OTAGO FARMERS MARKET
To keep these staple ingredients exciting - keep it simple, enhance it with fresh flavours (herbs are excellent) and enjoy these honest flavours that winter offers.
I know i often say thanks to the hard working growers, but for some, at this time of the year when rain has hit hard to crops and produce is limited; they show up week after week filling our basket with locally grown, fresh produce. Thank you once again and i am sure i am speaking from us all - thanks
LEEK GRATIN
Now we’re talking; sweet tender leeks smothered in a creamy cheese sauce and baked until golden and bubbly. Need I say more?
Serves 48 medium size leeks
100g gruyere or any tasty melting cheese
For the white sauce
25g butter
2 Tbsp flour
2 cups milk
1 Tbsp grain mustard
1 tsp salt
1-2 grates freshly grated nutmeg
Method
To make the white sauce - In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat until melted. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Over medium heat, cook until the mixture turns a light, golden sandy colour, about 6 to 7 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the milk in a separate pan until it almost boiling. Add the hot milk to the butter mixture ½ cup at a time, whisking continuously until very smooth. Cook 10 minutes over a low heat, stirring constantly, then remove from heat. Season with salt, mustard and nutmeg, set aside until ready to use.
Preheat the oven to 200C
Half fill a suitable size pot with water and season with salt. Bring to the boil whilst you prepare the leeks.
Trim off most of the dark green of the leek and tidy the other ends if need be, but remember to keep the root end together. Wash the leeks well under running cold water and drain. Cook in the boiling water until tender (5-8 minutes) remove carefully as you want to keep the leeks whole. Drain well on a clean cloth, gently squeezing out excess moisture.
Lay the leeks either in one large oven proof dish or in individual ones. Coat with the white sauce and sprinkle generously with the cheese and a little cracked pepper. Bake in preheat hot oven 180-200C for 20 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and golden. Serve hot.
APPLE GINGERBREAD
This is a recipe handed down from my mother, apples, and ginger with a hint of golden syrup it certainly is a combination hard to resist!Serves 8-12
250g cooking apples, peel, core and sliced thinly
2-4 Tbsp sugar or to taste
90g raw cane sugar
115g or 1/3 cup golden syrup
90g butter
200g self-raising flour
1 tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
1 egg
Method
Preheat oven 180C
Grease and line a 20 cm by 20cm square tin.
Cook the apples with a little water and sugar. Stew gently until tender, then mash and cool.
In a separate pan gently melt the butter, syrup and raw cane sugar together until dissolved. Leave to cool.
Sift the flour, ginger and cloves into a bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the egg to the syrup mixture and beat well into the flour. Stir in the mashed apples and continue to beat until just combined.
Pour into prepared tin and bake for 25-30 minutes or until firm.
Leave to stand in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out to cool on a wire rack; cut into slices.
ROAST SPICED PARNSIP COUS COUS
Serves 4-6
2 cups cous cous
2 cups water or stock
3 parsnips, peeled and cut into bite sized chunks
½ can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 lemons, zest and juice
5 cloves garlic, lightly smashed
1 tsp salt or to taste
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp cumin and coriander
Generous pinch of chilli powder
Good handful of freshly parsley and coriander, roughly chopped
Method
Preheat oven 190C
To begin start by roasting the parsnip by simply placing the parsnips in a bowl with a little drizzle of oil, and the dried spices, season lightly with salt and pepper and toss to combine, pour out onto a suitable baking tray and roast for about 15 minutes. Add the chickpeas to the parsnips and toss to combine with all the juices on the tray, cook for a further 10 minutes or until parsnips are tender.
While the parsnips are roasting, prepare the cous cous base. Put the cous cous into a large bowl, season with a little salt, pepper, lemon zest and add the water or stock it can be either hot or cold the main thing is that the cous cous has time to absorb the liquid which can take up to 30 minutes. Fluff up with a fork and set aside.
Check the parsnips and if tender remove from the oven, add the cooked parsnips and any juices into the cous cous, add the fresh herbs, juice from 1 lemon and drizzle over the extra virgin olive oil. Toss to combine and taste, adjust if necessary serve on its own or with fish, lamb or pork!
TOAD IN THE HOLE
serve 4-6
8 Organicland sausages
25ml oil or dripping
225g flour
3 free-range eggs
275ml milk
½ tsp salt and plenty freshly ground pepper
Method
Preheat oven 200C with a deep-sided 30x20x6cm oven dish
Firstly make the batter – add the flour, salt, eggs and milk into suitable size bowl and whisk together until lump-free and has the consistency of lightly whipped cream. Let the batter sit for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Add a the oil to the hot oven dish and add the sausages, give a gentle shake and place back into oven and cook the sausages for 10 minutes so they start to become golden in colour. Remove from the oven and pour over the batter, return immediately back to the oven (it is vital that the oven dish doesn’t cool down) and cook for 30-40 minutes or until the batter has risen well, gone a lovely golden colour and crispy texture.
Remove from the oven and cut into generous serves which must include a sausage or two and I would recommend good quality onion or leek gravy drizzled over.
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| The men behind two very fantastic gardens which supply us with 100% locally grown produce thank you |
ALISON WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING VENDORS FOR THEIR FANTASTIC PRODUCE.
ORGANICLANDS – gluten free sausages
JANE FIELD HYDROPONICS – coriander
BRYDONE ORGANICS – cauliflower
McARTHURS BERRY FARM – leeks
EVANSDALE CHEESE – fresh cheese
WAIRUNA ORGANICS – parsnips
HARWARDEN ORGANICS – apples
ROSEDALE ORCHARDS – fruit juice