Good old Cavolo Nero

Hello there everyone,

Thanks for checking out our blog, and our recipes to make the most out of your box of vegetable delights! In yesterday's box you had a selection of potatoes, spring onions, mixed beets, yellow carrots, yellow beans, courgette, cavolo nero and parsley.

Cavolo Nero belongs to the brasicca family, and is Italian by origin. It's super healthy containing lutein, Vitamin's A, C and K it also has copper, fibre, iron, calcium, B vitamins and manganese. The other good news is it also tastes great, and is pretty versatile. 

With young leaves, they can be stir fried, steamed, boiled and made into a soup. If stir fried, dress with sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds, if steamed dress with olive oil and sea salt and cracked black pepper. Young leaves can be used whole, with larger leaves take out the central nerve and slice into strips. 

Cavolo Nero, keeps best in a zip lock bag in the fridge. If it goes soft, it can be refreshed in a bowl of cold water.

Now for the more exciting part.... the recipe. A classic Italian soup called Ribollita....

Ribollita.. The recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 medium red onion, chopped into 1/2 cm dice

250 g of carrots, peeled and chopped into 1/2 cm dice

1/2 head of celery , chopped 1/2 cm dice

2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped finely

40 g of flat leaf parsley, chopped finely

1 tin of cannelini or borlotti beans,drained

1x 400 g tin of chopped tomatoes

1 bunch of cavolo nero, washed, nerve removed and coarsely chopped

1/2 loaf of old bread

extra virgin olive oil

1. In a large saucepan on a low heat, sweat the onion, celery,carrot,garlic and parsley in olive oil. This should take around 20-30 mins. 

2. Add your tomatoes and cook for another 30 mins.

3. Next add your beans, cavolo nero, and just enough water or vegetable stock to cover. Simmer for 20- 30 mins.

4. Cut up your stale bread into small pieces and add to the soup.

5. If needed add some more stock or water however the soup should still remain quite thick.

6. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with extra virgin 

olive oil.

7. Chop over a little more finely chopped parsley and serve. 

NOTE- If made 1 or 2 days in advance the soup will taste even better. 

Bon Appetit!

Something to try with yellow beans

           Yellow bean and tomato stew

Yellow beans can be used exactly like a green Haricot bean. They can be roast, steamed, boiled and stir fried. Add them to curries or turn them into delicious salads. Try an Ottolenghi style salad, by roasting the beans till slightly golden, dressing with an orange and hazelnut vinaigrette, adding some orange zest and  some chopped hazelnuts and lots of chopped parsley. Yellow beans love all soft herbs such as chervil, tarragon, parsley, basil, chives, coriander and marjoram. One of my personal favs is dressing them with a herbed butter, adding a pinch of nutmeg, some pan fried lardons and a good healthy grating of Parmesan 

(by healthy I mean lots)!! DELICIOUS!!

However here is another little recipe to try. As featured in today's veg boxes... yellow bean and tomato stew. Feel free to bulk out with some pan fried courgette, a handful of mange tout....or whatever takes your fancy. Just think Mediterranean style flavors!! 

The Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 2

1 garlic clove

400g of ripe sauce tomatoes like SAN MARZANO,(they stock in Migros Verbier)

300g yellow beans

1 tbsp of thyme leaves

2 tbsp of olive oil

1/2 a red chilli, deseeded and finely diced

1 tbsp of basil leaves chopped, reserve the stalks to flavor the sauce

1. First prepare your beans. Take the tops of each bean(this is the part where the bean was attached to the stem). Chop the beans across in two. In a pan of boiling, salted water cook the beans till tender, this normally takes 6 mins. Check by inserting a knife.

2. When cooked drain your beans and run under cold water. Ideally if you have some ice, place your beans in iced water to cool fast.

3. In a saucepan, sweat of your garlic in a little olive oil for 1 minute.

4. Roughly dice your tomatoes and add to the garlic along with the basil stalks, two tbsp of olive oil, thyme and the chilli.

5. Cook over a medium heat for around 20 mins or until your sauce starts to thicken slightly. 

6. Taste for flavor, add some sea salt, pepper and more olive oil, until you are happy with the taste.

7. Add your cooked yellow beans, and stir through to reheat for a couple of minutes.

8. Finally add your chopped basil and drizzle with olive oil.  

Warm salad of pan fried baby turnips, lardons, toasted hazelnuts and apple with a sweet mustard dressing

Ingredients

Serves 4-6 depending on how hungry you are!!

1 bunch of turnips, washed

1 bunch of radishes, washed

2 tbsp of hazelnuts

1 granny smith apple

1 pack of lardons

salad leaves

Dressing

1 tbsp of granary mustard

1 tbsp of white wine or cider vinegar

2 tbsp of best quality olive oil

1 tbsp of maple syrup

1. Prepare your dressing. Place the mustard, vinegar, olive oil and maple syrup in a bowl. Whisk together and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

2.Preheat your oven to 170 oc, toast your hazelnuts for 10 mins or until golden brown. Leave to cool then rub off the skins. This is best done using a clean tea towel, pop your hazelnuts in the middle, gather up the ends of the tea towel and rub on your worktop to remove the skin. Crush with the back of your knife and set aside. 

3. Finely slice your apple, squeeze a little lemon juice over to prevent browning. Set aside.

4. Wash your radishes, slice finely and set aside.

5. Quarter your turnips. Over a medium to high heat, melt a little butter in a frying pan, when foaming add your turnips. The aim is to get some nice colour on them. Turn occasionally, when ready season with salt and pepper and tip onto a plate.(This should take around 5mins)

6. In the same frying pan, add your lardons, cook till golden brown and crispy.

7. Now compose your salad, place your washed leaves in a bowl, add some dressing, just enough to coat the leaves. Add the radishes and apple and mix well.

8. Serve the leaves on a plate, topped with the warm turnips, toasted hazelnuts and crispy lardons. Drizzle over a little more dressing and sit back and enjoy! xx

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Courgette, parsley and mint soup.. delicious hot or cold...

Courgette, mint and parsley soup, with sage crutons and sautéed courgette....

Ingredients

serves 4

4tbsp of oil

1 knob of butter

2 garlic cloves

1 onion

4 courgettes

300g peas

a handful of mint

a handful of parsley

500ml vegetable stock

100ml of cream

stale bread for croutons

garlic for croutons

sage leaves

1. Preheat the oven to 170 oc for the croutons. Cut the bread into whatever size chunk you want. Place on a tray and sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper, add your sage leaves and a couple of bashed garlic cloves.

2. Place in the oven for around ten mins, or until golden and crispy!

3. Finely dice your onion and crush the garlic. Heat the butter and oil in a heavy based saucepan over a medium heat, add the onion, garlic and some salt, cook until soft but no color.

4. If using parsley from gerwins greens, take of the stalks and tie them with a little string. Add to the saucepan to flavor the base of the soup. ( this will be taken out before being blended)!!

5. Slice 3 courgettes, and add to the saucepan. Cook gently for 5 mins and then add your veg stock.

6. Bring up to a gentle boil before adding your peas, cook for 3 mins and finally add the majority of the parsley,the mint and cream.

7. Remove your parsley stalks, and blitz the soup in batches in a blender till smooth.

8. Check for seasoning, I normally add salt and cayenne pepper. 

9. Finally dice your courgettes, place a non stick frying pan on the stove and over a high heat sautee the courgette until you have some color.

10. Place the soup in your bowls, add some croutons and gently pile up some courgette chunks. Drizzle with olive oil and add some chopped parsley and mint....Enjoy!xxx

If you want to eat your soup chilled, cool down over ice when ready. To serve  place in bowls that have been refrigerated. I would also omit the croutons.