Harvest Recipes
MATTHEW KENNARD-BOWEN
We’re reaching that time of year when there’s a glut of vegetables and fruit from the garden or friends with allotments; there always seems to be a small bag of courgettes or tomatoes being thrust upon us at every turn. Listed here are a few suggestions of how to use some of these up. Whether as a whole dish as I’ve pictured or prepared individually, it should offer some ideas to make the most of these late summer beauties.
Celeriac and potato gratin
Ingredients
- 300g celeriac
- 300g mashing/roasting potato
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 150ml double cream
- 150ml milk
- 80g grated cheddar or gruyere
Method
Peel the celeriac and potatoes. Using a mandolin or knife, thinly slice them.
Peel and crush the garlic with a good amount of salt in a pestle and mortar or on a chopping board. The salt will help extract the juices from the garlic and work to grind it down. The more you chop alliums, the stronger the flavour, so you’ll get more from less.
Toss the roots with the garlic and add the cream and milk, adjust the seasoning. It will take more than you think, so you can go heavy, although you can always season at the table. Place evenly into a baking tray. Top with parchment paper and tin foil.
Bake at 180c for about 50 minutes until tender, remove from the oven. At this point you can top with the cheese and bake again for 10 to 15 minutes to serve straight away, or, if you are working ahead of time and planning to reheat, place another tray that fits just inside the first tray on top, and press with a weight – this can be a few cans from the cupboard. Cut to your desired shape when cold. Top with the cheese and bake until piping hot.
Celeriac and rosemary puree
Ingredients
- 200g celeriac, roughly chopped
- 1 sprig of rosemary
- 100ml milk
- Pinch salt
- Pinch white pepper
- Squeeze lemon juice
- 50g cold butter
Method
Simmer the celeriac in the milk with the rosemary until the celeriac is soft. Remove the rosemary, place the milk and celeriac into a blender with the salt and pepper, a good squeeze of lemon juice and blitz until smooth. Add cold butter gradually in pieces until it has emulsified and the puree has become smooth and glossy. This makes a fantastic dip for crudités and those guilty pleasure Kettle crisps of an evening.
Courgette fritter
Ingredients
- 250g courgette
- Good pinch of salt
- Chopped fresh herbs: dill, parsley, chive, mint or a combination
- Zest and juice of ½ a lemon
- 50g gluten free flour
Method
Either cut the courgette into fine matchsticks or simply grate. Salt the courgettes for 5 minutes to extract the juices, add a finely chopped selection of herbs and the zest and juice of the lemon. Fold through the flour to form a thick batter. We like to deep fry at around 170°c for a few minutes, turning to ensure crispness, but you can shallow fry so they are more like a scotch pancake.
These are very nice served with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon for brunch or used to top beans on toast with some crumbled feta cheese and a good chilli sauce.
Courgette and apple remoulade
Ingredients
- 300g courgette
- 1 green apple/crab apple
- Zest and juice of ½ lemon
- 1 spring onion
- 30g mayonnaise
- 20g crème fraiche/yoghurt
- 10g Dijon mustard
- Small handful of tarragon, dill, parsley, mint or chive, or a combination of what takes your fancy
Method
Mix the mayo, crème fraiche or yoghurt with the mustard, lemon juice and zest. Add the finely chopped spring onion.
Cut the courgette and apple into fine matchsticks and fold through the mayo mixture with your selection of fresh herbs.
This is great with lightly toasted walnuts and a wedge of Sussex Charmer cheese.
Shrunken tomatoes
Ingredients
- 4 x plum tomatoes
- A drizzle of light olive oil
- A drizzle of white vinegar
- Icing sugar
Method
Cut an x into the base of the tomatoes. Cover with boiling water for 60 seconds. Lift out of the hot water and into cold/iced water. Using a sharp small knife peel the skin from the tomatoes, trying not to take too much of the flesh with it.
Place the tomatoes on a tray lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with white vinegar and a good shake of icing sugar. Bake at 90c for two – three hours depending on size (you will know they are ready when they look shrunken). Test one, eat them all and start again!
These are lovely tossed over pasta with some good olive oil, garlic, chilli flakes and plenty of parmesan.
Blackberry dressing
Ingredients
- 200g foraged blackberries
- 100ml balsamic vinegar
- ½ tsp pink peppercorns
- 3 tsp caster sugar
- 200ml extra virgin olive oil
Method
Blitz the blackberries, balsamic vinegar, sugar and peppercorns in a blender whilst gradually adding the olive oil.
This is great for dressing game birds and venison but also good over a tossed salad with roasted figs and fried croutons.
Fresh garlic aioli
Ingredients
- 5 cloves fresh garlic
- Juice of ½ lemon
- Good pinch of salt flakes
- ½ tsp Dijon mustard
- 200g mayonnaise
Method
A bit of a cheat here, but grinding the garlic, mustard, lemon and salt in pestle and mortar until smooth, then folding through the mayonnaise will give you a lovely condiment without the pain of making a mayonnaise from scratch. Fresh garlic is milder than the dry version in the shops, so you can go a little heavy with it without upsetting loved ones.
The addition of anchovy is well advised for those who like it, and it’s perfect for dredging radish and other vegetables through as a light supper.
For more about Matthew Kennard-Bowen events check out Instagram @mkbevents_
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