pea, prawn and potato curry

 

i’ve been feeling a bit uninspired recently and decided and that the best way to get myself out of the pasta rut i’ve settled into was to shake up my shopping. so, instead of getting my usual vegetable order or visiting borough market for a few treats i headed into china town. i picked things up randomly but focussed on ginger, galangal, lemongrass, chillies, herbs and a few chinese greens.

i was expecting to make something with asian flavours but somehow got diverted towards india instead with this gently spiced curry. the colouring is a bit lurid and i’d have liked my peas to stay green (next time i’ll cook them separately and add them at the end) but the taste was delicious. the coconut milk adds richness, the spicing is quite mild and the lime and coriander which is added at the end really lifts things. it reminded me a bit of the nigel slater chickpea and pumpkin curry, even though it lacks the lemongrass which makes nigel’s dish work so beautifully.

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garden bounty

pea, courgette and lentil salad

this salad has been a godsend for helping me make my way through the courgettes we have been growing, as well as the occasional few which make their way into my vegetable box from food4london.

there isn’t a recipe as such as it’s all about using up what you have in but, broadly, i make it like this – cook some puy lentils, adding a bay leaf to the cooking water/stock (or you could use tinned, rinse them well and then rinse with boiling water so they warm through). add some olive oil, lemon juice and mustard to the warm lentils to create a dressing – the heat of the lentils means they will absorb the dressing flavours more effectively.

cut the courgette into chunks and fry over a low heat in some melted butter until they are just cooked through. while the courgette is cooking, pod your peas and add them to the courgette pan so that some will be cooked and others still raw, adding a nice textural contrast. when the courgette is sufficiently cooked, add salt, freshly ground black pepper, shredded basil and a bit more lemon juice. mix this with the lentils and that’s it. unless of course you fancy oomphing it up with feta or goats cheese.

it keeps well and is good for packed lunches.

pea and peppered mackerel risotto

 

despite my love of smoked mackerel i had never thought to put it in a risotto, preferring the cleaner flavours and texture of a pilaf. i gave it a try recently though, adding some peas from the garden, and the result was surprisingly good.

the creamy richness of the risotto balanced well with the peppery smoked fish, with the peas and lemon adding some freshness and stopping it being too rich. having said that, if you’re making this when the weather is a little chilly, it is a very comforting dish.

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summer gnocchi

 

this dish was the result of my need to use up a tub of ricotta before it passed its sell-by date. i had bought it to stuff courgette flowers with but didn’t manage to cook with the flowers before they wilted beyond use, despite my best efforts – they really do need to be used on the day you pick/get them.

so, i turned to dennis cotter and decided to adapt his semolina gnocchi recipe, using ricotta in place of the goats cheese, adding a handful of herbs from garden – sage, oregano and thyme – and topping the gnocchi with a lightly cooked mix of green beans (again from the garden), peas and broad beans. i finished it with a lime cream, having run out of lemons.

the result was delicious – very light, summery and perfect if you want something a bit special, either as a treat or if you are cooking for friends. the gnocchi adapted well to having the ricotta added and was very forgiving of my use of twice as much cheese as the original recipe called for. i also baked it for much longer than the original recipe suggests – 10-15 minutes each side, having turned them over once, rather than the suggested 10 minutes in total. this gave me golden slight crunchy gnocchi which went really well with the lightly cooked vegetables.

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