WHOLESOME, HEARTY HOME-GROWN

G O O D F O O D , G O O D T I M E S

OVEN-BAKED LENTIL SOUP WITH GREENS

Make a big batch of this simple, delicious soup; the flavours will deepen the longer it is left. You can swap in different ingredients depending on your mood and the season – kale, Swiss chard or perpetual spinach, or even parsley (stems and all) are all great additions.

SERVES 6-8

2ltr chicken or vegetable stock 225g dried yellow split peas 225g dried green or brown lentils 4 carrots, scrubbed, trimmed and chopped into 2.5cm pieces 4 celery stalks, chopped into 2.5cm pieces 1 leek, chopped into 2.5cm pieces 2 bay leaves 1½tsp ground cumin ½tsp salt 1tsp pepper Large bunch seasonal greens (about 250g), stripped away from any large stems, then sliced Chopped herbs, to garnish Crusty bread and butter, to serve (optional)

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. 2 Put the stock, dried yellow split peas and lentils, vegetables, bay leaves, cumin, salt and pepper into a large heavy casserole dish and stir to combine. Cover and bake in the oven for 1hr, or until the peas and lentils are tender. 3 Remove from the oven and discard the bay leaves. 4 Stir through the seasonal greens until wilted. Just before serving, garnish with chopped herbs, then ladle the soup into warmed soup plates and serve with bread and butter, if desired.

PAPER-BAKED TROUT WITH HERBS

This is a great way to cook trout; wrapping the fish in newspaper stops it drying out, and when you open the parcel, the skin will come away neatly along with the paper. You can adapt this recipe throughout the year, using whichever herbs happen to be at their peak.

SERVES 4

4 x 350g rainbow trout (or brown trout if you are lucky enough to get hold of them), gutted and cleaned but with tail and head intact Herbs (lemon thyme, parsley, dill and fennel tops all work well) Lemon slices Salt and pepper

1 Preheat the oven to 190C/Gas 5. 2 Wash the trout thoroughly and dry the inside of each fish with paper towels but leave the outside moist. Lightly season with salt and pepper inside the gut cavity, then fill the cavity of each fish with a handful of fresh herbs and a few halved lemon slices. 3 For each trout, you will need one doublepage sheet of a tabloid newspaper. Lay the sheet in portrait position and place the fish near the bottom of the page, with the open side towards you. Take the bottom of the sheet and wrap it up over the open side and fold in the sides so that they align with the length of the fish. Roll the fish up carefully in the paper. If the paper tears too much and you can see the fish through the wrap, start again. You may want to put a small arrow on the head end of each package to remind you on which side of the package the gut cavity is. 4 Place the wrapped fish side by side on a baking sheet and bake for about 25 mins (times will vary slightly depending on the size of your fish). 5 Once baked, put each wrapped fish on a plate. With a pair of scissors, cut the newspaper package open along the gut cavity side of the fish and then make cuts up towards the gills and across the bottom of tail. Take hold of the cut paper and the skin of the fish and gently peel back so that the flesh is exposed, and the head and the tail remain wrapped. 6 If the skin does not peel away from the fish easily, return the wrapped fish to the oven for 5 mins more, then try again.

G O O D F O O D , G O O D T I M E S

FENNEL, AUBERGINE AND ARTICHOKE CAPONATA

Caponata is a great test of culinary ingenuity! You can make this versatile dish with fresh vegetables if you have them, or preserved if you don’t, and serve it as a vegetarian main course with some good bread, for lunch with an egg on top or as a side dish to accompany any roasted or grilled meat or fish.

SERVES 4

4tbsp rapeseed oil ½ onion, finely chopped 4 globe artichokes (or 200g artichoke hearts in olive oil, drained) Lemon juice, to prevent discolouration (if using fresh artichokes) 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 2 spring onions, chopped 1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced 1 aubergine, peeled and diced into 1.5cm cubes 3 tomatoes, diced 4tbsp canned chopped tomatoes 4tbsp red wine vinegar 2tbsp capers, drained and rinsed 2tbsp toasted pumpkin seeds 1tbsp finely chopped basil 1tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley 1tbsp finely chopped lemon thyme Salt and pepper Toasted bread, to serve

1 Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, cover and leave for 10 mins to sweat down, stirring every so often. 2 Meanwhile, prepare the globe artichokes, if using. Remove the leaves until only the innermost leaves and hearts remain. Trim the stems and hard leaf remnants around the bottoms, and use a vegetable peeler to peel the stems, removing the tough exterior. Chop the hearts in half and use a spoon to remove the hairy chokes. Cut in half again so you are left with quarters of artichoke heart. 3 If you are not using them immediately, rub with a little lemon juice to stop discolouration. 4 Add the garlic, spring onions, fennel, aubergine, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, vinegar, capers and pumpkin seeds to the frying pan with the onion, cover and simmer for 10 mins, or until all the vegetables are tender. 5 Add the herbs and cook, uncovered, for another 5 mins to allow the flavours to combine. Season with salt and pepper and serve warm or at room temperature, spooned over toasted bread.

BAKED APRICOTS WITH BAY AND HONEY

Baking apricots intensifies the flavour and will bring the best out of any fruit that is not quite perfectly ripe. The combination of spices in this syrup accentuates different aspects of the apricot’s flavour – herbal and even a little spicy. Try them with a scoop of good-quality vanilla ice-cream or double cream. This recipe would also work well with fresh peaches.

SERVES 4-6

100g runny honey 5 cardamom pods, cracked opened Generous pinch of saffron threads 1tsp coarse sea salt 3 small bay leaves 10 apricots

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. 2 Put the honey, 100ml water, the cardamom pods, saffron, salt and bay leaves into a small pan. Place over a medium heat and cook until the mixture comes to a boil. Simmer gently for 3 mins and then remove from the heat. 3 Place the whole apricots in a small baking dish big enough to hold the apricots quite snugly – you don’t want too much space between them. Pour over the honey mixture, using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to scrape out any saffron threads that have stuck to the side of the pan. 4 Roast the apricots in the oven for 40 mins, removing them to baste and turn every so often, or until they are very soft, but still hold their shape. 5 Remove from the heat and either serve immediately, or set aside until cool and then store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Grow Fruit and Vegetables in Pots: Planting Advice & Recipes from Great Dixter by Aaron Bertelsen is published by Phaidon – photography by Andrew Montgomery

ANDREW MONTGOMERY PHOTOGRAPHS SAMUEL GOLDSMITH FEATURE