What's In The Box? - Week Commencing 7th September 2020
Some info about a few of the varieties of organic fruit and veg included in our veg box for week commencing 7th September 2020!
Red Russian Kale from Lincolnshire
This heirloom variety of kale is sweeter and more tender than the regular curly green and red ones we’ve put in your boxes earlier in the year, and its soft, frilly leaves don’t take as much cooking and are well-suited to a hearty salad. In fact it’s also known as ragged jack and sweet red, but remember it won’t last as long in the fridge as the more robust leaves we’ve sent you in previous weeks. The stalks aren’t as tough though so no need to discard those if you’re cooking it - just chop them up finely!
I love the idea of this cheesy baked dish using our Sam’s Hen free range eggs, although probably not for breakfast…
https://kalynskitchen.com/red-
Butternut Squash from Suffolk
After so many UK squashes coming on stream, it was great to see that butternut was finally one of them - by far, the most popular and widely used of them in many vegetarian dishes, often on cafe menus. Earlier this year, I bought a copy of Fearne Cotton’s ‘Happy Vegan’ and thought I’d share one of hers with you this time (easily halved to serve 2 or 4 as a side - if you want to add some protein, try crumbling some feta over the top).
Caramelised Butternut Squash with Balsamic Roasted Tomatoes
2 butternut squash, halved with seeds removed
5 tbsp olive oil
300g cherry tomatoes, halved
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar plus extra for drizzling
Small handful of basil leaves, roughly chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Coat squash with 4 tbsp oil, season and roast in the oven at 180C/350F/gas mark 4 for 35 minutes.
Combine tomatoes, garlic, vinegar, and rest of the oil plus some seasoning then add to the squash for a further 15-20 minutes until the squash is golden and soft.
Serve with the tomatoes on top, scatter over the basil leaves and add a drizzle more balsamic.
Lord Lambourne apples from Herefordshire
Introduced in 1907, the variety this week is a classic high-quality dessert apple. With creamy white flesh and plenty of juice, it’s arguably more flavoursome than the early season ones we’ve sent in the last couple of weeks. It’s actually an off-spring of the James Grieve you had last week, and one of the earliest of the aromatic style fruits. What it lacks in complexity, it makes up for in juice and acidity.
Marfona potatoes from Yorkshire
Having gone from one extreme to another last week with those enormous pink Rudolphs, we thought we’d play it a little safer this week with this waxy good all-rounder that originated in the Netherlands in the seventies. Don’t know your Vilvaldis from your Charlottes? Nice, simple run down of just 3 dozen varieties on the link below:
https://www.deliciousmagazine.
‘Green lemons’
This week we include the first of the European new season lemons from Spain and it’s great to get citrus fruit that’s grown a little closer to home now. The problem is that the colour of these early lemons is often more green than yellow.
It all comes down to temperature. As summer gives way to autumn the days and nights get colder but importantly the temperature differential between day and night also gets far greater. This differential basically shocks the fruit into turning yellow and this year Spain has not yet seen any frosts. Many people believe that a green lemon is not ripe but this is necessarily true, often there is little difference in terms of juice and acidity levels (taste) of green and yellow fruit.
Non-organic fruit can be ‘gassed’ (refrigerated and then put in a warm warehouse repeatedly to mimic nature) to de-green them but this is not generally practiced for organic fruit.
Remember, if ever you need any advice on how to prep or cook your veg - or even check exactly what it is! - we’re alway available by email or message us through Facebook.
Best wishes
Leonie and David