Spring Vegetables at their BEST!
JERSEY BENNE, PEA, AND BACON SALAD
Serves 6
250g fresh peas or French beans
250g new season potatoes - jersey benne
1 lettuce - cos, romaine or iceburg
1 red onion, finely sliced
150ml crème fraiche
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper
Pod the peas and cook in the peas and potatoes in separate pans of salted boiling water until tender. Drain and cool. Cut into small pieces. Separate the lettuce and wash them and drain well. Shred finely. Add the lettuce to the peas, potatoes, red onion and stir in the crème fraiche and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and place onto a serving plate and enjoy.
500g carrots
30g butter
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon honey
Sprig of fresh thyme
1 handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped roughly
Peel and trim the carrots, if the odd carrot is larger than the rest cut into half length ways to even the size. Put them in a fairly large pan. Add the butter, salt, sugar, thyme and enough water to just cover them. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and cook gently until tender, about 10-15 minutes. Continue cooking, shaking the pan every few minutes, until the cooking liquor is completely reduced and the carrots are coated in a shiny glaze. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve.
CARROTS WITH BACON
Serves 6
4 slices good quality bacon, rind removed and dice
20g butter
700g carrots, peeled or scraped and sliced
500ml any stock
Sprig of thyme, bay leaf, parsley
Generous crack of pepper
Salt
Fry the diced bacon in butter over a medium heat for 5 minutes until starting to brown. Add the carrots, stock and herbs. Season with salt and pepper. Cook gently until the carrots are very tender, 15- 20 minutes depending on their size. Serve.
FRESH PEAS AND PUHOE
Serves 6
40g butter
1 onion, sliced
1 kg fresh shelled peas
300g fresh puhoe, coarsely shredded
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper
Heat the butter in a large pan. Add the onions, cover and cook over a low heat for 5 minutes. Add the peas, puhoe, sugar and season. Simmer over a low heat for 15 minutes.
FRESH MINTED PEA DIP
This is a fresh dip to serve with a selection of lovely spring vegetables
200 ml natural yoghurt
1-2 handfuls of fresh mint, leaves picked from stalk
2 handfuls of fresh podded peas
A handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Juice of ½ a lemon
Tiny amount of wasabi paste (optional)
Whiz the yoghurt and mint up in a food processor for halt a minute or so. Add the peas and parmesan and whiz again - the peas will break down and the yoghurt will become green. Put into a bowl, correcting the seasoning with salt and pepper, lemon juice and wasabi paste if using. Stir well and chill until required.