bFeedme

Cooking, Recipe and Food Blog

Spring Vegetable Parcels

By

Cooking each guests Vegetables in their own Paper parcel keeps the flavour in the vegetables for longer, increases the flavour, looks sophisticated and classy too!

Baby Carrots

Serve it with a joint of Meat (or Fish!), out on the Table, fresh on peoples plates, ready for them to open themselves on the table when they’re ready to be served

To Serve 6
3 Small Courgettes, cut into 1cm thick wheels
300g Baby Carrots, ends trimmed
350g Baby Leeks, trimmed
340g Sugar Snap Peas
6 Sprigs Mint
100g Butter, cut into 12 cubes

1. Heat the oven to 190C, and cut six squares about thirty centimetres square out of Baking Paper, and lay them out on a clean, dry work surface.
2. Divide the Vegetables into six portions, and lay them out in the centre of each piece of Baking Paper, add a sprig of Mint and a cube of Butter and drizzle a tablespoon of water over each parcel. Fold the parcels up and tie with a bit of cooking string at the top.
3. Place each parcel on a baking tray, and cook for fifteen to twenty minutes, then remove and place each parcel onto a different plate. Cut the string, trying to keep the paper intact, and serve with freshly cooked Meat.

Photo Courtesy of: ccharmon

Crusty Mediterranean Parcels

By

Light, fresh, and full of flavour – this vegetarian dish is great. It’s easy enough to add some meat too – simply brown some Meat off (say cubed Pork), then add it in before placing in the oven for twenty five minutes.

Crusty Mediterranean Parcels

To Serve 8
700g Mixed Vegetables, like Carrots, Leeks, Courgettes, Red Peppers, Aubergines and Sweet Potatoes, cut into 2.5cm Chunks
2tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
225g Onions, peeled and roughly chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, peeled and crushed
400g Can Chopped Tomatoes
1tbsp Tomato Paste
125g Gruyere Cheese, grated
200g Mascarpone Cheese
50ml Single Cream
2tbsp Finely Chopped Fresh Chives
50g Toasted Pine Nuts, toasted
450g Puff Pastry
1 Egg

1. Roast the Vegetables by placing them in a small Roasting Tin, then place a tablespoon of Olive Oil and Season well. Cook at 200C for forty or forty five minutes, or until tender, stirring occasionally, remove from the oven and leave to cool.
2. Heat the rest of the Olive Oil in a frying pan, add the Onions and Garlic, then fry for five minutes, or until lightly coloured. Add the Tomatoes and Tomato Paste, then simmer for around fifteen to twenty minutes uncovered, until thick and pulpy. Set aside.
3. Mix half of the Gruyere with the Mascarpone, single Cream and Chives. Mix the Vegetables with the Tomato Sauce, half the Pine Nuts and Season to taste.
4. Roll out the Pastry to a two thin rectangles, measuring about thirty centimetres by thirty five centimetres. Beat the Egg with a pinch of Salt. Place half of the Vegetables down the centre of each rectangle, covering an area about ten centimetres wide. Brush the sides with the Egg mixture.
5. Fold the Pastry in to make a seam, and seal well. Top with the remaining Egg glaze, and top with Salt, Pepper and the remaining Gruyere Cheese and Pine Nuts.
6. Place on a baking tray, cook at 220C for twenty five minutes until golden brown.
7. Remove from the pan, and serve in slices.

Photo Courtesy of: goyumcha

Beef Ragout

By

Based on a traditional North African dish, this Cous Cous based dish is full of vegetables, and is really simple to make. It’s also quite a fast dish to make, and doesn’t take much looking after.

Beef Ragout

It’s a great dish to have as a dinner when you’re in a rush, as you can easily prepare a lot of the vegetables in advance, or replace a lot of them with other seasonal vegetables – also you can replace with various roasted vegetables, and replace the Cous Cous with a range of sides – Gnocchi, Pasta, or Potaotoes are all great favourites

To Serve 4
1tbsp Oil
450g Beef, Minced or Diced
1 Garlic Clove, Crushed
1 Onion, Quartered
25g Plain Flour
150ml Dry White Wine
150ml Hot Beef Stock
2 Baby Turnips, Peeled and Diced
115g Swede, Peeled and Diced
2 Carrots, Peeled and Diced
2 Courgettes, Peeled and Diced
1tbsp Fresh Coriander, Chopped
1tsp Ground Coriander
225g Cous Cous
Salt and Pepper

1. Heat the Oil in a large Pan, and add the Beef. Fry for five minutes, before draining off three quarter of any juices in the pan.
2. Add the Garlic and Onion to the pan, and cook for a further three minutes.
3. Stir in the flour, and cook for another minute until thickened considerably. Add the Wine and Stock to the pan, and season to taste. Bring to the boil, and keep stirring.
4. Into the pan, add the Vegetables, along with the Fresh and Ground Coriander. Lower the heat, and cook for fifteen minutes with the lid on.
5. Whilst the Saucepan is simmering, place the Cous Cous in a large bowl, and cover with boiling water. Leave to stand for ten minutes, and then drain and place into a lined steamer or colander. Place the steamer (or colander) above the Saucepan. Steam for thirty more minutes, garnish with Coriander and serve.

Photo Courtesy of: Avlxyz

Louisiana Courgettes

By

A very eye-catching and appealing Vegetarian Starter, this lightly spiced dish can be used as a starter on its own, or served with Chicken or Grilled Fish. It’s a very easy dish, and it’s great to use as part of a dinner party menu due to using a Slow Cooker to cook it.

Courgette

To peel the tomatoes, score a cross in the bottom of them, and place in a heatproof bowl, then pour boiling water over, and leave to stand for thirty to sixty seconds. Drain, and pour cold water over these, and the skins will peel away easily.

To serve 6
1kg Courgettes, thickly sliced
1 Onion, finely chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
2 Red Peppers, deseeded and chopped
5tbsp Hot Vegetable Stock
4 Tomatoes, peeled and chopped
25g Butter
Salt and Cayenne Pepper
3tbsp Chopped Fresh Parsley (to garnish)

1.       Place the Courgettes, Onion, Garlic and Red Peppers in the Slow Cooker, and season to taste with Salt and Cayenne Pepper. Pour the stock over the top, and mix well.

2.       Pour the Chopped Tomatoes and Butter over the top, and cook for two and a half hours on a high heat until tender. Garnish with Parsley and serve.

As an alternative to this dish, try replacing some of the courgettes with Squash, and a mix of four tablespoons dried breadcrumbs and four tablespoons of Parmesan Cheese instead of the tomato, and then cook on a low heat for six hours – it’s a great alternative, and adds another layer of taste to the dish

Photo Courtesy of: FotoosVanRobin