The Greedy Gardener

Cheese and wild garlic scones

Whilst there’s not much growing in the garden this time of the year, it’s one of the best time for foraging as tender spring greens are beginning to appear. My favourite and luckily one of the most abundant is wild garlic, that grows in damp woodlands and along shady riverbanks all over the UK. It’s similar to the north American plant known as ramps and its old English name ramsons is obviously linked. Unlike across the Atlantic, over here we eat the green leaves and not the small bulbs, which is presumably why it’s becoming quite rare and even protected in some parts of America whilst in the UK it grows all over the place.

I love the stuff and try and eat as much as I can during its short season, such as soup and risotto, or just added to a salad. These scones are something I dreamed up cycling home on a chilly damp day.

Ingredients

• 8oz / 250g self raising flour
• 2oz / 50g butter
• 1oz / 25g strong cheddar, grated
• small bunch of wild garlic, chopped
• 1 egg, beaten
• 4 fl oz / 100ml milk

Rub the butter into the flour and mix in the cheese and garlic. Mix the egg and milk together and gradually add to the mixture, kneading gently with your fingers until you have a soft dough. Keep a little of the liquid aside for later.

Roll out on a floured surface to about 3/4 inch or 2cm thick and cut into rounds using a 2 inch / 5 cm cutter. Brush the tops with the remaining milk and egg mixture. Bake in a preheated oven at 220°C / gas mark 7 for 10 - 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack, but try and eat them while they’re still warm with plenty of butter.

So that’s it then, the last squash of last summer done and dusted. I’ve been growing Crown Prince squash for the past couple of years and they are the absolute best for flavour, texture and keeping abilities - this 5lb monster was harvested in September and was still in perfect condition today, nearly eight months later. I made this recipe for a warming, golden curry with coconut, lime and ginger from Nigel Slater. I’ve also made this with chickpeas and keep meaning to try it with fish. I made it today with tinned tomatoes instead of fresh and usually skip the mint as I find it one flavour too many. Sorry Nigel.

Second batch of marmalade

I made some marmalade a few weeks ago and it’s proved so popular, I’ve made another lot. I split the batch and added ginger and whisky to one half, sweet Pedro Ximenez sherry to the other.

I posted the basic recipe last year, and the added extras go in right at the end, so it’s easy to add your own flavours. Once the marmalade is done and ready to go into jars, leave it to cool for about 10 minutes before adding the alcohol. For each half of the marmalade that began with about 2lbs of oranges, I added two good pub measures of alcohol. Cointreau would be good, as would rum.

The whisky adds a real kick - I’ve used single malt but you don’t have to be that extravagant. The ginger is simply preserved ginger in syrup chopped up finely. About five lumps for this amount of marmalade gives a really spicy warmth to your breakfast toast.

The lusciously sweet Pedro Ximenez sherry has made its half dark and rich, with hints of licorice. I’ll definitely be doing more of this - thanks very much to @shellydot for this suggestion.

It’s been a miserable day today, glowing a gale and rain lashing against the windows. Time for more soup - this one has plenty of warming spices. Vary the amount of chilli depending on how hot you like it.

Spiced winter squash soup with ginger and coconut

Ingredients:

• 2lbs/1 kilo of winter squash, peeled, seeded and cut into small chunks
• 1 large onion, chopped
• Thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 1, 2 or 3 red chillies, finely chopped
• 2 or 3 lemongrass stalks, tough outer leaves removed and finely sliced
• 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• Vegetable stock
• 3/4 pint/400ml tin of coconut milk
• Sunflower oil
• Roughly chopped fresh coriander
• Juice of 1 lime

In a large, heavy pan, heat a couple of tablespoons of sunflower oil and gently fry the onions until they are soft but not brown. Add the chilli, lemongrass and ginger and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring frequently. Add the ground spices and stir for a minute or two until they become aromatic.

Add the squash and enough stock to cover it, stir well and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and and simmer gently for 25 minutes or until it’s soft and mushy. Add the coconut and stir until dissolved. Take off the heat and using a liquidiser or a hand blender, puree until smooth. If it’s really thick, add a little more water or stock.

Warm through gently. Just before eating, stir in the lime juice and sprinkle with fresh coriander and a little more chilli if you like it really spicy.

Serves four

Winter squash soup

A simple but delicious soup, perfect for snowy winter days. I’ve used one of my stored Crown Prince squashes and leeks retrieved yesterday from under the snow. Quantities are vague as it’s down to personal taste - for a big pot for two hungry people and a bit left over for lunch the next day I might use two leeks about a kilo/2 lbs of squash.

Ingredients:

• Squash, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes
• Leeks, washed and sliced
• Milk and vegetable stock
• Butter and olive oil
• Bay leaves

In a heavy pot over a gentle heat, melt a good knob of butter and a slug of olive oil, then add the leeks. Stir and cook until soft, being careful not to let them burn. Add the squash and a couple of bay leaves, fresh if you have them, and stir well. Add a mix of half milk, half stock until the vegetables are well covered. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer until the squash is completely soft. Allow to cool slightly, fish out the bay leaf and puree until smooth, adding a little more milk and/or stock if it’s too thick. Put back in the pan and heat through, seasoning with salt and black pepper. You can add a swirl of cream or creme fraiche to serve and eat with lots of crusty bread.

Today is Stir Up Sunday, the traditional day for making Christmas puddings. After a lengthy boiling, the puddings need to mature for several weeks so now’s about the right time. I’m also making a cake for Christmas later too; I don’t always stick to the traditional day, in fact I often make them a few weeks earlier as both improve with keeping. I’m making two puddings today, one for Christmas and one for later in the winter as something to come back to after a days digging on the allotment or a long walk.

The recipe I’m using is one from Hugh Fearlessly-Eatingall, as he’s known in the Greedy Gardener household, and as well as the bottle of stout and breadcrumbs favoured by my grandmother, it also uses marmalade which I’ve found to be a most delicious addition. I’ve replaced some of the vine fruits with a few chopped prunes as well for extra moistness. If you don’t have an enormous tribe to feed at Christmas, I’ve made this recipe with half the amounts in smaller basins and it works perfectly well.

The name Stir Up Sunday has its origins in church tradition. Today is the last Sunday before Advent, and the collect for the day begins with the words:

Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded.

I am indeed bringing forth plenteous fruit for the recipe, and whether or not this is the kind of fruit that the Book of Common Prayer had in mind, I expect to be plenteously rewarded on Christmas day.

A warming winter dish of potatoes, cream and smoked mackerel, with steamed kale to atone for all the calories - perfect for a howling wet night like this. It’s also very gratifying to be eating a meal with all the vegetable components home grown, even in the depths of winter.

I use Anya potatoes sliced about a quarter of an inch thick put you could go a lot thinner or use a mandolin. You can peel them if you like, but I don’t bother. Quantities are up to you, depending on your appetite.

Chop a clove or two of garlic and arrange on the bottom of a shallow baking dish with a couple of bay leaves. Arrange a good layer of potatoes on top, not worrying too much about neatness. Break some smoked mackerel fillets into chunks and arrange in another layer - the peppered ones work really well. Cover with another layer of potatoes. Pour over a carton of double cream or creme fraiche and then some milk until the potatoes and fish are about two thirds covered. Dot with some butter. The fish is already salty and peppery so don’t season.

Ideally, this should cook really slowly for a couple of hours at least on a low heat, but I rarely have the patience for this when I get home from work. Baking in the oven at 175℃, gas mark 5, for an hour or so will work fine. Check it from time to time and if it looks a bit dry, add a little more milk. Use the time to sit by the fire with a good book and a glass of wine.

To make a vegetarian version, slice up some mushrooms instead of the fish, but you’ll need to add extra seasoning.

Homemade squash and leek soup from allotment ingredients and multi seeded granary bread from Loaf at Stirchley Stores. A cheap, tasty and nourishing meal all sourced from within a mile of the house.

Recipe here.

Earlier this year, I suggested you keep an eye out for blackthorn blossom and make a mental note for the autumn. Well, now’s the time to remember where you spotted it because the sloes are now ripe and ready for picking. These mouth puckeringly sour berries are in fact very tiny members of the plum family. The blue black fruits aren’t good to eat as they come - try one if you like, just don’t say you weren’t warned - but are still worth picking for a variety of other reasons. They make a very good jelly or can be used in a mixed hedgerow jam. Make sure you’re suitably attired when picking them because the thorns are vicious.

However, they’re best known as the crucial component in sloe gin, a traditional winter tipple here in the UK, where long slow infusion in alcohol and a good dose of sugar transforms their bitter flavour to a rich, warm fruitiness. They’re also used to flavour the Spanish anise spirit based drink pacharan, made in the cooler, mountainous areas of Navarra and the Basque country.

I hate gin, so make sloe vodka instead. It’s really easy - the difficult bit is keeping your hands off it as it improves with keeping. If you start some now, it’s technically ready to drink by Christmas, but will be much better if you can be patient and leave until next year. Traditionally, sloes are picked after the first frost. I picked these in Cornwall a few days ago where frosts seldom occur, so if you like, you can put them in the freezer overnight, but I never bother. I do prick them with a sharp fork to help release the dark juices.

Amounts aren’t very important with the recipe below, just keep the proportions roughly the same and you can make as much or as little as you like.

You can use any sort of vessel to make it so long as it has a good, tight lid. Glass is good because you can see what’s going on inside. I’ve used a one litre Kilner jar to make mine here, but the easiest way is to get a bottle of gin or vodka, drink half and use that.

Sloe gin or vodka

Half fill your vessel with vodka or gin. Add the pricked fruit until the level is close to the top. Add some sugar - for half a bottle of spirit you need six tablespoons. Close the lid tightly and give it a good shake. The sugar won’t dissolve straight away, so don’t worry. Put it in a cool, dark place. Shake it every day or so for the first two or three weeks, by which time, the sugar should have dissolved and it should be taking on a dark red colour. Leave it for at least two months, giving it another shake from time to time.

How long you leave the fruit in is a moot point - I usually leave mine in for 3 or 4 months, but I once forgot about a bottle and left it for a year with no ill effects. It won’t ferment as the alcohol level is too high. Test it and add a bit more sugar if you prefer and shake well.

To bottle, strain the now shrivelled fruit off the liquid and leave to stand for a bit in case there’s any sediment. It’s not harmful to drink this, it’s only fruit, but it will make the liqueur cloudy. Pour into small glass bottles, trying to leave any sediment behind.

I’ve given this as Christmas presents for a number of years and it always goes down well. You can use the same process for a variety of fruit - I’ve done raspberry, mulberry and damson very successfully. You may need to adjust the level of sugar - if in doubt err on the side of caution, then test from time to time and add more later.

For more tips and advice on other fruits or spirits, including alternatives for non European readers, the very excellent Sloe Biz forum is full of sloe fanatics who even manage to make truffles out of the leftover fruit. After all, there’s no biz like sloe biz…

After writing yesterday’s recipe for bramble jelly, I started thinking about other fruit that is coming into season, especially foraged fruit.

An excellent, quick setting jelly can be made from crabapples which you can pick up by the bucket load in parks. They are sometimes yellow, sometimes pink and make a beautifully coloured preserve. Cook them down in enough water to cover them, and carry on as the basic recipe from yesterday - you don’t need extra pectin to set them.

If you let it cool for 10 minutes or so before putting it into the jars, you can add some chopped fresh herbs - the cooling means the jelly begins to thicken and stops them floating to the top. The jars in the picture are from a batch a couple of years ago and have sage in them but you could use mint, parsley or rosemary. It makes an excellent accompaniment to all kinds of savoury dishes - I put it on nut roast because I don’t eat meat, but I’m told it’s good on roast pork or chicken.