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Baby Broad Bean Stew

Posted on July 28, 2020July 28, 2020 by flavourie

No matter what you think you know, there is always more to learn! This happened to me when a Greek friend responded to a photo of my Baby Broad Beans and said, I have a lovely recipe you can make with those…

The recipe that followed was more a list of ingredients – a list I might add that seemed incredibly short and looking temptingly easy to make. Further to my #GIY adventures this year, everything I plant has not only sprouted, but taken on an almost Triffid-like quality leaving me petrified for the forthcoming Pea and Bean Armageddon I see looming in my near future!

For that reason, my friend, Nana Karaoulani’s suggestion that I make a traditional Greek dish, heretofore unheard of by me, as a way of making a genius inroad in my Broad Bean Crop, was well-timed and brilliant!

Baby Broad Beans growing happily in my garden…

I do seem to be on a bit of Greek flow at the moment with my food and flavours! It must be the time of year. It’s also one of my favourite cuisines, and there is a strong familial link with this cuisine too. I didn’t hesitate in heading out to my garden and picking off a colander of smaller pods and getting to work in the kitchen.

There is one tiny time consuming activity associated with this dish (aside from growing your own veg, of course!), and that is de-stringing the beans! Usually, when I eat Broad Beans, the labour comes from double-podding: taking the beans out of their furry jackets and removing the outer skin to reveal the tender, bright green flesh within. Now, if you had my childhood, every Broad Bean ever put in front of me was subjected to single podding only. My mother, obsessed with dietary fibre, made us eat the rubber outer skin. She is right of course, but when one becomes an adult, we can do things our way, and I say Double-Podding is worth every moment.

Anyway, with baby Broad Beans (or Fava Beans as you might know them to be), what is required is to top and tail and run a pairing knife down the side seam of each bean to remove the string, keeping the pod intact. Put each bean into a bowl of lemon water to prevent oxidisation and turning the pods black where you cut them. We cook the whole thing, double-pods and all, and let me tell you: this dish is delicious! Thank you Nana for the top tip!

Ingredients:

1 tbsp Olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
500 g baby broad beans
400 g tin chopped tomato
300 ml water
3 potatoes, scrubbed/peeled and cut into apx 3 cm pieces
Salt and Pepper
Handful of Feta cheese, crumbled

Method:

Heat a saute pan over a low heat, add oil and onions. Cook the onions until softened and brown. Add the baby broad beans and potatoes, tin of tomatoes and top with the water so that all has been covered.
Cook until all is tender and most of the liquid has cooked off. You are looking for a thick sauce-like texture. Season with salt and pepper.
Tip out into a serving bowl and top with crumbled feta.

I served this dish with a joint of slow cooked lamb and a side of braised fennel topped with crispy, garlicky breadcrumbs. Delicious, and so simple – a feast for the whole family!

Enjoy…

Greek-ish Salad

Posted on July 28, 2020July 28, 2020 by flavourie

This salad isn’t what you might be expecting. As much as a love a classic Greek Salad of juicy tomatoes, refreshing cucumbers, bitter olives and salty feta, this salad take the aniseed notes of tarragon and Ouzo for this salad packed full of summery flavours and crunchy textures!

I’ve often said that my family tree looks like something out of the UN – a mongrel of a family with strands of DNA pulled from all over Europe smushed together under one roof. One such strand comes from Cyprus (the Greek bit, she whispers before running away), and I have very fond memories of visiting Granny Helen and Grandad George as a kid and being treated to the most amazing plates of food a child could hope to taste. It’s an appreciation of a regional cuisine I have kept with me all my life, and expanded to include all flavours of the Levant region.

I digress. In my organic veg box order from Dunworley Cottage recently were crisp as a pin sugar snap peas, peas and french beans and, joy of joys, a huge bunch of fresh tarragon – one of my favourite of all herbs. Tarragon, rich in aniseed flavours reminded me of a bottle of Ouzo I had in the drinks cabinet and half a portion of Feta in the fridge needing to be used up. Within moments, I rustled up this salad for lunch one hot day, eaten outside so maximise the feeling of having just left the sun lounger to step in for lunch in a beach-side taverna. One day…one day, we will travel again!

Now, before I begin, I want to address what may seem a controversial way of cooking the bulgar wheat. The traditional, and therefore time consuming, way to cook Bulgar is the same as Cous Cous: cover with water and allow it to soak up and bloom. This can take an hour and a half – and I always forget to do it! So, a much quicker method I use is to briefly rinse the bulgar under the tap, add to a saucepan, cover with 1 1/2 times the amount of water, set over a low heat with the lid on and when the liquid is all soaked up, the bulgar is cooked. Take off the heat, allow to steam under the lid for a while then fluff up with a fork. It takes about 10 minutes, and still has a lovely texture!

Ingredients:

2 shallots, halved and finely sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
50 ml Ouzo, or you could use Raki instead
50 g Smoked bacon – whatever you can get, this is for flavour, so smokey rashers, pancetta, or a small piece of smoked bacon loin.
250 g Bulgar wheat, rinsed
400 ml of vegetable stock
A handful each of fresh sugar snaps, french beans and peas
A handful of herbs: tarragon, chives and parsley
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, sea salt and black pepper
2 scallions, finely sliced
50 g Feta (I used Macroom Buffalo Feta)
4 crisp radishes, topped and tailed and finely sliced on the round
Spiced flaked Almonds (you can use normal flaked almonds too)

Method:

Into a sauce pan, add the Bulgar wheat and stock. Cook over a low-medium heat covered until the stock has been absorbed and the wheat is fluffy. Turn off heat, keep covered to steam.
While the Bulgar Wheat is cooking, prepare your peas and beans. Clean, tail or pod, and slice the green beans and sugar snaps into small pieces. Slice the radishes and scallions and chop up the herbs. Set aside ready for assembly. Get a serving bowl ready.
Heat a saute pan over a medium heat, add olive oil, bacon, shallots, fresh peas and French beans. Cook until the bacon is golden and shallots and green veg have slightly softened.
Add the garlic, turn up the heat a little and add the Ouzo. Cook the alcohol off. Turn the heat down, add the cooked Bulgar Wheat to this mix and stir.
Add in the fresh herbs and sliced sugar snaps and stir to mix through.
Transfer all into a serving bowl. Pour a generous glug of Extra Virgin Olive Oil over everything, season with sea salt and black pepper and toss to combine everything together.
Sprinkle over the sliced scallions and spiced almonds, crumble over the feta and top everything with colourful slices of crisp radish.

Serve outside in the blazing sun with a crisp white wine. Enjoy…

Squash, Feta and Rosemary Pastry Tart

Posted on July 1, 2015April 16, 2020 by flavourie

It was a truth that I had previously never doubted that I would never be any good at making pastry. “It’s just too difficult” I thought, “It’ll just always go wrong and then it’ll be a waste”. But then I thought – how hard could it be to make some harmless pastry. Turns out that all I really needed to do was roll up my sleeves and go for it.

Turns out that I’m actually pretty darn good at making my own pastry. Not as an every day thing you understand – I’m not that committed, but certainly in a batch and ahead of schedule and freezing down portions for later use is right up my street and the kind of vision of effortless mid-week cookery that I can handle without working myself up into a frenzy!

Continue reading “Squash, Feta and Rosemary Pastry Tart”

Beetroot and Feta Salad

Posted on March 20, 2015April 17, 2020 by flavourie

This is a lovely summery salad that accompanies BBQ meats and fish equally well. It’s really quick and simple to put together but tastes aromatic from the fennel seed and zingy from the chilli. There is a very obvious nod to the greek and turkish food traditions here.

Ingredients (serves 4-6 as an accompaniement):
1 pack of pre-cooked beetroot, cut in 1cm cubes
200g of good quallity Feta cheese, cut into 1cm cubes
1tsp of fennel seeds, roasted and crushed
Half a red chilli (seeds taken out)
1 tblsp on sunflower seeds
A good handful of parsely
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Malden smoked sea salt
Method:
Cut the Feta into 1cm cubes and place in a serving bowl.
Cut the beetroot into 1cm cubes and add to the feta.
Toast the fennel seeds lightly in a dry pan, crush them in a pestle and mortar and add to the dish.
Finely chop the chilli and add.
Sprinkle over the sunflower seeds.
Finely chop the parsely and add.
Grind fresh black pepper and add the smoked sea salt to taste.
Add a lug of extra virgin olive oil and mix thoroughly.
Taste and adjust seasoning as required.
Tip:

Toasting the fennel seeds before crushing helps to release the beautiful oils in the seed and therefore add to the depth of flavour in the dish.
Store in an airtight container and this salad will last max two days in a fridge.

Oh, Give me a Home Where the Buffalo Roam

Posted on March 20, 2015April 17, 2020 by flavourie

Sometimes I get a whimsical thought in my head and when I do I hop in my car and off I drive. I always have a destination in mind, but I’m never particularly bothered about how long I’m going to be or what route I’ll take to get there. I figure that there may be something else to see along the way. Sunday just gone, I decided to head off to Toonsbridge Dairy. Or is that Toon’s Bridge or just Toons Bridge. I don’t know. But I felt I needed to go and anyway they sold coffee and cake so anything else was going to be a bonus!

Actually, Toonsbridge (I’ll stick with this version of the spelling) is a mere 25 minutes drive door to door. What bliss! This means that if I miss the market in Clonakilty on Friday, I can pop over to Toonsbridge which is closer than going to the English Market in Cork City. Also, what I didn’t expect is what could be the world’s smallest delicatessen shop. It is tiny, barely fits 5 people and two of those are staff! The kinda place where browsing is a luxury so you should either do one of two things; 1. prepare a list of things you want or 2. ask. I went with Option 2 and was rewarded with a lovely cappuccino and a slice of gluten free ginger and lemon drizzle bundt cake – made with ground almonds. It had it all going on.

Now, I went in knowing that I wanted cake and a coffee – bingo. I also purchased some of their dolmades, their devine sun blushed tomatoes and a packet of Bresaola. Now, let us talk cheese.

Toonsbridge Dairy is of course part of The Real Olive Co; but what they are renowned for is their Buffalo Mozzarella. This devine milky mouthful of unctiousness was where it all started, with properly fresh Buffalo milk. In order to do this, one must have a herd of Buffalo to hand. “But, you’re in West Cork” I hear you cry; “We’re not Home on the Range, you know”. All of which are true, but if you drive over Toon Bridge (see another spelling, tut!), hang a left and drive for about a kilometer, there they are in all their horned glory.

They are magnificent creatures; munching on West Cork grass in West Cork as opposed to jungle, serengeti or whatever. A strange site to behold and yet they look very much at home. I conclude that they must be the world’s happiest Buffalo. How else can it be that the cheese that is produced from their rich and creamy milk tastes so darn-tootin’ fabulous.

And there is more good news. The Dairy have been busy expanding their range of Buffalo milk cheese. The Mozarella is king; but I would highly recommend their Feta and Haloumi. If you are put off by either of these cheeses from the tangyness (which I personally love), then try them made from Buffalo milk and I guarantee you will convert. I purchased some of their Buffalo milk Ricotta for a dish I am making in the week and if their other cheeses are to go by then this will be a treat too. The latest addition to the range is their Buffalo Blue. It is not a powerful knock-you-off-your-feet kind of blue but more of a rub-down-with-a-feather-duster. It is smooth, rich, creamy and milky and it is finished off beautifully by the familiar blue tang at the end. It’s a Barely Blue but tastes all the better for it because it keeps the characteristics of the Buffalo milk at its core.

As a serving suggestion, I ate a good chunk of it on rosemary crackers with some of the Bresaola and a little dribble of Filligans Spicy Plum Chutney – a little mouthful of pure heaven that I would highly recommend.

Try some. As little as a couple of Euro will get you a little slice of cheesy bliss! And, if you head down to Toonsbridge during the summer on a Friday and Saturday you might get the opportunity to try one of their new wood-fired pizza’s from the BEAST that is lurking in their garden.

As I sat there on Sunday in the sunken garden, listening to flamenco music, taking in the scent of the wood-fired oven and eating my cake and drinking my coffee, I realised that my little whim had been a fruitful one!

Baby Broad Bean Stew

Kate Ryan