Succotash

Succotash has reminded me of Sylvester from the Looney Tunes cartoons and his famous catch phrase "Sufferin succotash" ever since I heard of this one pot wonder. This simple dish originated in New England, USA prior to becoming popular in the southern United States and it was also a common meal in the Depression era. Succotash is essentially a meal of corn and lima beans although there are variations aplenty with additions such as tomatoes, capsicums/bell peppers, okra, other types of beans, butter, margarine, lard, bacon, fresh and dried herbs.

With some freshly harvested broad beans (also known as fava beans) from the garden begging to be used and corn and okra in the fridge I decided to make a version of succotash. I didn't follow a particular recipe, instead my broad beans, corn, okra and tomatoes were plonked into a pot and stirred every so often. It had been a long day labouring in the garden and we were tired and hungry so I didn't bother with double peeling the broad beans to save on time. Finely chopped basil and parsley along with margarine and seasonings were stirred through in the final minute before serving.

We really enjoyed the succotash and I was particularly fond of the addition of basil in my version. I could envisage this becoming a semi-regular side dish over the summer months when corn is at the height of it's season. It was a perfect accompaniment for our extra spicy buffalo tofu and oven baked potato wedges. The leftovers were just as lovely when eaten cold the next day which leads me to believe that it would also work well as a salad.

Succotash

4 small corn cobs
1 1/2 cups broad/fava beans (or use fresh lima beans)
100g okra pods, sliced into 3cm pieces (optional)
2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon dairy-free margarine
12 large basil leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground cracked black pepper, to taste

Cut the corn kernels off the cobs and place into a medium-large saucepan with the broad beans, okra and tomatoes. Simmer over a medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have broken down and the vegetables are tender. Stir through the margarine, basil and parsley then season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Roasted carrots with panch phoran

I lost my blogging mojo in the last few weeks and am attempting to get back into gear with a quick post about a very easy Indian inspired side dish. Indian curries have been popular in our household for many years and are still enjoyed on an almost weekly basis. On our curry nights, I like to cook a couple of different varieties to ensure there are plenty of leftovers for lunches.

A few nights ago I planned to make Leigh Drew's dal saag recipe. I've cooked it several times before and it's deservedly a favourite with everyone at home. When it came to deciding on a partnering curry I was stumped. The vegetable crisper was bare apart from some carrots and we had already eaten gajar matar (a carrot and pea curry) the week before.

After a bit of brainstorming I came up with something different to have on the side - roasted carrots with panch phoran. Roasted carrot sticks are amongst my favourite types of roasted vegetables, almost every time a tray of vegetables goes into my oven it's a safe bet that there will be plenty of carrot sticks taking up a lot of real estate in the tray. Panch phoran is a spice mix I haven't used a lot of even though it's so easy to make up on the fly. It's a mixture of five whole spices in equal quantities – cumin seeds, kaloonji seeds, fennel seeds, fenugreek and black mustard seeds.

A tray of carrot sticks was prepared in my usual fashion, lining the tray with baking paper, spraying the baking paper and carrots lightly with olive oil and then sprinkling the carrots with a decent pinch of sea salt. When the carrots had softened and started to blacken, the panch phoran was tossed through the carrots and baked for just two more minutes. I figured this would be enough time for the spices to release their flavours without becoming overcooked and tasting bitter.

The combination of panch phoran with roasted carrots worked really well and I can imagine it would also be a good partner for other roasted vegetables. I was pleased to discover a different kind of side dish to serve up with curries especially as there was minimal effort involved.

Roasted carrots with panch phoran

600g carrots, cut into sticks
Olive oil spray
Sea salt, to taste
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
¼ teaspoon kaloonji seeds
¼ teaspoon fennel seeds
¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
¼ teaspoon black mustard seeds

Preheat oven to 200C.

Place the carrots on a tray lined with baking paper and sprayed with olive oil. Spray the tops of the carrots with olive oil and sprinkle with a generous pinch of sea salt, to taste. Bake in the oven for 40-60 minutes until the carrots are slightly blackened (the baking time will depend on how you cut the carrots). Flip the carrots over halfway through the baking time.

When the carrots are ready, mix the panch phoran in with the carrots and allow them to bake for another 2 minutes.

Parsnips Bravas

The man and I have been busy preparing garden beds for growing vegetables recently. We are attempting this on a larger scale than our previous endeavours into vegetable gardening and have done a fair bit of research along the way. My mother in law lent me her copy of Stephanie Alexander's Kitchen Garden Companion, an incredibly useful resource for growing and utilising various fruits and veg which also includes lots of recipes, mostly vegetable based. In addition to taking notes from the relevant vegetable chapters for gardening tips, I also scanned through the recipes and took photos of several ones that captured my interest.

One of these recipes was Parsnips Bravas. Although I haven't had much experience eating Spanish food, Patatas Bravas is something I've been keen on trying as crispy potatoes paired with a spicy tomato sauce sounds like a dish I would adore. Parsnips are a vegetable I purchase on rare occasions, usually to roast or add to a soup and I can't recall making anything where they have had more of a starring role. I became enamoured with the idea of Parsnips Bravas and decided that Patatas Bravas would have to wait for another day.

It was a simple recipe to put together, the parsnips were cut into sticks and roasted with olive oil and sea salt. While they were in the oven a chunky tomato sauce with onion, garlic, chilli, smoked paprika and saffron simmered away on the stovetop. When the parsnips had finished roasting, it was only a matter of tossing them through the sauce and adjusting the seasoning.

Everyone loved the Parsnips Bravas. The sauce packed enough punch without being overwhelming spicy and I adored the flavour that the saffron stamens brought to the dish. We enjoyed this with a Fry's schnitzel topped with pizza sauce and vegan cheese, roast potatoes and steamed broccoli. This is a recipe I'll definitely be making again when I'm in the mood for eating parsnips.

Parsnips Bravas (Adapted from Stephanie Alexander's Kitchen Garden Companion)

250g parsnips
Olive oil spray
Sea salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 birds eye chillies (depending on your chilli tolerance)
200g fresh tomatoes, diced (or use ½ of a 400g tin of diced tomatoes)
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
A pinch of sugar
10 saffron strands

Preheat oven to 200C.

Cut parsnips into bite sited pieces (I cut a couple of sticks from the bottom and quartered the fat tops to make 6 pieces from each parsnip). Line a roasting tray with baking paper and spray lightly with olive oil. Place the parsnips on the tray, spray with additional oil and season with a pinch or two of sea salt. Roast for 45 minutes or until tender and golden, turning the pieces after 25 minutes.

While the parsnips are roasting, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a deep sided frying pan. Fry the onion and garlic over medium heat for 8 minutes or until softened and beginning to colour. Add the chilli, tomatoes, smoked paprika, sugar and saffron and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce will be thick and spicy after this time. When the parsnips have finished roasting, toss them through the sauce and season with additional sea salt if required.

Asparagus and kale with leeks and basil

It took such a long time for me to jump onto the kale bandwagon and lately I've been loving it! I purchased a bunch of organic kale from the Vic Market a few years ago for what I thought was an exorbitant price for such a limp, miserable looking bunch of greens. The meal I used it in was underwhelming so I grumpily put kale in the too-hard basket for a while as it also wasn't available around my local area at the time. Kale seems to have been growing in popularity over the years and as I've recently seen it appear at my local green grocer, farmers markets and even some supermarkets, it was well and truly time to cast my former doubts aside and give it another try.

When I purchased some baby leeks and kale recently and the first asparagus of the season, a long lost recipe sprang to mind to try with these vegetables. The recipe originated from a fairly uninteresting mini cookbook I impulsively bought from a supermarket that ultimately ended up being sent to charity during a spring clean along with many other unloved cookbooks. Although it's been years since I've made this side dish, the ingredients were still clear in my mind - leek, garlic, asparagus, spinach, basil and cream. The cream was never a big selling point for me, the combination of leeks, garlic and basil is the highlight which works beautifully with the greens.

After serving this up I was amazed that my fellows actually remembered the dish and happy that we all enjoyed it just as much as the original. I've since made this with silverbeet/chard leaves in place of kale and added both these greens at the same time because silverbeet leaves don't take as long to cook as kale. As long as you are familiar with the cooking times for your chosen greens, I'm sure this could be adapted with a variety of different green vegetables. Just don't leave out the leeks, garlic or basil and don't think about substituting onion for leek either!

Asparagus and kale with leeks and basil

1 tablespoon dairy-free margarine
4 baby leeks (or use 1-2 regular leeks), thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
8-10 asparagus spears
1/2 bunch tuscan kale
10-12 basil leaves, roughly chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

Snap the woody ends off the asparagus and cut each spear in half. Remove the tough centre stalks from each piece of kale then roll the leaves up and roughly chop.

Heat the dairy-free margarine in a large frying pan over medium heat. Fry the leeks and garlic for 3 minutes or until softened, then add the kale and a splash of water. Cover and cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the asparagus. Cover again and cook for a further 3 minutes or until the asparagus is tender then stir through the basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.