vegetable overload!

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wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 05 10:36 am Post subject: vegetable overload!

Having had a blonde moment, preparing for the arrival of my new kitchen, I cooked enough-reheat-when-the-workman-have gone food to feed an army, but forgot to cancel the vegetable box. Having not cooked at all last week, I now have pounds and pounds of potatoes, carrots, parsnips, onions, a butternut squash (still) the usual salads, half a dozen lemons, lots of butter and eggs, bacon and one or two new things, on top of all the usual cabbage, broccoli, cauli, beans, toms, mushrooms etc etc etc. and fresh beetroot.

What on earth do I do with curly kale (I think)

The plan at the moment, is to make a big beef stew/pie/pudding with the root vegetables, soup out of the beetroot and cellery, nettle soup to use up the spuds, lemon curd to sort out the lemons and butter and rhubarb and custard for the eggs.

Any suggestions for any of the stragglers - especially potatoes and curly kale (and possibly bacon?). My meat box comes tommorow, so they'll be plenty of meat too! Isn't this supposed to happen in autumn?

Northern_Lad

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 14210
Location: Somewhere

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 05 10:52 am Post subject:

I treat the Kale in the same way as cabbage - don't know if that's right, but it tastes OK.

Shed some up and chuck into a hot pan, add in a small amount of water (enough to create about 5 minutes of steam with a lid on) place lid on. After 5 minutes, remove lid and add in salt, pepper and a touch of nutmeg. When ready to serve (any time you want after the water's gone) add in a knob of butter and mix through.

snowball
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 6240
Location: swindon

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 05 11:00 am Post subject:
Lentil and vegetable soup. You can use the bacon in that too.

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 05 11:04 am Post subject:

Yes, kale, not that I recall ever eating it, is basically posh cabbage with a nice outfit and a title. I think you can steam it, stir fry it, or best of all do it Northern Lads way with butter. I did some cabbage with lots of crushed garlic much the same way a few weeks ago and it was very nice, and I don't even really like cabbage.

Carrot, onions, beans, cabbage, mushrooms, all could make some nice stirfries. The squash should keep a while so don't hurry with that.

I have a fine suggestion for the spuds and toms though. Have I posted my "Italian" potato pie recipe somewhere on here? You'll also need some mozzarella or some other kind of soft, meltable cheese, but other than that you have all the ingredients and it's much tastier than you would think with such simple stuff.

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 05 11:12 am Post subject:

Kale is wonderful stuff. It has an affinity with bacon and/or feta cheese and/or green or brown lentils. Also an essential ingredient of caldo verde. If you want it just plain, then Northern Lad has given the definitive instructions!

To use up some of the potatoes, how about rösti? My version is to grate 3 or 4 small spuds and finely chop an onion. Mix well together with lots of S&P. Add some oil to a frying pan and bung in the potato mixture and pat it down. Fry very gently for about half an hour - you want to drive off as much moisture as possible. Then turn up the heat to crisp the bottom. Turn over and repeat on the other side (for 15 to 20 minutes this time). Just ignore it while it's cooking slowly - it won't mind. Serve with a fried egg on top or some apple sauce.

Northern_Lad

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 14210
Location: Somewhere

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 05 11:20 am Post subject:

Judith wrote:

If you want it just plain, then Northern Lad has given the definitive instructions!

It's just something I do with it, I didn't know it was definitive

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 05 11:28 am Post subject:

Northern_Lad wrote:

It's just something I do with it, I didn't know it was definitive

You need to learn to accept compliments - just shrug casually in an "it was nothing" sort of way

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 05 11:48 am Post subject:

Quote:

Having not cooked at all last week, I now have pounds and pounds of potatoes, carrots, parsnips, onions, a butternut squash (still) the usual salads, half a dozen lemons, lots of butter and eggs, bacon and one or two new things, on top of all the usual cabbage, broccoli, cauli, beans, toms, mushrooms etc etc etc. and fresh beetroot.

What on earth do I do with curly kale (I think)

It's like a wholefoods version of ready steady cook

Kale, bacon and potatoes is a great combination. Mashed spuds with some steamed kale and crispy fried bacon bits in it is an Irish classic (should be cabbage, but your curly kale will work brilliantly).

Then there's potato, carrot and parsnip, which I might roast together, or do as a mixed root mash (boil them, mash with butter, and add a grating of nutmeg with lots of pepper).

The beetroot also goes well with the bacon; boil it in the skin, allow it to cool, pull the skin off and dice it, and serve it with the beans (raw if they're green, soaked and boiled and cooled otherwise) and bacon fried off. If you can find some feta cheese, dice that and add it too. Serve it on the kale (steamed through) or boiled eggs.

The broccoli can be steamed through with the cauli, and served with a cheese sauce (in which caremalised onions and bacon go really well).

So many great options there. Butternut squash makes a nice soup; brown off some onions, peel and dice the squash, sautee them in with the onions with some curry powder, add in some stock, cook till it's good and dead and then blend it. Very tasty.

ButteryHOLsomeness

Joined: 03 Apr 2005
Posts: 770

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 05 1:41 pm Post subject:

you could just send me some of your excess, i've got a dehydrator coming

the carrots and potatos will keep in your fridge for awhile. the beetroot could be pickled or you could cook it and cut it up for use in salads, might be nice with the kale.

ooooohhhh having said that, in the american south (my grandmother was from arkansas and my daddy and his family all from tennessee) they do greens (kale being one of them) stewed with onions and bacon and it's heavenly mmmmmm

you could do a google search for collard greens and/or mustard greens and then substitute the kale (i'm desperately missing my grans southern cooking now

)

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 05 9:13 pm Post subject:

I don't need a google search, I can just ask you lot! Thanks so much for all those ideas - I am really looking forward to pottering in my kitchen all day tommorow! How sad is it to get excited over your vegtable box! I'm looking forward the beetroot, as I've never had real beetroot.

I just happen to have bought mozerella today, as it was on offer in waitrose! I also bought some crabmeat from the fishman, which makes great rosti crabcakes. I'm doing a big stew for the root veggies, so we'll try northern lads recipe with that.

I've sent himself with a curly kale salad for work tommorow, as he like the crunch, and I found something to do with the cabbage - I made coleslaw! Troubel is, I finshed it, so I maybe I need to try the kale in that (I hope it is kale after all that - it looks like frilly PSB leaves!)

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 05 9:25 pm Post subject:
Oooh oooh oooh what about turning the potatoes in to potato bread? I've never made my own . I must give it a go. Mmm. Potato bread. Freezes just fantastically and takes up no space at all. Mmmm.

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 05 9:38 pm Post subject:
You're a genius! I'll make goats cheese and potatoe bread, which is really simple, no yeast, ordinary flour, tastes fantastic too - and I've been dying for an excuse to go up the goat farm up the road! I promise to post the recipe in the morning! Where would I be without you lot!

JonO

Joined: 05 Mar 2005
Posts: 119
Location: South Birmingham

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 05 10:10 pm Post subject:

Bizzarly I only tried beetroot again recently (After having it pickled years ago) and I found a recipe to use some up. Makes a nice side dish for some of your meat ?

Melt some butter and a crushed clove (or two) of garlic in a pan, throw in a grated beetroot (peeled) and a grated carrot (also peeled !) then a good dollop of orange juice (I think about 200ml) and stir and simmer for a few minutes then serve. Tastes great and uses up some veg !

Good luck,

Jon.

ButteryHOLsomeness

Joined: 03 Apr 2005
Posts: 770

Posted: Thu Apr 07, 05 12:11 am Post subject:

Bugs wrote:

Oooh oooh oooh what about turning the potatoes in to potato bread? I've never made my own

. I must give it a go. Mmm. Potato bread. Freezes just fantastically and takes up no space at all. Mmmm.

potatoe bread? is that tattie scones you're referring to?

i'd love to learn to make my own tatties scones mmmmmmmmm, one of my favourite 'new' foods when i first came to the uk 6 years ago

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Thu Apr 07, 05 10:45 am Post subject:
It's not really a scone, although I bet you could adapt the recipe, I might make small ones, as they would be great though. The recipes in the potato bread thread, and its really easy, so I definately say give it a go. You can be quite flexible with the ingredients too. What's the wooden thing in your avatar, Buttery? I like the fireplace.

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