9/5: Fennel Harvest

I've not managed to get fennel to grow for me here until this year, so this is my first real fennel harvest. So what made it work this year, what was the difference?

I bought new seed, sowed it undercover and sowed at a different time of year. The new seeds came from Seeds of Italy and I sowed it in the polytunnel in November. Previously (4 years in a row) I've sown spring-summer outdoors, at the same time as autumn beetroot, and it just has not germinated in the hot spring to summer months. So this year I tried sowing it in the polytunnel just before the first frosts (when I also sow beetroot and carrot) and I am harvesting it now.

It has not been altogether successful but that was entirely my fault. I did not thin out the row of fennel, being lazy and not wanting to pull up plants I've found so difficult to grow. The result was that they have not had enough room or nutrients to grow properly and as the temperatures soar they are just going to seed in the tunnel before bulbing up. I did manage to get a few heads though, as you can see in the picture, so I am happy.

With so many changes I will need to unpick what really made the difference so I will sow the new seed outdoors, as I have done previously, in summer.  In November I'll sow at the same time undercover but really thin them out. I will also sow in August, which is when the Italians sow it for a harvest in December and January.

I must say my polytunnel really has made a difference, I love it.

7/5: First Strawberry Bite

I picked my first strawberry from the veg patch yesterday, a variety called Mara de Bois. But it looks like something beat me to taking the first bite. We have had lots of rains over the last 2 months and an army of slugs have miraculously appeared out of nowhere. Normally the land is too dry and stony to even get any slugs, but this year has been a different matter.  They have eaten trays of my seedling peppers, herbs and all sorts in the polytunnel. I've been fending them off my newly planted pepper seedlings with coffee grounds spread around the base, which seems to work so long as the band is wide enough and without breaks. For the strawberries I use a pine needle mulch which obviously needs a top up. Pine needles are a great mulch for strawberries helping to keep the soil acid and replicate their natural forest setting and it helps to keep the slugs off.

If only we had too many snails, a dash of garlic butter and voila!

7/5: Kale & Potato Mash

Otherwise known as Colcannon, this is an Irish invention of potatoes mashed with cabbage. It is a poor man's country dish which, the Irish and Scots took with them wherever they settled. I love it. It is simple, hearty and actually very tasty,  it is particularly good if you use black Tuscan kale. As you would expect, with an old country dish, there are many variations to it, some add meat or other vegetables, mine is fairly straight forward but with onion and garlic and is made with olive oil rather than butter.



Serves 4

• Potatoes
• Kale
• Olive oil
• Half a small onion
• 1 clove garlic
• Large pinch sea salt
• Large pinch cracked black pepper
• knob of butter to finish (optional)

Wash and chop (peel if you want) the potatoes and put on the stove in a roomy pan of boiling water to cook. Boil for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are tender, but not falling apart, and drain. Meanwhile wash and shred the kale, chop the onion finely and crush the garlic. In another pan put a good slosh of olive oil in the bottom add the onion, garlic, salt & pepper and fry until softened. When the alliums are softened add the kale stir well to coat it in the oil, add a little water, cover and simmer/steam on a low heat for 5-7 minutes until the kale is tender but still has some bite. Tip the simmered kale and its juices into the pan of drained potatoes and mash. At this point you could also add a little butter or the dripping from roast meat or chicken.

Freezing Kale for storage
I harvested the last of our Tuscan Kale this week to make room for the Tomato beds and there is quite a bit of it, so I will freeze some of it in batches.  To freeze kale wash and shred it then drop into a large pan of boiling water, lift it out after 2 minutes and plunge into ice cold water to halt cooking. Drain well then put useable size portions into freezer bags and freeze immediately. Frozen kale lasts for about a year at -18 and keeps its colour, texture and taste. It is great in dishes like this one or added to vegetable soups like Ribolita or vegetables dishes such as  Tuscan Kale in Pepper Sauce

6/5: Sicilian Green Sauce

Sicilian Green Sauce is an Italian Salsa Verde of olive oil infused with crushed fresh herbs and garlic. It is great stirred into soups, drizzled on pasta, as a dip for raw vegetables, as a dressing for cooked vegetables or spread thinly on bread. Pretty useful stuff really and the three herbs; Parsley, Basil & Mint, that are needed for it are all ready and willing in the garden.

• A fist full each of fresh Basil, Parsley and Mint
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2-3 tsp pickled capers
• Sea salt
• Olive oil
• a little lemon zest & a squeeze of lemon

Grind the herbs, garlic, capers and a pinch of salt with enough olive oil to make a fluid paste. Stir in a little lemon juice and zest to taste and it is ready tpo use.



The original recipe came from Claudia Roden's book Mediterranean Cookery.  Variations: There are many variations for this sauce. To the basic herbs oil and garlic some add capers, anchovies, mustard, lemon juice and even rocket. This recipe is my favourite combination, kept fairly simple to dress pasta such as this Cappelletti, small pasta parcels these ones are stuffed with ham.



Storage
It stores well in jars; pour into sterilised jars seal tightly and store in a cool dark place. Once opened keep in the fridge where it will last 3-6 months.

6/5: Oatcakes

I brought oatcakes back from Scotland on my last visit home but I was really disappointed with the taste of them, they just didn't taste like the oatcakes I remembered and when I looked on the packet I was amazed to see a string of incomprehensible stuff along with flavourings that, frankly have no right being in an oatcake. Oatcakes, in true Scottish style, are just oats, salt and water and made that way they are a delicious vehicle for all kinds of dips and cheeses. I used to make oatcakes for breakfast at home when I was a student but they were pretty rough, a bit dense not rolled out properly and cooked on the stove top in a crap frying pan. So I asked a friend of ours and gastronome, Peter, who makes the most delicious light and crisp oatcakes for his recipe. Peter described the process as following: simply empty the contents of a packet of porridge oats into a bowl, add water and mix to a dough, leave the dough to rest for half an hour before rolling out thinly then bake in the oven on a large flat baking sheet until golden and crisp. Cool then break into rough cakes.



With Peter's instructions in my head I set out to make real Scottish oatcakes. The first thing to know is that there is a knack to getting the right consistency. The first batch I made were, by accident, perfect but the second batch was too wet so the dough was a nightmare to roll out and it took longer to bake. What you are aiming for is a dough that is as dry as you can get it whist still being kneadable and flexible enough to roll out. I don't have quantities just start with the oats and add the water slowly until you have a good consistency. My only addition to Peter's recipe is to add a little sesame oil, a hangover from my student days, and I still think it improves the texture and the flavour of the oatcakes.

• Oats
• salt
• warm water
• some sesame oil (optional)

Put oats, salt and sesame oil in a bowl and add warm water slowly until the oats bind together. Knead lightly in the bowl then cover and leave to rest. On a scrubbed kitchen top scatter a little flower and put the ball of dough or a clump of dough, depending on how much you have made, on the surface and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough, keep turning and flouring to prevent sticking, and when thin enough either take the whole cake or slice into pieces and place on a baking tray. Bake at a warm oven 180c for about 15 minutes or until golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Store in an airtight jar.