Our discussion event on Sunday 20th Feb invited Glasgow plotholders from around the world to share their local recipes.
- Sukuma Wiki
- Dandelion Coffee
- Mediterranean Spiced Bean
- Squash and Pumpkins
- Assorted Final Recommendations
Sukuma Wiki
from Doris Muli
This is a recipe using kale and spring greens.
Ingredients
- Bunch of sukuma wiki washed and finely chopped
- Onion chopped
- Cooking oil
- Tomatoes chopped
- Salt to taste
- Royco/stock cubes
- Meat (chicken, beef, matumbo, mince) (optional)
Method
- In a sufuria (saucepan) fry the onion in cooking oil till it is golden brown on medium heat
- Add in meat of your choice and cook on low heat till it is cooked and tender
- Add in the tomatoes and cook till soft and squashed, add royco and or stock cube and mix all together evenly
- Add the sukuma wiki folding in to mix it all up evenly and cook for 4-7 minutes
- Serve
Serving
This dish can be served with ugali (mealie), rice, and chapati
NOTE
Sometimes meat can be omitted in this process but cooked separately. Example: nyama choma (roasted beef) or with any choice of meat including fish.
An accompaniment would include kachumbari (tomato, onion, coriander).
Listen to Doris:
Dandelion Coffee
from Kris Szulc
Kris saves dandelion seeds and grows them in a dedicated patch. He likes the fact that you can use almost every part of the plant.
When the flowers are very fresh you can deep fry them in oil before they close up and eat them as a snack.
The young leaves are also excellent in a salad.
But it is the roots which Kris finds most useful.
- After the plants have grown for 3 to 4 months, pull them up and thoroughly wash and clean the tap roots.
- These can then be cut into small pieces and dried in the oven for 30 – 40 minutes.
- They can then be laid out on greaseproof paper to cool and lose the last of their moisture, ready to be ground and stored for making coffee.
- The oven should be kept at about 180°C – 200°C; anything higher and they tend to burn.
If you buy dandelion coffee in a health food shop it is very expensive.
Dandelions can also be used to make wine, and the soft drink dandelion and burdock.
(P.S. If you grow Witloof Chicory you can also use the root of that to make chicory coffee!)
Mediterranean Spiced Bean
from Sarah-Jane Sharp
This recipe uses semi-dried or fully dried borlotti beans or fava beans from the allotment.
If the beans are fully dried they need soaking overnight and pre-cooking until soft.
Ingredients (serves up to 8 people)
- 1 large yellow/white onion – chopped
- 1 large or 2 medium carrots – chopped
- 4 sticks of celery – peeled to get rid of stringy bits and then chopped OR 1 large leek – washed and chopped OR both if you fancy it…
- 3 large cloves of garlic (adjust to taste) – finely chopped
- Optional: red pepper – finely chopped AND/OR mild red chilli without membrane – finely chopped
- 600 grammes (3 cups) of beans (Borlotti or beans without skins e.g. cannellini)
- 2 tins of pulped or finely chopped Italian tomatoes (or 8 large ripe tomatoes chopped, if in season)
- Using tins, add water to pick up tomato left in tin (up to half of each tin)
- 2 tablespoons tomato pure
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons celery salt (especially if not using celery)
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons salt (to taste)
- 2 vegetable stock cubes/pots
- if using a pint of vegetable stock, do not bother with tomato tin water
- 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil (or if vegetarian 1 tablespoon of oil and 1 tablespoon of butter)
Listen to Sarah Jane:
Method
- Use a good deep sauté pan or a large saucepan heat the oil (and butter) and fry chopped onion until soft.
- Add carrots, leek/celery and garlic (and peppers/chillies) and cook until heated through.
- Add pulped tomatoes, water, stock pots, tomato paste, and spices. Simmer for a bit and stir.
- Add beans and cook for at least 20 minutes.
- Add salt (do not add until the end of cooking to avoid the beans getting hard) and cook for a further 10 to 20 minutes.
Serving
Serve with rice or good bread. Can be used with vegetarian sausages or eggs like baked beans.
Great cold too. It is almost better on 2nd day when the flavours have really soaked in!
Squash and Pumpkins
from Christine Forde & Emma Reeves
Listen to Chistine:
Method
Sweet Squash/Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
- Squash/pumpkin roasted – weigh out 500 grams and mash
- maple syrup – 1 to 2 tablespoons – according to your own taste
- 1 egg (some recipes suggest only egg yolk)
- a quarter pint of milk (more/less depending on liquid in squash)
Method
- beat egg and some of the milk together
- mix into the squash and add more milk if too dry
- add maple syrup – according to your taste; maple syrup gives the pie as distinctive flavour; can use caster sugar (and add spices such as cinnamon, ginger and/or nutmeg)
- bake uncovered at around 180°C (160 for fan oven) for 30 minutes or until filling is set.
Savoury Pumpkin Pie Topped with Red Peppers and Bacon
Ingredients
- 1 cup or so of mashed pumpkin/squash and sweet potato (about 500g uncooked)
- 1 medium brown onion finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1/2 cup of cream
- 1/2 cup of grated cheddar or other tasty cheese
- 1 pastry shell or make your own pastry.
Method
- Heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan. Cook onion, garlic and thyme stirring over medium heat for about 2 minutes or until the onion are soft. Leave to cool for a few minutes.
- Beat eggs, cream and mashed squash/pumpkin mix in a bowl. Add cheese and onion mixture stirring well. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Press pastry into a greased pie dish and blind bake if necessary
- Add the filling and decorate with peppers, and other veg.
- Bake uncovered at around 180°C (160 for fan oven) for 30 minutes or until filling is set.
(From Frugal and Thriving website – https://www.frugalandthriving.com.au/savoury-pumpkin-pie/)