My favourite Gooseberries with visitors (but not for long!)
Every year the sawfly larvae hit my gooseberries, but usually not as early as the first week in May. They must be one of the most devastating pests of the fruit gardener. They have no predators which can pick them off fast enough (at least, not in my garden), and can completely defoliate a gooseberry bush in less than 2 days. So rapid is their attack, by the time you realise what’s happening, it’s too late. However, this year much to my amazement, I caught the buggers just as they hatched out and nuked them with my favourite carcinogen. Hopefully this will mean a healthy crop of berries later I the year, and a healthy bush for next season.
Amazingly, fan mail continues to pour in inquiring as to the state of my Broad Beans. Well, most beans survived and flourished and I can now announce our first bean harvest of the season. Last year’s harvest was taken too late. Beans were too big and consequently both tough and bitter. This year I’m taking them earlier. As well as harvesting the podded beans, Broad Beans are very tasty if taken young and eaten whole, like Runner or French beans, in their pods.
Broad Beans - They survived!
Very tasty indeed. Even Alex gives her seal of approval!
Broad Beans - My favourite!
Broad Bean and Butternut Squash Risotto (serves 3)
You may notice a bit of a theme developing here. My repertoire does extend to dishes other than risotto – honest! However, when it comes to cooking vegetables with distinctive or delicate flavours then a couple of basic rules apply – make it simple and cook it fast. Risottos work well to bring the best out of vegetables, and also satisfy my 2 new cooking criteria, which have been developed since Alex’s arrival –
• You should be able to eat your meal with one hand
• Your meal must taste good when cold
Look out for my “New Dad’s Cookbook – How to beat malnutrition” – in all good bookstores for Christmas.
One other thing I should point out. Like my previous recipe, this one states that it serves 3. In fact, Kath and I get through this between the 2 of us. You should bare in mind that she is still eating for 2, and I don’t eat breakfast or a large lunch – (this is how I keep my trim figure), so this tends to be my ‘meal of the day’.
Anyone on an Atkins diet can look away now. This is recipe is high carb, low protein. Ideally, prepare the squash in advance and allow to cool before skinning to speed up the cooking process. Serve with a green salad and a bottle of dry white wine.
Broad Bean & Butternut Squash Risotto
1 Butternut squash, deseeded and cut into 6 wedges, lengthwise
2 tsp sugar
olive oil
1 oz butter
1 onion, chopped
1 red onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
4 oz mushrooms, sliced
fresh thyme & oregano, bruised and chopped
1 glass white wine
9 oz Arboria rice
1 ½ pints Vegetable stock
4 oz podded Broad Beans
1 small yellow pepper, chopped
fresh flat leaved parsley, chopped.
Black pepper to taste
• Place the squash in a baking tray and drizzle with the oil. Season with salt & pepper and sprinkle with sugar.
• Place in a hot preheated oven to roast. When the flesh starts to brown, turn over the wedges, sprinkle with a little more sugar and return to the oven. When the flesh starts to caramelise, the squash is cooked. This may take 1 – 1 ½ hours.
• Remove the skin from the squash without damaging the flesh. This is easiest to do when the squash is cold. Chop the flesh into cubes and set aside.
• Melt the butter in a large pan with a drop of oil, to prevent burning.
• Add all of the onion and half of the red onion and sweat off until translucent.
• Add the garlic and sweat for a further 2 minutes.
• Add the mushrooms, thyme and oregano and stir well into the onions. Season with some ground black pepper. Continue to cook for a few minutes with the lid on, until the mushrooms are soft.
• Remove the lid and stir in the rice. Ensure that is it coated with the buttery mushroom liquor and cook gently for 2 minutes.
• Add the white wine and boil hard for 1 minute until all the alcohol has evaporated.
• Add about 1/3rd of the stock, bring to the boil stirring regularly, then turn down to a simmer.
• Regularly stir the rice, adding additional stock as necessary. Do not let the rice stick to the base of the pan.
• The rice will be almost cooked after approx 15-20 minutes. Add the broad beans, yellow pepper and remaining red onion. Add a little more stock, stir again and replace the lid. The beans will cook in 3 – 5 minutes. Stir once or twice to prevent sticking.
• After 3 minutes, stir in the parsley and carefully fold in the squash. Do not stir vigorously – you don’t want to mash up the flesh.
• Once cooked, the rice will retain a little bite – it shouldn’t be soft and fluffy. The risotto should be creamy in texture, but not wet. There should be no excess liquid in the pan.
• Season with ground black pepper and serve.
