Onions
Goats Cheese,Onion and Potato Bread
Makes 1 loaf, serves 4-6, preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas mark 5
110g round goats’ cheese, pare off the rind and cut into 1 cm cubes
1 small onion, finely sliced
175 potatoes, peeled and grated, using the coarse side of the grater
1 teaspoon chopped thyme leaves, plus a few small sprigs
175g self raising flour
1 level teaspoon salt
½ a teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 organic egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 heaped teaspoon grain mustard
Sift the flour, salt and cayenne pepper into a large mixing bowl and add the grated potato to the flour, then add the spring onions, chopped thyme and two thirds of the cheese. Take a palette knife and blend everything together thoroughly.
Beat the egg gently with the milk and mustard and pour into the bowl, bring it all together to a loose, rough dough, still using the palette knife. Transfer it onto a very well greased baking sheet and gently pat it into 6” rough round. Now lightly press the rest of the cheese over the surface, dust with a little flour and scatter the small sprigs of thyme over.
Bake the bread on the middle shelf of the oven for 45-50 mins or until golden brown. Remove to a cooling rack and serve slightly warm.
Cranberry and Red Onion Marmalade
Serves 6 as great alternative to cranberry sauce
1 tbsp Olive oil
200-250g Red Onions, Sliced
Juice of ½ an Orange
½ teaspoon pickling spice
75g dark muscovado sugar
75ml ruby port
225-250g fresh cranberries (sorry Organic ones are not available)
Heat the oil in a pan and gently fry the onions for 5 minutes. Add the orange juice, spice, sugar and port and simmer gently for 40 minutes.
Add the cranberries and cook over a medium heat for 20 minutes. Cool and chill for up to two days. Serve at room temperature
Baked Stuffed Onions- Serves 2
2 Firm onions
1 tbsp wholewheat breadcrumbs
15g butter, chopped into small pieces
25g Walnuts, chopped
50g Streaky bacon,trimmed and finely chopped, optional
40g blue cheese such as Stilton or Roquefort
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp Olive oil
Preheat the oven to 190C/Gas mark 4. Lightly oil a shallow ovenproof dish. Place the whole onions, unpeeled in a pan of water, bring to the boil, simmer for 5 minutes, then drain and rinse under cold water.
Trim away the ends and cut each onion in half crosswise. Peel away the skins and scoop out the centres from each half leaving a 6mm shell. Chop the onion from the centres finely and place in a mixing bowl. Add the breadcrumbs, butter, walnuts and half the bacon and cheese. Season with salt,pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Fill each onion half with the mixture and sprinkle over the remaining bacon and cheese. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 30 minutes until golden and bubbling.
Onion Tarte Tartin
Serves 4
2-3 Medium Red or yellow onions
30g butter
1 heaped teaspoon caster sugar
200ml red wine
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
200g puff pastry
2 sprigs fresh thyme, enough to make a small pile of leaves in your hand
Preheat the oven to 200c/Gas 6. Peel and halve the onions and then slice. Put in a roasting tray. Dot with butter, sprinkle with sugar, then drizzle over the wine and vinegar. Season and tuck I the bay leaf. Roast for 30 minutes. Remove, discard the bay leaf and allow to cool slightly. Turn the oven up to 220c/gas mark 7.
Roll out the pastry into a rectangle no thicker than a pound coin. Score a border 2cm in from each edge and pick all over with a fork. Tip the onions with any juices onto the pastry pushing them almost to the border. Scatter the thyme over. Bake until the pastry is golden and puffed and then onions are browning, 15-20 minutes.
Onion, Carrot and celery ragout
This tastes sweet and delicious and a good accompaniment to grilled chicken, fish or meat.
1 Head of celery
350-400g carrots
1 onion
20g butter.
Slice the celery, peel and slice the carrots and onions.
Melt the butter in a heavy pan over a low heat.
Add the vegetables to the pan and stir to coat in the butter. Add freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Cover and cook over a very low heat for 30-40 minutes until the vegetables are tender. The idea is to “sweat” the vegetables rather than fry them. Shake the covered pan frequently to make sure the veggies are not sticking.
Cocida of Root Vegetables
Serves 4
400g potatoes, peeled and cut into 1.5 cm cubes
4 tbsp Olive oil
1 small lemon
½ tsp crushed chillies
1 tsp ground cumin
1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
400g carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
410g tin chickpeas, rinsed
500g swede, peeled and cut into thick chunks
400g tin chopped tomatoes
15g fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and black pepper
Fry the potatoes in 2 tbsp oil for 15 minutes or until cooked and crispy. Set aside. Pare the lemon rind and cut into thin strips, squeeze the lemon juice and set aside. Heat the remaining oil in a wide pan, stir in the lemon rind, chillies and cumin. Allow to sizzle for 30 seconds, then add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until the onions have softened.
Add the carrots and swede and 300ml cold water. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes until tender, adding more water if necessary. Stir in the chickpeas and potatoes and bring to a simmer. Add the tomatoes and lemon juice, Season to taste and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Serve with a poached egg on the top and garnish with fresh parsley.
Haloumi and Feta Salad
Tomatoes,cut into wedges
1 Red or Yellow onion, thinly sliced
Salad Leaves
Feta and Haloumi cheese
Freshly squeezed lemon juice
Olive Oil
Fresh Coriander, torn into pieces.
Salt/Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Mix all of salad ingredients together.
Cut the feta into cubes and marinate in the olive oil, pepper, lemon juice and coriander.
Slice the Haloumi cheese and fry in a hot pan without using oil.
Assemble the salad greens on individual plates, arranging the feta and Haloumi on top.
Mixed Vegetable Curry
100g Mushrooms,quartered
2 small carrots, peeled and cut into sticks
100g French Beans, cut into 2.5 cm pieces
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 potato (100g) peeled and cut into sticks
50g grated coconut
4 fresh Green Chillies
1 tbsp poppy seeds
1 1/2 tsp salt
small tin tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp Plain natural yoghurt
1 tsp garam masala
2 tbsp fresh coriander,chopped
place the mushrooms, carrots, french beans, potato and onion in a medium sized saucepan. Add 250 ml water, bring to the boil, cover, turn the heat to medium and cook for 4-5 minutes until the vegetables are just tender.
Meanwhile put the coconut, chillies, poppy seeds and salt in the container of an electric blender. Add 150ml water and grind to a fine paste. Set aside. When the veg is cooked add the spice paste and another 150 ml water. Stir and simmer for 5 minutes. Now add the tomatoes, yoghurt and garam masala. Stir gently to mix well. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Serve with rice and garnished with the fresh coriander.
Puy Lentil and Roast Tomato Salad
Serves 2
4 tomatoes, halved
Olive oil
100g puy lentils
Juice of ½ a lemon
½ a garlic clove, crushed
½ red or white onion, finely sliced
Handful of flat leaf parsley
Heat the oven to 200C/Fan 180C/Gas 6. Put the tomatoes cut side up on a small baking tray. Drizzle with a little olive oil and season. Roast for 15-20 minutes until just starting to blacken at the edges.
Meanwhile, put the puy lentils in a pan covered with cold water, bring to the boil then simmer for 15-20 minutes until just tender. Drain, then toss with the lemon juice, garlic and 2 tbsp olive oil and season. Fold the tomatoes, onion and parsley through the lentils and serve.
Roast Vegetable Soup
Serves 2-4
750ml vegetable stock
1 kg mixed vegetables, ie. carrots, parsnips, cauliflower, leeks, celery, onions etc.
2-4 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
3 tbsp olive oil
4 sprigs fresh rosemary or thyme, or a handful of sage leaves.
Salt and black pepper.
Juice 1 lemon (optional)
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
Chop the vegetables into bite sized pieces. Place in a roasting tin with the whole garlic cloves. Mix the olive oil with the herbs and lemon juice if using.
Pour over the vegetables and toss thoroughly. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 30-40 minutes until the vegetables are tender and well browned.
Place in a saucepan with the vegetable stock. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 5 minutes. Cool.Blend half of the mixture, then return to the pan to reheat. Serve with crusty bread
Stir-fried Rice with Egg and Spring Onions
Serves 4
250ml White basmati rice
2 Organic eggs, beaten
2-3 spring onions, split lengthways and finely chopped (including green part)
1 label teaspoon salt
2 dessertspoons of groundnut oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 dessertspoons soy sauce
Warm a frying pan over a medium heat and add the rice and 450 ml boiling water along with the salt, stir once only, then cover with a lid. Turn the heat to its lowest and cook gently for 15 minutes. Don’t stir or remove the lid as this is what makes the rice sticky. Check to see that there is no water left in the pan, remove from the heat and cover with a clean teacloth for 5-10 minutes, then transfer the rice to a dish and fluff it lightly with a fork and leave to go cold.
When you are ready to stir-fry, heat half the oil in the frying pan and quickly stir-fry the onion for about 3 minutes, Now add the remaining oil, when smoking hot, add the rice and stir-fry for about 30 seconds, spread the ingredients out in the pan and pour in the beaten eggs, keep stir-frying, the egg will cook into little shreds, finally add the spring onions and soy sauce, give another good stir and serve.
Root Veg and Bean Stew
Serves 4
1 Medium onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic,peeled and crushed
3 medium carrots
2 Medium potatoes
1 Kohl Rabi
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tin chopped tomatoes
500ml water + vegetable stock cube
200g butter beans or cannelloni beans (cooked)
1 tbsp fresh thyme
1 tbsp tomato puree
Salt and pepper to taste
Pre-heat the oven to 160C. Heat the oil in a large pan. Gently sauté the onion and garlic for 5 minutes. Scrub the carrots and slice into ½ cm chunks. Peel the kohl rabi and potatoes and cut in 1 cm cubes. Add the carrots, kohl rabi and potatoes to the pan. Add the tomatoes, tomato puree , thyme and stock and stir well. Add the beans and stir.
Pour into an oven-proof casserole dish. Cover and bake for 45 minutes until the vegetables are soft and the sauce has thickened. Serve with rice or baked potatoes and warm crusty bread.
Roast Pumpkin with Cinnamon,Onions and Thyme
Serves 4 as a side dish
1 pumpkin
2 medium onions
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cinnamon sticks, halved
A few sprigs of fresh thyme
300ml chicken or vegetable stock
Preheat the oven to 190c/ gas mark 5.
Cut the pumpkin into 3cm thick wedges, Remove the seeds and peel, it’s easier to peel pumpkin after cutting. Peel and quarter the onions. Arrange the pumpkin and onions in a large baking dish. Season, place the cinnamon sticks amongst the vegetables and put the thyme over the top. Pour the hot stock over the contents of the dish. Bake for 45 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft and the stock is almost completely absorbed and the onions are tender and translucent. Serve hot as a side dish.
You can turn any left-overs into soup by removing the thyme and cinnamon sticks and pureeing the pumpkins and onions with stock.
Warm Borlotti Bean Salad
350g fresh borlotti beans
1 small onion, chopped
1 few sprigs of parsley and/or coriander, finely chopped
2 large tomatoes (or 10-12 cherry toms), skinned, deseeded and chopped
1 good tbsp olive oil
Simmer the beans in lightly salted water for 15 minutes or until completely tender. Combine the onion with the herbs, tomatoes and olive oil. As soon as the beans are cooked, drain well, then toss with the rest of the ingredients while still warm. Serve warm.