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250g leeks, sliced and well-washed
200g fennel bulb, chopped
200g carrot, well scrubbed and chopped
100g celery
100g celeriac, peeled and chopped
50g sun-dried tomatoes
100g onions chopped
3 medium garlic cloves
250g fine grain sea salt
100g flat-leaf parsley, loosely chopped
100g coriander, loosely chopped

Everything into the blender .

Blitz until moist and granular

Store off in jars.

You’ll never use veggie stock cubes again.

Use 2 tsp to 500ml of hot water.

A good chum brought some of the most amazing asparagus spears today , still squealing they come from a 14 year old bed on an allotment , believe it or not the new users want to get rid of the asparagus and want to plant spuds instead , do they have no idea how long it takes to get a sturdy crop of the gorgeous green spears obviously not , so my buddy was gifted them and brought me some.

Eggs and asparagus where made for each other. This simple dish really lets the super spears shine – great for a light supper, brunch or a picnic. Serves 4

A dozen asparagus spears
Zest from a whole lemon and juice from 1/2
4 hen eggs or 3 duck eggs
100ml crème fraiche
Olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Using a vegetable peeler, peel the bottom half of each asparagus spear.

Trim the very woody end off.

Steam or boil just until tender.

Cut each spear in half.

Set the tips aside and cut the peeled end bits into 1cm pieces.

Whisk the eggs with the crème fraiche, lemon juice and zest.

Season and fold in the cut asparagus pieces.

Rub a bit of olive oil into a smallish oven-safe frying pan.

Tip in the egg mixture.

Arrange the asparagus spears on top – be fancy a make a little fan design.

Grind a bit more pepper over the top.

Pop in the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until puffed up and golden on top.

Serve with lightly dressed salad leaves and some bread.

So what to do with all this new season rhubarb.

I’m trying this year to actually eat what I grow rather than gifting it all away.

I’m not a jam fan.

So came up with this idea.

Delicately sweet and tangy rhubarb is a perfect match for the buttery shortbread base and nutty streusel topping. Makes 9 squares.

8 large stalks of rhubarb, trimmed and sliced into 3cm pieces
400g caster sugar
1 litre water
½ vanilla pod, sliced open lengthwise(optional)
150g almonds
200g plain flour
2 tsp freshly grated ginger root
175g unsalted butter, fridge cold, cubed
50g pine nuts
50g macadamia nuts
2 tbsp icing sugar (optional)

Place 300g of the sugar in a saucepan with the water.

Simmer until sugar is dissolved.

Add the prepared rhubarb to the sugar syrup and simmer for 20‐30 minutes – until the rhubarb is soft enough for a fork to go through it with ease.

Preheat the oven to 190C.

Using baking parchment, line a 20cm square loose‐bottomed cake tin.

Place 100g almonds in a food processor and blend until finely ground.

Chop the remaining almonds roughly and put in a mixing bowl.

Add the flour, ginger, sugar and butter to the ground nuts in the processor and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

Transfer half of the mixture to the bowl with the chopped nuts and add the pine and macadamia nuts.

Process the rest of the mixture left in the food processor until it forms a ball.

Tip this pastry into the cake tin and, using the palm of your hand, press it into the base.

Spread the rhubarb evenly across the pastry base and top with the nutty streusel topping.

Bake for 45 minutes or until golden and biscuity on top.

When cool, dust with the icing sugar and cut into slices.

Consume.

Tuscan Dish known as ‘ fagioli all’uccelleti ‘ which means beans made with the little birds way . Because they used to cook wee birds in the pot with them this way.

Try using dried rather than tinned the flavour is far superior.

Soak them overnight and cook them for about 1 hour for greater depth of flavour.

The recipe below uses precooked beans.

Serves 4

Prep & Cook Time 4 minutes

2 x 400g ( 14 oz tins of cannellini beans drained
2 tablespoons olive oil
bay leaf
2 fresh sprigs of thyme or winter savory
10 fresh sage leaves
1 medium sized onion , roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves , finely chopped
75 ml ( 3 fl oz ] dry white wine
salt & pepper

Garnish
1 table spoon fresh flat leaf parsley , chopped

Put beans in pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil , the bay leaf , thyme and 2 of the sage leaves , cover and warm gently until you need them.

Heat remaining oil and cook onion , gently for 5 minutes , without colouring , add remaining sage leaves and garlic and cook further for 1 minutes. add wine and cook gently for another minute or so .

Add the bean mixture taste for seasoning , cover and cook gently for further 2 minutes..

If necessary add some water to keep the mixture moist.

Serve sprinkled with flat leaf parsley.

Thats’ the posh way to do it , I just chuck my dried beans in overnight , boil up the soaking water and then chuck all the other bits and bobs in and boil for about 1 hour and the cooking liquor is ace , and if it’s not going to be served as a side , I serve it as a soup , using the cooking liquor , seems a shame to waste it after all.

Hope this helps Huge [ Our Man In Mumbai ]

Serves: 2 to 3

Ingredients

454g Free Range Bangers
a little oil for frying
200g Dry Cure Smoked Lardons
225g small shallots
1 heaped teaspoon plain flour
375ml strong dry cider
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 bay leaf
1 rounded teaspoon freshly chopped thyme (plus a few sprigs)
1 medium Cox’s apple, cored and sliced thickly into rings (no need to peel)
a little butter
freshly milled black pepper
You’ll also need a medium flameproof casserole with a tight-fitting lid.

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4.
First place the casserole over a medium heat, add a little oil and when it’s hot, brown the sausages all round – it’s important to get them well browned. Then, using a draining spoon, remove them to a plate whilst you brown the lardons and shallots lightly.
When that’s done, sprinkle in the flour to soak up the juices, then gradually stir in the cider. Now pop the sausages back in along with the garlic, bay leaf, fresh thyme and sprigs. Add some freshly milled black pepper (no salt needed). Now put a lid on as soon as it begins to simmer, then transfer it to the oven for 30 minutes. After that remove the lid and let it continue to cook for a further 20–30 minutes.
Towards the end of the time, fry the apple rings in butter till golden and soft, and garnish the casserole with them. This is obviously going to need some very creamy, fluffy mashed potatoes, and at this time of the year, I would serve some tender, squeaky, lightly cooked spring greens.

If you’re pulling the last of your carrots out of the ground in March before they go to seed, this is a great way to use up any excess you have.

Just shy of 1 gallon of water
5lb Carrots
Juice and Zest of 3 oranges
Juice and Zest of 1 Lemon
3lb honey
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 tsp amylase
Yeast (champagne is good)

Quite an effort this one, but its worth it. Put the water on to simmer, adding in the honey, carrots (cleaned and chopped, not peeled), yeast nutrient, citrus juice and zest. Keep it close to a boil for 40 minutes or so, skimming off any scum that floats up.

Strain out the solids (the carrots are well overcooked, but sweet from the honey, eat if you like ’em mushy), get the liquid into a sterile bucket and cover tightly; when its cool add the amylase and activated yeast. Ferment out as normal.

This is a surprisingly rich brew, the honey adding some extra depth of flavour. If you prefer to make as a wine rather than a mead, use 2 1/2lb of sugar in place of the honey.

If the oak before the ash
Then we’ll only have a splash
If the ash before the oak
Then we’ll surely have a soak.

According to that little bit of folk lore , it’s going to be a dry summer.

So what to plant this year ?

Matron !!!