One part water and one part vinegar (good quality) add salt and pepper to taste plus a few bay leaves. Bring to the boil. Cut peperoni in 3 mm strips and throw into the water/ vinegar. When the water boil again, drain the peperoni. While still hot put into the jars and cover with good olive oil – ad two fresh bay leaves and a few garlic to the jar and seal immediately. Keeps in the pantry for ever. Beautiful!
Above is the cardoon, complete with ‘ Cardoon Goblin’, in my garden before harvesting.
I could not decide when to pick my cardoon, but following wide consultations, decided to pick it today. I have 2 more mature plants growing so I could have afforded to experiment.
The harvested cardoon on my kitchen table – looking huge!
After cleaning and cooking the cardoon I decided that it was picked too early as the thicker stems, though hard and tough looking, were soft and tasty when cooked. If I left it to grow more there may have been more of the thicker stems, resulting in more to eat.
You need lots of time for a cardoon dish and I did not time myself but it took about half an hour from start to finish in preparation plus cooking time. There are many recipes to choose from and I went for the anchovie sauce which was a great success and enjoyed by four adults, who had it as a side to the main, in no time at all!
Cardoon with Anchovie Sauce
Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees C
1 large cardoon, leaves and stringy bits removed, sliced in 50 mm pieces kept in a bowl of water with the juice of a lemon mixed in. This prevents discoloring.
1 clove garlic, chopped
4 tablespoons butter
10 anchovies – the salty preserved kind, drained and chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano cheese
Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Cook the cardoon pieces for about 30 minutes until tender. In the mean time butter an oven proof dish that will hold all of the cardoon pieces. Melt the rest of the butter in a pan and add the anchovies and garlic and stir gently until the anchovies dissolve. Put the cardoon into the prepared dish, pour the anchovie sauce over and sprinkle with the Parmigiano cheese. Now bake it in the oven for 30 minutes. Serve immediately.
The potato yield was unbelievable. I have harvested 45 kg of potatoes from only 2.1 meters square – this equates to a whopping 215 Tons per hectare compared to the average for all developed countries in the world of 38 Tonnes per hectare and in New Zealand about 70 Tonnes per hectare. (I am now waiting a call from the CEO of the NZ Potato Council offering me a Seat on the Board) The potatoes were practically the first things I planted after arriving in New Zealand following mulching and composting of the vegetable patch which was pure clay when I started. Digging up the potatoes and then removing clay for another 500 mm and then putting compost down the trenches and covering it all with a mix of clay and soil wore me out and I had to stop halfway through the job to only finish it after two days in the patch. Above is a picture of some of the harvest.
I could not resist putting a few of the potatoes in the oven. I have been reading about these Hasselback Potatoes and they taste as good as they look!
Hasselback Potatoes
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees
Potatoes washed, keep the skins on
Rosemary chopped
garlic minced or chopped fine
olive oil and melted butter mixed for basting
salt
Slice each potato in slices about 5 mm thick. Do not slice the potato right through, keep just enough at the bottom to keep the potato intact. Mix the garlic and rosemary in to the butter and oil and toss the potatoes in the mix. Put in oven and when the slices start separating a little baste the potatoes with the left over basting mix. When golden brown test for tenderness and enjoy.
I cleaned up the garden and brought in one small artichoke, one pumpkin flower and some sage leaves. I did not know what to do with my meager harvest so I decided to deep fry
every thing. I added some fast home made bread, (pane veloce) put out the last of the carrot top pesto and ricotta cheese. Poured a bit of red and had a great meal.
Flour and Water Batter
1 cup plain white flour
Pinch of salt
water
Mix flour and salt add water a little at a time while whisking until you have a thick creamy consistency. Set aside
Frying the Veg
If you have a very young fresh artichoke, boil it in water for about 20 min or until tender but not falling apart. Set aside on kitchen paper, allow the retained water to drain and cut in half or, if it is a large artichoke, quarter and remove the choke.
Heat about 6 cm of vegetable oil in a pan, when the oil is hot, dip the vegetables in the batter and slip them in to the pan. Do not overcrowd.. When crisp remove the veg, drain on kitchen paper and put in a new batch. Serve immediately, if you wait the batter loses its crispness.
Most of the ricotta has been devoured; we ate it on toast with jam on top, as part of an antipasto spread involving the roast carrots and beetroot that the tops came from, and I am ashamed to say that I ate some ‘straight’ using a spoon. Today’s lunch was delicious and quick to prepare
Ricotta and Beetroot Tops Pasta
2 cloves garlic
4 tablespoons of olive oil (More if tr is too tight)
1 pinch chili flakes
3 cups cooked beetroot tops. I have quite a lot in the fridge after cooking my harvest. link
4 strips of bacon, chopped ( normally I would use panchetta, but where I live good quality Italian meats are non existent)
1/2 cup of ricotta (or, in my case, as much as you have left over)
Spaghetti
Parmigiano grated
Put the spaghetti into fast boiling, salted water. Cook until al dente, not soggy. Use a pan big enough to hold the sauce and the pasta. Crisp the bacon in olive oil and add the chili and garlic. When the garlic has softened add the beetroot tops and fry for a bit. Cook until the beetroot is hot, check for salt and pepper. Stir in the ricotta, not too well, keep a few lumps in the mix Add the pasta and mix. Serve with grated parmgiano .
Back Yard Farmer 