One of the challenges set by the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) Campaign for School Gardening Level 4 is to design a lunch menu based on your school garden's produce. We went a step further and made these beautiful dishes incorporating our own fresh potatoes, peas, mint and leeks from our allotment in Lunch Cookery Group. We are later hoping to make a pavlova and top it with our own fresh strawberries.
Starter: Potato Salad
Main: Vegetable Pasta
Dessert: Fresh Berry Pavlova
Other ideas include pea soup, potato chips, berry smoothies, and mint tea. See below for the two recipes we used.
Recipe 1
Parmesan, Potato & Green Bean Salad
Ingredients
500g potatoes, peeled, cut into 4cm pieces
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan
200g green beans, trimmed
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Extra 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon drained baby capers, rinsed
1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh dill
Method
Preheat oven to 210C fan-forced. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
Place potato in a large saucepan. Cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over high heat. Boil for 6 to 8 minutes until just tender. Drain well.
Transfer to prepared tray. Using a fork, lightly crush potato. Drizzle with half the oil. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with parmesan. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden and tender. Cool slightly.
Meanwhile, cook beans in a saucepan of boiling water for 2 minutes or until bright green and just tender. Drain. Refresh under cold water. Drain well. Transfer to a large serving bowl. Add onion.
Whisk vinegar and remaining oil together in a jug. Drizzle over bean mixture. Toss to coat. Add potatoes and toss to combine. Sprinkle with capers and dill. Serve immediately.
Recipe 2:
Creamy Pasta with Vegetables
Ingredients
500g penne pasta
1 cup (130g) frozen peas
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed, cut into 3cm lengths
300g frozen broad beans
50g butter
1 cube of vegetable stock
1 leek, washed and sliced
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
350ml double cream
3 tablespoons finely shredded fresh mint
½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
Method
Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and cook the pasta until al dente. Drain pasta.
Meanwhile, bring another saucepan of water to the boil and blanch peas, asparagus and broad beans for 2 minutes, drain, rinse with cold water. Set aside.
Melt butter in a frying pan, add leek and garlic and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add vegetable stock. Add cream and cook for 3-4 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir through the peas, asparagus and broad beans for 1 minute to warm through then toss through pasta, mint and parmesan. Season to taste and serve sprinkled with extra parmesan