Cooking Outside the Box: The Abel and Cole Seasonal, Organic Cookbook

If you think cooking is a chore, you must be doing it the wrong way…

Knowing the slang

Cooking temperatures:

Most cooking equipment varies and has a complete mind of its own when it comes to temperatures. You know your own kit better than I ever will. If you have one of the following you will know what I mean: Aga, gas hob, electric hob, electric fan forced, halogen, ceramic, convection, hot spot, cool spot, top shelf, middle shelf, wood burner, oil burner, slow burner, kettle barbeque, gas barbeque, wood barbeque, camp fire, straight fire, magnifying glass. Nonetheless, here’s a key to the temperatures in this book:

A Warm Place

If you are lucky enough to have an Aga, there is normally a warming oven that you can use to keep things warm (obviously). Alternatively, if you have a double oven, turn on the lower oven only and put your food in the upper oven or grill section (the indirect heat of the lower oven keeps the top section warm). If neither of these options is available you can use the area on or around your cooker, making sure to pre-warm the plates or dishes and also to cover the dish with a lid or foil to keep your food from drying out. If all else fails, check where the cat hangs out – it’s guaranteed to be warm.

The Griddle Pan/Ridged Skillet

This has to be one of my favourite pieces of cooking kit. When red hot, it becomes a sort of indoor barbecue that will not only give your food those great dark herringbone stripes, but also gives a wonderful smoky caramelised flavour. I know, it’s not as good as a barbecue but let’s face it, me standing out in the cold in the depths of winter barbecuing a nice piece of steak while Deputy Dog (my beloved labrador) is in the kitchen curled up in front of the Aga chewing on one of my shoes just doesn’t cut the mustard!

If you haven’t got a griddle pan already, be sure to get one that is made of heavy cast iron and be prepared to spend a few quid for a good one. It will last you several lifetimes and it might just end up being one of your favourite bits of kitchen gear.

Weights and measures. Or not…

The Mug…

…is the mug, every kitchen has at least one of them lying around and they pretty much all hold the same amount and they are always easier to find than the scales which you have buried at the back of your cupboard. In general, I think that’s the best place for them, although I do ask you to get them out from time to time for baking and the like.

The Handful…

…is a sort of “go for it” sign, use as much or as little to suit your taste!

The Glug

See the splash

The Splash

See the dollop

The Dollop

See the glug

Once you get used to it, you’ll love it!

Spring (#ulink_7213695c-250b-5689-b52a-9c61b9289444)

Having endured the British winter, the first days of spring really are a godsend. Only those who inhabit this wonderful island can appreciate what it’s like to wake up when it’s not dark, and enjoy the dawning realisation that the feeling on your skin is the sunshine that you haven’t seen for five months. Then your last doubts are cast away when you see the beginnings of cherry blossom on the trees and the daffs opening up. It’s time to dust down the Johnny Cash records again. Yep, the winter freight train just left town.

Unfortunately Mother Nature takes a little longer to recover from the months of darkness and damp in the fields. On the British organic farm, the overwintered crops planted in the autumn and grown all the way through winter start drying up. At the same time, the early-planted crops you’re going to enjoy in the summertime are still unrecognisable little things battling for some soil alongside all the weeds. This is why the period from around March through until as late as June has been called the “Hungry Gap”.

Maybe our forebears invented spring cleaning because there was bugger all going on in the vegetable garden and they couldn’t watch Little Britain! This of course has many implications for the kitchen, so it’s a great time for the seasonal cook to clear out the freezer and dust down the tins and packets at the back of the larder.

It should also be noted that the produce we do get through the spring is grown by the bold and the brave and I spend a lot of time traipsing around the country trying to persuade our growers to have crops ready for this difficult time. Small producers will have a much steadier bank balance if they grow crops in spring for the summer, rather than attempting to take Mother Nature head-on and grow things through the winter months for harvest over the Hungry Gap. Put yourself in their muddy boots: it’s really difficult to stretch out the growing seasons without chemicals or sunshine and obviously if things go wrong they can lose the whole crop. So if your spring greens at this time are a little yellow on the outside leaves, spare a thought for the brave farmer who took the risk and grew them and enjoy them just the same.

Nonetheless, we need to be honest about this season: it’s a tough one, but with a precious few delightful treats (like purple sprouting broccoli, rhubarb and curly kale) mixed in with the other produce that may need a bit of inspiration in the kitchen. So, as this is also a great time of year to use up those things at the back of the larder and at the bottom of the freezer, I’ve tried to include some dust-gathering favourites in this chapter.

Spring is the season for…

purple sprouting broccoli asparagus rhubarb spinach leeks Jerusalem artichokes carrots

Hearty Lemon Chicken Soup with Purple Sprouting Broccoli

This is a variation of the traditional Greek soup avgolemeno. The addition of purple sprouting broccoli gives the soup an extra burst of flavour and colour. Equally delicious with the chicken skipped and the stock replaced with a vegetable stock.

SERVES 4

1 glug olive oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1 onion, peeled and chopped

400g (140z) chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 or 3 mugs of purple sprouting broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces

4 mugs of chicken stock

2 eggs

Juice of 1–2 lemons

1 mug of cooked white long grain rice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fresh parsley, for garnish

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic, onion and chicken and sauté until the chicken has turned white. Add the purple sprouting broccoli to the pan and continue to sauté for another 3 minutes. Now add the chicken stock. Cover and leave to simmer gently for about 25 minutes.

Remove the soup from the heat. Beat the eggs and the juice of one lemon together in a large bowl. Drizzle two mugs of the soup stock very slowly into the eggy lemon mixture, whisking constantly so the eggs don’t curdle and it takes on a creamy consistency. (If you have some company in the kitchen, put your arms around them and get them to slowly pour the mixture while you whisk – so much more fun!)

Now gradually drizzle the egg and stock mixture back into the soup pot, this time stirring the soup constantly. Gently reheat the soup, taking care not to boil, then stir in the cooked rice. Add salt, pepper, and more lemon juice to taste and garnish with fresh parsley.

Lentil Soup with Red Wine Vinegar

VEGAN

If it’s the night before your weekly veg delivery and things are looking a little grim in the bottom drawer of the fridge, you are now saved! Hallelujah for the lovely lentil!

Do experiment liberally with this recipe – I challenge you to find something that doesn’t go well with it (except marmalade, I already thought of that myself). Leftover winter veggies, a tin of tomatoes and grated cheese on top will all complement it nicely. The red vinegar makes for a scrumptiously unique flavour and gives the soup an extra kick.