Riverford Farm Cook Book: Tales from the Fields, Recipes from the Kitchen

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, chopped

4 smoked streaky bacon rashers, chopped into small pieces

500g potatoes, peeled and cut into small dice

250g swede, peeled and cut into small dice

about 1.5 litres chicken stock

500g Brussels sprouts, finely sliced

25g Wensleydale cheese, grated

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, until softened. Add the bacon and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and swede and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes. Pour in enough stock to come about 2cm above the level of the potatoes and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the Brussels sprouts and cook for 10 minutes more, until the vegetables are tender. Blend in a food processor or liquidiser (for a really smooth finish, pass through a good food mill). Reheat gently, season to taste and serve sprinkled with the cheese and parsley.

Crisp Brussels Sprouts with Pine Nuts and Balsamic Vinegar (#ulink_7d3f51c7-fa89-5179-a850-c14a9eb187e8)

Instead of risking the usual soggy, overcooked boiled sprouts – and the smell that goes with them – try roasting them instead. The balsamic vinegar and honey emphasise the natural sweetness of sprouts, while the pine nuts add texture.

Serves 6 as an accompaniment

600g Brussels sprouts, trimmed

2 shallots or 1 onion, thinly sliced

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a bowl, mix the sprouts with the shallots or onion, olive oil, honey and some salt and pepper. Transfer to a baking tray or shallow dish, place in an oven preheated to 190°C/Gas Mark 5 and roast for 20 minutes, until the sprouts are tender and lightly browned. Sprinkle with the pine nuts and balsamic vinegar and serve.

Wok-fried Brussels Spouts with Ginger (#ulink_93cea7fb-622a-5982-bfce-796d0ea1e874)

Sprouts are effectively mini cabbages, and can be shredded and stir-fried in the same way. Serve as part of your Christmas lunch, or on its own with rice.

Serves 4

3 tablespoons sunflower oil

2 shallots or 1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 chilli, finely chopped

600g Brussels sprouts, finely shredded

4cm piece of fresh ginger, cut into very fine strips

4cm piece of crystallised stem ginger, cut into very fine strips

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a wok, add the shallots or onion, plus the garlic and chilli, and fry quickly for about 2 minutes, without browning. Add the shredded sprouts and the fresh and crystallised ginger. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons of water, cover and steam for 3 minutes. Season to taste and serve.

Easy ideas for Brussels sprouts

♦ Combine cooked Brussels sprouts with fried bacon lardons, then stir in cooked chestnuts (vacuum-packed ones are fine) and a little chopped parsley.

♦ Fry some chopped garlic and sage in a little olive oil, then add finely shredded raw Brussels sprouts. Cook for 5–7 minutes, until tender, then season and serve.

♦ Make some brown butter by heating 50g butter in a small pan until it just starts to brown. Add a tablespoon of flaked almonds and 350g quartered cooked Brussels sprouts. Stir rapidly, coating the sprouts in the brown butter and almonds, then season.

♦ Substitute Brussels sprouts for kale in Kale, Chorizo and Potato Hash (see Kale, Chorizo and Potato Hash (#litres_trial_promo)).

♦ Toss shredded, very fresh raw sprouts with toasted sesame seeds and soy sauce for a quick, healthy salad.

See also:

Turnips, Brussels Sprouts and Beetroot with Hazelnuts (#litres_trial_promo)

Enough (#ulink_39a2d20c-d987-5bd3-8118-e1513c7ec50f)

See the happy moron, He doesn’t give a damn.

I wish I were a moron.

My God! Perhaps I am!

Anonymous

Most of us live our lives the way my overweight Labrador eats her dinner: in a frantic rush, with little pause for consideration or appreciation and an almost paranoid resistance to sharing. She salivates at any suggestion of food and invariably wants more as soon as it is finished. For her, there is no such thing as enough. It is said that her breed lacks the satiated gene and, given the chance, would eat to obesity and ultimately death.

I watch her eat with pity. Like Pooh Bear, she is a dog of very little brain, but her appetites are fairly harmless and, between meals, provided there is no hint of a bin to raid or a child’s lunch to steal, she is loyal and endearingly happy in her skin.

I like to believe that I am smarter than my dog and, though I admire her ability to live in the moment, as a higher being I have the future to think about. Surely we should be able to organise and live our lives for long-term happiness and fulfilment. Surely we should be able to balance the fleeting pleasures of short-term material gratification with the needs of our long-suffering planet. All the evidence shows that material wealth in developed countries is very poor at delivering lasting happiness, but we allow our appetite for it to outweigh all the wisdom that would recommend a more balanced life. I sometimes think we might stand a chance of attaining that wisdom if it weren’t for the fiendishly clever and well-resourced marketing industry that is so adept at appealing to our base desires.