Spring is hereš Despite lockdowns and masks and overuse of hand sanitiser, spring is back. Itās such a delight to move into a warmer season after a long, long winter and a great reminder that time just chugs on so best we get on with it too right ?
I hibernated over winter, my pants will tell you the same story. I gave myself permission to slow down, change some habits (basically eat way more carbs) and use the grey days to rest. But the days are longer and warmer and what and how we eat is changing to suit.
There are some biological reasons to why seasonal cravings may happenācertain chemical releases in brainābut they have much more to do with what someone grew up on. People hold fast to food traditions. Food has become much more readily available, but we still eat things that are traditional to us, that bring up all those memories and connections.
In essence, if you crave slow cooked food like stew and soup in winter, you probably have good memories of eating stew and soup in winter with your family, and your parents probably have similar memories with their parents before them. The seasonality of that craving then is merely a vestigial feature of a time when that stew was once made out of necessity in winter, using the only ingredients availableāthose stored in the root cellar.
So as we move into spring and summer the garden really gets underway and the produce is full of flavour and bountiful. My seasonal cravings change a lot. I want fresh and simple, raw if possible. Anyone with a garden or pot of greens or even a container on a sill in the kitchen will know the absolute satisfaction of picking something and adding to a meal. Personally I love knowing exactly whatās gone on with that plant and adore that it will nourish people I love, itās brilliant. I totally encourage you to get something going in a pot. Spinach is great, parsley if you like, basil too or maybe a cherry tomato plant ? I promise it will be a beneficial exercise and will nourish not only your body but your spirit as well and may just become a food tradition for you and your family for generations to come x
This pie is so good, even the meat eaters in my family are happy to pair this up with some good green salad and call it a meal.
Spring Greens Pie
INGREDIENTS
2 Sheets of ready puff pastry
5 eggs
350g of spinach or silverbeet
3 cloves of garlic ā chopped
1 bunch of asparagus
¼ cup of cream
1 cup of grated cheese (parmesan, cheddar or something else with oomph)
Caramelised Onion
1 ½ large onions
2 Tbls balsamic vinegar
2 tsps brown sugar
1 tsp finely chopped thyme or rosemary
METHOD FOR ONIONS
Chop up your onion and gently fry it in a pan with some oil on a medium heat until its soft and golden. Add the balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and herbs and fry for a couple of minutes. Season with a little salt and put aside.
METHOD FOR THE PIE
Preheat your oven to 200c. Line a medium sized pie or tart dish the pastry making sure the bottom and sides are well covered and the joins in the pastry are well joined, you donāt want any escape holes for runny egg mixture. Prick the pastry with a fork all over and then use one of the eggs, lightly whisked; to brush all over the pastry. Put it in the oven and bake it for about 15 minutes. Donāt stress that it puffs up, you can just push it back down gently with a fork once itās cooked. Ā
While your pastry is cooking add a good drizzle of oil to a pan at a medium heat and cook your garlic and chopped asparagus for a minute then add the silverbeet / spinach and cook for a further 10 minutes.
In a bowl whisk the remaining eggs with the leftover from brushing the pastry, cream, cheese and seasoning.
Turn the oven down to 180c and to your pastry shell add the cooked vege (if thereās a lot of liquid from the greens then you can gently squeeze some out before adding)
Dollop spoons of the caramelised onion into the pie amongst the greens and then gently pour in the liquid filling mixture.
Return this beauty to the oven at 180c and bake for 20 ā 30 minutes or until set. Remove and let it sit for about 15 minutes before cutting.
Really nice served with fresh green salad and a wee bit of chutney x