Why Wednesdays are Wonderful

Midweek delights

On Wednesday mornings about 8am my veg box delivery arrives from Riverford Organic.  It is always a thrill looking in the box and seeing all the fresh, healthy looking veg that will see us through the rest of the week.

The box contents can be checked online before the delivery but I like the surprise of not knowing what delights we have in store and so curb my urge to find out in advance.

As I have mentioned before, there is always a leaflet included in the box with suitable recipes detailed for the selection of vegetables supplied. I also have some cookbooks from Riverford that I regularly use and the superb River Cottage 'A to Z'.

A couple of the recipes from 'A to Z' were combined to make a delicious alfresco supper last weekend.

Ginger-braised lamb with spicy kohlrabi wedges

These were listed under G for Ginger (Ginger-braised lamb) and K for Kohlrabi (Spicy Kohlrabi wedges).  The lamb is a simple slow cooked dish, we cooked enough to feed four but there were only two of us so we had the dish again on Monday - great idea! First time around it takes about 2.5 hours so needs to be started early.

You need some olive oil, lamb shoulder / neck fillet (1kg for 4), apple juice, soy sauce, cider vinegar, soft brown sugar, chilli flakes, garlic, root ginger and salt & pepper.

To cook this, brown the seasoned (salt & pepper) lamb cubes in the oil. Mix apple juice (300ml), soy sauce (75ml), big splash of cider vinegar, a little sugar, and a sprinkle of chilli flakes together in a bowl. Remove the lamb from the pan, add the garlic and ginger, brown for a minute and then add the apple mix and heat up. Return the lamb to the pan and pour it all into an ovenproof dish. Cook, covered, in the oven at 120 degrees C for 2.5 hours.

Once this was cooking we went out for a late afternoon walk along the country lanes near home and enjoyed the fresh air and warm weather.

On our return (with 30 mins to go on the lamb dish) I prepared the spicy kohlrabi wedges. You need a mix of spices, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fennel seeds and chilli flakes - about a tsp of each (slightly more cumin to taste). Toast the spices in a frying pan for a minute or two until they start to pop.  Tip them into a grinder to crush into a fine ground.  Mix this with some smoked paprika (1 tsp) and 20g of cornflour plus some salt & pepper.  

Cut a peeled kohlrabi into wedges, toss with some olive oil and coat with the spicy seed mixture then put the wedges on a roasting tin, scatter over some rosemary sprigs and cook in the oven for about 35 mins at a higher temperature than the lamb (200 degrees C).  I took out the covered lamb dish, got the oven up to heat and put in the wedges,  then put the lamb back in for the last 10 minutes.

It was still sunny and warm so we decided to eat outside and it was a lovely meal, very enjoyable served with some rice (mixed basmati and wild rice) and some lightly steamed summer greens plus a glass or two of red wine!

The fact that I could serve this again the following evening, after work, without much extra effort was such a bonus.

There were also some broad beans in the veg box so another evening I combined these with the turnip wedges and the remaining summer greens and served up a take on Riverford's suggested side dish of turnips caramelised with butter and wine.

Simply peel the turnips and cut into wedges. Put them into a close fitting frying pan and add some butter, a decent slug of white wine, a tbsp of caster sugar, some salt and pepper and cold water to cover.  Cook over a medium heat for about 15 mins until tender.  If things are sticking add a splash more water but the water should evaporate and leave the turnips nicely glazed and caramelised on the edges. 

While the turnips were cooking I steamed some broad beans, which I double podded (removing the tougher outer membranes) once cooked, I also steamed some shredded summer greens and added the peeled broad beans and the greens to the turnip wedges to warm though for the last couple of minutes.

I served this side dish with some oven baked, breadcrumbed, cod.  It was another very tasty meal.

Caramelised turnip wedges with broad beans and summer greens

I hope these dishes will inspire you to enjoy fresh, seasonal summer veg with your meals.