A Splash of Red

This week we received: Onions, Carrots, Potatoes, cherry tomatoes, Parsnips, Leeks, red cabbage

Hurray! Tomatoes, what a welcome change, if they’re good then all you need to do is halve them, add a little salt, pepper and olive oil and you’ve a delicious salad; perfect for squishing onto toast. Otherwise, I love this Spaghetti with Tomato and Almond Pesto, a summery take on pesto.

Parsnips will generally make me happy too, I’ve taken to slicing them into long thin strips and frying in butter and garlic, maybe with some bacon. Sweet caramelised parsnip and the salty crispy bacon are a dream - try it with pasta, recipe here. Obviously leave out the bacon if you’re vegetarian, but I would add a handful of pine nuts instead.

Carrots never cause a problem, the ones that don’t get grated into salads, I roast in little cubes for this Roasted Carrot and Couscous Salad -  perfect for packed lunches.

Red cabbage on the other hand is tricky. It’s delicious cooked long and slow with some cider and apples or red wine and cinnamon. Try it with a Sunday roast, sausage and mash or with oily fish such as mackerel or salmon, here’s the recipe. The only problem is, you get a lot of red cabbage from one head (it never ceases to amaze me) and we always seem to have some stashed in the freezer ready for when the sausage and mash urge takes us. As an alternative, I like it raw, sliced thinly in a winter coleslaw with the carrots,  but as I said, one red cabbage goes a looong way.

For the leeks, how about a pea and leek tart? Sweet leeks and peas in a cheesy, eggy custard, enclosed in crisp pastry. Make it at the weekend and have it for lunch during the week.