Welcome to the second of our Field 28 vegetable and salad boxes. Thank you very much for your overwhelming support for our new box scheme. The comments you have been making about the quality of the produce we grow and supply to you is gratefully received. ALL of the produce is home grown at our farm in Daresbury Cheshire or sourced from accredited organic farms dependent on seasonal availability. I have outlined the produce for this week. We try to provide as much variety as we can so not all the varieties are in every box every week.
The new potatoes in both the medium and large boxes this week are NEW Jersey Colleens. A tasty variety that holds well and with easily washed skins.
Jan’s special free extra this week is a micro radish shoot punnet. Grown indoors as one of our specialist restaurant products this highly flavoursome sangria radish shoots is grown to just the first true leaf stage before harvesting this morning!!
They are high in vitamins A,B,C,E and K. Not only that they also provide a mighty punch of essential zinc and potassium. Add them to your meal and eat healthy. Remember there are no pesticides or biocides on our farm.
We have also added a bag of our field grown mixed leaf salad, which is an interesting mix of mizuna, red frills, gold streaks, red Russian kale, tatsoi. The salad picked today has really enjoyed the sun yesterday, store in the poly bag in your fridge. Reseal by twisting the bag to hold some air before you store to retain maximum freshness.
This week we have sent you very young red spring onions. Last weeks boxes had our white variety. These are my favourite on fresh sourdough with cheddar cheese and a pile of baby tomatoes with just a touch of salt. The taste is sweet without the harshness associated with many onions.
You have organic carrots that taste like carrots should taste and in the large box there sits a bunch of Tokyo turnips. Despite the name they are grown at home. We harvest them when they are the size of radishes and are not to be confused with normal turnips.
They have a crunchy, juicy bitter-sweet flavour eaten raw. Steamed or gently sautéed I butter, it is buttery-sweet and delicate.
ON site we have a tunnel packed with heritage varieties of tomatoes. This early in the season we rely on our friend son the Isle of White to provide delicious sweet baby plum tomatoes in red and yellow. For the best flavour, remember not to refrigerate.
In some boxes there is a healthy portion of organic broccoli and a celeriac. For those unsure how to use celeriac ( also known as celery root so avoid if you suffer from a celery allergy.) you can either substitute it for potatoes and create a healthier mash or use it raw in salads… look out for recipes for celeriac remoulade from Tom Kerridge and Mary Berry! The last week for broccoli and celeriac as we move into our summer field produce.
IN the large boxes we have some Timperley early rhubarb and a lovely orange Hokkaido squash. Cut into wedges and roasted with salt and drizzle olive oil…mmmm!
JANS FAVOURITE OF THE WEEK.
We have Pak Choi handpicked from our field here at Daresbury. Our son loves the wok fried greens from a certain restaurant chain beginning with W. This is how I use it:
Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Handful of tenderstem broccoli, cut in half
Handful of pak choi leaves
For the sauce:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar (naughty!)
1 tablespoon sesame oil.
Instructions: Heat up oil in wok or frying pan, add garlic and fry for around 30 seconds, until fragrant (be very careful not to burn it!). Add broccoli and pak choiAdd all ingredients for the sauce and fry, stirring regularly, until vegetables are cooked to a slight crunch. ENJOY IT X