Posts Tagged ‘broad beans’

Spring Minestrone

Tuesday, May 10th, 2011

Ingredients

• 6 heaped tablespoons fresh pesto
• 1.5 litres good chicken, ham or vegetable stock
• 1 bulb of fennel
• 100g fine asparagus
• 2 Romanesco cauliflowers or 1 large cauliflower
• 6 baby courgettes
• 6 plum tomatoes
• extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
• 1 bunch of spring onions, finely chopped
100g green beans, finely sliced
• 100g yellow beans, finely sliced
• 100g peas, podded
• 100g broad beans, podded
• 100g spaghetti, broken-up
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small handful of fresh green or purple basil
• 1 small handful of fresh chives

Method

There’s a whole world of minestrones out there – most of which follow very strict, authentic recipes. Personally, I feel that a minestrone should always reflect the seasons: more cabbagy, frumpy ones in the winter and lighter, more colourful ones in the spring and summer. A minestrone can also be a whole meal if you want it to be, with pasta, stale bread or rice to bulk it out. To complement the spring vegetables, I’ve put a bit of a Genoese twist on it, with a spoon of fresh pesto added at the last minute, so the flavours explode in your mouth. Give it a bash.First, if you’re going to make pesto do it now. Bring a pot of stock to the boil. Then you need to get all the vegetables prepared and put to one side. The fennel has to be halved, sliced and finely chopped, the asparagus needs to have the woody ends removed, the stalks finely sliced and the tips left whole, the cauliflowers need to be divided into small florets, the courgettes need to be quartered lengthways and finely chopped and finally the tomatoes need to be blanched. Cut them in half, remove the pips and finely slice. Now you’re ready to rock and roll.In a casserole-type pan (quite wide but not very deep) put 5 tablespoons of olive oil and heat the pan on a medium heat. Add the garlic, spring onions and fennel and gently fry without colouring at all for about 15 minutes. Then add the rest of your prepared vegetables, the pasta and your boiling stock. Bring to the boil, simmer for about 10 minutes, season, and serve in big bowls with a dollop of fresh pesto in the middle, a sprinkling of chopped basil and chives, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.Try this: As you can see, the idea of this soup is to celebrate all the vegetables that are available at the time, so feel free to modify the soup and make it your own.And this: A good way to break up your spaghetti is to wrap it in a tea towel and then run it over the edge of your work surface.Did you know? The fact that everything is finely chopped means that the cooking time is very quick and the soup remains light and fresh.• from Jamie’s Kitchen There’s a whole world of minestrones out there – most of which follow very strict, authentic recipes. Personally, I feel that a minestrone should always reflect the seasons: more cabbagy, frumpy ones in the winter and lighter, more colourful ones in the spring and summer. A minestrone can also be a whole meal if you want it to be, with pasta, stale bread or rice to bulk it out. To complement the spring vegetables, I’ve put a bit of a Genoese twist on it, with a spoon of fresh pesto added at the last minute, so the flavours explode in your mouth. Give it a bash.

First, if you’re going to make pesto do it now. Bring a pot of stock to the boil. Then you need to get all the vegetables prepared and put to one side. The fennel has to be halved, sliced and finely chopped, the asparagus needs to have the woody ends removed, the stalks finely sliced and the tips left whole, the cauliflowers need to be divided into small florets, the courgettes need to be quartered lengthways and finely chopped and finally the tomatoes need to be blanched. Cut them in half, remove the pips and finely slice. Now you’re ready to rock and roll.

In a casserole-type pan (quite wide but not very deep) put 5 tablespoons of olive oil and heat the pan on a medium heat. Add the garlic, spring onions and fennel and gently fry without colouring at all for about 15 minutes. Then add the rest of your prepared vegetables, the pasta and your boiling stock. Bring to the boil, simmer for about 10 minutes, season, and serve in big bowls with a dollop of fresh pesto in the middle, a sprinkling of chopped basil and chives, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Try this: As you can see, the idea of this soup is to celebrate all the vegetables that are available at the time, so feel free to modify the soup and make it your own.

And this: A good way to break up your spaghetti is to wrap it in a tea towel and then run it over the edge of your work surface.

Did you know? The fact that everything is finely chopped means that the cooking time is very quick and the soup remains light and fresh.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Soup | No Comments »

Risotto of spring vegetables

Friday, May 6th, 2011

Ingredients

* 300g carnaroli rice (risotto rice)
* 150g parmesan , in a wedge
* 20g fresh chives , finely snipped
* 150g shelled broad beans (about 600g in their pods)
* 150g asparagus spears
* 200g shelled small peas (about 800g in their pods)
* fistfuls of ice cubes
* 1 tsp vegetable stock powder, such as Marigold
* 1 large shallot or 2 smaller ones, finely chopped
* 3 large spring onions , trimmed and chopped
* 1 fat garlic clove , lightly crushed
* 2 tbsp olive oil , plus extra to serve
* 50g butter
* 125ml dry white wine
* 2 tbsp mascarpone

Method

1. Tip the rice into a pan of boiling, lightly salted water. Boil gently for 6 minutes then drain in a sieve. There should still be a white core in the centre of the grains. Spread the part-cooked rice on a clean tray, cool, then chill until you are ready to finish the risotto. If covered with cling film, the rice can be kept for up to 24 hours. Shave about 25g off the parmesan wedge and set aside for later. Finely grate the rest and save for use in Step 8.
2. Blanch the broad beans for 1 minute in boiling water then drain and rinse them in a colander under cold water. Using your fingers, pop each bean from its skin. (Thawed frozen beans can be popped without blanching.)
3. Trim the asparagus and cut the spears at an angle into lozenge shapes. Bring 1 litre of water to the boil in a large pan, add 1 tsp of sea salt, then the asparagus, shelled peas and beans. Return to a gentle boil and cook for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, put lots of ice cubes into a large bowl half filled with cold water.
4. Drain the vegetables in a colander set over a bowl to catch and save the cooking water, then tip them straight into the bowl of iced water. When cold, drain again and set aside.
5. Pour the saved vegetable water into a pan and whisk in the stock powder. When ready to finish the risotto, bring the stock to the boil and keep it on a simmer.
6. In another large pan, gently sauté the shallot, spring onions and garlic in the 2 tablespoons of oil and half the butter for 3-5 minutes until softened. Stir in the wine and cook until reduced by half.
7. Tip in the rice. Now add a ladle of boiling stock and stir until it is absorbed. Add the remaining stock, a ladle at a time, stirring until absorbed before you add more. This takes about 8 minutes, by which time the mixture should be slightly sloppy, not dry. You may not need all the stock. The rice is cooked when it is just softened and has a nice shiny glaze. Remove the garlic clove.
8. Gently stir in the vegetables and remaining chives and return to a gentle simmer, adding a little extra stock if needed. Stir in the last of the butter, the grated parmesan and the mascarpone. Check the seasoning. Divide immediately between four warmed shallow bowls, drizzle over a little oil and scatter the parmesan shavings onto each serving.

Try

For rice with a good texture

When adding the stock, add just a ladle at a time to moisten. Don’t flood the rice or it will burst and go watery. Also, keeping the stock on the boil means it will be absorbed more quickly when added.

For tender asparagus

Cutting the asparagus into lozenge shapes not only makes a nice presentation, it also ensures that it cooks evenly. Keep the water gently boiling as rapid boiling destroys the texture of the asparagus.

Speed things up

Making a classic risotto can take up to 20 minutes. By blanching the rice beforehand and spreading it out to chill, you can halve the cooking time later on and still produce a freshly cooked risotto.

To keep the vegetables vibrant

For a risotto you want to keep a bit of bite in the vegetables. Plunging them into iced water stops overcooking and keeps their colour vibrant and their texture crisp. This technique is called ‘refreshing’, and the vegetables then just need a quick reheating before serving. It’s a useful tip for cooking ahead all green vegetables.

Use the best rice

Both the Carnaroli and the Arborio varieties are good, but Carnaroli is a bit more robust. The type of starch in these grains gives creaminess to the dish yet the core of the grain retains a good ‘al dente’ bite. Cook it in gently boiling rather than rapidly boiling water, or the rice goes a bit furry on the outside and becomes watery.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Meal Suggestions | No Comments »