As the cold weather creeps in, I thought I’d share my much-loved autumnal recipes with you. I like nothing better than wrapping up and enjoying a warming cup of autumnal vegetable soup. Especially one that includes my favourite Davidstow cheese – Crackler. It’s such a strong, robust flavour that it works brilliantly with the earthy, hearty flavours we have at this time of year. In the recipe below, I’ve paired wholesome leek, carrot with gnarly celeriac spiked with allspice for a Scandi twist. We use a lot of Allspice berries across all the Scandinavian countries and I find it marries really well both with the veg and the Crackler.
A favourite ingredient of mine is spelt, it is one of the best grains around and those who find wheat hard to digest often have more luck with spelt. I love cooking with grains, whether using oats in porridge, or making bread with rye or barley. This spelt pasta bake recipe is an indulgent take on the traditional pasta bake, using some delicious seasonal vegetables, herbs and mushrooms to great effect, with a little extra kick from the chilli and garlic. The perfect post-Bonfire Night meal!
Finally, who doesn’t love a good cheese toastie? I am a huge fan and came across something similar to this Rye & Crackler Toastie on a trip to Copenhagen recently. I find rye bread really crisps up nicely when fried in a pat of butter (well, what doesn’t frankly!). It’s gooey and decadent and utterly simple but really shows off the scrumptiousness that is Davidstow’s Crackler. Perfect with a glass of good Cornish ale like Sharp’s Doom Bar!
Cheers!
Sig
Signe’s book ‘Scandilicious: Secrets of Scandinavian Cooking’ (Saltyard Books) is available from Amazon, Waterstone’s and all good bookshops. Do stop by <http://www.signejohansen.com> for more recipe ideas.
Allspice & Autumn Vegetable Soup
Makes 3-4 bowls of soup
1 leek, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
1 small head of celeriac, scrubbed and chopped into 1 inch cubes
1 bay leaf
3 allspice berries
750ml vegetable stock (I use marigold)
75g Davidstow Crackler
1 slice rye bread, toasted and broken into bite-size croutons
fresh parsley for garnish
Pour 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a medium-large saucepan and place the saucepan over a low-medium heat. Add the chopped leek, carrot and celeriac. Sauté for 10 minutes so the vegetables soften, add the bay leaf, allspice berries and hot vegetable stock and stir. Bring the soup to a simmer and allow to cook for a further 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
Turn off the hob and place the saucepan on a heatproof surface. Using a hand blender or pouring the soup into a heatproof blender, blitz all the ingredients until you have a smooth, creamy texture. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. If the soup is very thick simply let it down with a cupful of hot vegetable stock and stir through.
Add the Davidstow Crackler and stir again so you have an even distribution of cheese. Serve while hot and garnish with rye croutons and parsley.
Spelt Pasta Bake With Squash, Mushrooms, Kale & Sage
Serves 4 as a lunch dish or 2-3 if you’ve been on a very long walk and it’s bitterly cold outside!
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
40g refined spelt flour (or plain flour)
40g butter
1 pint whole milk
150ml crème fraiche
1/4 fresh nutmeg, finely grated
250g spelt pasta (or pasta of your choice)
1 punnet of mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, finely grated
1 red chilli, finely chopped
5 sprigs of kale
10 sage leaves (keep five for garnish)
75g Davidstow Crackler
salt & pepper
Preheat the oven to 220 C. Pop the squash on a baking sheet or in a roasting in and drizzle with rapeseed or olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 20 or so minutes.
Meanwhile make a roux. Put the butter and flour in a small saucepan and place over a low-medium heat. Stir for a few minutes until the roux takes on a biscuity colour, then take off the heat and add the milk. Stir through and place the saucepan over a medium heat this time, stirring constantly as you bring the mixture to a simmer. It will thicken as it heats and you keep stirring. Grate in the nutmeg, stir and then add a pinch of salt and crack of black pepper to season the sauce. Stir in the crème fraiche and set aside while you prepare the mushrooms and pasta.
Bring a large pan with salted water to a rolling boil and cook the spelt pasta for 4-5 minutes. You want to parcook the pasta so it doesn’t go mushy during baking. Hold on to a small cup of the pasta water and then drain the pasta of its water. Set aside while you prepare the remainder of the dish. In a large frying pan add 1 tbsp vegetable oil and 1 tbsp butter, place the pan over a medium-high heat and sauté the mushrooms for 5-8 minutes until they are golden-brown and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the chopped garlic and chilli and sauté for a further minute. Finely chop the kale and add that to wilt in the pan with mushrooms, then stir in the sauce. Add the pasta and roasted squash and fold through so everything is evenly mixed. Taste for seasoning and then sprinkle all that delicious cheese on top. Scatter a few sage leaves as a final flourish and then bake at 220 C for 12-15 minutes. If you really want to get a good sizzle on the cheese, turn on the grill and gratinate the cheese under the grill after baking for a further 3-5 minutes.
Serve while warm on its own or with a salad.
Rye & Crackler Toastie With Chilli, Parsley, Red Onion
Makes 2 cheese toastie snackerels
2 slices rye bread (I used Biona’s rye with linseed)
butter for spreading on the rye
50g Davidstow Crackler
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 small red chilli, finely chopped
1 sprig parsley, finely chopped
Butter the bottom of both slices of rye bread. Place the buttered bottom of 1 slice in a medium frying pan. Place all the cheese, red onion, chilli and parsley in a small bowl and toss together so you have an even distribution of ingredients. Use your fingers to scoop this cheese mixture and slightly pack it down on the rye slice. When all the cheese is used, gently place the non-buttered side of the other rye slice on top of the cheese and turn on the heat to medium. Fry the bread for 5 or so minutes until crisp on the outside and the cheese starts to melt slightly on the inside. Using a spatula carefully turn over the toastie – the melting cheese should act as a glue to keep the slices together – and fry on the other side until all the cheese inside has melted and the bread is crispy.
Remove from the pan and slice in half. Eat immediately.
