Southwestern Succotash and Griddled Polenta

It's been a long time - I know. I have started an allotment blog (www.theallotmentblog.co.uk) and am failing to keep this or that updated. But both have been very useful to me, as memory aid and inspiration, so I'm going to do my best to keep them going.

We have just returned from a trip to Canada - where we ate so much good food! Tofino, Vancouver and Victoria in particular are great places for foodies. All of my holiday shopping was food-related, and included 'smoky southwest' seasonings, chocolate for cooking, a madeleine tray, cookery books and new table napkins for autumn. When oh When will Williams-Sonoma open a store in the UK? Preferably in Exeter...

This recipe is based on a southwestern ratatouille that I ate at Coyote's Grill in Banff (PICTURED ABOVE). It was served with polenta, which was cooked a bit more softly than I've decided I like. I also took inspiration from the recipe for Lima Bean and Corn Succotash in Bon Appetit, which I read and then lost at Calgary airport (and am now subscribed to both Gourmet and Bon Appetit - there are so many wonderful food magazines in Canada!). The bean, corn and squash combination is the '3 Sisters' from the allotment and this dish makes the most of all three, which are now - of course - in season. (I loved the roadside pumpkin patches on Vancouver Island!) Anyway - less talk, more eating.

POLENTA
1 cup polenta (Merchant Gourmet)
4 cups warm water
Pinch vegetable bouillon
1tsp salt and pepper
1tsp butter
100g feta

Cover a small baking tray with cling film and set close by. Bring water + bouillon to a rolling boil and tip in the polenta, stirring. Now protect your hands as the thickening polenta bubbles madly! Ouch! Stir frequently (but not constantly) over medium heat for five minutes. Stir in the butter, seasoning and feta, crumbled, and smooth the mixture into a slab on the baking tray. Cool for about an hour. This makes enough for 4 people. To finish, cut into 8 triangles (toast-sized slices) and put onto a hot griddle that has been brushed with oil. Griddle for about 20 minutes until golden and crunchy on both sides - surprisingly good!

Succotash
1/2 butternut or other sweet squash, diced 1cm
2 small corn cobs, corn removed
1 cup borlotti, broad or soya beans
2 tomatoes, chopped
1tsp tomato puree
Pinch sugar, salt and pepper
1 jalapeno, diced
1tbsp each basil and coriander, sliced
Squeeze lemon juice

Simmer the borlotti for about 20 mins in light stock, adding the corn 5 mins before the end. Warm some olive oil and cook the squash gently for 30 minutes, adding the tomatoes, puree, seasonings and half a cup of water 5 mins from the end (for quite a dry result). Stir in the beans and lemon juice, turn heat to high and warm through; add herbs and serve.

A new kind of squash stew, and meatballs (the horror!)

Having roasted a whole shoulder of lamb for three people on the weekend, my dear better half left the remains in the kitchen for me to deal with*. I hate wasting food. So I searched online to find out what other people do with leftover cooked bits of meat. Husband won't eat the same thing twice and he turns up his nose at cold meat sandwiches. I found lots of ideas: moussaka, lamb crumble, shredded lamb with spices and flatbreads, and rissoles. I decided that rissoles seemed the easiest way to use up the lamb as an addition to a vegetable stew that I was planning. So this concoction was born.

The vegetable stew I'd planned was a variation on Deborah Madison's squash and spinach stew, which she flavours with a base of almonds (say 12 for two people), dried chillies (3), a tsp of cumin and a few sesame seeds. She toasts and grinds these to add to softened onions and form an aromatic base for the stew.

It doesn't sound like much but it's a deliciously original combination of flavours, and it really lifts an ordinary tomato-and-vegetable stew. So I have started using the almond-chilli-cumin base as the starting point for almost any combination of vegetables and lentils. Yesterday's had a few coriander seeds added (and rosewater would have been good, if I'd thought of it). Softened onions, ground spices, then chunks of squash and cooked (leftover) courgette slices, a couple of scoops of (no-soak) red lentils, a tin of tomatoes, and simmer for 20 minutes. Ta da! Simple, low fat, and highly flavoured. It's sort of like chilli, I suppose, but the almonds give it a more unique taste.

On top of his, husband had these delicious-smelling meatballs:

In mini chopper or food processor, mince:
2 packed cupfuls cooked lamb
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 fat clove garlic
Juice of 1/4 lemon
1tbsp finely chopped mint
1tbsp finely chopped coriander stalks

Season, then add a beaten egg. Chill for as long as poss. Flour your hands and squeeze firmly to make smallish meatballs, and fry in very little olive oil until brown and crusty on both sides. Top with yoghurt/lemon juice/mint if liked.

* I am a vegetarian, of course, but not one of the unbearably squeamish or preachy sort. No crying over bones for me.

SQUASH, LEEK, & FETA FRITTATA

I am reading such a great book at the moment: 'Vegetable Heaven' by Catherine Mason. There's plenty of inspiration - vegetables with new partners and flavours - without anything too complex or demanding. Probably one reason why the recipes all sound so great is that a lot of them revolve around cream and cheese - an important source of protein when your diet is mainly veg, but not exactly heart-healthy. She describes a tart made with feta, cream and squash, and when I was looking in the fridge last night for something fast, I decided that feta and squash probably was a happy partnering.

I just pared down the fat a little and served it with some steamed potatoes. This isn't low-fat all the same, but for a weekend indulgence that's quick and easy, it's perfect.

1/2 medium squash, roasted with 1tbsp chopped sage
2 slender leeks, sliced
5 eggs, beaten with 2tbsp low-fat creme fraiche
75g feta cheese, crumbled

Serves 2

Saute the leeks in a frying pan, just until they soften - not brown - maintaining the bright green colour. Throw in the squash and turn it for a moment to warm up. Now make sure the veg are evenly distributed, then tip in the egg and creme fraiche mixture. Preheat the grill to high. Swirl the pan to make sure there are no gaps and scatter the feta evenly over the top. Keep over a med-high heat for a couple of minutes, until browned underneath (peep using a spatula). Slide the pan under the grill until it's set on top and serve in wedges.

Cooking for St David...
Happy St David's day! Here are some favourite ways with leeks, goat's cheese, lamb and cake... stalwarts of Welsh eating...

Leek & Goat's Cheese Quiche
Make up a batch of wholemeal pastry (Weigh out 4oz wholemeal flour, 4oz plain flour, and a pinch of salt; rub in 2oz butter, 2oz vegetable fat, and add iced water to mix) and pop into the fridge while you prepare the quiche. Soften 2 leeks (washed and chopped) in a frying pan with a dab of butter, then season, and set aside to cool. In a jug, whisk 2 eggs with 2tbsp grated cheddar or parmesan, 100ml double cream and 100ml milk, seasoning generously and adding chives if you like. Now assemble the quiche: roll out the pastry to fit a 20cm flan tin, and scatter the leeks over the bottom. Carefully pour on the egg mixture, scatter 100g crumbled Welsh Goat's Cheese over the top, and slide into a moderate oven. Bake for about 40 minutes, then rest before serving.

Roast Squash with Leeks and Pine Nuts
The squash is an easy all-in-one dinner: just cut in half, then scoop out and discard the seeds, and also cut out some of the golden flesh - cube it and set aside. Put the squash shells on a roasting tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle on some salt and pepper. Roast for around 30-4o minutes, until tender and golden. Meanwhile prepare the filling: saute the cubes of flesh with 1 chopped leek, stir in 1tbsp Parmesan, and continue to fry until toasty. Cram the filling into the cooked squashes, scatter pine nuts and extra Parmesan over the top, and return to the oven for 10 minutes to get gold and crunchy on top. Straight from God's land to the fork!

Rustic Goat's Cheese Bread with Thyme
I have this baking in the machine as I type! I can't wait to eat it this evening with the roasted squash (above). Delia offers a hand-baking recipe for goat's cheese bread with thyme which is already a favourite in our house (with the addition of potato - it's bliss!), but I'm afraid work demands a less time-demanding recipe at the moment!

So - this comes from sumptuous book 'Traditional Breads for your Breadmaker'. In a breadmaker, combine 1.5tsp instant yeast with 2 cups white flour, 1 cup country grain flour, 1tsp salt, 1tbsp sugar, 2tbsp sunflower oil, 50g crumbled goat's cheese, 1tsp fresh thyme, and 1 cup warm water. Set to the 'white' programme... (recipe by Karen Saunders)

If it's cold or rainy and you want some comfort food, try traditional lamb stew - cawl (quick popty-ping version here) and Welsh cakes!

ROASTED PUMPKIN WITH TAGLIATELLE AND GOAT'S CHEESE

This deceptively simple recipe is just so delicious, I could eat it all year. Which is just as well, since we still have 4 pumpkins to use up....

Even if you don't think you like pumpkin, or goat's cheese, give it a try; you will be surprised. (Tesco's Welsh Goats Cheese is a good, mild version that isn't remotely offensive.)

FOR TWO
0.5 pumpkin or large squash (or thereabouts - you will probably nibble it from the tray before it goes in the pan, so make extra)
Olive Oil
Salt and pepper
1 handful pine nuts
2tbsp chopped Sage
1 dstsp butter
Tagliatelle
1 log Goat's Cheese (or Brie), crumbled into large pieces

Peel (oh heck), de-seed and cube the pumpkin or squash. Spread on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil,salt and pepper. Roast at about 180 degrees C for around 40 minutes (thereabouts), until browning and scrumptious. (this is where I start picking at it. Yum!) Put dinner plates in the oven, switch it off and close the door.

Take a large pan and boil the pasta briefly - don't overcook -undercooking is better. Put it in a colander and rinse with cold water. Then return the pan to the heat, melt the butter and add the pine nuts and sage. Allow to gently brown, then throw in the pasta and stir to coat and reheat. When all hot, add the cheese and pumpkin and toss gently.

Dish up onto the hot plates and eat..... ooh, bliss.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP
with chilli and coconut

This soup is heavenly. I had a similar one at a restaurant - Jack-in-the-Green (Rockbeare) - on Friday and decided to try to recreate it. It was scrummy-licious! My efforts were pretty good, even if I say so myself...

1 butternut squash (large) or Sweet Mama squash (medium), peeled, de-seeded and chopped into large chunks
1 large red chilli (all the flesh and about 1/4 of the seeds)
1 onion, chopped into large chunks
1/2 tin coconut milk
Pinch Marigold vegetable bouillon
Salt
Half a lime
Flaked almonds, dry-toasted in a pan

Soften the squash, chilli and onion in a covered saucepan and leave over a low heat for 10 minutes, until golden in places. Sprinkle on the bouillon and stir.

Pour in the coconut milk, and top up with hot water. Bring to a simmer, cover, and leave to plip-plop gently for about 20-30 minutes.

Allow to cool, and blend. Season with salt and lime juice. Scatter with toasted almonds to serve.

PUMPKIN LASAGNE, ANYONE?

Pumpkin lasagne might sound strange, but when you have got a shelf of pumpkins leftover from the winter and nothing but an old jar of pesto in the fridge, it all clicks into place.

This started as a Cranks recipe (Nadine creates a three-layered lasagne, with a mushroom layer and a spinach layer) but I tried it once with mushrooms and didn't like it. And pumpkins & spinach aren't in season at the same time, so that isn't much good. Leeks are okay, mixed with creme fraiche or ricotta, and sandwiched in the middle layer. But nowt wrong with this just as it is.

Strange, but go with it...

PUMPKIN LASAGNE

Half a huge pumpkin, or a whole medium pumpkin
Pesto
Salt and pepper
Lasagne Sheets
1tbsp butter
1tbsp plain flour
1.5pt milk

Peel, de-seed and chop the pumpkin. This is one of the worst kitchen jobs in the world. In fact, right now I have half a pumpkin on the kitchen worktop with a giant knife sticking out of it. Couldn't get it out, and was weak from hacking.

Anyway, pumpkin chunks go onto a baking tray, seasoned, drizzled with olive oil, and roasted at high heat for 20-30mins.

When they come out, turn them gently in about 1tbsp pesto on the tray and leave while you make the white sauce.

Melt the butter, add flour and stir until it's a paste. Stir in the milk, a little at a time, whisking. When all the milk's in, increase the heat and allow to come to simmering point, stirring until it's thickened. (But not too thick - you want a light bechamel) Add the grated cheese (a good handful, or more if you like cheese a lot - and almost any cheese is fine here, like cheddar, ricotta, and particularly the vegetarian Parmesan you can get in Sainsburys)

All you do now is layer the lasagne - pumpkin, lasagne, bechamel, etc - until you get to the top, slather with the remaining sauce, sprinkle with parmesan and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes on a medium heat.

You'll need garlic bread and a mustardy salad on the side.