Protected: What Vegetables Should I be cooking in May?

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    As spring progresses the winter dry spell of ingredients begins to fall away and we've more seasonal vegetables available to us. Here's 5 to enjoy this season and some ideas about how to prepare them.

    Peppers
    Make a rice dish accompaniment.

    For a spring supper, for 2, cook 150g-200g tagliatelle. Deseed and thinly slice 1 red and 1 yellow pepper. Sautee for a few minutes. Add a crushed clove of garlic, 50ml of cream and 50ml of hot vegetable stock. Simmer gently for 2 or 3 minutes. Add in the drained pasta, cooking for a further 3-4 minutes to coat. Season to taste and serve sprinkled with parsley.

    Scallions (spring onions)
    Try a couscous salad of 5 spring onions sautéed generously in olive oil, add a teaspoon of ground coriander and ground cumin, and a dessertspoon of golden sultanas. Pour over the prepared couscous and mix well. Season well to taste and serve sprinkled with fresh coriander leaves.

    Add spring onions to your cheese toasted sandwich. Add to omelettes with herbs and diced pepper. Serve in baked potatoes with a dollop of sour cream.

    Try the Happy Pear’s sweet potato, spring onion, feta and spinach frittata here.

    Make a cheesy potato mash and add scallions, sautéed in butter for an extra fresh taste.

    Grill spring onions whole and serve on top of rosti with wilted greens.

    Tomatoes
    With the early tomatoes, consider roasting or stuffing them.

    For breakfast tomatoes, roast whole tomatoes for 20 minutes in a hot oven with a drizzle of olive oil. Season and add a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and a pinch of sugar and shake the tin to mix. Put back in the oven for 5 minutes before serving.

    If you're making stuffed tomatoes, cut the top off the tomatoes. Sautee a diced onion with a crushed clove of garlic and 4 diced button or chestnut mushrooms. Add 3 tablespoons of breadcrumbs, the tomato seeds/pulp and 2 tablespoons of grated cheddar. Season to taste. Pile the mixture back into the tomato shells and grill until the edges are brown and mixture inside is bubbling.

    To make a more substantial meal, try a roasted tomato tart. Line a flan dish with a sheet of pre-rolled puff pastry. Weigh down (I use baking beans) and bake blind for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, halve the tomatoes and place cut side up in a baking tin, drizzle with olive oil and bake for 15 minutes alongside the

    If you'd like to make a homemade tomato sauce, halve 1 kg of tomatoes, place in a baking tin and drizzle with olive oil. Bake in a medium oven for 35 -40 minutes, until the tomatoes are melting away from their skins. Leave to cool and when you can handle them, remove the skins if you wish for a smoother texture. Blend the tomatoes until smooth and if you wish you can pass the sauce through a sieve, but it isn’t necessary. Use straight away as a pasta sauce or use for pizzas.

    You could even add a tin of beans and a sautéed stick of celery, carrot and onion to your tomato sauce for extra hidden vegetables.

    Parsley
    In late spring, forgo basil pesto for parsley pesto, its no sacrifice!

    Blend a large bunch of parsley (flat-leaf or curly is fine) with 125ml of extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon of pine nuts and 1 tablespoon of grated parmesan. When smooth, test and season to taste.

    Parsley is great in everything to add a fresh taste. Try it finely chopped in pasta dishes, Mexican dishes, stews and on soups.

    Make a gremolata for the top of pizzas, lasagnas, pasta dishes and any kind of stew or bake by using a food processor to chop a bunch of parsley, a clove of garlic and the zest of a lemon. The gremolata will keep in the fridge for a few days.

    Spinach
    Try a fresh spinach pasta dish ready in the time it takes to cook the pasta! For 4 people, cook 350g tagliatelle as per packet instructions. In a pan, wilt 250g washed spinach. Add 100g mascarpone and stir to dissolve/ season with salt pepper and nutmeg. Set aside. When the pasta is ready and drained, add it to the sauce, folding in gently. Cook gently for a few minutes. Serve with a sprinkling of grated parmesan.

    For spinach pancake cannelloni, make a batch of your favourite pancakes (4 large ones will do)/ Sauté a diced onion for 5 minutes. Add 250g spinach
    For a wonderful spanakopita, serving 4, sauté a sliced onion for 5 minutes, add 250g spinach (or a mixture of spinach and kale, see above) and wilt.

    In a bowl, whisk two eggs. Crumble in 200g of feta cheese, 1 teaspoon of oregano, zest of half a lemon, seasoning. When the greens are ready, add to the eggs. Cut a pre-rolled puff pastry slice in two. Lay one piece on a baking tray.

    Top with the spinach, egg and feta mixture. Bake in a hot oven for 45 minutes, until cooked through.




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