Lockdown diary - part 2

The second instalment of my adventures in the kitchen during the COVID19 lockdown.

2020-04-21 Cheese scones with wild garlic

Riverford sent me wild garlic this week. This is the Bero recipe for cheese scones with the addition of a handful of chopped wild garlic leaves.

2020-04-21 Tagliatelle with lardons, spring greens, and wild garlic

The petit salé makes great lardons, a nice addition to pasta and greens.

Quiche Lorraine

The last of the petit salé went into a quiche.

2020-04-23 Beer!

By now I had got through my stockpile of beer, but local brewery Calverley"s came to the rescue with a timely next-day delivery.

2020-04-25 Rhubarb chutney

Last week's rhubarb went into a crumble, so something different this week: a spicy chutney that also used up some of the onions I had accumulated from recent Riverford deliveries.

2020-04-27 Wild garlic pesto

2020-04-27 Parsnip loaf

Following a trusted recipe from "Leith's Baking Bible"

2020-04-27 Sausage, potatoes, cauliflower cheese

Riverford suggested adding the green leaves from the cauliflower to the cauliflower cheese: I second that, it works well.

2020-04-29 Chicken and mushroom lasagne

Using up some leftover roast chicken, alternating layers of chicken and mushrooms in a creamy sauce with wild garlic pesto.

2020-05-02 Roast Lamb

2020-05-04 Scottish morning rolls

The original recipe from Andrew Whitley's "Bread matters"

2020-05-04 Asparagus risotto with a soft poached egg

The first asparagus of the year from Riverford. Following a tip from Angela Hartnett, I used the asparagus stems to make a purée to stir through the risotto and enhance the flavour.

2020-05-05 Lamb curry

I had set aside a portion of the leg of lamb from the weekend before roasting it, diced and ready to go into a curry. Served here with spring greens sautéed with chilli and coconut, following a recipe from Madhur Jaffrey's "Eastern Vegetarian Cooking".

2020-05-07 Lamb curry (again)

This time with cauliflower and potatoes with fenugreek, fennel and cumin, another recipe from the Madhur Jaffrey book.

2020-05-07 Savoury carrot flapjacks

I am always looking for ways to use up carrots, which appear in the veg box almost every week. This recipe for savoury flapjacks is from Riveford; it's dead straightforward and the result is very tasty, definitely something I'd make again. I threw in a handful of sunflower seeds to the mix.

Lockdown diary - part 1

I've been doing a bit more cooking than usual during lockdown, and have been keeping a photo log throughout. Here's some of what I've been up to.

2020-04-05 Chocolate Almond Cake

I've been meeting some of my London friends for a virtual afternoon tea on Sundays. We have to provide our own tea and cakes; this is the chocolate almond cake with chocolate fudge icing from "Leith's Baking Bible"

2020-04-05 Steak with spring greens, Parmesan-crusted parsnip chips, and wild garlic pesto.

2020-04-06 Leek risotto with wild garlic pesto and salmon fillet

2020-04-08 Salmon fillet with spring greens, sautéed potatoes, tartare sauce

2020-04-07 Rice pudding

Plain and simple: vanilla-infused rice pudding, recipe from Jane Grigson's "English Food".

2020-04-08 Granary rolls

Using the recipe for Scottish morning rolls from Andrew Whitley's "Bread Matters", but replacing the white and wholemeal flours for the main dough with granary. The granary flour seems to absorb less water, but reducing the quantity of water by 20ml gets the consistency of the dough about right.

2020-04-08 Sausage and mash with onion gravy

2020-04-09 Pizza with cauliflower, chorizo and caramelised onions

2020-04-10 Conchiglie with purple sprouting broccoli in tomato sauce

2020-04-10 Petit salé

This is the beginning of a dry-cured pork belly from Jane Grigson's "Charcuterie and French Pork Cookery". The cure is a mixture of salt, sugar, bay, thyme, peppercorns and juniper. The pork is cured for at least 5 days before cooking.

2020-04-11 Carrot bhajis

A great way to use up surplus carrots and most of the spices you can find in the cupboard.

2020-04-11 Twice-cooked pork belly

Served here on a bed of puy lentils and leeks with a mustard vinaigrette, and a side of spring greens.

2020-04-20 Smocked mackerel kedgeree with a hard-boiled egg

2020-04-20 Petit salé with boiled potatoes and spring greens

The petit salé was finally ready to cook, gently simmered in a large pan of water for about 45 minutes. This felt like a flash-back to the seventies, not unpleasant, but definitely a meal where you looked forward to dessert.