Saturday, June 28, 2014

The Cottage Cooking Club – June Recipes


Today, marks the second round of our online cooking group, the Cottage Cooking Club. As a group, recipe by recipe, we are cooking and learning our way through a wonderful vegetable cookbook written in 2011 by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, called „River Cottage Everyday Veg“.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is a well-known British chef, TV personality, journalist, food writer and "real food" campaigner, known for his "back-to-basics philosophy". He is best known for hosting the River Cottage series, in which audiences observe his efforts to become a "self-reliant, downshifted farmer in rural England", his aim is to feed himself, his family and friends with locally produced and sourced fruits, vegetables, fish, eggs and meat.

The Cottage Cooking Club online cooking group is meant to be a project aimed at cooking more vegetable dishes, learning new ways to prepare tasty and healthy dishes and share them with family and friends.

We will make an effort to use as much local, regional, organic and also seasonal produce as is resonably possible. With that goal in mind, I prepared quite a few wonderful dishes from the book already.

My first recipe for the June post is the „Baby Carrot and Broad Bean Risotto“.




The risotto was so creamy and colorful, we just feel in love with this dish. The recipe is a straightforward risotto recipe with some white wine and homemade vegetable stock to cook the risotto rice and lovely, sharp freshly grated Parmiggiano Reggiano to round things off. The intriguing and new element in this recipe was the addition of some wonderfully sweet baby carrots and tender, grass-green broad beans.




These early summer vegetables are always nice to use, although I had never used them in that combination before. With respect to the broad beans, we are in the midst of bean season around here and I bought way too many. In mid-June, you cannot get much more seasonal, or much more delicious than food with colourful broad beans. Only brief steaming or cooking is required when broad beans are in their prime but, as the season progresses, the pods get bigger and tougher and then the beans are encased in a thick outer skin. The skins need to be removed and the beans should be cooked straightaway. Which is what a did – this recipe is a unique and delicious way to showcase this ancient vegetable. While we have enjoyed many a broad bean recipe, we were particularly pleased to discover how delicious these are in a risotto.




The second recipe I made was the „Crudités with tarator sauce“. Traditionally, tarator is a rich and garlicky toasted walnut sauce (or, as in my case, toasted almond) that is served with fish and chicken and it also works well as a dip and to showcase the bounty of fresh vegetables available at this time of year. I served this unusual dip with cauliflower florets, yellow summer squash, more baby carrots and small cucumber sticks.




While this was a nice new recipe to try, I prefer a less dominant sauce for dipping to let the taste of the individual vegetables shine through a bit better.




The third recipe I made was the „Vegetable tempura with chili dipping sauce“.




What can I say, my favorite this month. Hands down. What is there not to love about young, tender, green asparagus, yellow summer squash and cauliflower florets deep-fried within a crisp, light coating of tempura batter.




The batter for the vegetables consists of plain as well as cornflour, baking powder, sea salt and ice-cold mineral water.




And the recipe for the wonderful sweet-salty and spicy, out-of-this-world delicious dipping sauce, calls for redcurrant jelly, cider vinegar, soy sauce (I used light soy sauce), chillies, garlic, pepper and coriander (I used thinly sliced spring onions instead). Pleased as punch that the ingredients for the dipping sauce are pantry itemy at our house. Redcurrant jelly is great for cooking and baking and I always have a jar or two at home, it lends a tart, sparkling flavor to foods and is a wonderful compliment to the saltiness of the soy sauce.




What a delightful appetizer – a huge hit at our house!




The fourth recipe this month was the „New potato, tomato and boiled egg salad“. This potato salad has a nice dressing which is light and perfect for this time of year – all you need is some really good olive oil, cider vinegar, mustard (I used Dijon mustard), sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and a wee bit of sugar.




Then boil new potatoes and eggs and add some colorful tomatoes – I used orange, yellow and zebra tomatoes for this recipe instead of the cherry tomatoes – and I adored the colors of this salad. And the ease of the preparation. It is true that you can never have enough recipes for potato salads. And this one is certainly worth making again. The taste of new potatoes is hard to beat and in combination with fresh tomatoes and eggs, these new harvest potatoes taste even better. I topped off the salad with fresh chives and and orange sage flowers. This summer salad is wonderful!




The fifth recipe this month was another favorite of mine. The unbelievably wonderful „Pizza with new potatoes, rosemary and blue cheese“. This recipe calls for the „Magic bread dough“ again – we made that last month for the equally delicious „Asparagus pizza“. I  enjoy making dough and this one is no exception.




Besides blue cheese and fresh rosemary from the garden, the topping for this pizza consisted of leftover, thinly sliced potatoes. It is wise to use some waxy potatoes for this recipe, as you do not want the sliced potatoes to break down too much in that very hot oven. Plus it is easier to slice them with a mandoline (which is what I did) if the potatoes are not floury but the starchy kind.




The blue cheese I bought was a French one, next time I would love to try an Italian gorgonzola dolce, the strong character of that cheese will go wonderfully with the potatoes and the bittersweet, robust flavor of the rosemary.




The sixth recipe was „green all around“ – for the „Steamed veg with a hint of garlic“, I chose fresh green string beans, broccoli, freshly shelled peas, more broad beans and green asparagus – what a feast for the eyes and palate.




I placed all the vegetables in my steamer basket and after just a few minutes and the addition of some very gently cooked young garlic, butter and coarse salt was, we enjoyed pure vegetable bliss on a platter.




The seventh and last recipe for this month was the „Honey roasted tomatoes“ – what a showstopping way to prepare cherry tomatoes with a hint of garlic and honey – perfect for spooning on some lovely toast or as a side dish for roast chicken. I could not help myself and added some of that rosemary to the cherry tomatoes while they were roasting for a good 30 minutes in the oven. Love that recipe and the way it lets you present those abundantly available cherry tomatoes – next time I make these I would love to try different colors of cherry tomatoes.




Form my eighth recipe, I took the liberty of preparing the „Carrot hummus“ that I did not get around to making last month – this is certainly a colorful hummus and quite intriguing tasting. With warm spices such as coriander and cumin and such lovely ingredients such as honey, garlic, freshly squeezed lemon and orange juice, plus tahini in addition to those oven roasted carrots, this makes for a hummus with many layers of flavor – I  think this will be a wonderful hummus recipe to keep in mind come fall.




Now, dear readers, if you are still not convinced yet that this is the ultimate vegetable cookbook with absolutely outstanding recipes that make the best use of seasonal vegetables – then why not try a few recipes from this lovely book, set a table outside, invite family and friends, and enjoy the season´s bounty to its fullest! Then you will be convinced! And then join us in our quest to cook through this must-have, unique vegetable book!




Please note, that for copyright reasons, we do not publish the recipes. For more information on the participation rules, please go here.

The designated recipes for the month of June were the following:

Spring onion and cheese tart (page 44), New potato, tomato and boiled egg salad (page 76), Crudités with tarator sauce (page 105), Cucumber and lettuce vichyssoise (page 134), Pizza with new potatoes and blue cheese (page 182), Frittata with summer veg and goat´s cheese (page 232), Baby carrot and broad bean risotto (page 269), Vegetable tempura with chilli dipping sauce (page 308), Honey roasted cherry tomatoes (page 343) and Steamed veg with a hint of garlic (page 372).

To see which wonderful dishes the other members of the Cottage Cooking Club prepared in the month of June, please go here.


34 comments:

  1. You have been busy as a bee Andrea and everything looks wonderful. I think, if I had to pick, I'd be with you and choose those tempura veggies with that fabulous sounding dipping sauce, yum!

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    1. Chris, yes and no, considereing that I had four weeks for eight recipes and cook everyday, this was not that bad...I am making thw of the missed recipes this week for a teachers´ school luncheon.
      Thank you for stopping by - how are all your adorable grandkids doing? Are you planning a visit to the UK this summer?

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  2. Everything looks amazing! I love the risotto, it sounds so fresh and flavorful. :)

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    1. June Baby, the risotto was actually my family´s favorte as well and I will make sure to make this recipe a few more times before the broad bean season comes to an end.
      Thank you for your comment!

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  3. As usual Andrea, everything you've made looks gorgeous and very appetizing. I'm really sorry now that I didn't make the risotto this month (though there's nothing to stop me from making it now!).
    Thank you for creating and hosting this group - it's going to be great fun cooking through the book with the other members!

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    1. Zosia, thank you so much for particiating this month - we love to have you onboard! And as long as broad beans are in season, there is still time to make the Baby Carrot and Broad Bean Risotto, it is worth it, it was my family´s favorite recipe from this month´s line-up.
      Thank you for the comemnt as well!

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  4. Hi Andrea, wow! you really went to town, everything looks so delicious, your presentation as always spot on. Thank you for hosting our group another month, I am really enjoying this group and cookbook.

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    1. Cheri, well I also prepared quite a few of the recipes last month, after all, this is my go-to-book for vegetable sides these days. I have preprepared many of the dishes numerous times by now and I appreciate the ease of preparation as well as the wonderful taste every time I make them.
      Thank you for participating this month! Nice to have you onboard with so much dedication!

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  5. These are all so incredibly beautiful! Have YOU ever thought of writing a cookbook? It would be a smash hit, I am sure. The honey-roasted tomatoes really intrigue me most - they sound amazing. I think the tempura would be a favorite, too, but I just don't fry things. These are all so inspiring and, nothing against Hugh's work, but yours makes these recipes rock! ~ David

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    1. David, now you are making me blush a little...seriously, what a wonderful thing to say, thank you for your fervent support! The cookbook, well, no quite yet, but who knows, maybe sometime - that would be a great project though.
      The honey-roasted tomatoes will re-appear on Wednesday´s menue as a topping on Bruschetta with Homemade Ricotta. Cannot wait to make them again.
      Lieben Dank für deine Unterstützung und ganz herzliche Grüße nach Tuscon,
      Andrea

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  6. Diese Farben, nicht ein Stück Fleisch, alles sieht so verlockend aus. Ich kann es kaum erwarten, dass unsere Cherrytomaten reif sind... mit Honig geröstet, das klingt so gut! Ich kann gar nicht sagen, was mir am besten gefällt... Danke für die Idee eines Gemüsebüffets :-)

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    1. Liebe Wally, da dies ein "Gemüsekochbuch" ist, habe ich diesen Monat mal das Fleisch gänzlich weggelassen. Ich glaube, wir haben es auch nicht allzu sehr vermisst. Das Foto von dem Tisch war als "Einladung" gedacht, eine Einladung zum Mitmachen bei dem Cottage Cooking Club - vielleicht inspiriert es ja den ein oder anderen.
      Liebe Grüße aus Bonn,
      Andrea

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  7. Wow you have been busy - All your dishes look amazing, I think my favourite is the pizza with new potatoes. They were showing The River Cottage Everyday on TV here yesterday and I thought of you cooking away to their recipes, I am really going to have to get one of their cookbooks - all the recipes just sound fabulous.

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    1. Karen, unfortunately, there is no River Cottage Everday series on TV in thiese parts of the world bur I do my best to follow all the new and recipes and videos that they publish and produce - the pizza with the new potatoes is fabulous, I really like pizza with thin slices of potato, always did and I appreciate being able to use leftover potatoes for this recipe plus lovely rosemary and blue cheese.
      Thank you for your comment!

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  8. A lovely walk through of your colorful vegetable dishes, would be nice to flip this wonderful sounding cook book and see what are the rest of the recipes are in there..:)

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    1. Jeannie, well, it is never too late to join us! It is just one post per month and the recipes are absolutely outstanding!

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  9. Dear, Andrea,
    STUNNING amazing Colorful Photos! ART. Hope you are well, dear. Looks like you've been VERY busy. xx LOVE from MN.

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    1. Kim, you are such a kind person! Tahnk you for all your wonderful support and your outstanding and kind comments! Veg can be make such colorful props, it is pure joy presenting them in the nicest way possible!

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  10. Andrea, everything you make is just so pretty. The pics are always so crisp and appetizing. Love the way you present food. You're a natural!
    Hope Monday is treating you kindly. xo

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    1. Dear Colette, you know what they say "you eat with your eyes first"...actually it is always nice to present food in an appealing way, kind of helps with convincing the kids to load up on those vegetables!
      Thank you for stopping by and participating this month! Glad that you enjoyed the "New potato, tomato and boiled egg salad"!

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  11. Andrea, I am absolutely mesmerized by your amazing selection and presentation of dishes! I was not expecting such a bounty, so as I kept scrolling down, there was more and more that looked better and better. I loved them all and do so plan to prepare them. What a fabulous book, and club. Thanks for sharing the magnificence!

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    1. Peggy, well, I didi strat cooking recipes from the book a while back and started my own series, so I have a bit of an advantage of having tried some of the recipe sbefore, therefore, it does not take me as much prep time when I make them - plus, I wanted all of the recipes of the month of June to be cooked by someone in the group - to convince others to jump onboard maybe. Really enjoyed making them all - might considere no tposting them all in the future in the blogpost though. We will see. Thank you for your comment and your enthusiastic support!

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  12. Andrea, you are amazing. How do you do so much?!! Everything looks so fabulous, as it always does. Love the last photo. The roasted tomatoes and the tempura were my favorites this month. Looking forward to July's recipes!

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    1. Cathleen, not amazing, a bit overly ambitious maybe - the visual message was to convince others to join in the vegetable fun - I was hoping for the pictures of the food to speak for themselves - and, yes, it was all fun to prepare and to see it all disappear in front of my eyes. Thank you for your kind words and for cooking along with the group!

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  13. I love the fact that we can see how others made the same recipes that we did, and ALSO see the others that we missed. All of your dishes look lovely!! And I'm definitely swayed to want to try the risotto, as well as that dipping sauce! Everything looks fantastic - and I'm with you, this is a fabulous cookbook! Thanks again for putting the group together, so much fun!!

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    1. Candy, the dipping sauce has become our go-to-recipe, period. Love, love it. And the risotto was one of the best I have ever made. No doubt. But the best part of that recipe was not the beautiful color and the fact that it was healthy but that the kids devoured it, asked for seconds, went to the market with me and bought some more broad beans to make it again this week. That´s what I would call a success! Thank you for cooking along with us again this month - the LYL for the July recipe is coming up today!

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  14. Great selection of recipes, thanks! The spread in the yard looks splendid! I will be definitely making the risotto after reading so many rave reviews :)

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    1. The risotto was my kids favorite and I loved it too plus I loved the colors and the freshness and being able to use such wonderful seasonal ingredients.
      Thank you so much for participating in the Cottage Cooking Club - glad that you decided to join us and enjoyed it as well!

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  15. Fried summer vegetables...I can see why this was a clear favorite! I was drooling at the first picture you shared! These all look quite good. And the risotto sounds like it would be perfect for a dinner party we're hosting next week. Thank you for sharing!

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    1. Monet, if you are in need of the recipe for the Broad Bean and Baby Carrot Risotto, please let me know, I will send it to you - thank you for stopping by. Looks like you enjoyed your holidays with Ryan and Lucy! All the best!

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  16. Everything looks great, but the risotto is especially wonderful! You can't go wrong with this wonderful cookbook.

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    1. Absolutely, Beth, I could not agree with you more - you cannot go wrong with this fabulous cookbook - I know that you have a copy as well, maybe we can convince you to cook along with us some day! It would be quite nice to have you onboard!

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  17. Andrea, Your pictures are absolutely stunning, as always. I especially like the last one. What a beautiful spread of vegetables! I agree, this cookbook has been a winner so far. The recipes are clear, not too difficult, and always interesting. I loved the tempura too, and the dipping sauce.

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    1. Jora, so nice that you are part of the Cottage Cooking Club and enjoying cooking along with us - the recipes seem to be quite inspirational for a lot of us - good - that is the reason for cooking through this book, to get people to incorporate more delicious seasonal veg in their own and their family´s diet and really enjoy doing it!

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