Getting brave with Brassicas

I have mentioned that I have a love-hate relationship with brassicas, but I think that, at last, I’m growing up.  I’ve had to because we grow them – a lot – and I’ve had to think of creative ways of dishing them up.  In the last three or so months, we’ve had more broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage than we’ve known what to do with.  So, I’ve learned to be a bit more adventurous….sometimes….

Cabbage

Red Cabbage - cutI avoid white cabbage – like the plague.  White cabbage, presented as a seasonal vegetable in any establishment, will guarantee my never returning.  Red cabbage is beautiful – inside and out, and in addition to doing it in a slaw (usually with a French dressing), I also cook it.  My mother used to make “Apple Cabbage” – a family favourite.  So do I, but with a twist.  She would sauté chopped onion, and then add the shredded cabbage and a chopped apple (no water other than that on the cabbage, if you’ve had to rinse it).  I do all of this and add a good glug of apple cider vinegar.  In addition to enhancing the flavours, the vinegar stops the red cabbage from going blue.  Instead, it remains a gorgeous purple.

Cabbage cooked this way is a wonderful accompaniment to a roast and/or any meal, particularly pork or beef; it’s a wonderful blast of colour in any meal.  Also, and useful to know when one is cooking for only two, like I often do, prepared this way, the cabbage freezes well, with no deterioration in the flavour, so one can cook an entire cabbage, portion it and store to use at another time.

For some of our friends, I’m delighted to say, this is a very popular part of my repertoire!

cauliflower2Cauliflower

Like cabbage, overcooked cauliflower is good for neither man nor beast and brings back not-so-great memories of institutional food.  It’s a smell that’s hard to get out of one’s head.  Anyway, having happily discovered roasted cauliflower, I was game to experiment, myself.

A few weeks ago, we had a surfeit of cauliflowers that were beginning to look like many-tentacled creatures from outer space rather than the beautiful white crowns that we are used to.  That meant that whole roasted cauliflower was out of the question.

Cauli_before_after_roast2014Not to be thwarted, I decided to break up the cauli into florets and to roast them with a bit of olive oil, garlic and chopped bacon.  Once roasted, I sprinkled this with grated Parmesan and, wow, was it delicious!

Broccolini_cheatCheat’s Broccolini

Like the cauliflower, the broccoli was also beginning to bolt, thanks to an unseasonal but welcome warm spell.  That meant broccoli soup and/or broccoli and blue were out of the question.  Blanched broccoli in a salad is delicious, so I came up with this very simple broccoli(ni) salad:

I tidied up, blanched and refreshed the stalks, and laid them out on a platter.  Over that I sprinkled a crushed clove of garlic, the  juice of a lemon, salt and pepper and, of course, olive oil.  Difficult, hey?

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Autumn – preparing for spring (and winter!)

Although the grape harvest in our valley seems to be later this year, autumn seems to have arrived early.  Along with this, we have had a wonderful experience:  a pair of swallows building a nest in preparation for the spring.  100_2476Jack and Jill are Greater Striped Swallows, indigenous to Africa, and they summer south of Namibia, and winter in Northern Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.  They will leave us in two to three weeks’ time.  Their nests are characterised by a tunnel which they will build when only when they return in the spring.100_2475

Clever little birds, planning for the future, I reflected as I made basil pesto on Sunday.

Basil pesto

You will need a very, very generous picking of sweet basil, leaves stripped from the stems and the damaged leaves discarded.

Rule of thumb:  about two-thirds more basil than nuts and Parmesan or Pecorino cheese, coarsely grated.

About the nuts:  traditional (and the best) pesto is made with pine nuts.  They are expensive so I substitute them with cashews which also have a high oil content.  To enhance the flavour, toast them in a dry pan, allowing them to cool before you crush and add them to the other ingredients.

One or two cloves of garlic.  Be careful with the garlic:  even if you like lots of garlic, remember that combining dairy with garlic makes the garlic flavour stronger.  I’ve learned this the hard way…..

Basil, garlic, grana pradano

Then, of course, the ubiquitous pinch of salt which is optional if you’re not using a pestle and mortar (which does make the best pesto…), and because the salt does help with the maceration of the leaves and the garlic. Enough olive oil to make a thick paste.   I usually add it as I go along.

Bung all the leaves into the food processor, with the garlic cloves and whiz for a few seconds – not too long;  then add olive oil and the other ingredients and whiz or pulse until you have a good, thick paste, adding more olive oil as you need.

Basil_inBlender

Bottle as you would other preserves, in sterilized jars and top with olive oil to keep it fresh.

Make a caprese salad, enjoy on pasta, sandwiches, as a dip with yoghurt for crudites or as an accompaniment to  whatever you please!

Tomatoes & pesto branded