Aesthetics & Gastronomy

August

Courgettes are one of the many vegetables that are in season during August.   Unlike most of our seasonal crops though, courgettes are relative newcomers.  Although popular in Italy and France, up until the 1950s, courgettes were something of a rarity in Britain.   The only summer squash most people were familiar with was the marrow.  Courgettes were practically unheard of.   For the few in the know, they were a luxury item that needed to be imported from France.   Then along came Elizabeth David with her inspiring recipes and evocative stories of life in the Mediterranean.   Suddenly, courgettes were very much in demand.   So, Poupart’s, who were market gardeners based in Walton-on-Thames, decided to fill the gap in the market and became the very first British producer to grow courgettes commercially.   Nowadays courgettes are so much a part of our summer cuisine that it barely seems possible they were virtually unheard of only a few decades ago.

 

   

 

 

Sliced courgettes are delicious gently fried in olive oil with a little crushed garlic and lemon zest - either served as an accompaniment or stirred through pasta.   Thinly sliced lengthways they are ideal for griddling or as a substitute for pasta in lasagne.   Chunks of courgettes drizzled with oil and roasted in the oven make a change from serving them steamed or boiled.  The round courgettes in particular, lend themselves to being filled with a meat, vegetable or rice based stuffing and baked.  For an alternative to onion bhajis, replace some of the onion with coarsely grated courgette.   If you grow your own courgettes, invariably you’ll end up with a glut, no matter how hard you try to avoid it.   Chutney is a great way of getting down a pile of courgettes, as is soup and the Mediterranean classic, ratatouille, both of which can be frozen to use later in the year.  Raw courgettes make a refreshing crunchy summer salad - I've been making a courgette, lemon & tarragon salad this summer.   You can even use finely grated courgettes in muffins, cakes and brownies - Red Velvet and Chocolate Heartache by Harry Eastwood has a wide selection of lovely courgette based cake recipes.  Finally, there’s the courgette flowers which are also edible. Dip them in tempura batter, as they are and then deep fry or stuff the flowers with a cheesy stuffing before battering and frying.

 

   

 

 

Courgettes are easy to grow, either in the garden or in containers.   Sow the seeds in modules or pots from late March.   Push the seeds in on their sides, not flat, to prevent them rotting.   When the plants are ready to plant out, plant them in well manured ground and space well apart. In dry weather, they need to be kept well watered.  Keep harvesting regularly otherwise the courgettes will very quickly become as large as marrows.   Recommended green varieties include Parthenon F1 which is self pollinating, Primula and Tuscany.   Romanesco is a green courgette with characteristic ridges and Pin Stripe has dark and pale green stripes.   Soleil F1 is a reliable yellow variety and eight ball (green), one ball (yellow) and summer ball (orange), as the names suggest are all globe shaped courgettes.

 

 

 

A Fruity Summer

 

Strawberries, blackcurrants and gooseberries from the garden, French apricots and juicy cherries in the shops and on market stalls - it must be summer.

 

And what have I been doing with all these delicious summery fruits?

 

Well, naturally there's been lots of fresh cherry eating - they never seem to last long around here!  And bowls of fresh strawberries for desserts and with bircher muesli for breakfast.  There's several boxes of blackcurrants and gooseberries tucked away in the freezer for later, as well as various tubs of ice cream. I've also been making gooseberry and elderflower fools, hazelnut and blackcurrant tarts and muffins filled with apricots and blackcurrants.  And finally, a really simple but utterly delicous dessert - baked apricots with a lovely almondy filling (here's the recipe).

 

 

 

Land Cress from Seed to Kitchen

 

I've been growing land cress for a few years now.  Its punchy, peppery flavour is, unsurprisingly, similar to that of its water loving relative.  Which I would love to grow, but seem to be lacking a vital element for watercress growing.  A stream.  Although, with all the rain that we're getting this summer, who knows ...

 

 

In the kitchen, land cress and watercress are pretty much interchangeable.  I mainly like to use land cress in salads, soups and sauces - land cress pesto, made with rapeseed oil and no parmesan, is fantastic for pepping up chicken or fish (here's the recipe).

 

 

 

July

Blackcurrants were first grown in the UK over 500 years ago.  Herbalists regarded them highly for their medicinal uses, particularly for treating bladder stones, liver and lung disorders and coughs.   Today, it’s the high levels of anthocyanins with their antioxidant properties in the dark coloured fruits that give them superfood status.   Nowadays breeders are actively developing cultivars with increased levels of anthocyanins.

 

There are currently around 50 blackcurrant growers in the UK, each year producing in the region of 14,000 tonnes of blackcurrants, depending on the weather conditions.  The Ribena factory is the destination for a large proportion of the blackcurrants, yet, many other manufacturers shun home grown blackcurrants in favour of foreign imports. As a result, the UK blackcurrant market is actually bigger than the demand for British blackcurrants.

 

Commercially grown blackcurrants are usually planted in more traditional smaller scale fields, enclosed with hedges which provide protection and shelter for the crops.  As the bushes remain viable for up to 15 years this also provides more opportunities for long term environmental activities to encourage wildlife.  Harvesting is mainly done by specially developed machines called straddle harvesters which shake the currants from the plants.  However, blackcurrants grown for sale as fresh fruit are still hand picked to avoid damaging the fruit.

 

 

If you don’t grow your own, the best place to find UK grown blackcurrants is either direct from a grower, farm shops or at farmers’ markets.  Classic blackcurrant recipes include summer pudding, pies, cheesecake, mousses, fools, jams and jellies. Blackcurrant puree coupled with lightly whipped cream is an indulgent filling for a chocolate cake.  For a dairy and egg free dessert, I love this coconut milk ice cream rippled with blackcurrant puree.  Or for a really refreshing end to a meal try a blackcurrant and aniseed sorbet. Almonds and blackcurrants are another great pairing.  A handful of blackcurrants added to the filling for an almond tart provides a lovely sharp contrast to the rich filling  They also work equally well in savoury dishes too.  Pork, venison and duck are all delicious served with a blackcurrant sauce.  Or use them in a dressing to serve with baked feta or goat’s cheese.

 

 

 

Early cultivars were susceptible to damage from spring frosts however, the Scottish Research Institute at Invergowrie, near Dundee, used Scandinavian frost hardy germplasm to develop a series of hardier cultivars.  They called them the ‘Ben’ series, the first of which was ‘Ben Lomond’ in the 1970s.  The two latest in the series are ‘Ben Hope’ and ‘Ben Gairn’ which are the current favoured cultivars  

 

Blackcurrants are available as either bare root plants for planting during autumn. and winter or as container plants for planting anytime.  Ideally the plants prefer well drained soil in full sun.  The bushes need to be pruned to maintain their shape and to encourage new wood on which the fruit forms.  Initially just remove the wispy shoots then after 4 years, prune then annually during the dormant season.  Remove about a third of the old wood right from the base of the plants.  When the fruits are ripe, cut off the bunches of berries (stigs) then strip them from the stalks.  Avoid harvesting the fruit in humid or damp weather as the fruit will be more susceptible to mould.