Wild garlic stuffed conchiglioni

Based on a recipe by Rosie Birkett in The Sunday Times magazine a few weeks ago. It fits well in my large oval clear pyrex dish. The recipe has whole fennel seeds, but crushed or left out completely fits certain taste buds better. 

Heat the oven to 180C (fan)

Slice 1 large red onion and 2 cloves of garlic. Gently cook with 1 tbsp rosemary leaves, pinch of dried chilli flakes in 2 tbsp olive oil for 10 minutes until softened. Add 2x400g tins of tomatoes and cook on medium heat for 6 mins until reduced. Blitz with hand blender until smooth. Season to taste.

Bring large pan of water to the boil. Separate stalks from florets of 250g purple spouting or tender stem broccoli. Roughly chop the stalks and cook the stalks for 2 mins then add the florets and cook for another 2 mins. Remove with a slotted spoon and allow to cool. Finely chop the stalks and two thirds of the florets.
In the same pan, parboil 30 conchiglioni pasta (about 200g). You want them to cook to just before the al dente stage. Drain and plunge in iced water to stop them cooking further.

Chop a handful (about 10g) of wild garlic leaves. Fry for a couple of minutes in 2bsp olive oil with 1tsp crushed fennel seeds and 1 deseeded chopped red chilli on medium heat. Split and squeeze the meat from 6 good quality sausages (Italian - I wish - or Cumberland) into the frying pan. Turn up the heat and break up the sausage meat into small pieces using tip of a wooden spoon - bear in mind you will be stuffing this into the pasta. Cook for five minutes until the meat browns. Add in the broccoli - except for the whole florets - and 2tbsp pine nuts and fry for a further two minutes. Stir in 2tsp white wine vinegar and remove from heat.

Pour the tomato sauce into a heatproof dish large enough to hold the sauce and pasta. Stuff the broccoli and sausage mix into the pasta (fingers work just fine) and 'nestle' into the tomato sauce. Scatter the remaining broccoli florets across the top, drizzle with olive oil and bake for 20 minutes.

Then arrange a few more wild garlic leaves on the top followed by sliced mozzarella (from one ball). Bake for another 10 minutes.

Serve with grated parmesan and a green salad.

Wild Garlic Pesto

Either with all wild garlic OR add some young nettle tops OR add some basil leaves. Nuts can be varied, as can the cheese. If using fresh lemon than add zest to the mix before blitzing.

Wash 150g wild garlic leaves and roughly chop
Grate 150g Parmesan
Lightly dry fry 50g pine nuts
Chop a clove of garlic
Blitz to rough paste in a food processor
Add most of 150ml rapeseed oil with machine running slowly.
Season and add a few squeezes of lemon juice

Put into clean jar and top with rest of the oil.
Will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks - if it lasts that long.

Wild garlic and walnut pesto

That time of year! First batch of pesto will be going back with second born to Uni. Will make more later this week.

Dry fry (toast) 50g Walnut pieces until golden. When cool put in food processor with 75g wild garlic (aka ransoms) - roughly chopped if large leaves - and 35g grated Parmesan cheese. Process and, whilst processing, drizzle in 150ml extra virgin olive oil.

Season to taste with good splash of lemon juice and salt and pepper.

Put in a jar unless using straight away. In theory it last a number of days in the fridge.

Now to go make some wild garlic butter (I store small pats of this in the freezer. Lovely melted on new potatoes to accompany ham/gammon)

Menu for w/c 1st May 2010; wild garlic

Found a great patch of wild garlic on Saturday and picked a bag full. Made a 'stuffing' from half of it along with breadcrumbs and put between breast and skin of chicken prior to roasting yesterday. Worked well. Will use the rest of the wild garlic on Tuesday (see below) and the left over chicken in salads. Stock from chicken bones, being garlic flavoured, will make a great mushroom soup.

M Shepherds Pie with Parsnip and Potato mash topping (as here)
Boys not convinced. They prefer pure potato topping.
T Pork chop with chorizo, wild garlic, potatoes and herb dressing
Ended up not using the herb dressing (saved it for salad the following day). Other changes made were to use half quantity of chorizo, roughly tear large leaves of wild garlic and add some green beans towards the end. General opinion was that the pork chops did not need the marinade so, as and when I use this recipe again, I will cook the chops with thyme/other herbs.
W Turkey and Feta burger
Th Pasta with Olive and Tomato sauce; Macaroni cheese for M
F Something from freezer/vegetarian

Lunch salads
Chicken and avocado
Nicoise
Chicken, ham and beetroot possibly trying this relish
Blue Cheese and Walnut
Crumble Danish blue cheese (or other blue cheese) and mix with walnut pieces into green salad. Dress with Balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing or similar.
Quinoa Tabouleh with whatever meat or cheese is left

Mushroom soup - made from the garlicky chicken stock either for lunch this week/next weekend or freeze for later weeks