I’m always interested in finding new recipes, especially now that I have an allotment. Sometimes I just run out of ideas as to what to do with my produce. So I was particularly interested in this book, Home-grown Harvest when it arrived from the publishers.
The book is a collection of recipes designed to inspire people to use their home-grown fruit and veg in new and imaginative ways.
I liked how the book was divided up into sections which included ‘Root Vegetables’, ‘Fruiting Vegetables’ and ‘Tree Fruits’. Within each section there are several recipes for each of the fruit and vegetables mentioned. If, for instance you had too many courgettes (and who hasn’t been there!!) you could just go to that section and all the recipes would be together, rather than having to find the various recipes scattered throughout the book.
The book covers a good selection of ideas from main dishes and accompaniments to desserts and pickles. I particularly like the sound of the ricotta and cherry strudel, the apple and carrot bread with walnuts and a parsnip, chorizo and chestnut soup. The photography is gorgeous and everything looks yummy.
There are a few recipes that felt a bit like fillers. Most people who enjoy cooking have probably tried roast potatoes with some garlic and rosemary or roasted tomatoes. However, there are only a few of these and there are more than enough new ideas to interest the experienced cook. There are a good selection of completely veggie meals but it is by no means purely a vegetarian cookbook so will keep meat-eaters happy too. My main gripe was the sweetcorn, asparagus and goats cheese frittata. For a book promoting seasonal produce it seemed odd to include this recipe as it would be quite a feet to get asparagus and sweetcorn cropping at the same time!
I have yet to cook anything from the book but I am thinking of ideas for Christmas and I’m sure I’ll use some recipes from this book.
Thanks to Sarah at Ryland Peters and Small.
Available now from your local bookshop or on Amazon.
