Garden Springing into Life and Tuscan Rainbow Chard Ragout

The allotment garden plot is beginning to burst into life.  

So here are some selected pictures.

 Chive Blossoming, just waiting for the bumble bees to come by.

Wild strawberries and strawberries flowers under the apple tree.

The border looks good with natural wood fell that I dragged back with D.

Red Swiss Chard and Nutmeg Gratin

The Rainbow Chard in my garden is plentiful and still adorning the garden plot, that I am loathing having to pull them out, as they are adding a bit of colour to space that is otherwise a blank dirt canvas, excluding the odd green weed popping here and there.  

But I have - I have leaned over the garden fence, arms stretched outright and shared some with neighbours.

I made this Red Swiss Chard Gratin last week to use what up what we are growing, as well as an excuse to join in with Harvest Monday hosted by Dave over at Happy Acres who hosts every week. 

I know it is not the prettiest of dishes, but it was one of the most flavourful side dishes i have ever had.   The nutmeg really lifts the gratin and on first glance you could almost be forgiven for thinking this is a dessert or even rhubarb crumble.

The Swiss Chard recipe is adapted from  Spice Trip by Stevie Pearle and Emma Grazette, this is the same cookbook that I made the  Cumin and Orange Madeira Loaf.  There is a wonderful looking Pistachio and Nutmeg Cake in the cookbook, but it required Greek yogurt of which I have none, so maybe next time; or maybe I can substitute that with Double Thick Cream. 

Swiss Chard Paneer

Next weekend will be the weekend when we will turn our thoughts to the festive season.  Its the weekend we will also bring down the Christmas tree and decorations from the attic.. but this weekend is a lazy weekend.  So lazy that I have nothing of interest to share, I feel zapped and lacking both energy and enthusiasm.  I hope the festive season injects some pizazz into me! 

I made this Swiss Chard Paneer early this month.  Its an adaptation of Saag or Palak (Spinach) Paneer that you often find at South Asian take-aways and restaurants.

The rainbow chard came from my garden.  There is still plenty to harvest.  

The pan roasted paneer made for a change.  I normally just throw it in the dish and let it warm through, but fancied being a little bit naughty.  You can see the brand of paneer cheese I used if you visit my In My Kitchen blog post.  This was a gorgeous dish to eat with rice, the chard had softened so much that it coated the paneer like silk.  

So this recipe is my contribution to the last edition of  Eat Your Greens challenge that I co-hosted with The VegHog.  There is still time to join in if you want.  Follow this link on how to participate. 

Recipe below

Ruby Red Chard Mushroom Nut Wellington

My most favourite of favourites Nut Mushroom Wellington by far has to be from Nadine Abensur from her cookbook The Cranks Bible.  When I was a student I would often make it and slice it in individual pieces and freeze it, so when I had friends over or too tired to make something, I would go to the freezer and bake it in the oven served with steamed veg and gravy.  

It's been a few years now since I've made a nut roast, and I mean one covered in puff pastry aka a Mushroom Nut Wellington, so that had to be addressed.  And with the sun disappearing on us again and it all going nippy again, a vegan nut roast with all the trimming was to be on the menu.  

I was going to put a handful of shredded kale to the mushroom and nuts, but decided to throw in a handful of homegrown red chard, spotted amongst all the weeds in the garden.  

A couple of weeks back I made some progress weeding and digging the garden.  We were fortunate to have the nephews over bribed by the appeal of a home-made veggie burger with spicy wedges.  They helped their uncle dismantling the pergola and I did the digging, but the work in the garden came to a halt when both myself and D came down with some kind of bug.  Its not even halfway through the year and I have been poorly twice this year.  Feeling much better now, I am back in the kitchen and back to blogging. 

Balsamic Infused Red Chard Pasta

I've had a tremendously busy weekend.  I'll tell you more about Saturday later on in the week as my head is still buzzing, but for Sunday I found myself helping my parents at their new allotment.  Its looking pretty good.  They have got potatoes in the ground, chickpeas, daikon, fenugreek and lots of coriander.  I tell you it has been a while since I have worked that hard, my lower back was aching that I was really looking forward to having a bath when I got back home.   

My mother got given a bunch of red chard by one of the vegetable growers there.  She prefers the green variety and gave it to me to cook with.  I absolutely adore Rainbow Swiss Chard and Bright Lights Chard.  It adds so much cheer and colour to the garden.  I really missed growing it last year.  Chard is something I am growing this year and I am pleased to say, that the seedlings are doing fantastic, even though some of them got knocked about in the high winds a couple of weeks ago. 

Red also known as Ruby Chard does have a distinct 'rooty' taste to it, the closest I can compare it to is the flavour of beetroot.  However once sauteed for this dish, it  actually tasted more of the sea than beetroot or spinach.  There is a seaweed taste to it, in fact I'd go as far as saying 'fishy'.   I think its when the balsamic infuses the chard, it alters the flavour somewhat.

My nephew came on over earlier this evening and had a bowl of this pasta at room temperature.  He topped it with loads of crumbled feta cheese.  He snugged his nose and gave me his honest opinion.  It had a 'fishy taste to it' and continued eating.  He is polite, even if he is not that keen on what I make, he is always courteous and cleans his plate.  I think D would like 'fishy overtones' of the dish.  I'll find out later, as he has taken a lunchbox full of this pasta for his working lunch today.  Oh I can't remember, if I shared with you.  Early this month, D found employment.  Its only temporary, but any kind of income is something for us.   UPDATED: D said he could understand what my nephew meant by describing the pasta dish as fishy, but for him it was more vinegar sharp, brine like.  He said he did not mind it. 

I am sharing this at Presto Pasta Nights (PPN). PPN was founded by Ruth Daniels of Once Upon a Feast and each Friday night a different host posts a roundup of pasta dishes submitted by bloggers from around the world. This week PPN #264 is being hosted by Alisha of Cook, Craft, Enjoy. 
Balsamic Infused Red Chard Pasta
Serves 2 - 4
Ingredients
Cook pasta for 2 - 3 people and set aside

Bunch of red chard including stems
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely sliced
2 - 3 tablespoons good Balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: crumbled feta cheese or goats cheese
Method
Thoroughly wash the chard, cut off the thick stems and chop them.  Set them aside.  Then roughly chop the leaves. 
Heat the olive oil in a wide pan, add the onion and saute until it begins to soften, then stir in the chopped chard stems and continue to cook for a few minutes, until they begin to soften.  Add the chard leaves and cook until it wilts.  Stir in salt and balsamic vinegar to taste. 
Stir in the cooked pasta and stir well to combine.  Check and adjust seasoning, before serving on a plates with a scattering of optional feta or goats cheese.

Green Pasta Loaf

This Green Pasta loaf is speckled with greens such as perpetual spinach, chard and peas. 

Its very similar in texture to this Mosaic Carrot and Green Pie, but of course the vegetable filling is different and so is the pastry, instead of my usual hot watercrust pastry, I made a shortcrust.  The pastry was lovely and crumbly.  The filling was good but could have benefited from a little lift in the seasoning, not so much salt and pepper, but something like a green herb or a green pesto sauce. 

This is a good recipe to make in advance.  Its really good cold or at room temperature and slices beautiuflly.  All you need next to it is a simple salad, perhaps one with pinkish radishes to offset the shades of green. 

I am submitting this to Presto Pasta Nights #218. PPN was founded by Ruth Daniels of Once Upon a Feast and each Friday night a different host posts a roundup of pasta dishes submitted by bloggers from around the world. This week PPN is being hosted by Jules of Pictures of all my Princesses.

I am also submitting this to Simple and in Season as the chard and perpetual spinach, albeit overwintering came directly from my own garden.

Chard Pasta Loaf
Serves 6 with a side salad.
Ingredients
For the shortcrust pastry to line a 2lb loaf tin
Shortcrust pastry
225g plain flour
½ teaspoon salt
125g butter
3 tablespoons water
For the filling
200g-225g macaroni pasta (or penne)
50g butter
200g - 300g chard, perpetual spinach or spinach leaves, roughly shredded
100g frozen peas, defrosted
1 tablespoon cornflour or arrowroot, mixed to a paste with 2 tablespoons cold water
250ml- 300ml double cream
Optional and strongly recommended: 1-2 tablespoons mint sauce or green pesto, I would have used some of my homemade Wild Garlic Pesto.
3 medium eggs, beaten
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Cook pasta according to packets instructions until al dente. Drain and season with salt and pepper.
Melt the butter in large pan, add stalks from chard and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes until tender., then add the remaining chard, perpetual spinach (or spinach), and cook until the leaves begin to just wilt. Remove from the heat and toss together with the pasta. Add the peas, mix well and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Now make the shortcrust pastry 
Add flour and salt to a bowl. Add the butter then rub it into the flour with your fingertips, lifting the mixture out of the bowl to incorporate as much air as possible as this will make the pastry light. Continue until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs, then add the water a little at a time and use your fingertips to press the mixture together and form a dough. Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead rolling out the dough to line a 2lb loaf tin. Cut overlapping excess and re roll to fit as lid.
Place the pasta in the pastry case and press down gently. Combine the cornflour paste with the cream, mint sauce or green pesto and eggs in a bowl, then pour the cream mixture over the pasta in the tin.
Dampen with the edges of the pastry with water than top the pie with the pastry lid. Seal the edges by pressing with your thumb and forefingers all the way around. Make a small hole in the top for the steam to escape. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until pastry is golden and the middle is set. Leave to cool 10 – 15 minutes, before serving.

Red Lentil and Chard Pot stickers

Its been raining on and off, but its not the rain that's bothering me today its the blustery gale force winds.  Across the West and Central Belt of Scotland there have been severe weather warnings of high winds that will cause disruption and destruction.  And its true, the wind has been gushing all day at 70 - 80mph.  In some parts of Scotland homes are without electricity as power cable lines have come down, trains have been cancelled and trees have fallen.  From my own window, I've watched our bird table topple over, plants pots being flung from our garden into the neighbours.  I've also watched peoples bins being knocked from their front gardens and then scuttle down the road.  I am fretting that the recent roof work will be damaged with slates being dislodged and then knocked down and the costly repaired leaking roof will continue once again.  Unfortunately, our upper cottage flat is at the bottom of the street and when they come: that is the wind and rain, they give it a mean battering.  I am trying my utmost not to think about it, but its really hard not too when its loud, harsh and knocking literally (swaying tree branches) on your windows.

These pot stickers were much more golden and crispier than my first attempt.  It has a simple filling of red lentils and chard.  The Swiss Chard is from my own garden plot and the lentils from my shrinking store cupboard.  I accompanied the pot stickers with a coriander dipping sauce.  My oh my, not only was it heavily ginger scented, the ginger dominated the usually overpowering coriander.  I have to admit, I wasn't too keen on the dip and may in future make a different lightly spiced dipping sauce.  

I am sending this 'Red Lentil and Chard Potstickers' to My Legume Love Affair. MLLA was founded by Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook. This month MLLA #35 is being hosted by Smitha of Kannada Cuisine.

Lentil and Chard Pot stickers with Coriander Dipping Sauce
Makes about 18 - 24
Ingredients
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
8 spring onions, chopped
Handful of chard or spinach, shredded
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated
75g dried red lentils, cooked
Salt and pepper to taste
Packet of Wonton wrappers
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 tablespoon Tamari or other soy sauce
200ml water
Method for the wonton parcels
In a large pan, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds. Saute the seeds until they start to pop, then add the spring onions. Cook , stirring well, for a couple of minutes. Stir in the chard and then the ginger. Mix well. Cook until the chard has wilted. Stir in the lentils and season to taste. Cook for about five minutes, then remove from he heat and allow to cool. 

Place a teaspoon of the lentil mixture into the centre of each wonton wrapper.  Brush the edges with water. Bring up two opposite points of the wrapper over the filling and pinch them together int he centre. Then bring the other opposite points to the centre and pinch together. Pinch all the edges together to seal.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil in a large non stick pan over medium-high heat. Place dumplings in the pan, you will need to do this in batches as you do not want to crowd the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes, until golden. Stir in half the tamari, then half of the water. Cover and reduce the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes. Uncover and cook until the water has evaporated. Repeat with the remaining dumplings. Serve immediately.  *If you don't want to make pot stickers, you can steam these dumplings in a steamer for 4 - 7 minutes or until firm, but still tender.

For the coriander dipping sauce
Ingredients
1 bunch of fresh coriander
100ml lemon juice
25g shredded coconut
1 ½ tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
Salt and pepper to taste
Water to combine

Method
In a blender or food processor, combine all the ingredients. Blend until smooth. If the sauce seems to thick, add enough water until you have reached your desired consistency. Recipe adapted from Food From the Spirit Manuela Dunn Mascetti.

When Fennel met Chard

I realise that I have not up-dated you on my tiny garden plot recently. The weather has been extremely dreich (a Scottish dialect for dreary) and miserable.
Every time we make plans to work our little bit of land, it doesn’t just rain – it literally pours - buckets full too. So garden work has been postponed a number of times. But I have managed to pick some veg.
A handful of runner beans

last of the kohlrabi, a bunch of bolted chard and two of these fennels. This year I’ve grown the fennel in pots, they’ve done really well

The beauty of growing your own fennel is you get the glamorous green feather fronds. They are pretty for the table, but good for garnishing too. You can mince a tablespoon and scatter over this dish if you wish too.

Once ladled over the rice, this Black eyed bean dish with fennel and chard was soupy like. For me it was one to eat with a spoon, but D was happy with his knife and fork. The fennel flavour is faint in the background, not dominating the dish too much. It was also very light, leaving room for something sweet later.

Chard and Fennel with Black – eyed beans

Serves 2 - 4

Ingredients
2 bulbs of fennel
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 x 400g tomatoes, chopped
½ - 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
300ml vegetable stock
1 x 400g tin of black-eyed beans, drained and rinsed
160g Swiss chard, leaves only, washed and roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: 1 tablespoon fronds from the fennel, minced OR a handful of fresh coriander, chopped
Method
Trim the roots from the fennel and remove and discard the outer leaves. Slice the fennel thinly.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and fennel and fry over low heat for about 10 minutes until very soft and lightly coloured. Add the garlic and cook for 1 further minute. Stir in the coriander, tomatoes, fennel seeds, stock and cooked beans. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Partially cover with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the greens and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, until slightly reduced and well flavoured. Stir in optional minced fennel fronds or coriander. Serve with rice.

Swiss chard, chickpea and tamarind stew

Now, I love the sharp tang of tamarind, it makes my tongue feel alive especially when I am feeling poorly. I have to admit when others are feeling fluey, they may make a lemon drink, well I like to drink hot tamarind. So when I saw this recipe in the Guardian last year. I immediately tore it out to cook one of these days. Well that day arrived. It was so easy for me to put together as I had all the ingredients at home, small jar of tamarind concentrate remaining from the tamarind tofu and surprisingly even caraway seeds.

The recipe comes from Yotam Ottolenghi, chef/patron of Ottolenghi restaurant in London which he co-owns with Sami Tamimi. Ottolenghi is from Israel and Sami Tamimi is from Arab Eastern part of Jerusalem. Together, with their diverse backgrounds they have shared and introduced some robust flavours such as sumac, za’atar, ras el hanout, tahini and tamarind to a new audience. These spices, herbs, seeds and dressings all generously coat fresh vegetables, greens, grains and pulses, making them mouth wateringly appealing. The restaurant is not vegetarian, but serves a good selection of vegetarian and vegan based dishes. It is their creative and flavour packed dishes that have brought them into prominence, especially on the London food scene. I couldn't help myself comparing Ottolenghi to the Gate Restaurant, but the last time ‘veggie cuisine’ was promoted so highly in the mainstream like this was when the brothers Adrian and Michael Daniel opened their restaurant the Gate in Hammersmith, London in the early 1990s. The brothers introduced big, bold and bashful flavours like red and green harissa and zhug (schoog), and plating up exquisite and innovative looking vegetarian cuisine.
Although not a vegetarian himself, Yotam Ottolenghi features as the Guardian’s 'The New Vegetarian' column contributor. This space was previously honoured by Rose Elliot. Rose Elliot is a renowned British writer on vegetarian cooking. She has written over 50 vegetarian cookery books. She is a patron of the Vegetarian Society U.K and in 1999 was appointed MBE for services to vegetarian cookery. In fact Rose Elliot successfully pioneered the popular vegetarian column in the Guardian Weekend magazine, before being replaced by Yotam Ottolenghi. Rose Elliot is a committed vegetarian and a true advocate of vegetarian and vegetable based cuisine. Although she has been extremeley successful, I have noted that her books were marketed purely to a niche audience, namely vegetarians, whereas Ottolenghi has been able to win over vegetarians, non-vegetarians and vegans with his world influenced modern dishes, many of which happen to be vegetable based. For which I have to say Thank You. I have to admit Ottolenghi salads are far more interesting in flavour combinations than those you get from your regular deli; and for that many of us are grateful that vegetable based dishes on menu’s are being seen in a different light - appealing to a much wider audience.

Well, I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed each mouthful of this stew and why wouldn’t I? It contained ingredients I enjoy eating: the texture of chickpeas and the waft of coriander. As the rice absorbed the tomatoey tamarind sauce, it reminded me of a South Indian tamarind rice dish known as pulihora or puli sadham. D had one gripe, the stew had got cold very quickly, but other than that it was good, very good.
Swiss chard, chickpea and tamarind stew
Serves 4 with plain Basmati rice

Ingredients
300g Swiss chard (stems and leaves), cut into 1cm slices
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 tsp whole caraway seeds
2 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon tomato paste
400g tinned plum tomatoes, chopped up, juice and all
2 tablespoon of tamarind concentrate
300ml water
400g cooked chickpeas
1½ tsp whole coriander seeds, toasted and ground to a powder
Salt to taste
Greek yogurt (optional) for serving
1 big handful coriander leaves
Serve with plain basmati rice
method

Bring a medium pot of salted water to the boil, blanch the chard for two minutes and drain.
Put the onion, caraway and olive oil in a large, heavy-based pan and sauté over medium heat for 10 minutes, until the onion is soft and golden. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for about a minute. Add the tomatoes, tamarind concentrate, water, chickpeas, ground coriander and chard, and season to taste. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, by which time it should be the consistency of thick soup. Taste, and adjust seasoning. Serve with plain Basmati rice.
To serve, spoon the rice into shallow soup bowls, then make a crater in the centre of each mound. Pour a ladle or two into the rice crater. Spoon yogurt on top, if you like, drizzle with oil and finish with lots of coriander. Slightly adapted from the original recipe.

Chard be good

Rainbow chard is vibrant when its fresh... but when picked and left for a couple of days it’s a rather sulky looking plant indeed. This looking even more sorry for itself because its bolted too.
I originally grew rainbow and bright lights chard for its fantastic colours, then later it dawned on me that these were not just for admiring and adorning my growing space, but for eating too. Since then, I’ve made a number of recipes with a variety of chard. Rainbow chard bundles and spiced chard perhaps being my favourites. However, I am always looking for other ways to enjoy it. I’ve seen a number of chard pesto recipes, but as my chard is of many colours I will have to postpone that recipe for another time. I’ve also bookmarked a stew recipe, but as its quite warm at the moment, I settled on a simple Rainbow chard pizza.
One of the first ever recipes I saw using Swiss chard as a pizza topping was by this fellow blogger. Since then there have been many other versions topped with mozzarella, parmesan, goats cheese or just plain naked. I’ve even seen the chard pizza topped with a fry egg, not something I’d recommend. I had pizza on my last day in Benodet, Bretagne, France and I didn’t particularly enjoy it. First I don’t think the cooked egg worked on the pizza, second my pizza base was more than charred, it was burnt.

Anyway, onto my rainbow chard pizza - I do not have exact amounts to give for the ingredients, since I made this in an attempt to use up the bolted rainbow chard picked at the weekend.
Heat olive oil, add sliced onions and garlic and saute until soft, then add in the rainbow (or other) chard. When the chard begins to wilt, season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.

I have to be honest and admit to using one of those pizza dough that come out of a tube. It was actually my first time ever using this product, bought for its convenience during a busy working week. I don't think I will bother wit it again, it was very salty. You can use any you like or make your own. Roll out your dough on an oiled pan and season with garlic powder and oregano. Drape the dough elegantly as you can with the wilted chard, then drizzle with olive oil, and top with optional cheese to your taste. Here I have used goats cheese. I was happy to omit this, but D likes his cheese. Cook according to the directions for your pizza dough for 20 minutes.

Make time for the Runner Bean

Ah be warned - the next few days will feature recipes that include runner beans.
One of my fellow bloggers commented a little while ago and mentioned that he was not familiar with runner beans. So for those of you may be unfamiliar with it, may I give a very brief introduction.

Runner beans originate from South America, so its quite surprising to note that they are one of the most common garden vegetables in the UK. In fact they have been described as a quintessentially British vegetable. I have found runner beans extremely easy to grow. Before you know it, you'll have long, green runner beans varying from 3 inches to 8 inches to harvest. I don't think runner beans taste of very much, but I still like to grow them, especially for its red-orange flowers that the bees seem to love too. To prepare runner beans, you must top and tail them. I don't tend to remove the stringy bits running up the sides, but some people do using a small knife or vegetable peeler before cooking.

Runner beans can be boiled, roasted, steamed, stewed or stir-fried. They are best cooked until al dente. Over the next few days, I will be experimenting with them.
So this is my first dish. Its an recipe inspired by Denis Cotters Chickpeas with chillies and Nigella Lawson's chickpea with chilli and garlic. Oh I also used the the bolted Rainbow Swiss chard I picked earlier.
Here it is transformed, sauteed in olive oil with some garlic.
Spiced Runner bean and chickpea salad
Serves 4
Ingredients
200g - 250g runner bean, topped and tailed, sliced diagonally
1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced
1 red chilli, finely sliced
2 tablespoon olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt to taste
Method
Steam the runner beans, until tender, then set aside
Mix together the garlic, chilli, olive oil, lemon juice and salt to taste. Add in the runner beans and the chickpeas. Stir well to combine. Leave aside for an hour or so for the flavours to infuse. Serve at room temperature.

For those of you with beady eyes, I did add some roasted cubed potatoes to the salad to make more of a meal of it.

Ruby Chard 'Heart' Tart

A relatively quick and lazy evening meal today. Its been a long busy week at work and I just want to enjoy the rest of the evening. I can potter around a bit more in the kitchen this weekend, if I so wish.
This is the tender Ruby chard that I had picked up from the Pillars of Hercules early this week. The deep red blood like veins are really striking.

Recently, fellow blogger Alessandra commented on my blog about the taste of Swiss chard. I have to be honest and had not thought there was much difference in the taste from one chard to another, but actually the more I thought about it, I convinced myself there really was. I find the ruby chard flavour a bit earthy, almost like beetroot. The green variety like spinach, the silverline (white) chard a little like celery and the canary yellow - oh I can't remember.

Anyway, I decided to roll and shape the puff pastry into the shape of a heart. No romantic reasons behind - good job - after all who wants to cut a whole heart into pieces?! Certainly not me, my days of breaking hearts is well over. I have only one heart to hold close.

Ruby Chard Heart Tart

Serves 2

Ingredients

250g puff pastry, rolled out and cut into a heart shape if you so wish

100g - 150g ruby chard, cooked for 3 minutes in boiling water then drained and spread onto the pastry. Sprinkle with 75g - 100g feta cheese, crumbled. Season with pepper and bake in oven gas mark 6 for 25- 30 minutes.

Swiss chard and black olive Quiche

This is one of dishes I made with the vegetables I got at the weekend, Swiss chard and black olive quiche. It looks pretty good here as it had just come out of the oven, so its still glistening.
Whereas here, it is cold and looking exactly like what is: a cold quiche.

It was quite tasty though. When you bite into this pastry, the crust is quite delicate and crumbly. The Swiss chard being quite young and small, unlike those I am holding in my header picture (see above) tasted more like spinach. D said he liked the surprise hit of blue cheese. I didn't know quite what he meant then I remembered that I had just randomly dotted the cheese on the quiche as it was quite soft, so it had just melted where I had dropped it. This certainly is a flavourful quiche.

Swiss chard and black olive quiche
For the pastry
170g plain flour
A pinch of salt
30g solid vegetable fat
55g butter
Cold water to mix
Method
Sift the flour with the salt into a large bowl. Rub in the fat until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add a tablespoon water to the mixture. Mix to a firm dough. It may be necessary to add more water. Chill, wrapped for at least 30 minutes before using.
For the Filling
225g Swiss chard, washed and chopped
45g butter
1 medium onion, finely sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
Salt and pepper to taste
90g St Agur cheese or other soft blue cheese,
1 whole egg,
1 egg yolk
150ml milk
150ml double cream
8 black olives, pitted and halved
Method
Preheat oven to gas mark 6. Roll out the pastry and use to line a 7 inch dish. Chill for 45 minutes, then back blind. Lower the oven to gas mark 4.
Melt the butter in pan, add the onion and fry over low heat until soft and golden. Add the garlic and fry for a couple of minutes, then stir in the chard, season with salt and pepper and fry briskly for a further five minutes. Spoon into the cooked pastry case. Dot the mixture evenly with the cheese. Whisk the egg and egg yolk together with the milk and cream. Pour into the pastry case. Scatter the olives on top and bake in oven for 25-30 minutes until the filling is just set and golden brown on top. Adapted from Leiths Vegetarian Bible.

Chard Bean Soup

I've been working the early shift all week, so had the opportunity to stop by the allotment early in the week, when I had picked some silverline chard. I had completely forgotten about it, until I went to the fridge earlier and saw it there wilting. So I decided to make the most of it and transform it into a soup.

It was most welcome as it had just began to snow, not the soft fluffy stuff - but the blustery stuff that melted as soon as it touched the ground.
This chard soup was made pretty much to taste and eye, so no measuring scales or cups.

I noted upon cooking and blitzing the chard, the flavour had completely changed. I actually found it more flavoursome this way, its earthiness came through more.
Chard and cannellini bean soup
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely sliced
1 -2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 ½ - 2 pints of vegetables stock
6 large chard stalks, mix of white and green. Chop the stalks and roughly mince the leaves.
1 x 400g tin of cannellini bean
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
In a large pot, add the onion and garlic and cook over moderate heat until soft and translucent. Add the chopped stalks of the chard and cook for about five minutes before adding the stock, bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and cook for 15 minutes, then add the leaves and cannellini beans cook for a further 10 minutes. Turn off. When cool. Blend half of the soup. Gently reheat and taste for seasoning.

Soup for squally weather

So why make this soup, well tis' the soup season and do I really need an excuse, just look outside of my window. It's raining and blustery. And to be truthful, I will soon be running out of homegrown produce and raiding both my small freezer and store cupboard.

For now though making this soup gives me the excuse to use both store-cupboard and home-grown ingredients (chard and onion), little though they may be.
Three types of lentils: puy, brown and green lentils in soak with garlic and bay leaf. The lentils look quite pretty like polished pebbles.

This is my first ever contribution to My Legume Love Affair, a popular bean-centric event created by Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook and hosted this month by Sra of When My Soup Came Alive.
For those of us who are new and wishing to participate in the event, this is what Susan has to say: 'For those new to the event, your choice of recipes is very broad. As much as legumes are most commonly known as fresh or dried beans, peas, lentils and pulses, they are also the sometimes edible pods that contain these seeds. Add to the list alfalfa, fenugreek, peanuts, carob, tamarind and other members of the Fabaceae or Leguminosae family, as well as derivatives such as tofu, and you'll have a hard time focusing on just one. All courses and cuisines are welcome, as long as legumes are the dominant ingredient. (Please note: In France, vegetables of all sorts are known as légumes, and are not included in this event.)'. So if your interested in participating check out her blog for further information.
Spiced Lentil Soup with chard
Serve 4 – 6
Ingredients
1 ½ cups lentils (I used green, brown and puy lentils)
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves
8 stems of coriander, tied together
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 large onion, finely minced
1 generous teaspoon ground cumin
4 chard leaves, finely chopped
Handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Rinse the lentils. Put them in a large pan with 7 cups, thats about 2 1/2 pints of water, along with the garlic, bay leaves and bundle. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered until tender for about 40 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and herb bundle, add salt to taste. While the lentils are cooking, heat the oil in a pan. Add the onion and cumin and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the onions begin to soften then brown. Then add to the simmering lentils. 10 minutes before you want to serve the lentil, add the chard and cook for about 10 minutes. Stir in the chopped coriander. Taste and adjust seasoning to taste and serve. Adapted from Deborah Madisons’s Vegetable Soups