gardener cook

\\/hat is lO be d one in Febr ua r)' \\ ilh a (a ir (e\\' \\'eeks o( \\'inter ahead

J-leat IOOrnl r ice vinegar an d over a low heat. whisk in h'/O tablespoo ns

o( us and little appelile fo r rnort of lh e san1e vegetables? T he a nS\\1e-r

is in lhe prtparntion. By eating son1e \\'inter \egetables raw we can

of caster suga r a nd heat slO\\'I)' until the sugar has d issolved. AllO\\' the
n1ixture to cool a nd then p<>ur 11ove r the carrots and leave to soak fl)r

tric k o ur palates into th inking that spr ing veg, with a ll ilS snap a nd

an hour o r so. Once soa ked> lift the carrots out of the \ inegar and mix

crunch, is hert already. Try super-th in curls a nd d iscs of ra\\'

'vith fOur heaped tablespoons each of finel)' dlopped coriander a nd

vegetables in salads or as a side dish or alo ng.side vegetable p urees.

n1in t leaves. Add one b ird 's eye chilli. deseeded and finely chopped> and

Co ntrast is a good thin g ' "hen the palate is a lillle jaded. T hink of
lo ng, white slicts of mooli o r black rndish or

three spring onions. peeled an d cut into slithers. In a separate b0\\ l

\\hisk up o ne-an d-a-half tablespoons of soy sauce,

l\'IO tablespoons of rice vin egar) half a teaspoo n ol

littJe cirdts of purple carrot or turnip c u rled

paper th in ove r a salad olthinl)' slictd ha n1.

To slict \egetables really th in use a rna ndolin

culler or the latest rnust-have k itchen gad get>

a spirnltt..er. O ther raw root vegetable salads

include re rnoulade, rnade \\ ith peeled and
1

j ulienned celeriac rnixed with a mustard, Je1n on

j uice and 1nayonnaise dressing a nd plen t)' of
finel y c hopped parsle)'> o r a salad ol grnted

By eating some winter

vegetables raw we can
trick our palates into
thinking that spring veg.
with all its snap and
crunch. is here already

sesan1e oil an d a pinch of caster sugar. Pour the

drd$ing over the car rots an d to~ \\ ell. Season to
1

taste and garnish with a sprig of 1n in t or corian der.

J-(asten the o nset of spring b)' ha rvestin g
the year's fin>1 (ii very s1nall) crop of green shoots,
to add 10 a con1forting toasted san d\\ icl1. Snip a
1

sn1all handfu l of shoots fron1 your a uturnnplanted onions. \Vash well and chop very fin el)

beetro ot. cher vil and cr~me fraiche. Ring the

then la)'e r thtn1 \vitl1 plenl)' of grated cheddar

changes \vith colesla\\' b) gra ting car rot) red onion, beetroot a nd

c..ilttSt betv.een h\ 0 slabs of $0urdough b read. Buuer the o utside o f the

apple a nd adding a handful ol cooked c hickpeas>dress "'ith lernon

an d o il, season a nd sp rinkle over sumac for a fi nal bit of ring.

~ndwiclt. heat a heavy fr ying pan and put the sand\'liCh in with a tin

ChiJJi is a great taste reviver. r-or a hot and spicy Vietn amese ca.rrot
salad, take th rte rnediu1n carro ts., peeled an d cut into th in rnatchsticks.

pl.ate to weigh ll dO\'/n. Let it si'l.:de for a 1n in ute o r two until gt)!den
bro\"n a nd then turn it over and cook on the o Lher side (\\ ithout the
1

pl.ate). Serve \\'ilh spiC)' quin ce jelly. o

RECIPES

greasing . ltbsp par mesan.

can mak e a grat!n with other

vegetables. One of my favou rite
d ishes is po tato com bi ned with

Preheat the oven to 180'Clgas 4 .

Sk:e the potatoes or other vegetables
into very thin coins (best to use a

\Wth baking parchment and bake for

pods star a nise. 2 3tbsp sugar. 2 50ml

w ater or ap ple juice. Vt.1ash, trrnand

celeriac. b ut you can al so try

squash, parsnip, swede and tur nip
placed i n layer s (serves 4):

mandolin cutter). In a bowl rrne the

potato slices wel then toss dry in a
dean tea tov1el and keep \Wapped up.

45 minutes. pressing the paper dO\m

half wir'f through Mid taking 11 off for
the last 15 minutes. Test the middle

cut the rhubarb n to chunks. lay rt n a

roasting tray. Scatter over the sugar and
star anise seed pods. Pour OYet water

6 00g waxy ye.11ow potatoes or othe.r

vegetable., ! clove garlic. p eeied and
lightty crushed, 200ml singl e cream .

Vl.'hlsk together the crecwn and the milk.

\Wth the point of a knife to make sure

Rub the garlic ewer the bottom of a

gratin dish, then discard. Butter the

it is cooked tlYough. Serve with agreen

salad and smoked mackerel or hol

or apple juice and roast .n the oven at

1800C/gas .c1 for af"OIXICI 20 minutes or
u ntil the rhubarb is soft but still holding

lOOml milk. sea satt and pepper,

dish. Put a single layer of potato slices

smoked salmon for a simple supper.

rts sh.1pe. Secve on breakfast porndge.

28

n utmeg. l tbsp b utter

( ap prox lSg) plus a l ittl e for

Cl\e< the bottOtn. Season lightly and

add a fewsctapes of nutmeg. Repeat.
To f.nish.. dot the top WIth small pieces

Vegetabl e gratln
Potato gratln com es very near the
top of my comfort food list, b ut you

of butter. Pcu over the liqu1dmocture.

SpnnkleWlthgratedparmesan. Cover

Roast ed rh ubarb
If you are lucky enough to have
rhubar b ready to crop. this Is a great
easy dish. 6-7 stalks r h ubarb. 5 6