Our gardeners love to eat the things they grow, and share their experiences. So here is a organically managed group of recipes from the gardeners to make even more of your produce, yumm... enjoy! 

David's Veggie Balls - Sept  2017

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Based on Strangolapreti alla Trentina this delicious green provencale dish appears is many creative European kitchens, and was part of the spread cooked up by the A Team in September 2017 for the Community Garden Monthly Harvest Meal.  This is the italian version of this filling comfort food using green crops and hebs, and some cheese of course.  David added Sage to his creative green mix.

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Ingredients 

4 cups fresh spinach, stemmed and washed

4 cups coarsely grated  day-old bread

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

½ cup whole milk ricotta or mascarpone cheese

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon salt

All-purpose flour, for dusting

½ cup Robiola La Tur or Taleggio cheese

3 tablespoons butter

12 fresh sage leaves

3 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. Prepare an ice bath. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil and add the spinach. Boil until wilted, about 4 minutes, drain and transfer to ice bath. Once cooled, place spinach in a cheesecloth and squeeze until completely dry. Transfer spinach to a clean workspace and finely chop.

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2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a large mixing bowl, combine the spinach, grated bread, 1 cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano, ricotta or mascarpone, 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, egg and salt. Mix until everything is incorporated.

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3. Place two tablespoons of the dough in the palm of your hand and flatten into a ¼-inch-thick disk. Place 2 teaspoons of the Robiola or Taleggio cheese in the center of the disc. Bring the edges of the dough over to encase the cheese. Roll into a ball between the palms of your hands. Dust with flour and set on a rimmed parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough; you should have 12 dumplings.

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4. Add the dumplings to the boiling water and cook until they begin to float, about 7 minutes. While the dumplings are cooking, heat the remaining olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the dumplings to the skillet. Reserve ⅓ cup of pasta water. 

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5. Fry the dumplings, rotating them with a wooden spoon so that all sides brown evenly, until deep golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add the butter and sage to the pan and continue cooking for 2 minutes more, basting the dumplings with the butter.

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6. Divide the dumplings and sage leaves among four plates. Add the vinegar and ⅓ cup of the reserved pasta water to the pan and boil until reduced by half. Spoon sauce over dumplings and garnish with remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano. 

Djo's Ratatouille a la Francais  - June  2017

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This delicious provencal dish is rumoured to have originated in Nice on the sunny Cote D'Azur but there are many variants across the Mediterranean countries, all share a simple to prepare and easy to eat style.  So harvest those eggplants, tomatoes and basil and get sauteing.
 

Ingredients

extra virgin olive oil

2 eggplants, diced

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 zucchini, diced

½ bunch of thyme, leaves picked

1 onion, diced

2 red capsicums, diced

1 kg tomatoes, seeded and diced

500 ml (2 cups) tomato juice

a bunch of basil, chopped

Instructions

Heat a generous splash of oil in a frying pan over low heat and add the eggplant and one-third of the garlic. Season with salt and pepper and sauté until tender. Tip into a large bowl.

Return the pan to the heat and add more oil. Add the zucchini, another third of the garlic, half the thyme and some salt and pepper. Sauté until tender, then add to the bowl with the eggplant.

Add more oil to the pan and sauté the onion, capsicum and remaining garlic and thyme until tender.

Combine all the cooked vegetables in a pot. Add the tomatoes and juice and simmer gently for 1½ hours. Remove from the heat, taste for seasoning and stir in the basil.  Voilare, ready to eat hot or cold from the fridge on a summers day, with a glass of wine or course!

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Gillian's 'Tumeric Tips'  - september  2016

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Quite a few gardeners had a bumper crop of Tumeric this year. A friend of my daughter came up with this ‘recipe’ for preparing tumeric powder from the roots.  It's easy to do.  Here's how: 

1.  clean/cut rhizomes from roots,

2.  soak rhizomes for 10 mins, then brush soil off thoroughly until squeaky clean - do not peel,

3.  cook in a pot of simmering water for 20-30mins (I'd leave this step out next time. I'd see instead if the blender would chop the rhizomes when raw) or steam instead to retain more of the flavour,

4.  chop into small pieces using a blender (one cup at a time),

5. place mass onto baking dish/paper and dry in the oven (I had it on 160 degrees for an hour, left in over night and then baked some more the next day (perhaps 20 mins on 180 degrees, there was no science to it I just did it when it suited me and used my judgement on whether it's dry enough),

6. let cool down, when 100% dry and cool, grind to powder. I used a special spice grinder, but my friend said a good blender would have done the same job too.

Happy tumeric-ing! 

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Carl's Roast Cauliflower  - july 2016

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1 head of cauliflower
at least 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (be generous)
salt
1 tbsp dried chilli flakes (I use the mild Aleppo pepper, aka pul biber)
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp sesame seeds (optional)
1 tbsp flaked almonds (optional)

Preheat fan-forced oven to 200°C. Chop the cauliflower into medium florets, toss in an oven tray with the oil, salt, chilli and cumin. Roast in the oven.

Check on the cauliflower after 15 minutes and add the sesame seeds and almond flakes (if using). Continue roasting for another 5-10 minutes depending on how it's coming along. You want some nicely darkened bits.

Great when served with the below yoghurt-tahini dressing and soft-boiled eggs.

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Yoghurt Tahini dressing
juice of half a lemon
1 garlic clove, crushed with salt
100ml natural yoghurt
2 to 3 tbsp tahini

Combine the ingredients in the order above and stir smooth, adjust to taste.
 

Robyn's "Rich Romato Relish"  - march 2016

lots of tomatoes ripening quickly on the vine as summer ends?... relish the thought instead and spoon onto BBQ sausages, pasta or veggie quiche

during the  winter cold

roadtested by Robyn A from Bruce's tomato patch.  One pot cooking:

2 kg tomatoes, chopped                2 apples, peeled, chopped
2 large onions, chopped                150g chopped dates
3 tbs malt vinegar, is best             500g brown sugar

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped     1 tbs mustard powder (Keens)
1 tbs curry powder (Keens)          2 dsp ground black pepper
2 tablespoons salt                         1 tbs cornflour

This Australian version has been adapted from an old time recipe…place tomatoes (whole cherries or chopped larger ones), apples, onions, chopped dates, vinegar, sugar, garlic, mustard and curry powders and pepper in a large saucepan with the salt.  Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves, then increase to medium-high and bring to the boil.

Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1½ - 2 hours until the ingredients have broken down and the mixture is thick.  It may be necessary to remove lid partially to reduce liquid.

Mix cornflour with 1/4 cup (60ml) cold water until a smooth paste then stir into chutney and cook, stirring occasionally, for a further 10 minutes until thickened. Cool, then pour into sterilised jars and store for a delicious quick taste bomb in the coming months.

Serve with hot or cold meats, quiches, even pasta!