Garden Tips and Seasonal Recipe

TIPS FROM James Donoghue BSc
AWARD WINNING CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW GARDEN DESIGNER AND GARDEN CHEF AT The Pheasant, Gestingthorpe

Garden Tips and Seasonal Recipe - Spring
Garden Tips and Seasonal Recipe - Summer
Garden Tips and Seasonal Recipe - Autumn
Garden Tips and Seasonal Recipe - Winter

Garden Tips and Seasonal Recipe - Spring



I do enjoy Spring, everything and everyone seems to be busy getting on with life. As the days are getting longer, the soil warms up, now is the time to put all that planning through the winter nights into action.

TASKS FOR MARCH/APRIL/MAY

MARCH Dig in well rotted manure, mulch fruit trees and bushes and prepared asparagus beds, plant chitted early potatoes, prepare bean trenches, cloche seed beds to warm soil for salad crops

APRIL Pest and weed petrol – slugs, snails, pigeons are the main pests. ( I use coffee grouts to control slugs and snails, it works well). Prepare celery trench. Put support in place for peas. Check your water butts.

MAY Keep hoeing weeds, put straw around strawberry plants, monitor weather for frost and heavy rain (both can cause damage to young tender plants) harden off plants before planting out.

TOP TIPS

Using bio degradable pots is a good system for bringing on plants, especially those, such as sweet corn and peas , that resent root disturbance at transplanting time. If you have room, many varieties do well indoors in peat modules/trays and it is possible to gain a few weeks on harvest.

If April showers have begun, start thinking about water harvesting and its conservation.

PLANT OUT/ SOW

MARCH broad beans, Brussels sprouts, (earlies), carrots (earlies), leeks, lettuce (cloche), onions, peas (main crop), radish, spinach, spring onions, turnips (earlies)

APRIL Asparagus crowns (do not harvest for at least 2 years), globe artichokes, onion sets, potatoes, (2nd early crop), shallots, strawberry plants, summer cabbage seedlings, tomatoes (cloche)

MAY Beetroot, cabbages (autumn), calabrese (main crop), carrots, cauliflowers, (autumn/winter), chicory, courgettes, french beans, lettuce, marrows, peas, pumpkins, radish, runner beans, spring onions, Swedes, sweetcorn, swiss chard, squash.

What you could be eating this month

MARCH Sprouting broccoli, cabbage, leeks, kale, spinach, spring greens, rhubarb (forced),

APRIL Broccoli, cabbage (spring), cauliflower (winter), leeks, kale, spinach, spring greens, rhubarb (forced), lemon thyme

MAY Asparagus, cabbages (spring), rhubarb, lettuce, radish, rocket, borage,

CREATIVE KITCHEN

This recipe is enjoyable at any time of the day, for breakfast it makes a nice treat, at lunchtime it is sweet and light, not too filling and for dinner in the evening, you can make it more delicious by swapping the yogurt for homemade custard and adding a dash of amoretti.

Rhubarb & Custard Crunch

Ingredients
450g rhubarb, trimmed and cut into5 -10 cms chunks
85g castor sugar
500g of low fat yogurt
½ quantity honey crunch made with porridge oats

Honey Crunch
• 200g clear honey
• 4 tbsp sunflower or rapeseed oil
• 300g rolled porridge oats
• 100g sliced almonds
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 140g dried apricots, roughly chopped
Method

1. First make the honey crunch with almonds and apricots
a) Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. In a large pan, heat the honey and oil together until bubbling, then tip in the oats, almonds and ginger. Stir well until the oats are well coated, then tip onto 1-2 large baking sheets, spreading the mixture out. Bake for 20-25 mins, stirring halfway, until golden.
b) Remove from the oven and, while still hot, stir in the apricots. Spread out again and press down with a spatula to cool - this will help it to clump together.
2. Turn oven down to 150c/130c fan/gas 2. Arrange the rhubarb in a roasting tin just being enough to hold it all in a single layer, scatter with the sugar and cover with foil. Bake for 15-20 mins until just tender, then cool in the tin.
3. Spoon a little rhubarb into the base of 6 glasses or pots, then top with a couple of teaspoons of yogurt. Sprinkle over some honey crunch then repeat the layers to fill the glasses.

Cold Herb Omelette Pancake with Asparagus and Soured Cream

This a lovely simple dish served ideally as a starter or perfect for a light lunch with dressed baby leaf salad

16-24 spears of English asparagus, trimmed and peeled
Salt

For the omelette “pancakes”
4 large eggs
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
1 tbsp finely chopped herbs (tarragon, chervil, parsley and chives)
2 tbsp double cream
Butter

For the sour cream dressing
½ tsp English mustard powder
Pinch of caster sugar
Squeeze of lemon juice
4 tbsp soured cream
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tbsp snipped chives

Fill a large pot with water, add plenty of salt and bring to a rolling boil. Drop in the asparagus, return to the boil and cook them until just tender. Drain and refresh under cold running water. Lay out on a tea towel to dry.

To make the omelette pancakes, beat together the eggs with seasoning and herbs and then stir in the cream. Melt a tiny amount of butter in a small frying pan (non-stick for ease) over a moderate heat, add 2 tbsp of egg mixture and gently swirl it around the pan in one thin layer. Allow it to set for several seconds, flip it over, count to 5 and slide it onto sheets of kitchen paper. Continue until you have 8 omelettes. Set aside until needed.

To make the dressing, simply fold the ingredients together in a small bowl. Spread the dressing evenly over the 8 omelettes and place the asparagus spears in the middle of each. Roll up the omelettes quite tightly and press gently together with the tips of your fingers. Serve 2 per person, together with offering s of thinly sliced brown bread and butter handed at table.

Spinach Roulade

500g/1 1b small spinach leaves
2 tbsp water
4 Eggs, separated
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
salt & pepper
300 ml/ 1 ¼ cups tomato sauce to serve

Filling

175g/6oz small broccoli florets
30 g/1oz/1 ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
175g/6oz/11/2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

1. Wash the spinach and pack, still wet, into a large saucepan. Ad the water, Cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook over a high heat for 4-5 minutes until reduced and soft. Drain thoroughly, squeezing out excess water. Chop finely and pat dry with paper towels.

2. Mix the spinach with the egg yolks, seasoning and nutmeg. Whisk the egg whites until very frothy but not too stiff, and fold into the spinach mixture.

3. Grease and line a 32 x 23cm/13 x 9in Swiss roll tin. Spread the mixture into the tin and smooth the top. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 220c/425F/Gas mark 7 for 12-15 minutes until firm and golden.

4. Meanwhile, cook the broccoli in boiling water for 4-5 minutes until just tender. Drain and keep warm.

5. Sprinkle a sheet of baking parchment with parmesan. Turn the cooked base on to the paper and peel away the lining paper. Sprinkle the base with mozzarella and top with broccoli.

6. Hold one end of the paper and carefully roll up the spinach base like a swiss roll. Heat the tomato sauce and spoon on to 4 warmed serving plates. Slice the roulade and place on top of the sauce.

Rhubarb with Ginger & Almond Sponge Pudding

Serves 4-6

A perfect Sunday lunch pudding, with gingerbread sponge on top of a layer of rhubarb. Eat with cream or custard.

11b/450g forced rhubarb, cut into 1in/2.5cm lengths
8oz/225g soft brown sugar
4oz/110g butter
2tsp ground ginger
1tsp ground cinnamon
2oz/60g almonds
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2oz/60g self-raising flour

. Preheat the oven to 180c gas mark 4
. Spread the rhubarb out in an ovenproof dish (one about 6x8in/15x20cm) and scatter with half the brown sugar.
. Cream the butter and rest of the sugar until smooth and fluffy.
. Beat in the spices and almonds, and then eggs, one at a time.
. Fold in the flour.
. Spoon the mixture on top of the rhubarb, spreading it out lightly
. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until golden brown and more or less cooked through. It will still be quite sticky in the middle, which is part of the charm.

Garden Tips and Seasonal Recipe - Summer

Summer is here again and the garden should be looking its best. Fruit and veg bountiful, although it has been such a dry spring, irrigation and mulching has been so important. Make sure you maintain adequate moisture in the soil to ensure a good harvest. If you go on holiday ask someone to keep an eye on the garden and house. You can always return the favour or give them some of the surplus veg as a thank you.



JUNE, JULY & AUGUST GARDEN TIPS AND SEASONAL RECIPE

This is my favourite time of the year with the garden coming into its own with the flower and vegetable garden at its best. Nasturtium and Hemerocallis flowers are delicious in salads, and so are courgette flowers stuffed and deep fried, rose petals can be sugared and dried for decoration.

SUMMER TASKS FOR JUNE, JULY & AUGUST

JUNE

Encourage runner beans up their supports. Earth up potatoes. Remove tomato side shoots. Water continuously: There is less evaporation if you water early in the morning and late afternoon. Soak rather than splash Beware of watering in the evening, as you can leave the ground nice and moist for slugs and snails to enjoy your lettuce. . Peg down strawberry runners. Make sure all fruit is protected with netting.

JULY

Water copiously, especially tomatoes and sweet corn when swelling. Avoid watering in direct sunlight to prevent leaf scorch. Tie in tomatoes and continue to remove side shoots. Remove leading shoot on runner beans to encourage replenishing crops (as will continued picking). Earth up main crop potatoes. Start to lift onions to dry. As shallot leaves turn yellow, lift, dry and separate (can store for 8 months) Start to save seeds for next year.

AUGUST

Pot up strawberry runners by cutting from the parent plant. Lift remainder of onions to dry and store. Prune harvested fruit bushes. Remove lower trusses from tomato plants. Place support stakes next to brussels sprouts. Take cuttings from woody herbs, bay, hyssop, rosemary and sage.

SOW OUTDOORS…

JUNE - Carrots (Main Crop), Pak Choi, Peas, Swede
JULY - Lettuce, Spring Cabbage, Kohlrabi,Tunips
AUGUST - Carrots, Spring Cabbage, Lettuce, Peas,

HARVEST…

JUNE - Beetroot, Broad Beans, Globe Artichoke, Baby Leaf, Gooseberry, Raspberries (earlies) Strawberries
JULY - Artichoke, Broad Beans, Cabbage, Courgettes, French Beans, Blackcurrants, Gooseberries, Redcurrants,
AUGUST - as above plus Sweet Corn, Tomatoes, Apples, Blackberries

CREATIVE KITCHEN

STRAWBERRY PAVLOVA

Whites of 4 Eggs
225g Castor Sugar
4 tsp Corn flour
2 tsp white vinegar
275ml (1/2 pint) whipping cream


1. Heat the oven to 120c (250f) mark ½

2. Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Add the sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating between each addition. When the sugar is used up. Beat for 1-2 minutes until the meringue is dense, velvety and very, very stiff. Then beat in the corn flour, sprinkling it over the meringue, and finally the vinegar.

3. Put the meringue on to a silicone matt, making a hollow dip in the centre. Bake for 1 ½ hours until really firm and set.

4. Whip the cream and slice the strawberries and decorate.

5. For an added luxurious touch, add Triple Sec or Cointreau to the cream to give it a nice flavour.

Note: This recipe I found is from an Australian recipe booklet. The addition of corn flour and vinegar give it a soft texture inside and a crisp outer crust.

COURGETTE & BLUE CHEESE FRITATTA

This is a simple and inexpensive recipe to make. In fact if you have your own hens, and a productive vegetable patch the only thing you would need to buy is the cheese. Its worth buying a good cheese, you don’t have to have blue cheese it could be goats or any other good flavoured cheese. You can serve this dish hot or cold as a starter, light lunch or main course. I enjoy it served with mix leaves and warm new potatoes and a chilled glass of Sauvignon

Serves 4 Main/Light lunch or Starter

6 Eggs beaten
1 Red Onion Finely Sliced
2 cloves of Garlic Chopped
1 Med Sized Courgette
100g Blue Cheese Crumbled
Small hand full of fresh basil or oregano (Marjoram)chopped
Salt & Pepper
1 Tbs Rape Seed Oil

Heat oil in large Frying pan and gently sauté onions, remove onions and sauté garlic herbs and courgettes add eggs and return onions to pan season to taste add cheese and bake in moderate oven for about 10 mins or until mix is set and just starting to colour
Remove from pan slice and serve

GREENHOUSE GATEAU

This is a savoury gateau and is a good way of getting rid of some of the surplus green house veg. If you want to add a zing to the gateau and a chilli.

Serves 6
2 medium aubergines thinly sliced
Olive oil to drizzle
Large knob of unsalted butter
600g cherry tomatoes, halved
1 garlic clove, crushed
Handful of basil leaves
Sea salt and pepper
75 g parmesan, freshly grated.


Heat the oven to 200c/Gas 6. Thinly slice the aubergines and lay the slices out on two large oiled baking sheets. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 5-8 minutes until softened and lightly browned.

Line a 20cm round cake tin with greaseproof paper. Melt the butter in a large sauté pan and cook the cherry tomatoes with the garlic until soft and pulpy. Tear in the basil leaves and season with salt and pepper.

Layer a third of the aubergines slices over the base of the prepared tin, top with half the tomato mixture, then scatter over some parmesan. Add another layer of aubergine, then the remaining tomato mixture. Cover with a final layer of aubergine and then sprinkle generously with parmesan.

Bake the gateau for 10 minutes until the topping is golden and bubbling. Allow to stand for 5 minutes, then turn out on to a warm plate. Cut into wedges and serve with crusty bread.

As an alternative to aubergines, you may use courgettes.

Garden Tips and Seasonal Recipe - Autumn

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER GARDEN TIPS AND SEASONAL RECIPE

It is now time to enjoy the fruits of your labour and reflect back on what worked well and also take time to plan and to start preparing the ground for next year.

TASKS FOR SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

SEPT

Get Fleece out and clean cloches ready to protect tender crops, just in case we have early frosts.

OCT

Cut back asparagus leaves. Prepare Strawberry beds with well rotten organic manure and plant this years runners. Take in tender herbs indoors and protect Brassicas from hungry birds.

NOV

Lift remaining Carrots and Parsnips and store. Plan next years plot and selections from your seed catalogue.

PLANT OUT

SEPT - Baby Spinach, Onions Sets, Turnips, Endive and Spring Lettuce

OCT - Broad Beans, Land Lettuce, Onion Sets, Spring Cabbage, Early peas (sheltered spot & protect)

NOV - Broad Beans, Hard Peas and Rhubarb

HARVEST…

SEPT - Beetroot, cauliflowers, courgette, beans, garlic, globe artichoke, sweetcorn, apples, blackberry, raspberries, pears

OCT - Sprouts, beans, cauliflower, celery, endives, leeks, pumpkins, squashes, celeriac, fennel, apples, pears

NOV - Sprouts, carrots, parsnips, swede, rocket, spinach, turnips, apples

CREATIVE KITCHEN

CHESTNUT & PEAR FLAN

This recipe is an alternative use for chestnuts, rather than roasting on an open fire (you can use tinned or dried chestnuts, if using dried, use 100g and soak overnight.

For the wholemeal pastry:

50g (2oz) wholemeal flour

25g (1oz) cold unsalted butter

5ml (1tsp) ground roasted almonds (optional)

5-10ml (1-2tsp) icing sugar 30ml (2 tbsp) ice-cold water

For the filling:

150g (6oz) chestnuts

3-4 large dessert pears

450ml (3/4 pint dry perry

1 small piece vanilla pod

45 ml (3 tbsp) honey

To glaze:

Reducurrant or medlar jelly

Make the pastry in a food processor. Sift the flour into the bowl and chop up the butter, which must be used straight from the refrigerator. Mix at slow speed until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the nuts, if using, and sugar. Turn the speed up a notch and add the iced water. Watch until the pastry gathers itself up in a ball. Then turn the motor off immediately. Allow the pastry to rest for at least 20 minutes.

Roll it out as thinly as possible on a cold floured surface and use to line a tart tin. Line the pastry with greaseproof paper and weight it down with dried beans. Make sure the beans go right into the corners. Bake in the oven at 200c (400f) mark 6 for 10 minutes.

Remove the beans and paper, prick the base of the pastry and bake for a further 5 minutes. Peel, halve and core the pears. Put them in a saucepan with the perry and poach for about 15 minutes until lightly cooked. (Timing will depend on the ripeness of the pears). When they are done, lift them out and allow to cool.

Place the chestnuts in a saucepan and simmer in the pear poaching liquid with the piece of vanilla pod until tender. This could take up to 2 hours if the chestnuts are very hard. Top up with water if necessary. When the chestnuts are cooked, remove the vanilla pod and process the chestnuts with the honey and enough of the cooking liquid to produce a smooth puree.

Spread the chestnut puree over the pastry base and arrange the poached pears on top, cut-side down. Melt the red fruit jelly in a bowl over a pan of hot water and use to glaze the pears. Serve the flan with thick cream.

Garden Tips and Seasonal Recipe - Winter

DECEMBER/JANUARY/FEBRUARY GARDEN TIPS AND SEASONAL RECIPE

This time of year when days are short and it is often too cold and wet to work on the land, it’s a good time to plan and prepare for next growing season. I do enjoy sitting in front of a fire with my seed catalogue and a warm bowl of soup, dreaming of what could be

TASKS

DECEMBER:
Clean and dis-infect pots and seed trays ready for next spring, pick up seed catalogues and plan next seasons vegetable crop rotation Use winter pruning to remove diseased wood from fruit trees.

JANUARY:
Order seeds, start chitting early potatoes in a bright place indoors, hoe any hardy persistent weeds, feed strawberry plants potash, dig any unprepared areas of the kitchen garden, add compost to bean trenches.

FEBRUARY
If soil conditions allow, finish major digging and prepare seed beds and cloche to warm soil in preparation for seeds. Continue to chit potatoes. Prune autumn raspberries

PLANT OUT/ SOW

DECEMBER - Bare root fruit trees, garlic cloves, rhubarb crowns, early peas

JANUARY - The ground is often too cold and wet to sow seed. Just endure the cleaning and enjoy the planning for next season.

FEBRUARY - Jerusalem artichokes, shallots and beetroot, If you have a propagator and a greenhouse, sow ; tomatoes, peppers, peas, lettuces, cabbages, onion seed

HARVEST…

DEC, JAN & FEB:
Purple sprouting broccoli, brussel sprouts, savoy cabbage, cauliflower, jerusalem artichoke, kohlrabi, kale, leeks, parsnips, turnips,

I am often asked what I do with Jerusalem artichokes. this is a soup recipe I came across which is a wonderful nutty earthy soup that is filling and just perfect for falling asleep in front of the fire whilst planning (with your eyes closed) next years show stopper.

CREATIVE KITCHEN

Jerusalem artichoke and Porcini Mushroom
Serves 4. Cooking time - 45 mins

25g (1oz) dried porcini mushrooms
25g (1oz) unsalted butter
1 small onion
1 clove garlic, chopped
100g (3 ½ oz) bacon lardoons not too salty (optional)
150g (5oz) mushrooms fine sliced
8 Jerusalem artichokes , peeled and diced
360 ml (13 fl . oz) vegetable stock
2 tablespoons double cream
1 teaspoon parsley chopped
Salt and Freshly ground black pepper

Soak the dried porcini mushrooms in enough hot water to cover them and leave overnight.
Melt the butter in a pan, add the onion, garlic and bacon lardoons. Cook for 5 minutes or until lightly browned.
Add the sliced mushrooms to the pan, then cook for a further 5 minutes.
Add the Jerusalem artichokes and cook for 3 minutes
Drain the porcini mushrooms and add them to the pan along with the vegetable stock, cover and cook for 30 minutes.
Blend until smooth
Return to the pan, add the cream and parsley, then season to taste. Reheat gently for 3 minutes and serve.

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