Recipe: Wild Watercress Soup

Is anyone else feeling acutely aware of the value of our food right now, as we continue with ‘lockdown living’?

As we struggle to book slots for food deliveries with many items not currently available, and going shopping means queueing for hours (and is only an option for those who aren’t self-isolating), it somehow feels like there’s a more urgent need to connect with and appreciate each item of food and each part of each item of food that we are lucky enough to have access to right now, along with the people who sow, grow, harvest, package, supply, sell and deliver.

With this vulnerability we are living with comes opportunity, especially with the time that some of us are lucky enough to have on our hands right now. What changes can we start making - however small - with the way we eat whilst we have more time at home to cook, that might last beyond the lockdown? 

Whether using up leftovers (even if it means eating the same thing for three or four nights in a row, albeit in a slightly different guise), considering parts of a plant that we can cook rather than throw away, considering how we can support our local growers and farmers at this time?

Our lovely neighbours dropped a box of watercress on our doorstep that they had foraged from the woods. I made it into soup, then tonight the soup became a sauce with a Buddha Bowl supper that included chopped-up & baked Colwith Farm potatoes, leftover quinoa and seasonal veg that I re-fried & topped with roasted crunchy leek leaves from the veg patch - these have become a new favourite of the kids’! 

Note - I hadn’t cooked with wild watercress before. Tasting it raw it was pretty peppery so at first I didn’t add too much to the soup, knowing that the children wouldn’t eat it if it was too hot. However the watercress really wilt down and the flavour mellows a lot with cooking, so don’t hold back too much with the amount you use, if you have plenty.

I’ve popped the recipe below but feel free to add or replace items depending upon the vegetables that you have available that need to be used up.

Wild Watercress Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients

• Olive oil

• 2 onions, chopped

• 4 leeks, washed, the stalks chopped and the leaves chopped into approx 5cm lengths and set aside

• 6 potatoes, washed and chopped

• 2 handfuls wild garlic, washed and chopped

• 1.5 litres veg stock

• 6 large handfuls watercress, washed and chopped leaving a few pieces whole to decorate with.

• Dried herbs such as thyme (or use fresh herbs)

• Salt & pepper

• 1 chilli pepper (optional)

Method

• If you have access to the countryside for foraging in early spring, begin with a walk with the intention of picking watercress and wild garlic (and any other goodies you may find!) head out on a walk to bring back your foraged finds then wash them. Wild Food UK has a great online foraging guide.

• In a large pan gently cook the onions and chopped leeks for approx 10 mins until softened.

• Add the potatoes and cook for a further 10 mins.

• Add the wild garlic, herbs, salt and pepper along with the vegetable stock. Simmer for 15 mins.

• Add the watercress and cook for a further five minutes.

• If you like a smoother soup, whizz with a hand-held blender. Check seasoning again.

• Serve in warm bowls with a sprig of watercress, drizzle of olive oil and sprinkling of ground pepper on top. We added some chilli to ours but left it off the kids’ bowls.

Recipe: Oat Slices with Sea Buckthorn

Sea buckthorn: my latest foodie obsession. I was introduced to these golden gems a few weeks ago when I met Seth of Cornish Seaberry who is growing a few acres of the beautiful berries at a site just down the lanes from us. Seth came across sea buckthorn when he was travelling in the Himalayas, where they were used as a tonic for altitude sickness. Intrigued by the superfood, he discovered they also grow wild within Cornwall, and over the past couple of years he has been juggling his day job as an agronomist and family life with a young daughter alongside growing, harvesting and gradually building his seaberry business.

Tart and tangy, these berries pack their punch not only on the flavour front, but their status as a superfood is assured when you examine their credentials: each berry contains 190 different nutrients including ‘vitamins (A, B, C, E); essential fatty acids ( omega 3,6,9 ) along with omega 7, which as a plant only appears in sea buckthorn and macadamia’ (The British Sea Buckthorn Co).

I’ve started to play around with the berries, using them in smoothies, making compote, I have flash fried them from frozen with oils and spices and served them with vegetables such as cauliflower, and this morning I made some oat slices to serve to guests at one of my massage courses. This recipe is very versatile, you can easily swap the dried and fresh fruit for alternatives - and it happens to be vegan, sugar free and can be gluten free if you opt for GF oats. I am always inclined towards the savoury, but if you have a sweeter tooth a drizzle of honey could be added to the top before serving, or mixed into the recipe before cooking.

A tasty, family-friendly snack that celebrates these local gems? I’d love to know your thoughts …
Tia x

Sea buckthorn oat slices

Makes 16 - 20 squares

Ingredients

• 200g oats

• 180g dried fruits, chopped small (I used a combination of dates and raisins)

• 100g sea buckthorn berries (I used them from frozen)

• 200g apple purée (see recipe from Deliciously Ella at the bottom of the page - I made then batch froze this in autumn using apples from the orchard)

• Handful of flaked coconut

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 100ml sunflower oil

• 1 tbsp melted coconut oil

• 1 tsp ground ginger

Method:

• Heat oven to 180 C.

• If using apple purée from the freezer, take it out the night before to defrost.

• Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix together. Leave for 20 minutes to allow berries to defrost and the wet ingredients to soak into the dry.

• Press into a greased baking tray, approx 22cm square

• Bake in oven for approx 50 minutes until becoming golden. Check while cooking to ensure they don’t burn.

• After removing the tray from the oven, place a knife around the outside to prevent sticking to the sides, then leave to cool before cutting into squares and removing from the tray. By leaving to cool the slices will keep their shape rather than falling apart while still hot.

Notes:

• This is a very flexible recipe - play around with the dried fruits (I used a combination of dates and raisins as that’s what I had in the store cupboard) and fresh fruits such as blueberries in summer work well too.

• If you prefer a sweeter flavour, you could drizzle the slices with honey or melted dark chocolate.

Apple purée recipe (from Deliciously Ella)

The quantities below will make you a stock of apple purée that you can use in multiple meals or save in the fridge or freezer.

Ingredients

• 10 apples, peeled and chopped into bite-size pieces

• 1 tablespoon maple syrup

• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Method

• Place the apple pieces in a large saucepan and cover the bottom with a couple of centimetres water.

• Cook the apples for about 40 minutes, until they’re very soft.

• Drain any remaining water and place in blender or food processor with maple syrup and cinnamon. Blend until smooth and creamy, then put into storage pots and place in fridge (for up to five days) or freezer.

Recipe: Autumn Overnight Oats

Breakfast is, hands down, my favourite meal of the day. I love the freshness of flavours and textures in the morning as my body and mind are gearing up for the day. Overnight oats sit particularly well for me, the oats feel easily digestible having been soaked overnight creating a beautifully creamy texture, and I love making some subtle changes to the recipe, bringing in fruits and spices to reflect the season.

As with every recipe I’m drawn to - this is incredibly simple! Combine all of the ingredients and let them soak in the fridge overnight - no cooking needed. You can easily adapt it, I recommend playing around with the quantities to suit your preferences. In the morning top with fresh fruits, compote, toasted seeds, yogurt and maple syrup.

This year I made this recipe a lot while blackberries were in season (topped with blackberry and apple compote), I then froze batches of blackberries so that I could continue using them later in the season - these are what I’m using today, along with apples from the orchard here at Botelet. Freezing foraged foods is a great way of making them last through the seasons - especially as we head into winter and there isn’t such an abundance of fruit to be found in the garden and hedgerows.

On a very chilly morning, warm your overnight oats gently with an extra splash of milk in a pan before serving.

Overnight oats are on the menu at our monthly Botelet Breakfast Club - this recipe will be appearing at our November event for the last time this year before we move into our winter recipe! I hope you enjoy - I’d love to know your thoughts.

Tia x

Autumn Overnight Oats

Makes 2 large or 3 smaller bowls

Ingredients:

• 90g oats

• 1 tbsp chia seeds

• 1/2 tbsp flaxseed

• 1 apple peeled, cored and grated

• 1 cardamom pod, seeds crushed

• Few shavings fresh ginger

• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

• Handful blackberries (fresh or frozen)

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 tbsp maple syrup

• 250ml organic milk (cows or nut milk for vegan version)

Method:

• Place all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine.

• Add the blackberries, stir gently then add the milk, vanilla extract and maple syrup, continue stirring to combine.

• Place a lid or plate on top of the bowl and store in the fridge overnight.

Notes:

• If using frozen blackberries, I like to remove them from the freezer a couple of hours before making the recipe, that way they start to defrost before going back in the fridge, and they give the dish a lovely purple hue.

• The apple peelings can be laid flat on a baking tray and dried in a slow oven making a tasty snack for later in the day, or a chewy topping for your breakfast.

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Autumn recipe: vegan pumpkin risotto on roasted fennel

This is one of my favourite autumn dishes, I served it at as the cooked dish at our October Botelet Breakfast Club. I love this recipe - the sweet aniseed of the roasted fennel that make a firm-to-bite boat on which to place in the oozy risotto.

Vegan risotto has been a revelation for me, I couldn’t believe that you could take out all of the butter and cheese and still be left with something so creamy and delicious. This recipe can so easily be adapted to accommodate whichever vegetables are in season. I sourced the pumpkin and fennel from this dish from the fabulous Ollofruit based just a couple of miles from us here at Botelet, growing beautiful organic vegetables.

I do hope you enjoy - and would love to know your feedback

Tia x

Vegan Pumpkin Risotto on Roasted Fennel

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1 medium sized pumpkin, skin peeled, seeds taken out (these can be dried toasted to use another time)

• 2 tsp ground cinnamon

• Olive oil

• Salt & pepper

• Dried thyme - approx 6 tsp in total

• 3 fennel bulbs

• 1 large onion, peeled & finely chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, peeled & finely chopped

• Leftover fennel that isn’t used in fennel ‘boats’ - chopped

• 1/2 head celery, chopped

• 400g risotto rice

• 1 tsp cayenne pepper

• Juice of 2 lemons

• 2 pints vegetable stock

• 2 tins coconut milk

Method:

• Preheat oven to 200 C.

• To prepare the fennel bulbs - cut off the stalks that come out of the bulb (I like to leave a couple of cm on) and the leaves - put aside to use later and cut the fennel bulb in half length ways. Slice a little off the hard end of the fennel. With a small paring knife, scoop out the inside of the fennel, reserving it for use in the risotto. Leave a couple of layers of fennel, creating a boat shape. Turn the boat on its side and cut a small slice off the bottom so that the boat will stand up without tipping over.

• Boil a kettle of water, pour into a baking tray that has high sides and add a few good pinches of salt. Place the baking tray over heat on a hob. Carefully lower each of the fennel boats into the baking tray, making sure they are submerged in the water. Simmer gently for 5 minutes then remove from heat and carefully pour away the water.

• Once you have discarded the hot water, use the same baking tray and place the fennel boats in it, drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and dried thyme. Bake in oven for 30 minutes, checking regularly. Aim for the fennel to be pliable and starting to brown - but not withering. Remove from heat or keep in the oven for longer if needed. If the fennel have cooked before the rest of the meal is ready, you can keep them warmed in an oven set at a very low heat.

• Prepare the pumpkin - peel off skin, remove seeds and chop into small chunks. Place on baking tray making sure they aren’t piled up (if they are, use a second baking tray), drizzle with olive oil, season with salt, pepper and the cinnamon, give a good mix together. Place in oven for 30 minutes, checking and turning a couple of times.

• To make the risotto - put 4 tbsp olive oil in large pan, add chopped onion, garlic, celery and leftover fennel to the pan and cook slowly for about 15 minutes until they soften.

• When the vegetables have softened, add the rice and turn up the heat a little. Keep stirring, when the rice starts to go translucent in colour add the herbs (3 tsp dried thyme & 1 tsp cayenne pepper) and turn the heat back down a little, continue cooking for another couple of minutes.

• Prepare the stock. Add 1 or 2 ladlefuls at a time, keep stirring as the rice absorbs the stock. Add a good pinch of salt and pepper. Keep adding the stock and stirring until nearly absorbed, then add the coconut milk in a similar way.

• After approx 15 minutes, when there is still a little liquid left around the rice and it’s almost cooked but with a slight bite, take off the heat, add the lemon juice, stir in the pumpkin from the baking tray and place a lid on the pan, give it a good stir and leave to sit for 5 minutes.

• Chop the fennel leaves to use as a garnish.

• To assemble - place roasted fennel boat on plate, spoon over risotto, garnish with a dash of olive oil, some cracked pepper and a sprinkle of fennel leaves.

• Note - depending upon the size of the fennel bulbs, you may have quite a lot of risotto per boat! You may wish to serve a suitable size for the fennel boat, then offer those you are cooking for to come back for more if they wish!