Here is a recipe using Brussels sprouts which is ideal for a winter lunch or supper.

Ingredients for 2 people:

• 14 cleaned Brussels sprouts
• medium onion peeled & chopped
  
• 4 rashers of bacon chopped
• rapeseed oil for frying
• black pepper

Method:

• place the sprouts in boiling water & par-boil until just crunchy (about 8 minutes)
• drain the sprouts
• as the sprouts are cooking, fry the onion and bacon until crunchy in the rapeseed oil
• add the partly cooked sprouts to the frying mixture, and stir in for about 3 minutes
• grind some black pepper over the mixture
• serve!

Time: about 15 minutes from start to finish

We used Bridget sprouts & Woburn Country Foods black back bacon as it gave it a sweet, smoky flavour.

Served with a baked potato, it was a great Sprout Supper!

This recipe for sea bass is quick, easy and tasty.  Sea bass has tender delicate flesh, and in this recipe we keep the natural flavours of the fish and accompany it with some tasty vegetables.

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 2 Sea bass fillets, skin on, boneless
• garden peas
• leeks
• mushrooms, sliced
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped
• thyme
• butter
• olive oil

Method

Slice and blanch the leeks in boiling water and add the peas to the pan, simmer for 6 minutes.  Heat some butter in a large frying pan and cook the garlic and thyme for 1 minute, then add the leek, peas and some sliced mushroom.  Gently fry for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, fry the seabass in some olive oil on a medium heat.  Cook skin side down for 6 minutes and then flip once to cook the flesh through for a further 2 minutes.

Place the vegetables on the plate, topped with the sea bass.

Serve

This meal can be served with buttered crusty bread or with potato patties.

To make the potato patties take some cold (refigerated) mashed potato, make into patties and dust both sides with plain flour.  Fry in a little butter or oil.  If your pan is large enough you can fry in the pan with the vegetables, some of the peas and flavours can get pushed into the patties as they are cooking. Yummy!

Today we had our first leeks & to celebrate we did the ‘leeks au gratin’ recipe.

Ingredients:

• 6 leeks – sliced across in circles1/2″ thick
• 250ml double cream – must be double!
• 2 handfuls grated cheese

Method:

• drop leeks into a pan of boiling water – bring back to the boil.  Simmer for one minute & drain well.
• place leeks in a shallow, greased oven-proof dish.
• cover leeks with the double cream
• sprinkle the grated cheese on top
• cook in oven preheated to 180C for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

This recipe for Leeks au Gratin could not be easier & produces a very special dish.

For more vegetable recipes, try this book from Amazon:

Champ is a recipe of mashed potatoes with butter and spring onions

Ingredients:

• 4 pounds (1.8kg) potatoes
• 1/2 pint (300ml) milk
• 1 cup (225g) chopped spring onions
• 1/2 cup (110g) butter
• Salt and black pepper

Method:

• Cook peeled potatoes in boiling water.
• Simmer milk and spring onions together for five minutes.
• Strain and mash potatoes, but keep them hot.
• Add hot milk, spring onions, salt, pepper, and half the butter.
• Stir in.
• Serve very hot, with a well of melted butter in the middle.

Try this potato recipe for Champ to warm you up!