Onions

Mushroom and Stilton Wellington

/ Claire / Leave a comment

The mushrooms in this are a great alternative to meat and make a substantial and delicious supper dish for a cold winter night.

Mushroom Wellington5

This serves 2, but you could easily double this to feed 4 people. I would serve this with a side salad, but the addition of sweet potato fries would be good too!

Mushroom Wellington4

Ingredients:
5 field mushrooms – stalks removed and one of them chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1.5tbs olive oil
1tsp salt and freshly ground black pepper
Small bunch of thyme – leaves removed and roughly chopped
Small bunch of Cavolo Nero – tough ribs removed and roughly chopped
100g mature blue Stilton cheese, crumbled
1 pack of puff pastry
1 egg beaten with a little milk to make a wash

Mushroom Wellington3

Method:
Heat oven to 220°C/425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment or a non-stick liner

Heat 1tbs of the oil in a large pan and fry 4 of the mushrooms for around 4 mins on each side until golden and cooked through. Set aside on kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil and moisture.

Place the pan back on the heat and add the rest of the oil. Add the chopped mushroom, onion, thyme, salt and pepper. Fry until the onion is soft and translucent. Then add the kale and continue to cook until wilted, before setting aside to cool.

On a lightly floured board, roll out the puff pastry until it is a little under half a centimetre thick.

Using a large cookie cutter or a small bowl; cut out two circles that are 2cm wider than the mushrooms. These will be the bases. Then cut another two circles about 8cm wider for the tops. You need the tops to be big enough to cover the mushrooms without stretching, so go bigger if your mushrooms are on the large size.

Mushroom Wellington2

Place the two base circles on the baking sheet and add a quarter of the vegetable mixture, taking care not to spread it wider than the mushrooms.

Place a mushroom, cap down and top with half of the cheese. Place another mushroom cap side up and add another quarter of the vegetable mixture.

Brush the pastry base border around each mushroom with egg and then layer the top circle of party over the filling, like a large ravioli.

Use your hand to gently smooth the pasty over the mushrooms and make sure you have not trapped any air in the parcel. Just take care not to stretch the pastry, as it can shrink in the oven and open up.

Seal the edges together using a fork.

Mushroom Wellington

Trim any untidy edges – I used a small bowl over the parcels and cut around the edge.

Brush each wellington with egg and bake for 30-40 mins until golden brown and puffed.

Mushroom Wellington1

Serve with a green salad and sweet potato fries for a delicious vegetarian dinner.

Spinach makes a good alternative to the kale and feel free to up the cheese content for an extra indulgent treat.

Roasted Autumn Vegetable Plait

/ Claire / Leave a comment

Now we are into September, I think we can officially break out the Autumn recipes. While it might not be time for scarves, gloves and thick coats, I am definitely thinking of all things Fall.

With cooler temperatures and squashes and pumpkins arriving into the shops, my thoughts turn to roasts, soups, stews and casseroles. One of my favourite ways of cooking vegetables is to roast them and with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, autumn and winter vegetables really taste at their very best.

Kale

This vegetable plait consists of roasted seasonal vegetables, deep green Cavolo Nero, together with fragrant, woody herbs, chestnuts and blue cheese. They all go exceptionally well together and form a perfect vegetarian dinner dish. It’s also really good served cold the next day with salad, or in a lunchbox.

Autumn veg plait

Ingredients:
1 small Acorn or Queen squash, or a small butternut squash, washed, peeled and cut into bite sized chunks
2 small red onions, halved and sliced
Small bunch of Cavolo Nero, washed, ribs removed and roughly torn up
Small bunch of Sage, rolled and cut into very fine strips
1 tbs Thyme leaves, chopped
200g Blue cheese like Stilton, rind removed and broken into fairly large crumbles
1 Pack of vacuum packed chestnuts, broken up a little
Puff pastry – either home-made or shop bought and rolled into a rectangle (approx 35cmx23cm)
Olive oil
Butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Egg and a little milk for brushing

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 200°C

Rub the squash with 1tbs of olive oil, 1tsp salt and ½tsp pepper and place on a baking tray and roast until tender and just catching at the edges. This will take around 30 minutes. When ready, allow to cool.

While the squash is roasting, gently sauté the onions in a small knob of butter, a little oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until softened, translucent and golden. Remove from the pan and allow to cool. In the same pan, add a little more butter, the kale and a tbs of water. Stir around until it has wilted a little.

Place the puff pastry onto a lined baking sheet and cut thick strips around the edge, leaving a centre rectangle intact.

Autumn veg plait1

Gently, mix together the squash, kale, chestnuts, cheese, sage and thyme and place onto the pastry. It should be fairly compact as you are going to wrap the strips of pasty around it to form a parcel.

Brush the strips with a little of the egg wash and fold over the ends first and then alternate side strips until the filling is encased. Cover with cling film and chill for an hour or overnight if you are making ahead.

Autumn veg plait slice

When you are ready to bake, brush the egg wash all over the pastry and bake for 30 to 40 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.

Autumn veg slice

Bring on Autumn, I love it!

Winter Vegetable Bake with Cheese

/ Claire / Leave a comment

This winter vegetable bake is like a baked bubble and squeak.  Winter root vegetables, with cabbage and cheese makes for a delicious vegetarian dinner or a hearty side dish.

veg bake

I got the idea from a couple of sources – the first was when I returned from my honeymoon. We came back from warm, sunny shores to November in England. It was cold, wet, windy and after two weeks of well, not great food in the hotel, I was craving warm, stick to your ribs, comfort food and although I didn’t know it then, I was also pregnant with my second son.

The first day back after we had unpacked, I didn’t feel like cooking dinner, so we went out to a lovely little pub – The Otter, which is on the banks of the River Soar in Kegworth. There was a real fire burning in the hearth and I remember ordering a hearty stew that came with simply mashed vegetables (because it was the winter menu).  It was a lovely comforting meal and really hit the spot after all the Euromush we had been suffering in the hotel!  Although, to be fair the Greek salad and yogurt were great…!

The second source was when we went up to Yorkshire to visit relatives later that year on Boxing Day.  My brother in law made these sort of vegetable patties from the Christmas dinner leftovers.  They were great – actually the best part of the whole meal!  I never did find out how he made them, but pregnant and craving veggies, I decided to try and recreate them at home.

However, my version did not work!  They just fell to pieces as they were too soft.  I gave up and ended up shoving the whole lot in a baking dish, sticking it in the oven and cooking it like a casserole.  The result was a lovely vegetable bake and I decided to abandon the patties and make it that way from then on.

I have altered that recipe in that I now put slow cooked onions into it and I usually add cheese too.  The dish can be made from leftovers, but I normally cook the vegetables from scratch in order to make this.  The proportions are open to variation, but I normally do two thirds potato, to one third swede and carrots.  The veg can be boiled or steamed until tender.

Ingredients:
1 medium sized swede/rutabaga – peeled and cut into small dice
3 medium sized carrots – peeled and cut into small dice, the same size as the swede
5-6 medium sized potatoes – cut into chunks
1 small savoy cabbage or kale, thinly sliced
3 or 4 medium sized onions, peeled and cut into semi circles
Comte cheese – any cheese can be used, but the sweet, nutty flavour of Comte really compliments the sweet vegetables
Olive oil
Butter
Salt and pepper

Method:
Sauté the onions slowly in 1 tbs of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter with 1 tsp salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook on a low heat for around 25 minutes until golden, soft and sweet.

While the onions are cooking, boil the carrots and swede/rutabaga in salted boiling water until the chunks are tender – around 25-30 minutes. In another saucepan, boil the potatoes in salted water until they are tender – around 15-20 minutes. I do them in separate pans as the potatoes cook more quickly.

Steam or boil the cabbage for around 3 minutes, drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking, refresh and set the colour. I sometimes do this in the potato water after I have taken out the potatoes to save on the washing up. Squeeze out excess water and set aside.

Drain and mash the potatoes. Then drain the carrots and swede and mash separately. I find they tend to hold onto the water, so once mashed, I stir them over the heat until some of the moisture has evaporated. This is just my preference.

Beat the potatoes, swede and carrots together using a wooden spoon with lots of butter and plenty black pepper, stir in the onions and cabbage and transfer to a large baking dish.

Sprinkle cheese over the top and using the wooden spoon, push in some of the cheese into the mixture so that you have little areas of melted cheese in the finished dish. Smooth out the top and bake at 180°C/350°F for around 30 minutes or until the top is golden, crisp and bubbling.

This is perfect as a side dish to any roast meat or fish and can be made ahead of time and baked when you want to serve it.

veg bake2