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Liz Hollis is a freelance journalist writing for national newspapers including the Guardian, The Times and The Financial Times, and magazines including Psychologies, Top Sante and Women’s Running.

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    • The big interview
    • Packaging
    • Food waste

    Zero hero

    Before plastic-free and zero-waste were a thing, Bea Johnson was fitting her family’s annual waste into a single jar. Liz Hollis meets the mother of a movement.

    By Liz Hollis - 30th August 2019

    2

Latest posts

    • Cartoon
    • Dairy
    • Plant-based

    Ellis: The rise of the (plant) milkman

    Ellis wonders if the new trend for plant milks might bring new opportunities for the traditional and enterprising milk man. 

    By Ellis - 17th February 2020

    0
    • Environment & ethics

    Voices of sustainability

    The latest print edition of Wicked Leeks includes the 'Voices of Sustainability' cover feature; how feeding seaweed to cattle can reduce methane emissions; tips for pickling; the latest Ellis cartoon…

    By Nina Pullman - 17th February 2020

    0
  • Soil
    • Grow your own

    How to make compost

    As I get older, my body complains sometimes about the physical exertion I put it through, so I’m becoming a bit of a fan of the no-dig approach to growing.

    By Penny Hemming - 17th February 2020

    1
    • Politics
    • Farming

    George Eustice takes over at Defra

    Theresa Villiers asked to make way in cabinet reshuffle as farming industry stalwart George Eustice takes the reins of environment, food and rural affairs department.

    By Nina Pullman - 14th February 2020

    0
    • Climate change
    • Biodiversity

    Climate change threatens bee populations

    Bees are facing higher rates of extinction due to unusually high temperatures as new study focuses on climate change impact on vital pollinators.

    By Nina Pullman - 13th February 2020

    0
    • News from the farm

    An early season for leafy veg

    Leeks due in January were pulled in November; January King cabbages were cut in October; Hungry Gap kale planned for April is being picked in February, and even the wild garlic is early.

    By Guy Singh-Watson - 13th February 2020

    2

Articles from other authors

Ellis: The rise of the (plant) milkman

Ellis wonders if the new trend for plant milks might bring new opportunities for the traditional and enterprising milk man. 

0 comments / Cartoon

Voices of sustainability

You may not agree with George Monbiot’s radical predictions of an end to farming as we know it, but there’s no denying things are changing.  From the shake-up…

0 comments / Environment & ethics

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Wicked Leeks is an online magazine published by Riverford Organic Farmers.

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  • RECIPE - Cauliflower Taco Bowls Making your own tortilla ‘bowls’ is fun and a good vehicle for spiced cauliflower and vibrant accompaniments. We've gone for brown rice, red cabbage, cherry tomatoes and black beans, all bought to life with lime, coriander, chilli and sriracha. You'll need (serves 2): 1 cauliflower (if large, use ½) 1 cauli taco spice mix (1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander) 100g brown basmati rice 4 tortillas half a red cabbage 125g cherry tomatoes 1 tin black beans ½ red onion ¼ tsp chilli flakes 2 limes 15g coriander sriracha - to serve Preheat your oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Trim and cut the cauliflower into small florets. Toss in a roasting tin with 2 tbsp of oil and the cauli taco spice mix. Season. Roast for 15-20 mins, turning halfway, until golden and just tender. Cook the rice for 20 mins, until just tender. Warm 2 tortillas on an oven shelf for 30 secs, until softened, then quickly shape them into taco bowls by pushing each warm tortilla into a heatproof bowl (the edges may tear a little - this is fine). Bake for 8-10 mins, until golden and crisp. Keep a good eye on them! Carefully lift them off the bowls, set aside and repeat with 2 more. Meanwhile, finely shred 2 good handfuls of cabbage. Add it to a large bowl. Halve the tomatoes. Drain and rinse the beans in a sieve. Tip into another bowl. Add the tomatoes. Halve, peel and finely chop ½ the onion; add that, too. Add a pinch of chilli flakes, to taste. Halve the limes. Roughly chop the coriander, stalks and all. Add lime juice, to taste, to both the cabbage and beans, along with ½ the coriander to each. Give both bowls a stir and season to taste. Drain the rice. Divide the rice between the taco bowls and top with some cabbage, bean mix and cauliflower. Drizzle over sriracha, to taste. Serve with wedges of lime.
  • Guy's news: An early season for leafy veg I made my first wild garlic omelette in January, & subjected the family to wild garlic pesto last week; normally pleasures reserved for March & April. A few confused plants are even sending up flowerheads already. Wild garlic, foraged from the woods around our Devon farm, will be available to order from early March. If we have a good season, it'll appear in the boxes into April, before the plants are shaded out by the trees coming into leaf overhead. In our fields, the warm winter has resulted in leafy crops running 5 weeks ahead of schedule. Leeks due in January were pulled in November; January King cabbages were cut in October; Hungry Gap kale planned for April is being picked in February. We've managed to use the crops that came early without any waste – but this does mean that there will be a few deficits until spring crops start. Hannah, our agronomist, who walks the crops each week to estimate availability, predicts that we will be short by 12,000 portions a week over the next 10 weeks. Much depends on a notoriously fickle & weather-susceptible crop: purple sprouting broccoli. Most of our other crops are looking great, but there were seed shortages last summer, meaning that we were not always able to grow our preferred, more robust varieties. Some could be wiped out if we get persistent rain, frosts, or both. But given a reasonably dry, mild spring, high yields may make up for the crops we’ve had to harvest early. Far worse off than us are our growers in Spain, who've suffered catastrophic damage from a hailstorm; within an hour, it devastated many field crops & collapsed greenhouses under the weight of the stones. We are supporting the growers as much as possible, & taking whatever crops they still have to offer. The unfortunate truth is, there's always a farmer somewhere desperate to sell their produce; so, one way or another, our veg boxes will be full. More positively, planting is well underway on our farm in the French Vendée, with the first lettuces looking like they will be ready in 6 weeks. They herald the arrival of a new vegetable year, &, incidentally, my 33rd year of veg growing.
  • Rebel Recipes recipe box 🧡 Fancy the look of this Winter Roast Lentil & Veg Bake? We will be delivery everything you needed to make it in a special @RebelRecipes guest chef box next week. This warming winter dish is one of the most popular from Niki Webster's new cookbook; with sweet roasted veg in perfect harmony with earthy lentils, creamy coconut and crunchy walnuts, you'll want to dive in deep for a second helping.Available for delivery from Monday 17th, for one week only.
  • Diving into a new trade deal... Ellis fears the government isn't as dedicated to protecting higher welfare or quality standards as it claims to be, as it moves towards a proposed UK-US trade deal. Chlorinated chicken anyone? #WickedLeeksEllis
  • RECIPE - Roasted Veg Gnocchi Bake Our sweet and nutty squashes are still going strong and make a welcome addition to a bake. Here, the squash is roasted with onion and broccoli, then half is mashed and mixed with crème fraîche to make a rich sauce to coat the gnocchi, whilst the rest is left in chunks to stir through the bake. You'll need (serves 3-4): 1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded & chopped into chunks 1 red onion, roughly chopped 1 head broccoli, chopped 2 garlic cloves, bashed with a knifes, keeping skin on 1 tsp dried thyme 2 packs gnocchi 250g crème fraîche 30g breadcrumbs 40g Italian-style hard cheese Preheat your oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Tip the squash and garlic cloves into one roasting tin and the onion and broccoli into the other. Drizzle with oil to coat. Season. Roast both for 25-30 mins until tender, tossing the thyme with the squash halfway through. Keep an eye on the broccoli towards the end - it may be ready before the squash. Meanwhile, boil a kettle. Fill a large saucepan with boiled water and add a pinch of salt. Once boiling, add the gnocchi. As soon as the gnocchi float to the surface (approx. 2 mins), drain, reserving a mugful of cooking water. Set aside. When cooked, transfer half the cooked squash to a large bowl. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins and add those, too. Mash until smooth, stir through the crème fraîche and season. Preheat your grill to high. Tip the gnocchi back into the pan. Add the sauce. Heat through, then stir through the roasted vegetables. Add a little reserved cooking water, if needed, to loosen it to your liking. Transfer to a large, oven-proof dish and sprinkle over the breadcrumbs and cheese. Grill for 4-5 mins, until golden and bubbling. Leave to sit for a few mins before serving.
  • The newest Organic Market Report reveals a 4.5% growth in organic food sales. Founder Guy believes this to be a disappointing result, as the huge rise in environmental awareness failed to translate into sales. Do you agree? The figures were released last week by the @SoilAssociation, which predicted that 2020 would be a tipping point for the organic market. The good news is that the growth of organic food sales outperforms the rest of the market, however, organic still remains a fraction of the market, with a 1.6% share (up from 1.3% the previous year. “Given the huge rise in discussion of green issues over the last year and the solutions that organic farming can contribute, a 4.5 per cent growth in the UK organic market is disappointing and still leaves us trailing the European and North American markets,” believes Riverford founder Guy. Sales and market share aside, Guy is heartened by signs that agroecological principles are increasingly being adopted by the non organic farming sector: "It is interesting that more and more of the principles of soil health and agroecology, long since embraced by organic farming, are being borrowed, in part at least, by the conventional farming industry. I would suggest the influence of organic farming has grown far more than 4.5 per cent,”. Clare McDermott from the @soilassociation put it well, explaining that organic is more relevant than ever as a way for shoppers looking for simple choices to reduce their environmental impact. Let's hope the growth continues into 2020. What are your reasons for choosing organic?
  • Last week was #WorldCancerDay, for which this Feta, Miso & Mushroom Focaccia recipe was created. One of the little talked about side effects of cancer treatment is the altered sense of taste that a lot of people experience. The flavours in this recipe are designed to trigger the senses and help people going through treatment to experience the joy of taste and flavour. The sourdough focaccia is topped with miso, honey, olive oil, rosemary, mushrooms and feta, and additional toppings include red onions in red wine vinegar. All of these have a purpose. When we eat slightly more astringent food (slightly acidic or bitter) such as the ones used in the topping of this focaccia, the proteins combine with our saliva to irritate our trigeminal nerve - this is the very same nerve that registers sensations such as mintiness as “cooling” or spiciness as “hot”. This technique works particularly well with sourdough because one of the typical characteristics of sourdough is the wonderfully chewy texture - so it requires a good amount of chewing! The more we “chew” something astringent the better our taste receptors can detect the astringency. This recipe has deliberately “over-saturated” the trigeminal nerves with amazing flavour combinations by using umami - our 5th taste. This works as a stepping-stone to all the other taste receptors - sweet, salty, bitter and sour. Umami is the savouriness we recognise in miso, soy sauce, and mushrooms for example. A combination of different types of umami creates the ultimate depth of flavour. All sound very clever and scientific? It is, and this expertise comes from Ryan Riley from @lifekitchencookery whose work is built around teaching how to make intense and powerful flavoured recipes for those with cancer. He developed this recipe with our friends at @sourdoughschool, using many of our organic ingredients. You can find the recipe and another (Blackberry, Fennel & Pistachio) by following the link in our bio.
  • Guy's news: Bitcoin, barns, & Butternut squash 19th century cattle barns do not make good stores for Butternut squash. After spending January sorting through decaying gourds in search of the 1 in 4 that survived the damp of a Devon winter, I've decided to spend money insulating & damp-proofing the barn. Digging down through the layers of concrete, compacted lime, tiles & cobbles exposes the history of what was once a model farm – before the well-heeled owners emigrated to South Africa when British agriculture went into decline in the 1870s. The Corn Laws, which blocked the import of cereal crops, were repealed in 1846, exposing British farming to competition from the expansive, fertile US prairies. In the 1870s, after the American Civil War, cheap imports finally brought the English yeomen (who owned small farms) to their knees. Almost all the barns & grand farmhouses around here were built during the preceding ‘golden age of British farming’. This particular barn is spectacular, & once had a waterwheel fed by a leat from the stream that passes by. If reinstated, this would generate a paltry 750W of electricity, or the output of a horse; perhaps enough to run a small mill or apple press, but barely enough to make my toast today. While digging out the cobbles (don’t worry; they'll be rehomed), I muse on all that would be possible if agriculture still accounted for 22% of GDP as it did in 1850, compared to just 0.7% today. New Zealand farmers, who are more exposed to world markets, would say: "Give UK farmers a high milk price, & they'll think of an expensive way to produce milk." I suspect the farmers of the golden age were guilty of the same indulgence, but they did build fine barns. As I dig, I also wonder at our insatiable appetite for cheap energy. Until energy is more expensive, I suspect we'll keep thinking of new ways to waste it. A ludicrous example is the amount consumed by computer servers to mint virtual coinage & record transactions in the new cryptocurrencies. It would take 11 million waterwheels to power Bitcoin today; comparable to the energy consumed by all of Venezuela. For what gain? The yeoman’s mind would have boggled, & mine does too
  • RECIPE - Apple & Ginger Chickpea Stew This stew is rather like a dal but the chickpeas are only cooked for a short while and do not completely break down. A slightly sweet and gently spiced dish, it’s finished with mint and coconut chips and served with mango chutney and pitta bread. You'll need (serves 2): 1 onion 1 chilli 1 piece ginger 1 garlic clove 1 apple 1 apple & ginger stew spice mix (1 tsp ground cumin, ½ tsp ground coriander, ½ tsp ground turmeric) ½ tbsp bouillon powder 1 tin chickpeas 150g spring greens 1 lime 15g mint 4 pitta breads 10g toasted coconut chips mango chutney, to serve Peel, halve and finely slice the onion. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large saucepan. Start gently frying the onion. Finely slice the chilli (deseed, or keep the seeds in for more heat). Peel and finely grate the ginger and garlic. Coarsely grate the apple. Boil a kettle. Into the onion, add a little chilli (to your taste) and the ginger, garlic and apple. Cook for 1 min, then add the spice mix and cook for 1 min. Add the bouillon and pour over 500ml of boiled water. Bring up to the boil. Drain the chickpeas and add to the pan. Simmer gently for 10-15 mins. Use the back of your wooden spoon to help break down some of the chickpeas. Meanwhile, strip the tough stalks from the spring greens. Finely shred the leaves. Cut the lime in half. Strip the mint leaves from their stalks and finely shred the leaves. Add the spring greens to the stew and cook for 1-2 mins, until wilted. Season and squeeze over half the lime juice. Heat the pitta breads in a toaster, or under the grill. Chop into wedges. Serve the stew, topped with extra chilli (if you like), mint and coconut chips and with the pitta wedges and mango chutney alongside.

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