gardener cook

\\/hat is lO be d one in Febr uar)' \\1 ilh a (a ir (e\\' \\'eeks o( \\' inter ahead o( us and little appelile fo r rnort of lhe san1e vegetables? The anS\\1e-r is in lhe prtparntion. By eating son1e \\' inter \egetables raw we can trick o ur palates into th inking that spr ing veg, with a ll ilS snap and crunch, is hert already. Try super-th in curls and d iscs of ra\\' vegetables in salads or as a side dish or alo ng.side vegetable p urees. Co ntrast is a good thin g ' "hen the palate is a lillle jaded. T hink of lo ng, white slicts of mooli o r black rndish or

J-leat IOOrnl r ice vinegar and over a low heat. whisk in h'/O tablespoo ns of caster sugar and heat slO\\'I)' until the sugar has d issolved. AllO\\' the n1ixture to cool and then pur 11 over the carrots and leave to soak fl)r an hour o r so. Once soaked> lift the carrots out of the \1 inegar and mix 'vith fOur heaped tablespoons each of finel)' dlopped coriander and n1in t leaves. Add one b ird 's eye chilli. deseeded and finely chopped> and three spring onions. peeled and cut into slithers. In a separate b0\\1 l

\\hisk up o ne-and-a-half tablespoons of soy sauce, littJe cirdts of purple carrot or turnip cu rled paper th in over a salad olthinl)' slictd han1. To slict \egetables really th in use a rnandolin culler or the latest rnust-have k itchen gad get> a spirnltt..er. O ther raw root vegetable salads include rernoulade, rnade \\1 ith peeled and j ulienned celeriac rnixed with a mustard, Je1n on j uice and 1nayonnaise dressing and plen t)' of finely chopped parsle)'> o r a salad ol grnted beetro ot. chervil and cr~me fraiche. Ring the

By eating some winter vegetables raw we can trick our palates into

thinking that spring veg. with all its snap and

l\'IO tablespoons of rice vinegar) half a teaspoo n ol sesan1e oil and a pinch of caster sugar. Pour the drd$ing over the car rots and to~ \\1ell. Season to taste and garnish with a sprig of 1n in t or coriander.

J-(asten the o nset of spring b)' harvesting the year's fin>1 (ii very s1nall) crop of green shoots, to add 10 a con1forting toasted sand\\1 icl1. Snip a sn1all handfu l of shoots fron1 your auturnn-planted onions. \Vash well and chop very fin el)

crunch. is here already

changes \vi th colesla\\' b) gra ting car rot) red onion, beetroot and apple and adding a handful ol cooked chickpeas> dress "'ith lernon and o il, season and sp rinkle over sumac for a final bit of ring.

ChiJJi is a great taste reviver. r-or a hot and spicy Vietnamese ca.rrot salad, take th rte rnediu1n carro ts., peeled and cut into th in rnatchsticks.

RECIPES Vegetable gratln Potato gratln com es very near the top of my comfort food list, but you can mak e a grat!n with other vegetables. One of my favourite d ishes is po tato com bined with celeriac. but you can also try squash, parsnip, swede and turnip placed in layer s (serves 4): 600g waxy ye.11ow potatoes or othe.r vegetable., ! clove garlic. p eeied and lightty crushed, 200ml single cream . lOOml milk. sea satt and pepper,

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nutmeg. l tbsp butter ( approx lSg) plus a l ittl e for greasing . ltbsp parmesan. Preheat the oven to 180'Clgas 4 . Sk:e the potatoes or other vegetables into very thin coins (best to use a mandolin cutter). In a bowl rrne the potato slices wel then toss dry in a dean tea tov1el and keep \Wapped up. Vl.'hlsk together the crecwn and the milk. Rub the garlic ewer the bottom of a gratin dish, then discard. Butter the dish. Put a single layer of potato slices

then la)'e r thtn1 \vitl1 plenl)' of grated cheddar c..ilttSt betv.een h\10 slabs of $0urdough b read. Buuer the o utside o f the

~ndwiclt. heat a heavy frying pan and put the sand\'liCh in with a tin pl.ate to weigh ll dO\'/n. Let it si'l.:de for a 1n in ute o r two until gt)!den bro\"n and then turn it over and cook on the o Lher side (\\1 ithout the pl.ate). Serve \\'ilh spiC)' quince jelly. o

Cl\e< the bottOtn. Season lightly and add a fewsctapes of nutmeg. Repeat. To f.nish.. dot the top WI th small pieces of butter. Pcu over the liqu1dmocture. SpnnkleWlthgratedparmesan. Cover \Wth baking parchment and bake for 45 minutes. pressing the paper dO\m half wir'f through Mid taking 11 off for the last 15 minutes. Test the middle \Wth the point of a knife to make sure it is cooked tlYough. Serve with a green salad and smoked mackerel or hol smoked salmon for a simple supper.

Roast ed rhubarb If you are lucky enough to have rhubarb ready to crop. this Is a great easy dish. 6-7 stalks rhubarb. 5 6 pods star anise. 2 3tbsp sugar. 250ml w ater or apple juice. Vt.1ash, trrnand cut the rhubarb n to chunks. lay rt n a roasting tray. Scatter over the sugar and star anise seed pods. Pour OYet water or apple juice and roast .n the oven at 1800C/gas .c1 for af"OIXICI 20 minutes or until the rhubarb is soft but still holding rts sh.1pe. Secve on breakfast porndge.