import your food from millions of miles away.Then that food which is imported is full of pesticides, fertiliser, fungicide. “When you fly all these vegetables across the world, these strawberries, which have been grown thousands of miles away, don’t have any flavour, no taste, and cost you more than triple, maybe.” Strawberry season is worth waiting for, he says. Plus,“If you buy locally and you wait for that season, there’s a glut of it, and once there’s a glut of it, the price comes down.And the flavour is 10 times better. “I think it makes a great deal of sense to grow your own food if you can. Of course, I fully understand that we live in a world where we have very little time. [But] if you can’t grow your own food, then shop seasonally.” The book celebrates the variety of fruit, herbs and veg we’re able to grow in the UK, and the beauty of it in all its simplicity; from his kitchen garden omelette and courgette galette, to the comté cheese and leek souffle and roasted pork stuffed with prune and herb breadcrumbs, before rhubarb and custard tartlets. So what home-grown vegetables does he think we should cook more at home? “Artichoke is one of my favourites,” says Blanc. Plus they’re “so simple” to cook, he argues.“A great, big pot of water, you need a big pot, artichoke, maybe half a lemon sliced, a tiny bit of salt, in the water. Cover it and simmer for 40 minutes, turn it off, let it cool down. It’s so easy, it’s delicious.” The fleshy heart is the delicious part of the vegetable, so he suggests drizzling over a dressing made from a mixture of mustard, butter, a bit of vinegar, a dash of warm water, olive oil, need needs to be emulsified and whisked up. Then there’s pumpkin, he adds.“It’s hard to peel, it’s a bit of an effort.When you peel it, keep the leaf because that can be a stunning soup – food recycling is so important. “Keep the leaves of the celery [too].Which is going to be in season September, October, November.When its homegrown it’s peppery, it’s more delicious.You can grate it to have a beautiful remoulade salad, with a bit of mayonnaise, or simple walnuts on top.You can make celery juice with the skin, the leaves of the celery which are strong and peppery, will give an amazing flavour.” Even the humble sweet potato (there’s a very simple grilled, spicy sweet potato recipe in the book).“It’s completely not as well rated as it should be.You halve your potato and then simply put it in the oven for 25 minutes.The sweet potato has got the most extraordinary, nutritious ingredients, and very strong antioxidants as well.”
doing it outside on your windowsill.”
Method:
FOOD Recipe Casserole
2.“Have a good compost as well: good earth will provide some good nutrients.” 3.“Get acquainted with seasonality, with varieties and so on. How deep do I put the seeds? How much water do I put in? There’s so much, it sounds simple. It is not.” 4.“Start with herbs, such as dragon rosemary – it’s very easy. Little seeds are a miracle of their own.Teach your child the extraordinary miracle that sees little seeds, all shrivelled, that they contain something which is going to feed the whole world.That little seed will grow into a beautiful carrot, or beautiful herb.” 5.“Next try spinach, peas, runner beans – things that grow fast. [Do] what’s easy to grow and then you get to learn – and you get hooked. Gardening is extraordinary.” Simply Raymond Kitchen Garden by Raymond Blanc is published in hardback by Headline Home, priced £26. Available September 11
1. Make the pistou: Coarsely chop the basil. Chop the garlic to a purée. Bring a medium-sized saucepan of water to the boil, and meanwhile half-fill a medium-sized bowl with iced water. Plunge the basil into the pan of boiling water and blanch for 30 seconds. Remove and refresh in the cold water, and then drain.With a stick blender or in a food processor, blend the blanched basil with the extra-virgin olive oil, chopped garlic, salt and pepper to a purée. (Pistou can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for four days. It also freezes well). 2.To prepare, dice the onion. Crush the garlic to a purée. Quarter the potatoes. Remove and discard the two outer layers of the leek, halve it lengthways, coarsely chop and wash. Halve the carrot lengthways and coarsely chop it. Coarsely chop the celery. Coarsely chop the green beans (about two centimetres). Place the frozen broad beans (or peas) in a small bowl and cover with water straight from a boiled kettle. 3. In a large saucepan or casserole dish over a medium heat, heat the olive oil and add the onion, garlic and bay leaf, along with a couple of pinches of salt and pepper. Cook for about three minutes. 4.Add the potatoes, leek, carrot, celery and green beans. Stir and continue to sweat the vegetables for a further three minutes. 5. Pour in the boiling water and simmer for 12-14 minutes. Test the vegetables are cooked by simply tasting.Adjust the seasoning, if necessary. 6. Remove the pan from the heat and add the artichoke hearts and cannellini beans (or haricot beans). Drain the broad beans (or peas) and add these to the pan. Chop the chervil and add it. If using pistou, now is the time to add it – to your taste – and stir it into the casserole. If necessary, reheat the casserole, divide it into four shallow bowls and serve.
Raymond Blanc’s potager casserole recipe
By PA
“An ode to Le Manoir’s famous vegetable garden.This vegetarian casserole can be turned into a feast, served with bowls of cheese, crème fraîche, sundried tomatoes and, of course, a loaf of good-quality bread,” says Raymond Blanc. “The pistou sauce takes only a few minutes to make and can be stirred into the casserole or served in a bowl on the side so that your guests can help themselves. “This casserole also features chervil, which I love, although in Britain it is not a celebrated herb. But I urge you to try it, and even to grow it – chervil thrives in our climate. This recipe is a guide, so please be inspired by the season’s produce, and replace these ingredients accordingly.”
Potager Casserole Prep: 10 mins Cook: 20 mins
Ingredients: (Serves 4)
1 small onion 1 large garlic clove 160g new potatoes 1 small leek 1 large carrot 1 stick of celery 60g fine green beans 120g frozen broad beans or peas 1tbsp olive oil 1 bay leaf Seasalt and ground white pepper 700ml boiling water 4 jarred artichoke hearts 1 tin (400g) cannellini beans or white haricot beans
For the pistou: A bunch of basil 2 garlic cloves
100ml extra-virgin olive oil 2 pinches of sea salt flakes A pinch of ground black pepper To serve: 10g chervil
Raymond Blanc’s tips for creating your own kitchen garden
1.“Do raised beds to start with, because it’s a good way to get acquainted.You don’t need a large space.You can start
Photo: potager casserole.
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