​Apple and Fennel Salad with Caramelised Walnuts
This is a simple refreshing salad, great with sausages and pork, with cold meats or in place of a coleslaw.  This salad has the advantage of keeping fresh for up to 48 hours in the fridge, and just needs to be brought to room temperature before serving.  But make sure to use firm young fennel bulbs if you can get them, and a mix of red and green apples.
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• 3/4 small to medium fennel bulbs
• 2 – 3 apples red, yellow, and green if possible
• 100 grams of candied walnuts

 
Method

• Vinaigrette: 1 heaped tsp of mustard, 1 tablespoon of cider vinegar, 3 tablespoons of sunflower and or olive oil, salt, and pepper.
• Slice the fennel bulbs lengthways; remove the toughest parts of outer sections. Remove the cores. Now slice across in thin slices of half moon shapes.
• Wash and quarter the apples and remove cores. Slice the quarters across as thinly as the fennel.
• Now make the vinaigrette – there will be more here than you need but keep the remainder in a tight-fitting container in the fridge and use for other salads later in the week.
• Toss the apple and fennel together in the vinaigrette, cover, and leave to marinade as you prepare the caramelised walnuts.

 
Caramelised Walnuts
This takes only 5 to 7 minutes to prepare but you must always remain attentive as the sugar can burn very quickly and ruin the nuts.

Heat a heavy bottomed pan over a medium heat and add 40gms of caster sugar, 25gms of butter and watch as the sugar and butter melt.  When this begins adding the walnuts and swish the nuts around to mix well with the caramel.  Continue to watch the nuts ensuring that all the nuts get covered in caramel and have access to the base of the pan to toast.  The smell is delicious as the nuts warm up and the sweetness of the caramel catches your nostrils.  But beware, don’t let it burn!  As soon as you think it is barely cooked turn off the heat and pour the pan’s contents onto some grease proof paper and spread it out.  Within about 5 minutes the nuts will have cooled and hardened.  Now, you can put them onto a chopping board and break up or chop as you like. Resist the temptation to eat them all at once!

Fried Cabbage, Apple and Cumin
This is a quick and easy dish and a good way of preparing cabbage differently.  It works particularly well with pork chops, bacon or as an accompaniment to a dish of dahl.

• 1 large onion sliced finely
• Half a head of cabbage, cored, and sliced into thin ribbons
• 1 red pepper sliced finely – optional
• 2 apples, quartered, cored, and sliced or cubed
• A generous tablespoon of sunflower oil
• A generous dessertspoon of cumin seeds
• Salt and pepper to taste
• A good dollop of cider vinegar

 


Method
Heat the oil in a large, wide-bottomed pan on a medium heat and once hot, add the cumin seeds. Then add the sliced onion and, if using the red pepper – cook briskly for about 4 minutes, then add cabbage and apples and raise the heat a little.  Keep stirring the pan now making sure that the cabbage is getting access to the heat of the pan.  This cooks quickly and you’ll see the cabbage beginning to wilt and apples starting to colour and soften after about 5 – 7 minutes. Now add the cider vinegar to the pan to listen and smell as it bubbles up and the steam cooks the cabbage.  Allow the cider vinegar to cook off almost completely, taste, season and serve.

 
ENJOY!

Katie Verling
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ingredients, including celery.  When researching this dish, I was surprised to learn that celery is an ancient Mediterranean herb and vegetable; originally using just the leaves or seeds for flavour – and more recently using the whole plant.  In fact, in northern Italy, you’ll notice people buying a stalk or two of celery for flavouring and rarely see it used as a vegetable in a dish.

The flavour of Caponata is derived from the addition of olives and capers and a little vinegar and sugar at the end of the cooking period – this gives it its distinctive ‘agrodolce’ taste i.e., sour, and sweet.  You may not have associated Italian food with sweet and sour dishes, but this is a typical and very old tradition in Sicily where fruit, vegetables, olives, and capers were preserved in brine, oil, vinegar and/or dried to last the winter.
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Note: I have given precise quantities for the recipe – but you can use these as a guideline and add or subtract amounts according to availability and taste 

​RECIPE

• 500 grams of cubed aubergines (approximately 3 medium ones)
• 4 stalks of celery diced
• 1 – 2 onions chopped
• 4 tablespoons of oil (or more if necessary)
• 250 – 500ml of tomato passata (puree)*
• 50 -100 grams of pitted green olives – halved
• 2 tablespoons of capers – strained
• 1 dessertspoon of sugar – cane preferable
• 1 – 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar or cider vinegar

*the more puree you add the wetter the final dish, so it’s up to you how much you’d like
 
METHOD
Note: you’ll need 2 large deep pans or pots for this – that way you make it more quickly!

1. Heat 2 generous tablespoons of olive oil in a pot/ pan and add all the cubed aubergines.  Stir the aubergines around in the heat and don’t worry if it appears that there is too little oil.   Stir regularly on a medium heat and gradually you’ll notice it begin to soften and colour – It’ll take about 15 – 20 minutes to cook through – Stop cooking while they are still holding their shape
2. In a separate deep pan add 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan and heat.  Add chopped onions and cook gently for 5 minutes at a low to medium heat, then add the celery and continue to cook – covered - to soften and sweeten for another 5 – 10 minutes.
3. Now add the tomato puree (see *note above) and continue cooking – Leave the lid on for this period of cooking to get the flavours amalgamating.  (If it begins to stick add a quarter cup of water to loosen the mixture
4. Now add the olives and capers and heat through
5. Now finally add back in the aubergines, maintain medium heat – and stir regularly
6. Finally, mix the sugar and vinegar together and add to the sauce mixture – stir through and taste – check if it needs more vinegar or sugar

 
Enjoy
 
Katie Verling

with them and I didn’t feel like eating them as a cold dish, so I had to devise a dish that I could cook quickly that used store cupboard ingredients. I thought of making something vaguely Mexican using plenty of coriander and this is what I made.

This dish took less than 30 minutes to cook and is even more delicious the second day – if there is any left over. Serves 4 with rice.

​Ingredients

• Olive oil and/or coconut oil for cooking
• 500 grams of cooked borlotti beans (or two tins drained)
• 2 medium onions chopped roughly
• 3-4 garlic cloves chopped roughly
• Half a jar of cooked red peppers chopped roughly (or 1 or 2 fresh red peppers)
• 150 grams of frozen peas
• 1 large tablespoon of tomato puree
• 2 teaspoons of cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoons of coriander seeds
• 1 cup of water - or more if necessary
• A large bunch of fresh coriander chopped roughly
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Optional: Fresh chopped green or red chillies OR chilli powder Or smoked paprika
• Note: Use a deep pan that has a lid

Method

1. Heat the oil in a deep pan and fry the onion gently until beginning to soften
2. (If using fresh peppers cook them with the onions)
3. Add the coriander and cumin seeds and the chopped garlic and continue to cook gently in the oil – remember to stir regularly to prevent sticking
4. Add the cooked borlotti beans and stir and continue cooking
5. When the beans are warmed through add the chopped cooked red peppers, the tomato paste and a half a cup of water – stir and cover
6. After another few minutes add the frozen peas – a little more water if necessary and cook covered for another 5 – 7 minutes
7. Add the chilli powder or smoked paprika
8. At this stage you should have a sauce appearing around the beans but add more water to make it looser if you like
9. Now after approximately 25 -30 minutes cooking taste it, season and serve with lashings of fresh chopped coriander.

I served this with brown rice but white rice or even new potatoes would work just as well.

If you decide to spice up this dish with plenty of chilli remember to serve some yogurt on the side to cool your palate.

ENJOY!


Katie Verling

Ingredients
Serves 3-4

• 2-3 medium courgettes - sliced lengthwise and then again to create 4 lengths and chopped into 1 cm dice
• 5 ripe tomatoes – plum if possible – they have so much more substance and less water in them - chopped roughly
• 3 plumb cloves of fresh new season garlic - sliced finely or chopped
• A good dollop of olive oil for cooking and another for the pasta/ couscous
• A handful of chopped fresh Italian parsley
• A handful of finely torn fresh basil leaves
• 250 grams of giant couscous or Italian fregola pasta or spaghetti
• Coarse sea salt and ground black pepper

Method

1. Heat a deep pan with olive oil and add the chopped courgettes
2. Put on a 3-4 litres of water to boil for the pasta
3. Keep an eye on the courgettes and keep stirring so that they don’t stick – maintain the heat at medium
4. When the courgettes are beginning to soften add the chopped garlic and keep stirring – do not allow the garlic to stick or burn, which new season garlic tends to do
5. After a minute or two add the chopped tomatoes, raise the heat a little and stir regularly
6. At this stage the water should be boiling for the pasta – add a 2 teaspoons of cooking salt and throw in the pasta and cook according to instructions
7. As the tomatoes begin to break down with the courgettes, check that nothing is sticking, if so add a tablespoon or two of the pasta water and continue cooking briskly
8. Once the pasta is cooked, drain it (keeping a half cup of pasta water aside if necessary to loosen the courgette and tomato sauce)
9. Stir in a tablespoon of  good olive oil to the pasta and then  add the chopped parsley and basil, black pepper and salt if necessary – Keep warm
10. Check the courgettes to see they are cooked and season.  
11. SERVE with the pasta and Enjoy!!

 

• At  stage 7 you could add a packet of defrosted prawns and stir t through to heat OR  Add a 100 grams of roughly chopped feta and serve.

The fresh flavours of the vegetables, garlic and herbs is delightful on a chilly OR warm summer’s evening.

Katie Verling

Ingredients

• 1 red pepper, deseeded and cut up into 2 cm slices (same size as gometini pasta shapes
• 1 box of Thalli rock samphire – washed in plenty of fresh water, large pieces broken up
• I lemon
• 8 -10 anchovies chopped finely (I use anchovies preserved in salt and olive oil from a jar)
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 225 grams of gomitini pasta shapes – these little hollow crescent shaped pieces are the size of half a teaspoon (the word ‘gometto’ is Italian for elbow, so gomitini are little elbows).

 
Method

1. Put on a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. Add a generous spoon of salt to the boiling water and then add in gomitini to cook.  They will take around 7 minutes (check pack for instructions) 
2. Heat olive oil, fry red pepper pieces quickly, turning regularly until they’re sweet and cooked – Remove with slotted spoon from pan. 
3. Add a little more olive oil to frying pan and throw in the washed rock samphire. It’ll sizzle loudly as the water drops hit the hot oil, turn frequently and cook for about 3 minutes at high heat 
4. While pasta is cooking and samphire is spitting, mash chopped anchovies with juice of half a lemon. 
5. Add anchovy and lemon mix to pan, stir vigorously, add cooked red peppers and taste. 
6. Once cooked and still slightly ‘al dente’ (not squishy) strain gomitini and add to pan of samphire mix.  Maintain high heat, keep stirring and add a ladle full of pasta water to make it a little saucy.  Taste then add more lemon juice, plenty of fresh black pepper and a sprinkle of Achill Island sea salt. 
7. Serve is warmed large pasta bowls with a sprinkle of chopped parsley and a piece of lemon. 

Katie Verling

Pepperonata or Piperade

• 2-3 large red and yellow peppers
• 1 or 2 onions
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• A generous dollop of olive oil, (and more if you need it!)
• 1 tin of finely chopped good quality tomatoes
• A handful of chopped black olives (optional)
• A handful of roughly chopped Italian parsley to serve (optional)
• Salt and black pepper to taste – and a mild sprinkle of smoked paprika if you’re so inclined.

 
METHOD
In a large wide base pan heat the olive oil and add the chopped garlic to infuse gently in the oil for a few minutes. Be careful! Keep the heat low as you only want to flavour the oil, not to burn the garlic.  Then add the sliced onion(s) and the peppers cut in batons and stir so that everything gets coated in oil.  Raise the heat a little and keep stirring and cooking for about 30 minutes.  Slowly the peppers will soften and begin to taste sweet.  When the peppers are mostly cooked add the tomatoes and raise the heat to get the tomatoes bubbling well.  Put the lid on the pan now so that the tomatoes will cook better in the steam of the pan.  After 10 minutes lift off the lid, stir and taste to see if the sweetness of peppers is coming through. If not, return to heat with lid and cook for another 5 – 10mins.  (Do not season yet as the olives – if using will add quite some saltiness to the dish.) Now, if the tomato sauce is a bit runny you could raise the heat and boil off some of the juice for another 5 minutes but be attentive that it doesn’t stick. (Alternatively you can leave it at like this if you are service with pasta or rice)  Then add the chopped black olives, stir around, and cook for 2 minutes – taste. Now you can season the dish and stir it the parsley.
 
Serve hot or cold with anything that takes your fancy. 

​Katie Verling

Nutty green bean salad with vinaigrette

• 1 450g box of frozen cut green beans
• 1 large pot of boiling water
• 1 generous spoon of sea salt
• 100 grams of almonds – skinned preferably
• 50 grams of sesame seeds
• 2 -3 tablespoons of vinaigrette

 
METHOD
Throw the frozen beans into the boiling salted water, and putting the lid on the pot bring the water back to boiling point as quickly as possible, then remove the lid so that the beans will keep their colour. (This is a top tip that both Darina Allen and her brother Rory O Connell recommend to maintain the colour of green vegetables – I don’t know why it works, but it does.) When the beans are barely cooked strain them through a colander and put them into a servicing bowl.
 
While the beans are boiling, put the almonds into a hot pan with a drop of olive oil, swirl them around and lower the heat and stir them occasionally for 15-20mins – don’t let them burn!! (You’ll get a lovely smell of toasting nuts as they cook). Then dump the almonds onto a large chopping board and when they’ve cooled, chop them roughly with a large chopping knife – avoid the temptation to put them into a blender – you’ll end up with nut powder in seconds. Using the same pan throw in the sesame seeds and cut over a medium heat, stirring frequently for about 5 minuts until they are nicely toasted (if the pan gets too hot the seeds will begin to pop and jump off the pan). Put the chopped almonds and sesame seeds in with the beans.
 
Vinaigrette recipe

• 1 generous teaspoon of French mustard
• 1 scant tablespoon of white wine vinegar or a blend of white wine and balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons of good flavoursome olive oil
• A good pinch of salt.

 
Blend the mustard, salt and vinegar then add the mustard very slowly at first, stirring vigorously all the time; keep adding the oil until you have a thick sauce.  Taste and adjust if necessary.
 
I do not use honey to sweeten this vinaigrette as I don’t believe it’s necessary, but do so if you like. You could also add a squeeze of lemon juice if you like to sharpen and enliven the vinaigrette.
 
I use this vinaigrette recipe all summer long and for a lot of winter warm salads too – it is a perfect blend of sharp and sweet with the mild kick of mustard – it works on everything.
 
VARIATION:
You could use this salad recipe and add tins of other beans to it to make a 3 or 4 bean salad – chick peas, butter beans, flageolet beans even chilli or black beans work well.  You many need to add more mustard to the vinaigrette, and a handful of chopped scallions to red onion to strengthen the flavour.  This salad benefits from a couple of hours resting (covered) in the kitchen for the flavours to blend and develop).

​Katie Verling