Fresh ideas for spring veg
Potato Salad with Spring Veg
Serves 4
550g broad beans in pods
250g peas in pods
500g potatoes
250g asparagus stems, sliced diagonally in half
100ml honey and mustard dressing
200g thick piece of honey roast ham, torn into chunky pieces
1 tbsp tarragon leaves, torn
Handful snipped chives
l Shell the beans and peas. Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for about 15 minutes until tender. While the potatoes are cooking, steam the asparagus for 4-5 minutes until crisp-tender and the beans and peas for 3-4 minutes. Tip them into a colander and run under cold water to cool quickly. Drain well. Remove the skins from the broad beans.
l Drain potatoes and cut in half lengthways. Place in a large bowl and toss with half of the dressing while the potatoes are still warm. Add the beans and peas, the ham and the rest of the dressing, gently toss, and season to taste. Serve scattered with tarragon, chives and pepper.
l Replace the ham with strips of griddled or pan-fried halloumi or halved soft-boiled eggs for a vegetarian alternative.
Pepper Pizza
Serves 4
4 peppers (2 red, 2 yellow)
90g prosciutto
Handful of basil leaves
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
4 tomatoes
Marjoram leaves
8 anchovies, halved lengthways
Olive oil, for drizzling
125-150g mozzarella, sliced
To serve
Handful basil and rocket leaves
Parmesan shavings
8 black olives, not pitted
Ciabatta bread
l Heat oven to 200?C/400?F/gas 6. Slice the peppers in half lengthways, remove the cores and deseed. Lightly oil an ovenproof dish or roasting tin and put the peppers in.
l Drape a prosciutto slice into each pepper, so it hangs over the edge slightly. Scatter on marjoram and garlic, and then sit a tomato half on top. Scatter over the anchovies. Drizzle with olive oil, season and roast for 35 minutes or until the peppers are soft. Halve the mozzarella slices and lay 2 halves on each pepper. Make sure you don’t completely cover the tomato. Put back in the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese.
l Scatter each pepper with basil, rocket and parmesan, add an olive, drizzle in oil and add pepper. Serve with ciabatta bread.
Rose Syllabub And Sugared Strawberries
Serves 6
For the ros? syllabub
125ml ros? wine
50g golden caster sugar
Finely grated zest and juice 1 lime
plus extra lime zest to decorate
250ml double cream
For the sugared strawberries
700g strawberries
3 tbsp golden caster sugar
½ bottle ros? wine (375ml)
l For the syllabub, put the wine, sugar, lime zest and juice in a bowl and chill for 1 hour.
l About 45 minutes before serving, halve any big strawberries and keep the smaller ones whole. Scatter them in a bowl and sprinkle over the sugar. Let them sit for 30 minutes to release their flavoursome juices. Pour over the wine and leave for 10-15 minutes.
l Half-whip the cream for the syllabub, then gradually pour in the chilled wine mix, continuing to beat as you go, until you have a softly whipped creamy mixture that holds its shape. Serve the strawberries and their boozy juice in bowls topped with a spoonful of syllabub and scatter over a little zest.
