Balmy evening at the Allotment on 17th April
The recent spell of good weather has propelled the countryside into life. Swathes of wild garlic can be seen in ditches and on the road side with their heavy scent lingering in the air. Even the elderflower, has made an early appearance in places. In the allotment the turn of the seasons is clearly evident with the first spears of asparagus breaking through the soil and the cascades of flowers developing on the currant bushes. Joy of joys; my gooseberry bushes have small fruit developing among the thick healthy green foliage.
Many of the seeds sewn in the newly raked and manicured beds remain dormant, but the peas and broad beans are showing some signs of life. The odd long lost potato may also be making an early appearance and will no doubt greet his brethren when they rise from their well formed drills not far away. To vary our crop and the timing of our harvest this year we have planted Duke of York and Roosters this year.
Purple sprouting broccoli
One of the long awaited treats has survived the winter and flourished during the clement Spring conditions. Growing purple sprouting broccoli is a game of patience. You wait a year and just when you think nothing is about to happen and the plants, are almost destined for the compost heap, they begin to produce their purple florets. The plants are not very distinguished, and easily ignored for most of the year, but once they begin to produce our bounty the plant becomes very lush and attractive to look at.
We have been harvesting the rhubarb for a number of weeks now, and recently Corinne hinted that she would like to have a clafoutis made with the rhubarb. In the absence of cherries from France rhubarb from Dublin was an extraordinarily good idea. I used the following recipe which was cooked in a 8.5 inch oven dish. The ingredients are as follows: About 5 sticks of rhubarb or enough to randomly dot the base of the dish, a little butter to grease the dish, 300mls of milk, 3 eggs, 80g of Sugar, 80g of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, a pinch of salt, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, and two teaspoons of eau de vie.
In a food processor, beat the eggs and sugar for a few minutes. Thereafter add the vanilla essence, salt and milk and combine well. Finally, add the sifted flour and baking powder, and pulse the food processor until the flour has been lightly absorbed into the batter. Wash and chop the rhubarb in about 1.5 inch lengths and generously butter the dish. When the rhubarb is stood on end in the dish, the batter can be carefully poured over the rhubarb and should rise to meet the top of the rhubarb. Try not to cover the rhubarb. Spoon the eau de vie over the batter and rhubarb and place in a 180 C oven for 45 minutes, or until the clafoutis is well risen and golden brown. Allow it to cool, but serve it warm with either sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for best results. In celebration of the end of the lenten period you may as well have both! A very good plan "b" is to eat the left over cold clafoutis for breakfast with black coffee the next day.
Corinne has found a new friend
