If you’re after seasonal fruit and veg, care about your food miles and want to support the farmers in your region then the From My Farm range might just be for you.
From My Farm sells seasonal produce farmed in the same area in which it’s sold and to celebrate their 2nd Birthday on 5th October they’ve devised three tasty recipes using the best of this years autumn produce:
Spicy Squash and Cauliflower Soup
Prep time 15 minutes Cooking time 40 minutes Serves 4
Per serving: 202 calories, 5.8g fat, 0.4g saturates, 30.2g carbohydrate , 2.6g salt
Contains a over a third of your RDA of calcium, folic acid and vitamin C and counts for 3 of your 5-A-DAY
1 tbsp olive oil
1 From My Farm onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 From My Farm red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 medium From My Farm cauliflower, broken into florets
1kg From My Farm butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into chunks
1 litre veg stock
salt and freshly ground pepper to serve
sour cream to serve
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, cook over a low heat until softened
Add the garlic and chilli and cook for 1 minute, add spices and cook for a further minute.
Add the cauliflower and squash and toss to coat in spices then add the stock bring to the boil then simmer over a gentle heat for 30 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
Remove from the heat and puree in a blender until smooth, reheat if necessary and serve with a swirl of sour cream.
Beef in red wine topped with leek dumplings
Prep time 30 minutes Cooking time 2 hours Serves 4-6
Per serving (with 6 servings): 642 calories, 33.1g fat, 11.9g saturates, 42.8g carbohydrate, 0.85g salt
Contains a over a third of your RDA of iron and folic acid, and counts for 2 of your 5-A-DAY
3 tbsp olive oil
1kg braising steak, cubed
2 From My Farm onions, finely chopped
25g plain flour
300g From My Farm carrots, peeled and cut into large slices
300g From My Farm mushrooms, cut into quarters
300ml red wine
300ml beef stock
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground pepper
For the dumplings:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 leek, finely chopped
200g self raising flour
100g vegetable suet
salt and freshly ground pepper
Pre-heat the oven to 150C, gas mark 2.
Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a large casserole dish then brown the steak until brown on all sides, do this in batches and remove with a slotted spoon
Heat the remaining oil in the casserole dish, add the onions and cook over a low heat until softened.
Return the meat to the pan, sprinkle over the flour and cook for a further minute.
Add the carrots, mushrooms, wine, stock, tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce and herbs to the pan. Stir well and bring to the boil.
Cover and cook in the oven for 1½ hours.
Meanwhile for the dumplings heat the olive oil in a frying pan and cook the leeks for about 10 minutes until softened, remove from the heat and leave to cool.
Mix together the flour and vegetable suet, add the leek, season well with salt and pepper and mix in enough water to form a soft dough. Shape into eight balls.
Remove the beef from the oven. Turn the oven up to 180C gas mark 4. Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs then place the dumplings on top of the beef spaced apart, return to the oven and cook for a further 30 minutes until the dumplings are puffed up and golden.
Apple and Cinnamon Cake
Prep time 30 minutes Cooking time 1 hour
Per serving (with 8 slices): 491 calories, 26.9g fat, 15.6g saturates, 59.1g carbohydrate, 0.89g salt
Counts for 1 of your 5-A-DAY
225g butter, softened
225g soft light brown sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
225g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
350g From My Farm Bramley apples, peeled and grated
1 tsp cinnamon
1 From My Farm Conference pear, thinly sliced
2 tbsp apricot jam to glaze
Preheat the oven to 180C or gas mark 4, and grease and line the base of a 20cm deep spring form tin.
Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy, gradually add the eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition.
Fold in the flour, baking powder and cinnamon, stir to combine then stir in the apple. Spoon into the tin then arrange the pear slices on the top.
Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before removing, then place on a cooling rack. Gently heat the apricot jam until melted then brush over the pear slices to glaze and leave to cool completely.
Place in the oven and bake for about 1 hour and until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.