This weekly post is aimed at offering some simple recipe suggestions to the subscribers of Adelaide Food Connect weekly fresh produce boxes. It can be a challenge to deal with the same seasonal produce week after week and I hope to help inspire with fresh ideas. So, welcome to winter my friends – this way to the list of box contents this week.
Persimmons are still with us, but it seems they can be frozen and saved for another day. Simon Bryant was chatting about them on the local ABC radio this week and suggested freezing and eating later, with a spoon, like a sorbet. He also suggested serving them fresh with mascarpone and honey as a dessert dish. If you have been tempted by some of the growing range of extras now available, you will have seen the lovely honey that is now available, fresh from Adelaide Hills hives – perfect for pairing with the persimmons.
I have a sweet tooth, but am very lazy, so I my dinner parties can sometimes flag a little at the dessert end of things. One of my very favourite dessert offerings involves almost no work on my part and results in a treat which never fails to impress. Purchase a loaf of Paolo’s amazing sourdough bread from the “Extras” section, slice it thinly and lightly toast or crisp it in a warm oven. Pick up a ripe round of local camembert or brie from Woodside Cheesewrights, Udder Delights or B.-d. Farm Paris Creek and make sure it is at room temperature. Drizzle the uncut round of cheese with plenty of “Swarm” honey, sprinkle with some toasted, roughly chopped Enoomah walnuts, serve with the crisped bread and sit back and absorb the praise.
As promised last week, I have another quick, tasty spinach dish to suggest, this time from a new favourite cookbook of mine, Around My French Table, by Dorie Greenspan. Her recipe is actually for Swiss Chard Pancakes, but we can be flexible about that. This also makes quite a large quantity which she assures us can be very successfully frozen for later use. They are made as either a side dish or a main, usually served with a salad, and whatever fresh herbs you have on hand can be substituted for those given here. I usually add a pinch of salt to these and serve them with a dollop of light sour cream or thick yoghurt. All in all, it is one of those delightful recipes that can be varied to suit individual tastes, needs and circumstances.
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk
- 2 1/2 cups plain flour
- 3 large eggs
- 1 small onion, roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 10 parsley sprigs
- 10 fresh chives, snipped
- 5-10 spinach leaves, ribs removed
- Oil for cooking
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 150C to keep pancakes warm.
- Place everything but the spinach and oil in a processor and whizz until batter is smooth.
- With machine running, add the spinach, but don’t over-process. Try to leave some texture from the leaves.
- Heat the oil in a pan and spoon in the batter, either in small amounts for small pancakes, or more if larger ones are desired.
- Cook about 3 minutes, until under-side is browned and top is bubbled and setting, then flip to brown.
- Place cooked pancakes on paper towel-lined plate, putting more paper towels on top of each one and keep warm in the oven while finishing cooking the rest of the batter.
Preparation time: 5 minute(s)
Cooking time: 5 minute(s)
Thank you for the ideas! I came looking for persimmon ideas, but I love the spinach pancakes. I’ve been making spinach & fetta pancaked for ages adapted from NQN’s version of okonomiyaki, but I love that you do this with fresh spinach, can’t wait to try it! Oh, and cheese! Oh. my. goodness. Thank you!!!
Great advice about persimmons – not sure I would have thought to freeze them.
“…sit back and absorb the praise” – LOVE IT.
Your spinach pancakes sound like a fab idea – great to have a savoury option for pancakes.
🙂 Mandy
2 things here I must comment on and one is that I am even impressed Amanda that you have dinner parties and the second thing is that I am off right now to pick my spinach and try those pancakes !!
Cookiemother – The cheese is really a knock-out and I highly recommend it.
Mandy – I wouldn’t have thought to freeze them, either.
Kate – well, the term dinner parties might sound a bit dated, but what else do I call it when friends come over and I cook dinner for them?
I love your blog. I think we are family friends from ages ago. I am 50ish now. Our mums are long time friends. I love food and cooking and I think I get that from my mum. She always put on a great spread. I am going to try the spinach pancakes asap. Hope it isn’t mistaken identity, but doesn’t matter will be logging on again to check it out.
Hello Debra! I remember your mum’s food very well and her chocolate weetbix slice is now a firm family favourite with my own kids!