05 Apr 2023
Elena Hogg, founder of local culinary company FOOD by Elena, is trying to broaden the options at her family mealtimes by introducing more seasonal vegetables…
Is it me, or is there a whiff of spring in the air these days? I hope it’s not just blind optimism, because it feels as though the winter has far outstayed its welcome this year. The local flora hasn’t been deterred, mind – the blossom trees have stoically bloomed despite the low temperatures, and the cheerful banks of daffodils have been swaying valiantly in the bracing breeze, like little trumpeting heralds of warmer days to come.
To lift the spirits further, April’s round the corner now and will bring with it a plenitude of seasonal vegetables that inspire all kinds of appealing meals. I know that, in the context of food, the word ‘healthy’ is sometimes synonymous with ‘unappetising’, but I think that’s changing rapidly nowadays.
Movements like Veganuary and Veg Power, alongside the existing recommendations for five portions of fruit and veg a day (which is 10 in France so there’s room for improvement) and 30 plant-based foods a week, are really bringing change to the balance we see on our dinner plates.
Of course, environmental concerns also impact our food choices; even my kids proselytise about how an over-reliance on meat increases deforestation and greenhouse gasses. The improvement in the quality of plant-based foods has helped too: my friend who’s been vegan for about twelve years now gives daily thanks for the ‘tofu revolution’, as she calls it, and has bidden good riddance to the chalky, dry substitutes she endured in the past.
For my part, although my family and I still do eat meat, we’ve drastically reduced how often and I regularly find myself marvelling at the variety of plant-based options in the supermarket which mean I can choose to give my kids a burger or some sausages for their tea with far less guilt or worry about what will become of their arteries or the planet.
Plant-based food in my house doesn’t only take the form of ready meals, I am keen to point out lest my ‘foodie’ status be revoked. When I think about it, about seventy-five per cent of my unplanned, spontaneous cooking turns out vegan or vegetarian by default, with my increasing use of pulses, avocado, seeds, feta and eggs. Granted, my children will only eat a few of these sans battle, but you know, it’s work in progress.
Recently, I’ve really enjoyed experimenting with aquafaba – the best vegan food-hack I’ve come across. I made some passable pink-swirled meringues the other day and plan to try an aquafaba aioli with some artichoke leaves, now that the latter is coming into season. Quite how someone discovered that the water in a can of chickpeas foams up when whipped just like egg whites I cannot fathom. I’ve half a mind to take my electric whisk to other unlikely liquids to see what happens. Whipped pickling liquor, anyone?
But even if you’re too time-poor to whisk up some aquafaba chocolate mousse for your Friday night pud, merely chucking the entire contents of the chickpea tin (rather than draining off the liquid first) gives an extra velvetiness to your lunchtime soup for no extra effort at all. Plus it’s less wasteful… winner, winner, chickpea dinner.
Talking of reducing food waste, I have recently embraced the ‘chuck your fridge contents in and hope for the best’ ethos to cookery. At first, I was tentative, but now I’m quite gung-ho and fling all sorts of random ingredients at each other. Last week’s odds-and-sods salad, for example, brought together tuna, radishes, slightly wrinkly raw chestnut mushrooms and
some wedges of little gem lettuce. It’s amazing what’s passable if you slap enough good olive oil over it.
But now that beetroot’s also coming into season, I shall be making one of my all-time favourite salads: beetroot, lentils, rocket leaves and goat’s cheese. There’s earthiness and sweetness from the beetroot and lentils, some creamy tang from the goat’s cheese and a good peppery hit from the rocket. Add a spritz of lime and some of that olive oil and you’re transported straight to Greece.
Kale is also in season now. It’s one of those vegetables I know is packed with goodness, but I always default to braising it with sweated-down onions, mustard seeds and small cubes of potato, because that’s how my mum’s always done it and it’s warming and more-ish. But leafing through one of my Sabrina Gayour recipe books one recent lazy Sunday, I came across a lovely a really simple but intriguing recipe which essentially involves massaging (yes, massaging) the kale with delicious things like lemon juice, soy sauce, chilli oil, garlic, ginger and sumac. Lucky kale. It then sits and macerates for an hour as though it’s having a post-massage sauna and the result is truly delicious. The maceration means the kale isn’t woody or tough, but it’s still raw so keeps lots of its nutrients for you to absorb. It’s also incredibly versatile, because you could use just about any combination of flavours for the massage, as long as there’s some acid in there to break down the fibres of the kale.
If it works for wagyu beef and for kale, I’m looking forward to discovering what else tastes better after a good pampering. There may soon be a spa section of the supermarket for me to marvel at too.
