January Recipe

There is a growing awareness that having an allotment - or growing your own vegetables  - can be part of  a more sustainable lifestyle. By sustainable I mean eating produce we have grown ourselves that is seasonal and hasn't travelled half way round the world. I'm not so set on this that I'm about to give up coffee or bananas but there are things I can do. Part of this blog will focus on recipes inspired by the produce harvested on the allotment. It gives me the opportunity to think about how to use produce so these are my own recipes.

Recently, while weeding, some red onions that hadn't been harvested, were recovered. Leeks are best harvested straight from the ground as you need them. These are my inspirations for this month's recipes.
Not groundbreaking but quite delicious all the same. So here are the recipes for January: Leek and potato soup with red onion bread.

For the bread you can use this recipe or one of your own and add the red onions.
Red Onion Loaf
600g bread flour
300ml tepid water
large pinch of salt
7g easy bake yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
small red onion

1. Finely chop the onion and fry it on a very low heat in the olive oil. The idea is to soften the onion slightly. The olive oil may seem a lot but it's going into the dough so its more than you'd usually use for the onions. Once the onions are soft turn off and leave to cool.
2. In a large bowl mix the flour, salt & yeast. I used half wholemeal and half white flour but you can change the proportions or use granary if you prefer.
3. Add the water and mix well until you have a stiff dough that holds together and incorporates all the flour.
4. Add the cooled red onions and olive oil and knead until the dough is smooth and pliable. It will start off sticky but resist the temptation to add more flour.
5. Shape into a loaf and leave to rise for about an hour or more until doubled in size. If you don't use easy bake yeast you will need to let it rise for about an hour and then shape and leave to rise again.
6. Heat the oven to 200 degrees celsius
7. When the dough has risen bake for 30-35 minutes. When you put the dough in the oven turn down to 180/gas 4. When done it will sound hollow when you tap on the bottom of the loaf.

For the Leek and potato soup you will need:
500g potatoes
2 leeks
1 white onion
2 sticks celery
olive oil
2 teaspoons mixed herbs
1 litre vegetable stock
salt & pepper
cheese - optional

1. Chop the onion and celery and saute gently in the olive oil with the mixedherbs.
2. Cut the leeks into rounds, wash and add to the onion & celery. Cook slowly to soften and to avoid browning the onions or leeks.
3. Cube the potatoes into a small dice and boil in the stock. When they are almost cooked add to the onion, celery & leek mixture along with all the stock.
4. Simmer until all the vegetables are soft.
5. Take two thirds of the mixture and blend. Add it back to the pan leaving the remaining third for texture.  You can of course blend it all or not at all. If you prefer your soup thinner you can add more stock or water at this stage.
6. Season with salt & pepper to your own taste. You can heat through when required and serve with the bread.
7. You can serve with a grating of hard cheese. I have used parmesan or cheddar but you could also crumble over some shropshire blue if you want something with more punch.

I hope you enjoy these recipes. Please let me know how you're putting your seasonal veg to use.