Potato Tortilla

The classic tortilla can be found in every tapas bar in Spain. 

The size of a large cake, it is dense and very satisfying. 

It can be eaten in wedges with a fork, a meal in itself with a salad, 

or cut into chunks, served on toothpicks and enjoyed 

as a snack with drinks.

Ingredients:

450g small waxy potato, peeled

1 Spanish onion

45ml olive or sunflower oil

4 large eggs

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fresh parsley, tomato wedges or Slow Roasted Tomatoes to garnish

Method:

Using a sharp knife, cut the potatoes into thin slices and slice the onion into thin rings. Heat 30ml of oil in a 20cm heavy-based frying pan. Add the potatoes and onions to the pan and cook over a low heat for 20 minutes, or until the potato slices are just tender. Stir from time to time to prevent the potatoes from sticking. Remove from the heat.

In a large bowl, beat together the eggs with a little salt and pepper. When the cooked potatoes and onion have cooled a little, stir the potatoes into the eggs.

Clean the frying pan with absorbent kitchen paper. Heat the remaining oil and pour in the potato and egg mixture. Cook very gently for 5-8 minutes until set underneath. During the cooking, lift the edges of the tortilla with a spatula to allow any uncooked egg to run underneath. Shake the pan from side to side to prevent sticking.

Place a large heatproof plate upside-down over the pan, invert the tortilla on to the plate and then slide it back into the pan. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes until the underside of the tortilla is golden brown.

Cut the tortilla into wedges and serve immediately or leave until warm or cold. Serve garnished with fresh parsley, tomato wedges or Slow Roasted Tomatoes.

Orange and Red Onion Salad

Cumin and mint give this refreshing salad a very Middle Eastern flavour. 

Small, seedless oranges are most suitable, if available.

Ingredients:

6 small oranges

2 red onions

15ml cumin seeds

5ml coarsely ground black pepper

15ml chopped fresh mint

90ml olive oil

Sea salt

Fresh mint sprigs and black olives, to serve

Method:

Slice the oranges thinly, working over a bowl to catch any juice. Holding each orange slice over the bowl, cut around with scissors to remove the peel and pith. Reserve the juice. Slice the onion thinly and separate into rings.

Arrange the orange and onion slices in layers in a shallow dish, sprinkling each layer with cumin seeds, black pepper, chopped mint, olive oil and salt to taste. Pour over the reserved orange juice.

Leave the salad to marinate in a cool place for about 2 hours. Scatter over the mint sprigs and black olives just before serving.

Egg Salad Filled Avocados with Lime Pickled Red Onions

Ingredients:

Lime Pickled Red Onions:

2 small red onions

Juice of 3 limes

15ml oil (avocado, sunflower, light olive oil, or any mild flavoured oil)

15ml salt + more to adjust taste

Egg salad:

8 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and diced

125ml finely diced radishes, about 3-4 radishes

125ml finely diced red onion, about ¼ of a large onion

125ml finely diced celery, about 2 stalks

30ml mayonnaise

30ml unsweetened plain yoghurt

10ml mustard

30ml fresh lime or lemon juice

2.5ml cumin powder

1 jalapeño, seeds removed and finely chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Avocado stuffing:

4-5 ripe but firm avocados, cut in halves, seeds removed and peeled

30ml fresh lime juice

Lettuce leaves

Lime Pickled Red Onions for garnishing

Fresh sprigs of dill  to garnish

Method:

First make the Lime Pickled Red Onions:

Cut the onion in half, slice very finely (a mandolin is very helpful with this part) and place in a bowl.

Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon salt and a squeeze of lime juice, let rest for about 10 minutes.

Cover the onions with lukewarm water and let rest for another 10 minutes.

Rinse and drain the onions. Add the lime juice, salt and the oil, and mix well.

Cover the onions and place in the fridge, the onions will start to turn pinkish after about 3 hours, and will turn very pink if left overnight. Taste again before serving and add salt if needed.

Secondly make the egg salad:

Combine the diced hard-boiled eggs, radish, red onion, celery, mayonnaise and/or yogurt, mustard, lime juice, and cumin powder in a large bowl. Mix well.

Add the diced jalapeño (if using) and salt/pepper to taste.

Use immediately or save the egg salad in the refrigerator until ready to stuff the avocados.

Thirdly, complete the stuffed avocados:

Drizzle the peeled avocado halves with the lime juice, this will slow down the darkening process.

Stuff the avocados with 1-2 spoonfuls of the egg salad.

Place the egg salad stuffed avocados on top of lettuce leaves. Garnish with your choice of fresh dill and red pickled onions.

Serve immediately.

Sweet and Sour Onions

These onions can be prepared in advance, stored in a Mason Jar and kept in the fridge for up to 5 days. Although they are great served at room temperature, they are better reheated before serving. If served with a braai, they can be eaten just like pickled onions.

Ingredients:

24-30 pickling onions, washed but unpeeled

1 clove garlic, crushed

½ chicken stock cube

60ml soft brown sugar

60ml dark vinegar

45ml tomato sauce

10ml soy sauce

15ml cornflour

125ml cold water

Method:

With just enough water to cover, combine onions, garlic and chicken stock in a medium saucepan. Cover and bring to the boil; cook for three minutes. Drain onions with a slotted spoon; refresh under cold water. Reserve the cooking liquid.

When cool enough to handle, remove the skins and return them to the cooking liquid, where they will add colour and flavour to the sauce. Boil and reduce the liquid to about 125ml; strain and discard the skins.

Return onions to the cooking liquid; add vinegar, sugar, tomato sauce, soy sauce and cornflour slaked with 125ml cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer, stirring gently for about 5 minutes until the sauce is smooth and thickened, and the onions are crisp-tender. Serve hot or allow to cool and store in the fridge until required.

Yellow Cling Peaches and Onion Atchar

Delicious with mutton, cheese or chicken pie.

Ingredients:

3 kg yellow cling peaches - washed and cut into even sized segments

1 kg baby onions

30 ml coriander seeds

15 ml whole peppercorns

2 litres white vinegar

50 g cornflour (100 ml)

25 ml curry powder

10 ml turmeric

200 g white sugar (250 ml)

10 ml salt water

Method:

Boil the coriander, peppercorns and vinegar together.

Mix the cornflour, curry powder, turmeric  sugar, salt and enough water together to make a smooth paste.

Stir into the vinegar mixture and keep on stirring until the mixture is well dissolved.

Add the peaches and the onions and boil together for 10 minutes.

Spoon mixture into clean, dry sterilised jars and seal.

Makes ± 4 litres. 

Buttermilk Batter Fried or Baked Onion Rings

Ingredients:
2 large onions
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups buttermilk
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
Peanut or olive oil

Method:
Cut onions into ½ inch slices and separate into rings. Set aside.

Whisk together flour, buttermilk, sugar, baking powder and salt until smooth.

Pour oil 2 inches deep into Dutch oven; heat to 375 degrees F. Dip onion rings in batter, coating very well. Fry a few rings at a time until golden. Drain on paper towels. Serve right away.

For oven baked Buttermilk Batter Onion rings: preheat oven to 375 degrees F. pour 1/3 cup peanut or olive oil onto jelly roll pan 15x10. place batter dipped onion rings onto pan and bake for 15 minutes or so. Remove from oven, flip over and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes or until golden.

Topside Roast with Balsamic Onion Sauce

When you cook beef slowly until it is tender and falling apart it's like ambrosia. Add to that a simple sauce made from caramelised onions, balsamic vinegar and beef stock and you have a marriage made in heaven! 

This recipe is all about the sauce! 

Ingredients:
750g - 1.5 kg topside beef roast
20ml olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced very thinly
1 clove of garlic, chopped
250ml beef stock
15ml Worcestershire sauce
15ml balsamic vinegar
5ml corn flour
Sea salt to taste (depending on your stock you may not need to add any at all)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 165˚C. Leave the roast joint at room temperature for at least an hour before starting cooking.
Put the roast joint into a cast iron roasting pan with about 250ml water.
Cook covered for about 3 hours, depending on the weight of the joint of meat.
When the roast is tender enough to fall apart, gently shred the meat with a pair of forks and toss in the remaining juices in the pot. The meat should absorb the juices and stay warm. Keep the pot covered while you make the sauce. 
In a smalll saucepan, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook slowly for about 10-15 minutes, stirring now and then to ensure nothing sticks to the pan. When the onions are slightly brown and tender, add the garlic and toss with the onions. Cook for a further minute. Add about 3/4 of the stock, the Worcestershire sauce and the vinegar and bring to a simmer.
Whisk the corn flour in the remaining stock and pour this mixture into the sauce and simmer on low until the sauce reduces and thickens. Pour over the shredded roast and toss to combine.
Enjoy!

Bacon Wrapped Onions

These roasted onions go wonderfully with a roast and vegetables dinner or with warmed Camembert cheese. Yum!

Ingredients:

4 large sweet onions

8 strips of smoked streaky bacon

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

olive oil

30ml butter

shavings of Parmesan cheese

sprigs of rosemary to garnish

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200˚C.

Cut off the top and bottom of the onions and remove the skins. Score each onion fairly deep across the top of the onions about half way through.

Wrap two strips of bacon around each onion and secure with toothpicks. 

Season each onion with salt and pepper, drizzle with a little olive oil and top with a blob of butter.

Place the onions on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour or until the onion is soft and caramelised. 

Top each onion with shavings of Parmesan cheese and sprigs of rosemary. Bake for a further 5 minutes.

Serve hot.

Sweet Cucumber and Red Onion Pickle

Ingredients:

1 English cucumber

1 large red onion

1 bunch of dill herb

450ml brown vinegar

50ml honey

50ml white sugar

5ml grainy mustard

Zest and juice of half a large lemon

5ml sea salt

Method:

Slice the cucumber into thin slices.

Peel the onion and halve it lengthwise before slicing it into thin slices.

Roughly chop or snip the dill herb. Use half of this for the pickle and freeze the rest with a little water for later use.

In a sterilised pickle bottle, layer the cucumber, onion and dill herb so that the pickle is well mixed.

In a small pan over a low heat, bring to the boil all the remaining ingredients, ensuring that everything dissolves.

Pour the hot vinegar mixture over the cucumber mixture a little at a time, tapping the bottle to release any trapped air. Make sure that all the salt and mustard seeds go into the jar. Close firmly before shaking gently up and down. 

Stand for an hour or two before serving.

This pickle can be stored in the fridge. Use within 2 weeks.

Beef and Onion Suet Pudding

This slow-cooked pie with a suet pastry crust is comfort food heaven. Suet pastry is an old family favourite and the first pastry I learned to make. It’s as easy as pie! This pastry is typically English and can be used for savoury and sweet dishes; for the latter you might want to add about 60-100g caster sugar to use for puddings.

Ingredients:
For the filling:
750g stewing beef , diced
50ml plain flour
salt and freshly ground black pepper
60ml olive oil
150g whole baby onions, peeled
1 onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
150ml beer
300ml beef stock

For the suet pastry:
500g self-raising flour
250g beef suet
325ml water
Pinch salt

For the cabbage:
50g butter
1 conical cabbage, core removed, shredded
50ml chopped fresh flatleaf parsley

Method:
For the filling, preheat the oven to 150C.

Mix the beef, flour and seasoning together in a bowl.

Heat some of the olive oil in a large flameproof casserole until hot. Shake the excess flour from the beef and fry, in batches, for 4-5 minutes, or until browned all over. Remove the beef and set aside.

Add the remaining olive oil and onions to the pan and fry for 3-5 minutes, or until softened and just coloured.

Return the beef to the casserole and add the garlic and beer. Continue to cook until the volume of the liquid has reduced by half then add the beef stock and bring to a simmer. Cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 2 hours.

Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside to cool completely.

For the suet pastry, mix the self-raising flour, suet, water and salt in a bowl to form a soft dough. Do not overwork the pastry.

Roll out three-quarters of the pastry to a 1cm/½in thickness and use it to line a 1.2 litre pudding basin. Fill with the cold cooked beef filling and moisten the pastry around the rim of the basin with water.

Roll the remaining dough to a 1cm thickness and place over the top of the basin. Pinch the edges firmly together and trim off any excess.

Cover with a double layer of greaseproof paper and a single sheet of aluminium foil. Tie around the top edge with string.

Steam the pudding for 1½ hours in a steamer, or on an upturned plate in a covered saucepan half-filled with water.

For the cabbage, heat a frying pan until hot, add the butter, cabbage and 50ml water and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until just tender. Stir in the parsley, salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Serve the pudding in slices with the cabbage alongside.

October Fruit and Vegetables

The days are growing shorter, autumn winds are blowing and the harvest is being brought in from the orchards and fields. October is sometimes thought of as the ugly sister of September, but the reputation is not deserved. Summer, when orchard and vine are exploding with juicy, sun filled abundance, may be passed, but the warm months have helped breed new things for autumnal abundance, some being uniquely enjoyable. This year the apple trees are especially heavy laden with succulent fruit, ready to be made into jams, preservers and beverages. Wild mushrooms are abundant and squash and pumpkins are ready early for Halloween.

Americans think of pumpkin as something you put in a pie and serve at Thanksgiving. Europeans know it primarily as a savoury ingredient. In this case, the old world and the new both have it right. Pumpkin is delicious in sweet pies, but it can be put to good use in all manner of savour dishes as well. The simplest is to cut the pumpkin into pieces, removing the seeds and strings from the central cavity and steaming or baking the pieces for serving with a little butter as a vegetable. Some care needs to be taken with cooked pumpkin as it becomes fragile when cooked because of the high water content. This may be acceptable if the flesh is to be drained of excess water and served mashed. One of the nicest ways of preparing this vegetable is to roast it in pieces at low temperature for an extended time, which cooks them and simultaneously evaporates much of the water.

Some vegetables from summer are still available, especially in the early part of the month: beans, courgettes, peppers and aubergines from Europe, and beetroot, sweetcorn, sweet potatoes, celery, carrots and marrows are available in abundance.

Root vegetables are now coming into their prime. Look for parsnips, celeriac, Swedes and turnips this month to use in soups and stews as we progress into colder weather. There should also be a good selection of onions available in October. If you like to make pickled onions, now is the time to make them.

The last, but not the least, of the vegetables to be considered for consumption in October are spinach, chard and cabbages. These seem to come into their own as the days become shorter and the nights grow colder. Red cabbage is especially good when cooked with onions, pears or quinces.

Most of the berries of summer are now gone, but other fruit make up for their depletion. The apple season is in full swing, and with them come delicious pears and damsons, perfect for preserves and puddings. Autumn is also the season for nuts, with fresh walnuts being the first to be seen. They are never better than at this time of year, before the flesh has lost its moist, delicate freshness.

Figs are another October highlight, picked from the tree when fully ripe, they offer their incomparable sweet flavour for a short time before they become too soft. They are perfect torn open and savoured raw, but are also delicious baked with honey and feta cheese.

Quinces are another top choice for October, especially for jam and jelly making. Pomegranates, coming from the Mediterranean, are also abundant now. They may be one of the hardest fruit to eat, but the succulent pits are delicious in both savoury and sweet salads.

Braai Grilled Onions

These savoury onions are great to grill during the last 15 minutes while cooking your meat. They go well with almost all cuts of meat.

Ingredients:

4 medium onions, topped and tailed and skins removed

30ml Worcestershire sauce

30ml balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar

30ml soy sauce

30ml olive oil

1-2ml dried tarragon

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Cut each onion in half lengthwise and place the halves in a shallow, flat container. Beat the Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, soy sauce, tarragon and oil together and pour this mixture over the onions. Allow them to marinade at room temperature for about 1 hour, basting occasionally.

To cook, arrange the onions around the edges of the grid. Cook until the onions are tender and brown, basting occasionally, for 10-15 minutes. These cook best on a covered grill, but may also be done on an open fire. Once done, remove the onions to a serving dish and season with salt and pepper.

Pancakes with Onion and Camembert Filling

Who can resist the wonderful, smooth and creamy flavour of Camembert? Not me, that's for sure. It is one of my favourite cheeses, which I'm always looking for new ways to use for a delicious supper.

My curiosity for where foods originate unearthed a charming story to this delicious cheese. 'Camembert de Normandie' is more than a simple cheese; it has a rich history and has become a symbol of French Gastronomy. It is what is called a 'surface-ripened' cheese, traditionally made from unpasteurised cow's milk, which originated in Camembert, Orne, the largest small village in Normandy, northern France. In 1791 a farmer, Marie Harel, learned from a priest from Brie how to make a soft cheese and Camembert cheese was born.

The cheese we know today is more likely to have it's beginnings in the industrialization of the cheese making process at the end of the 19th century. In the early years the maturation process of this cheese produced a rind of dubious colours developed by chance, but from the early 20th century, the colour become creamy white due to the use of an aqueous suspension of penicillium moulds sprayed on the outside of the cheese before being left to ripen.

Cheese and pancakes are such a quick and easy meat-free meal for during the week.

Ingredients:

For the Pancakes:

15ml olive oil

half a red onion, sliced

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

150g flour

a pinch of salt

2 large eggs

100ml milk

25g butter

85g Camembert, sliced

paprika to sprinkle

For the Sauce:

150ml double cream

half a vegetable stock cube or 15ml liquid vegetable stock concentrate

15ml chopped fresh parsley

a pinch of paprika

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C.

For the pancakes, mix the flour, salt and eggs and half of the milk in a bowl, adding more milk as necessary, until the batter has the consistency of double cream. Heat the butter in an ovenproof frying pan over a high heat until it is foaming. add the batter mixture with a ladle, swirling the pan to spread the mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan. Fry the pancake on both sides for 1-2 minutes until golden brown on both sides. Set aside while you finish making the pancakes. The mixture should make 4 pancakes.

When finished making the pancakes, heat the oil in another frying pan over a medium heat and fry the onion and garlic for 3-4 minutes until softened.

To assemble the pancakes, put the onions and cheese onto one half of each pancake and sprinkle over a little paprika to taste. Fold the other half of the pancake over the filling and transfer to the pan in which the pancakes were made. Warm 2 pancakes at a time in the oven for 3-4 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

For the sauce, pour the cream into a pan and crumble the half stock cube into it - or add the liquid stock if using. simmer over a medium heat for 5-6 minutes, until the liquid has reduced slightly, then stir in the parsley and a pinch of paprika.

To serve, put the filled pancakes onto a warmed serving plate, pour over the sauce. Serve with a salad of green leaves and baby tomatoes.

Corned Beef and Onion Pie

Corned beef is a type of salt cured beef, which appears in the cuisine of many cultures, including South African, Jewish, Irish, American, Argentinian and British. The origin of corned beef has been lost in history, but most likely came about when people began curing meat through salt curing to make it last over a periods of time. The word 'corn' derives from old English, which is used to describe any small hard particles of grain. In the case of 'corned beef', the word refers to the coarse granular salt used to cure the beef. The canned variety of corned beef is referred to as 'bully beef' in the UK. This comes from the French term, 'boeuf bouilli', or boiled beef.

Ingredients:

For the filling:

15g butter

15ml sunflower oil

1 large onion, sliced or chopped

2 celery sticks, trimmed, peeled to remove stringy bits, sliced

2 medium carrots, cut into 1cm/½in dice

300g potatoes, preferably Maris Pipers, peeled and cut into 1cm dice

30ml tomato ketchup

1 x 340g can corned beef

freshly ground black pepper

For the pastry:

300g plain flour, plus extra for rolling

good pinch sea salt

175g cold butter, cubed

1 free-range egg

Method:

Preheat the oven to 190C.

For the filling, melt the butter with the oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Add the onion, celery, carrots and potatoes. Cook over a low heat for about 15 minutes until the vegetables are softened and beginning to colour, stirring regularly. The carrots should retain a little bite.

Add the ketchup and stir into the vegetables for a few seconds before adding the corned beef. Break the beef into chunky pieces with a wooden spoon and mix with the vegetables.

Season with pepper – you shouldn’t need salt as the corned beef is fairly salty – and remove from the heat. Leave to cool for about 20 minutes.

To make the pastry, put the flour, salt and butter in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Lightly whisk the egg with a tablespoon of cold water in a small bowl. Slowly pour all but one tablespoon of the egg mixture into the food processor with the motor running and blend until the mixture begins to form a ball.

Turn the pastry out onto a well-floured work surface and bring it together into a ball. Take about a third of the pastry, roll it out and use it to line a 8-9in pie plate. Leave any excess pastry overhanging the edge. Brush the pastry edge lightly with the reserved egg.

Spoon the filling into the pastry base and spread it out evenly. Flour the surface once more and roll out the remaining pastry. Lift the rolled pastry over the rolling pin and place gently over the filling. Press the edges firmly together then trim neatly. Seal the edge with a fork.

Brush the top of the pastry with the remaining beaten egg, cut a cross in the centre of the pie and place onto a baking tray. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the pastry is golden-brown and the filling is piping hot.

Onion Sauce and Quick Onion Soup

Onion Sauce for Grilled Steak or Sausages

In a pan, heat together 1 cup Caramelised Onions and 1 cup good quality beef stock. Thicken with 2 tsp cornflour mixed with a little water and simmer for 1-2 minutes to cook out the flour.

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Quick Onion Soup

For two people, heat 1 cup Caramelised Onions with 2 cups beef stock and simmer for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, sprinkle 4 slices of French bread with 2 tbsp grated gruyere cheese and grill until the cheese is melted and golden. Divide the soup between two bowls and sit the croutons on top, then garnish with a little chopped parsley. This makes a great lunch in winter or light supper.

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Caramelised Onion and Feta Tart

Ingredients:

1 portion of Easy Flaky Pastry

500ml Caramelised Onions

150g Feta cheese

15ml fresh thyme leaves

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

2 spring onion tops, finely sliced

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Method:

Preheat the oven to 220C

Roll out the pastry between two pieces of baking paper to a circle that is narrower than 1cm thick. Remove the paper and place on a baking tray.

Spread the filling over the pastry, leaving an inch or more at the edge, starting with the caramelised onions. Top that with the feta cheese, crumbled and a sprinkling of thyme leaves. Turn up the sides of the pastry all the way around to make a tart. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bake for 12-15 minutes and sprinkle with chopped spring onion greens before serving.

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Caramelised Onions

Caramelised Onions are useful for all manner of things, so worth making in large quantities as they will keep for a week or more in the fridge. You can use brown or red onions, but red onions are sweeter. I find them a really useful stock item to have on hand as they provide the starting point for all manner of delicious meals. Use them to top a Caramelised Onion and Feta Tart, or to make a hearty sauce to serve spooned over grilled steak or sausages. You can also use caramelised onions to make a really delicious and easy Onion Soup.

Ingredients:

6 large red onions

375ml water

80ml muscovardo sugar

80ml balsamic vinegar

30ml oil

5ml Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

Method:

Peel onions and cut into thin wedges. Place all the ingredients into a large pot and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently, stirring now and then, for about 40-45 minutes until the liquid has all but evaporated and the onions are very soft. During the final steps of cooking take care that the onions don’t catch and burn. Give them a stir now and then.

Remove from the heat and cool before storing in the fridge in a covered container. Serve at room temperature or reheat in a small pan. Onions will keep, covered, in the fridge for a week.

Fruit and Vegetables in March

A lean month, often wild and windy, March should herald the approach of spring with its promise of good things to come.

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March, so the saying goes, comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. The weather may not always bear this out, but the vegetable markets usually do: this is the in-between month, too late for many of winter’s glorious root vegetables and brassicas, too early for the fresh, cheering arrivals of spring. It’s often a case of making do if you’re a stickler for home-grown produce, or of relying on imported produce. There may still be good root vegetables around, though you should check carefully for signs of softness that can indicate a spongy, watery interior; parsnips in particular may be good. Potatoes, of course, should be fine whether from the UK or abroad; new potatoes from Cyprus are especially good choices now.

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Curly kale, a member of the cabbage family, is a good choice among greens, as are broccoli imports from Spain. At the beginning of the month, spinach is likely to come from overseas, but UK crops will start appearing as March heads towards April. In the absence of a wide vegetable choice, don’t forget the humble onion – tasty small new crops should be coming into the market, and enliven just about any dish. Bake or braise them on their own, or use them in dishes like Caramelised Onion and Feta Tart or Onion Soup. Finally, take advantage of the wonderful leek, which is one of the months few vegetable stars.

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Leeks are a member of the allium family, which also includes onions and garlic, but they have far less smelly qualities that may cause a tricky situation for people who worry about what their breath smells like after eating. Most leeks sold in March are grown in the UK, though you might find some imports from France, especially the ‘baby’ leeks, which are hardly worth the price they command. As the home-grown leeks get to the end of their season, which they do in March, they can be so large that the core becomes tough and woody, making them inedible. Those that still stand up to cooking will probably have an unusually strong flavour. Look out for small to medium specimens without too much of the green tops as these are best in March. The green tops are not suitable for eating, but make good ingredients for soups, stews and stocks.

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Leeks have a reputation for being difficult to clean. Some recipes may suggest removing the green tops and cutting a slit down the centre of the leek before running water into the separate layers, but most leeks come into the market today free of grit in the edible white sections and can be cleaned just by cutting off the green part. Small leeks can be successfully grilled or stir-fried, but generally speaking they are better cooked in a moist environment – steaming, poaching, braising or cooking in a casserole or stew – as well as using them in stocks and soups.

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For fruit, there’s essentially nothing but imports to rely on. Oranges from Morocco remain a good buy as do exotic travellers from the southern hemisphere such as mangoes, passion fruit, and pawpaw or papaya. Grapes are another good bet, especially the green South African varieties, which are available in March. And don’t forget about the end of the season’s forced rhubarb.

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Creamy Potato and Onion Bake

Potatoes form a staple in British cuisine.

For this dish the floury varieties,

including King Edward and Maris Piper, are ideal.

They are usually used for mashing and roasting,

but are not much good for salads as they tend to break up on boiling.

Because of their bland flavour and creamy, starchy texture,

they work well with dairy produce

as well as with stronger-tasting ingredients like

tomatoes, cheese, onions, garlic and spices.

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Ingredients:

75g butter, plus extra for greasing

3 onions sliced into thin rings

1kg potatoes

100g finely chopped hazel nuts

200ml fresh parsley, finely chopped

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

400ml double cream

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Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Heat a knob of the butter in a large, heavy-based pan until foaming. Add the onions and fry until softened and golden-brown.

Chop the anchovies and add to the onions during the last 4-5 minutes of cooking.

Meanwhile, slice the potatoes, and then cut each slice into thin batons.

Butter a large ovenproof casserole dish. Place a layer of the cooked onions and anchovies in the bottom, then add a layer of potatoes and top with a small knob of butter. Layer a sprinkling of parsley and chopped nuts over, then repeat the layering process again with the onions, potatoes, butter and nuts and parsley, finishing with a layer of potatoes. Season each layer with salt and freshly ground black pepper as you go.

Pour over the cream and dot with the remaining butter. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the potatoes are tender and golden-brown on top.

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Cooks Note:

Parsley has twice the vitamin C of an orange,

more calcium than milk.

It also has a diuretic action,

which helps to reduce blood pressure

and remove toxins via the kidneys.

Cheese and Onion Beer Bread

In Durban, whenever we went to a braai with friends,

one of the things we took with was beer bread.

I don't remember where we originally got the idea;

it was most likely at one of the caravan rallies we had been to

when our daughter was young,

but it became a 'staple' for a braai.

We have made it with all sorts of additions,

but cheese and onion seem to be the family favourite.

Ingredients:
500g self raising flour
250ml grated cheddar cheese, the stronger the better
3 finely chopped spring onions, the white and green parts.
5ml salt
5ml dried marjoram
350ml beer
25ml melted butter
25ml sesame seeds

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C.

Mix together in a large bowl, flour, cheese, onions, marjoram and salt. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the beer. With your fingers, mix the flour mixture into the beer until you have a sticky dough.

Pour the dough into a greased and floured loaf pan so that it fills the pan to the ends and is fairly level. Brush the top of the loaf with the melted butter and sprinkle on the sesame seeds.

Bake for 35-45 minutes until golden on top and a metal skewer comes out clean.

Serve warm or cooled, buttered or plain.

Additional toppings could include Parmesan cheese,

paprika, cayenne pepper, poppy seeds, fennel seeds -

the list goes on.

Try varying the cheeses; perhaps use blue cheese or feta.

You could also use different herbs like

fresh or dried thyme, rosemary, chives, or parsley

and basil with chopped sun dried tomatoes makes a great bread too.