Rhubarb and Orange Jam

Every spring I buy Seville oranges to make marmalade, and I take care to buy extra, and I juice them and freeze this as an ingredient in the summer. You can make a delicious Seville orange curd, or use it for a delicate pie filling. This year, I used it to make rhubarb jam. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2kg rhubarb, chopped
  • 2kg jam sugar
  • 100 to 150ml Seville orange juice

METHOD:

  • Put the rhubarb in the jam pan, and pour over the sugar. Leave this to combine until the next day. 
  • Add the orange juice, bring to a boil and simmer for around 20 minutes. 
  • Once the mixture is thick, pour into warmed jam jars. 

Rhubarb conserve

Variation 1 on the great rhubarb jam sessions. This is from an old book called 500 recipes: jams, pickles and chutneys, by Marguerite Patten. Mine is priced 2/6 so it is quite old. 

INGREDIENTS: 

  • 1kg rhubarb, chopped
  • 1kg jam sugar
  • 250g raisins or sultanas
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 orange

METHOD:

  • Put the chopped rhubarb in the jam pan and cover with sugar, and leave to stand until the next day
  • Add the raisins, and bring to a slow boil for 20 minutes
  • Add the juice and grated rind of one lemon and one orange, and boil until the jam is thick.
  • Pour into warmed jars, and leave to set. 

Rhubarb jam

This has been the year of rhubarb. I moved a crown of rhubarb to deep peaty soil a couple of years ago, and it has gone mad. The warm wet weather and seaweed has led to monster stems, and I have been trying out jam recipes. I’ll add a few variations as I test them out. 

The main ingredients for simple rhubarb jam are very simple. First pull your rhubarb. It is better for the plant to pull the stems from the crown, rather than cutting them. Choose stems that are over a foot long, the longer the better. Don’t take any stems that have settled on the surface of the soil for any length of time, they will not be such good quality. Use the leaves as a surface mulch in the veg garden.

INGREDIENTS:

  • Rhubarb stems, washed and sliced to around 1 cm long
  • Equal weight of sugar
  • For each 500g rhubarb, add the juice of a lemon 

METHOD:

  • Put the rhubarb in the jam pan and cover with the sugar. Leave to stand until the next day. 
  • Add the lemon juice, and bring to a rolling boil. Boil for around 20 minutes, until the jam is thick. Keep stirring to prevent anything from sticking to the base of the pan. 
  • Pour into warm sterilised jam jars. 

I warm my washed jamjars in the oven at 80C. Putting them through a dish washer first is good as well. I sterilise the jar lids in boiling water. 

Orache

I have been continuing my adventures with wild food, and finally overcame my anxiety about trying orache. I am not 100% sure which variety I picked in the end; it was not exactly like the pictures in any of my wild food books. For reference I looked at ‘Food for Free’ by Richard Mabey, Prehistoric cooking by Jacqui Wood, and ‘Edible Seashore’ by John Wright. This last book is one of the River Cottage Handbooks. All three books recommend orache as a wild food, similar to spinach but not producing as many leaves per plant. The Orache plant family is related to ‘Fat Hen’, an edible weed that I find on my compost heap, and other plants in the goosefoot family.

This was also the first road test of the Richard Mabey book, and it let me down by not discussing or referring to the huge range of orache plants. The Prehistoric cookery book also hints at the possibilities, but it was the Edible seashore book and google that were the most helpful.

Anyway, off we set with our bucket, across the dunes and down to the shore to see what we could find. We found a lot of orache, several varieties, growing in the dune grasses, on the edge of the machair, and then on the higher parts of the shore. We found a whole area of frosted orache (Atriplex laciniata), good big plants with lots of shoots. The plants were low, lying, growing straight out of the sand. The leaves were frosted and rough, and there were clusters of small buds towards the tips, arising in the joints where the leaves leave the stem. I took one shoot of each plant we saw, and ended up with about three good bunches. This was enough to feed three people; like spinach, it cooks down a lot.

When I got home, I rinsed it off to remove the sand, and then cooked it in garlic butter for about three minutes. It was very good indeed, better than spinach, and a good side dish. Next time I see it growing well, no worries, I would pick it again.

In terms of nutrition, it was extremely fresh and extremely local, so there was minimal wastage of nutrients. It was better cooked, and the books agreed with me on that one. It is hard to get data on the nutritional value of Orache, but it is reputed to be rich in calcium, vitamin c, vitamin b1, and iron.

Home-made shish kebab

We had planned a barbecue, but rain stopped play, and we ended grilling these. Better on the barbecue though. Don’t forget to marinade the ingredients the day before.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 750g good quality local beef
  • 3 green peppers
  • 4 tomatoes
  • 8 Spring onions
  • 8 close cup mushrooms
  • 8 bayleaves
  • 1 large onion
  • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
  • 1 cup fresh oregano or marjoram, or 1 heaped tsp dried
  • 1 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt & freshly ground black pepper
  • skewers

METHOD:

  • Cut the beef into large cubes, about 2 inches, 5cm across. Cut the tomatoes in half, and cut the peppers into large squares.
  • Make a marinade as follows: slice the onion, and combine with the olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and crushed garlic. Put the kebab ingredients into the marinade in a large sealed container, and leave in the fridge for 8 to 24 hours. If you are using wooden skewers, dampen them and put them in the freezer overnight.
  • The next day, set the barbecue volunteer to lighting the charcoal at least 30 minutes before you are due to cook. Let the charcoal burn until they form a hot bed of glowing coals. Meanwhile, thread the ingredients onto the skewers, alternating beef cubes with other ingredients, and dividing them equally.
  • Cook the kebabs on the barbecue for about 5 minutes on each side, total cooking time around 10 minutes. You are not aiming to get the meat any more than ‘medium’. Baste the kebabs as they are cooking with the remaining marinade.

Serve with nan bread or pitta bread, side salad, and greek-style plain yoghurt.

Spaghetti Puttanesca

This is a classic ‘store cupboard’ recipe from Italy, but only if you have all of the ingredients in the store cupboard. It is a delicious fruity, tangy, carb-rich dish, very comforting and tasty. We used the BBC good food recipe for the basic idea, although we had to go out to get the pitted olives and the anchovy fillets. All of the ingredients are available in our local co-op.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • A pinch of salt
  • 2 large garlic cloves, crushed
  • ½ tsp chilli flakes or pepperoncini
  • 400g can chopped tomatoes
  • 5 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
  • 120g pitted black olives
  • 2 tbsp capers, drained
  • 300g dried spaghetti
  • ½ small bunch of parsley, finely chopped

METHOD:

  • Heat the oil over a medium-low heat an add the onion along with a generous pinch of salt and fry for 10 mins, or until soft.
  • Add the garlic and chilli and cook for a further minute.
  • Stir the tomatoes, anchovies, olives and capers into the onion, bring to a gentle simmer and cook, uncovered, for 15 mins, then season to taste.
  • Meanwhile, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Cook the spaghetti following pack instructions, then drain and toss with the sauce and parsley.

Beetroot, cumin and coriander soup

A nod to the BBC good food site, which is a source of reliable recipes. I was looking for new ways to cook beetroot, of which there is a plentiful supply in one of our local supermarkets. I had also grown a few more puny specimens which I added to the mix. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 red onions in wedges
  • 1kg raw beetroot (about 3 very large beetroot) peeled and diced (or you can add a carrot if you don’t have enough beetroot)
  • 2 tsp chilli flakes
  • 1 tbsp cumin seeds
  • 1 1/2 tbsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1.2 litres marigold stock, or other vegetable stock
  • 30g hazelnuts
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds
  • natural yoghurt
  • salt and pepper
  • (I also added some chopped celery)

METHOD:

  • Heat the oil in a large soup pan, and gently fry the onions, optional celery, and a good pinch of salt.  Cook for around 10 minutes
  • Add the Chilli flakes, and 1 tbsp each of cumin and coriander, turn up the heat and cook for a few minutes until the smell is fragrant with spice.
  • Add the vinegar, stir and add the stock. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for an hour. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. 
  • When the beetroot is tender, use a soup wand to blend. 
  • Meanwhile, chop the hazelnuts roughly. In a dry frying pan, add the nuts, sesame seeds and 1 tsp cumin, and 1/2 tsp coriander, and gently toast until the nuts are golden. 
  • Serve the soup with a swirl of yoghurt in each bowl, topped with a good sprinkling of spiced toasted nuts. 

Mushroom and leek risotto

I had guests and a lot of leeks, so we made this as a quick after-work dish. It was delicious. The leeks were the end of season weeny ones left in the ground, we’d enough to make a substantial dish.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 litre marigold stock
  • 2 x 25g butter
  • 200g mushrooms (one punnet)
  • salt and pepper
  • Chopped fresh sage, thyme and parsley
  • 200g leeks, cleaned and chopped
  • 200g arborio rice
  • 100ml dry white wine 
  • 50g grated parmesan cheese
  • Another 25g butter

METHOD:

  • Heat a large saucepan over a medium heat, and add the first 25g butter. Hwn it melts , add the chopped mushrooms, salt and pepper, and fry for around 4 minutes, until browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.
  • In the same pan, add another 25g butter, and add the leeks and herbs and saute for 2 minutes, until browning. 
  • Add the arborio rice and keep on cooking until the rice is glossy and coated in butter
  • Add the white wine and bring to a simmer, stirring until the liquid is absorbed
  • Add the hot stock a ladle-ful at a time, stirring until the liquid is absorbed, and then adding the next scoop. Kepp on with this with the mixture just about simmering. When the rice is tender and al dente, stop there, and add the cheese, 25g butter, mushrooms and stir. Check the seasoning and leave to rest for a couple of minutes 
  • Serve garrnished with herbs. 

Venison stew

This is a delicious stew with a lot of sauce, excellent with cous cous. I used a lot of celery, which went well with the rich taste of venison. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 700g diced venison e.g. from haunch or leg
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 sticks of celery, diced
  • 2 small onions, or one large onion, diced
  • 4 carrots, diced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 tsp herbe de Provence (I used a mixture of dried basil, dried oregano, dried savoury, dried thyme, dried rosemary, bay leaves)
  • 1 scant tsp salt
  • black pepper
  • 1 400g tin of tomatoes
  • 3 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 litre of stock

METHOD:

  • Dice the venison, and fry in a casserole pan in hot oil until browned, and then set aside.
  • In the same pan, fry the onion, celery and carrots over a medium heat for around 10 minutes.
  • Add the garlic, herbs and salt and pepper, and fry for a minute or two, before adding the tomatoes, stock and Worcestershire sauce, and bringing to a simmer. 
  • Add the venison, stir together and then cook in the oven at 140C for 3 hours, or until the venison is tender.

You could add dumplings or potatoes. The potatoes are best added to the stew about 40 minutes before serving. Dumplings take about 30 minutes to cook in a stew. 

Rabbit with white wine and celery

Another rabbit recipe. I keep finding more, and I’m still working through them; who knew there were so many? This one was especially tasty, and I would make it again, no bother. It might be good with green olives as well. I served it with polenta, but mashed potatoes would be good as well. 

INGREDIENTS: 

  • 1 wild rabbit, jointed
  • 30g butter, or a mixture of butter and lard
  • 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 stalks of celery, finely chopped
  • 1 can of chopped tomatoes, or 250g ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 300ml dry white wine
  • salt and pepper

METHOD:

  • In a large casserole dish or lidded saucepan, brown the rabbit pieces in the butter and lard. Remove from the pan and put to one side
  • In the butter and lard, brown the onion for five minutes, and then add the celery and garlic for another couple of minutes.
  • Add the tomatoes, and simmer for five minutes
  • Return the rabbit to the pan, and pour over the white wine. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer
  • Reduce the heat and cook slowly for around 2 hours, or until the rabbit is nice and tender. If the sauce is looking a bit dry, add some more wine. 

Serve with polenta or mashed potatoes.