What's Cooking?

WE all know cooking with seasonal ingredients is a good idea, but at Riverford Organic Farm it's a way of life. The company has become wildly successful delivering organic fruit, veg and meat boxes as well as other organic food from a network of five farms straight to your doorstep.

 Their latest creation, Everyday & Sunday Recipes From Riverford Farm, is a go-to guide for what you should be eating right now. Take a peek — this could be what's for dinner tonight.

Chicken Salad with an Elderflower + Tarragon Dressing

 This is based on a Joyce Molyneux recipe from the Carved Angel. Joyce used elderflower vinegar, which she’d made the year before by steeping elderflowers in white wine vinegar. I’ve adapted the recipe to use cordial in place of the vinegar.

Serves 4–6 as a starter

2 chicken breasts, skinned

about 300ml chicken stock

½ canteloupe or honeydew melon

2 small avocados

juice of ½ lemon

1 bunch of watercress, washed

For the dressing:

1½ tablespoons tarragon vinegar or white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon elderflower cordial

80ml groundnut oil

70ml single cream

2 teaspoons finely chopped tarragon

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Poach the chicken breasts gently in the stock for about 15 minutes, or until just cooked (they will feel firm). Leave in the stock for 10 minutes, then remove and allow to cool. Cut the cold chicken into roughly 2cm pieces. Reserve the stock for another use. Cut the melon and avocado flesh into chunks about the same size. Squeeze a little lemon over the avocado.

In a liquidiser, blend all the dressing ingredients together until they emulsify (or whisk by hand, but you’ll get the best results with a liquidiser). Gently mix the chicken, melon and avocado in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of the dressing. Arrange on a plate with the watercress and drizzle more dressing over.

Wild rice, spinach and broad bean salad

Wild Rice, Spinach and Broad Bean Salad
From Everyday and Sunday – Recipes from Riverford Farm
Serves 4 -6

What makes this recipe distinctive is using the oil that the onions have been cooked in for the dressing. The sweet onions are freshened by the sharpness of the pomegranate molasses. This is available from Middle Eastern and health food shops.

Ingredients:
125g wild rice
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 onions, thinly sliced
4 tbsp olive oil
200g broad beans, shelled weight
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
100g young spinach leaves

Cook the wild rice in boiling salted water for 30-40 minutes, until tender. Drain and allow to cool. Cook the onions in the olive oil for 20-30 minutes, until soft and slightly caramelised. Drain and reserve the cooking oil. Blanch the broad beans in boiling salted water for 3 minutes. Drain. Peel any large beans with tough skins. Add the pomegranate molasses to the onion cooking oil and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Put all the ingredients in a large bowl, season and toss with the molasses dressing. Serve.

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Everyday & Sunday Recipes From Riverford Farm is available on Amazon.