Winter vegetables with North African Salsa

          

Garden Detective

A garden blog by Jessica Damiano that gets to the root of things

...I'm back, and I have some news to report: Carol Barker of the United Kingdom has won a copy of "The Herb Gardener: A Guide for All Seasons," by Susan McClure, for submitting some intriguing uses for all that mint taking over my backyard....

   

Winter vegetables with North African Salsa

 Ingredients 

• 4 ounces or 100 grams of  Carrots
• 4 ounces or 100 grams of  Parsnip
• 4 ounces or 100 grams of  Potato
• 4 ounces or 100 grams of  turnip / swede
• 4 ounces or 100 grams of  green beans
• 4 ounces or 100 grams of  Broccoli florets
•  2/3 sprigs of Fresh Mint
• Large cup of Natural Yogurt 
• Cumin seeds 1 tsp
• Coriander seeds 1 tsp

 Method

 Steam the broccoli florets and green beans until tender (al dente)

 Roast the root vegetables sprinkled with cumin and coriander seeds, sea-salt and ground black pepper.

 Salsa

 Natural yogurt, sweeten with honey and add your chopped mint leaves, season with salt and pepper.

 Spoon the salsa over the hot vegetables, dust with paprika and a pinch of cinnamon.

 Serve at once.

Desert - Mint ice cream.

 

• 568ml carton double cream
  
• 300ml whole milk
  
• 6 large egg yolks
  
• 375g caster sugar
  
• 300g  Dark chocolate chips
  
• 2 green cardamom pods
  
•  3 or 4 Sprigs of fresh mint leaves
  
• 
  

  Method

 Sugar syrup

   Separate the mint leaves from the stems.

   Heat 2 oz. / 200grams of castor sugar and 16 fluid ozs./500mls. cold water in a heavy pan

   Bruise the mint stalks by crushing them then add to pan.

   Boil mixture for 10 minutes then remove stalks.

   Allow syrup to cool

   Blanch mint leaves in boiling water

   Refresh leaves in cold water and then allow them to cool

   Once the sugar syrup has cooled add mint leaves and blend until smooth green consistency is reached.

 

     Ice Cream

    Beat the egg yokes with the remaining sugar until the mixture becomes thick and creamy.

    In a heavy based pan heat the cream and milk until just before they reach boiling point. Pour the hot cream     mixture on to the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly.

    Return the mixture to the pan and heat gently,

    Crush cardamom pods lightly then add to mixture.

    Once mixture has thickened remove the cardamom pods and pour mixture in a bowl

    Allow to cool

    Stir in the cool sugar syrup mint leaf blend and cool for several hours

    Stir in the chocolate chips

     Place in ice cream maker and process until completion

     Serve with mint leaf garnish

Harvest Gold

Cooler days have been beneficial in respect of renewing our interest in making soup. If you have never tried your hand at making your own potion, try it and you will be amazed at just how good homemade soup can be. Many Mediterranean vegetables are ideal candidates for the soup pot. One recent addition to our menu has been the butternut squash; this vegetable a member of the gourd family grows well here but has often been overlooked by us.

 Only last night, I made a Butternut Squash soup that will become a regularly used recipe by us, if you would like to try it here is the method. 

Ingredients:

Large Butternut squash

Large onion

1 tsp ground cumin 

1 tsp ground corriander

Parsley

Thyme

Salt & Pepper    (to taste)

2 pints of stock (chicken or vegetable)

Dry white wine or fino sherry

Fresh Cream

Method:

Peel and de-seed the butternut squash, cut into large chunks (2") and place on a baking tray.

Sprinkle both the cumin and corriander over the squash. Place the tray into a hot oven 180C and roast the squash for 2o mins.

Sweat the chopped onion in a pan. Add the roasted squash and cook for 2 min's. on a high heat.

Add the stock, salt and pepper, and a splash of either dry white wine or 'Fino sherry', now add the parsley and thyme. Cook on a medium heat for 5 min's.

Place the vegetable mixture into a blender and blend until smooth. and then return to pan. Taste and season with  salt and pepper if required. (Tip: adding more parsley and thyme will reduce the need for salt).

Add more water if you desire a thinner soup. Passing the mixture through a sieve is another optional step

Warm the soup before adding a splash of cream. 

Savour the flavour of this soup.