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