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Riverford Organic Farmers

Wicked Leeks is an online magazine published by Riverford Organic Farmers.
Riverford grows and sells organic food through its award-winning veg boxes, alongside campaigning for its core values of sustainable food and ethical business.

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  • RECIPE - Baked Veg & Mozzarella Risotto A simple baked risotto makes life easier - no constant stirring required! This pesto version is topped with sweet roasted roots and creamy buffalo mozzarella. You'll need (serves 3-4): 1 parsnip 1 large or 2 small carrots 1 sweet potato 1 large or 2 small red onions 1 leek ½ tbsp bouillon powder 250g cherry tomatoes 250g risotto rice 3 tbsp green pesto 40g Italian-style hard cheese 1 ball mozzarella Preheat your oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Peel and chop the parsnip, carrot(s) and sweet potato into bite-sized chunks, or thick batons. Halve, peel and chop the onion(s) into wedges. Toss them all in a roasting tin in oil to lightly coat. Season and roast for 10 mins. Boil a kettle. Trim the leek. Halve it, lengthways, then thinly slice. Wash well to remove any grit. In a jug, stir the bouillon with 500ml of boiled water to make a stock. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a flameproof casserole (or use a frying pan and transfer to a baking dish). Start frying the leek on a medium-low heat for 3-4 mins, until starting to soften. Remove the roasting veg tin from the oven. Toss in the tomatoes (whole). Set aside for a moment. Stir the rice into the leek for 2 mins, until the grains start to look translucent. Stir in the bouillon stock and pesto. Season. Transfer to a baking dish if using. Cover with a lid or foil. Put the tin of roasting veg on the top oven shelf and the rice on the lower. Bake both for 25-30 mins until tender. Toss the veg halfway through and check the rice towards the end to see if it needs an extra splash of boiled water (although the liquid in the rice pan should almost all absorb by the end). When ready, remove the cooked veg and rice from the oven. Into the rice, stir half the Italian cheese. You might need an extra splash of water to loosen it, too, depending on how you like your risotto consistency. Season to taste. Tear the mozzarella into bite-sized pieces. Serve the rice with the veg and mozzarella dotted over the top, sprinkled with remaining Italian cheese.
  • Ellis is back, and he's been thinking about George Monbiot's prediction of the end of all farming as we know it and 'Apocalypse Cow'. #WickedLeeksEllis For Guy's thoughts on the documentary, see this week's newsletter (see Sunday's post to page).
  • RECIPE - Chilli Greens & Peanut Stir-fry When shredded and lightly stir-fried, Brussels sprouts are sweet, tender and perfect for teaming with robust flavours. Thick silky udon noodles are tossed with the sprouts, then a spicy peanut butter mix is stirred through. Spring greens or cabbage leaves will also work well in place of sprout tops. You'll need (serves 2): 200g Brussels sprouts 2 large or 3 small carrots 1 garlic clove 1 small piece ginger 1 chilli - optional for those who like extra heat 30g peanuts 60g peanut butter 25g sriracha chilli sauce 2 tbsp tamari - add to taste 1 tsp turmeric 150g udon noodles 1 tbsp dried coriander leaves 1 lime Put a medium saucepan of water on to boil. Remove any tough outer leaves from the sprouts. Finely shred. Peel and finely slice the carrots - at an angle looks good (if any are very fat, halve them lengthways first). Peel and finely chop the garlic and ginger. Deseed and finely chop the chilli if using. Roughly chop the peanuts. In a small bowl, mix the peanut butter, sriracha, just ½ the tamari (1 tbsp), turmeric and 4 tbsp of warm water. Boil the noodles for 4 mins, until just tender. Stir regularly to prevent them from sticking together. Drain and run under cold water. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a wok or large frying pan. Stir-fry the carrots for 2 mins. Add the sprouts, garlic, ginger and dried coriander leaves, with a splash more oil if needed. Stir-fry for 1 min. Stir in the peanut butter mix and add chilli to your taste for heat. Stir-fry for 1 min. The peanut paste may start to catch - add a splash more water if needed. Toss in the noodles to warm them through. Add more tamari, season (lightly, the tamari is already quite salty) and add lime juice, all to taste. Serve, sprinkled with peanuts and extra chilli, if you like, to taste.
  • Guy's news: Apocalypse Cow & the end of farming If George Monbiot’s research is to be trusted, it's all over for farmers. Your food will be grown in labs using bacteria, air & electricity, generated by solar panels occupying 1/10,000th of the land currently used for agriculture. This has been proven possible in a lab in Finland. Farmland can be rewilded, creating a carbon sink that could reverse climate breakdown & restore biodiversity. If, as Monbiot’s documentary Apocalypse Cow asserts, global catastrophe can be averted by sacrificing farmers & eating uber-processed protein, logically that must be a price worth paying. I find it hard to question the benefits, as depressing as I may find the prospect on an emotional level. But I have concerns, too. What will the health impacts be? How will our culture be impoverished if we abandon centuries of knowledge embedded in farming? What will become of the 1/4 of the world’s population whose livelihoods depend on farming? & will we end up with a global food supply controlled by a small number of patent-owning corporations? George says we & our veg will be alright for now, until vertical, indoor, soil-free farming does for us too. Speaking at @oxfordrealfarmingconf last week, he delivered his meticulously researched message eloquently & persuasively. I'll always be glad of the disruptive fresh air he brings – & I find my own beliefs lie closer to his than to carnivores who argue that all is fine so long as meat is grass fed. Both sides frustrate me by cherry-picking data to support their views; how many kilos of beef equate to one transatlantic flight? Somewhere between 4&100, it seems. For now, I'll continue to sit on the fence: advocating much less meat, rewilding the least productive 20-30% of land, more perennial crops & a lot more dahl. Perhaps my biggest divergence with Monbiot is over his confidence that the future will be shaped by logic. Since Eve picked the apple, there seems to be precious little logic in what we put in our mouths. We already know how to grow better food with lower impact – but appear incapable of organising ourselves to do so. Let’s hope Monbiot is right, & logic prevails.
  • We've teamed up with the queen of flexitarian eating, @melissa.hemsley, to bring you limited edition recipe boxes with planet-friendly recipes from her just-released book, Eat Green. First up is this gorgeous veggie curry - available for delivery from Monday 20th!
  • RECIPE - Sweet Potato Shepherdess Pie A vegan take on a classic shepherd’s pie, using earthy lentils and mushrooms to give a savoury (umami) flavour, and red wine for a little richness. Topped with a sweet potato mash and mixed seeds for an extra crunch - it’s a satisfying supper. You'll need (serves 2): 1 onion 1 celery stick 2 carrots 500g sweet potato 200g mushrooms 1 garlic clove 1 tin dark lentils 1 tsp herbes de Provence 1 tbsp tomato purée 100ml red wine 1 tsp Worcester sauce 1 tsp bouillon powder 1 tbsp mixed seeds Preheat your oven to 190˚C/Gas 5. Peel and finely dice the onion. Finely dice the celery. Peel and finely dice the carrots. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large saucepan. Gently fry the onion, celery and carrot for 15 mins, stirring now and then, while you continue. Peel and dice the sweet potato into 2-3cm chunks. Boil for 8-10 mins, until tender. Drain and mash. Keep aside. Slice the mushrooms. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Drain and rinse the lentils. Add the garlic, mushrooms and herbes de Provence to the onion. Fry for 3-4 mins, until the mushrooms have softened slightly. Stir in the tomato purée. Add the lentils, red wine and Worcester sauce. Let the wine bubble and reduce by ½. Add the bouillon and 200ml of water. Bring to a low boil and cook for 5 mins. Season. Transfer the mixture to a small baking dish. Top with the sweet potato, forking it over the top. Bake for 20 mins, until the top is starting to brown a little. Fill the medium saucepan with water again and put it on to boil. Gently toast the mixed seeds in a dry frying pan for 1-2 mins. Transfer to a plate. Sprinkle the pie with the mixed seeds. If you have any fresh herbs to use up from the festive season, feel free to chop, or pick and scatter, them over the pie. Serve with seasonal greens of choice.
  • There's not that much growing in the @riverfordfieldkitchen polytunnel at this time of year, other than our winter salads. Thankfully, our store of winter squash are serving the team well and have been gracing the menus since October. Depending on the variety, you can store winter squash right through the winter. And unlike other veg whose flavour degrades if they are left to get too large, the flavour of most squash varieties only intensifies the larger they get. Like this giant Musquee de Provence that we harvested last October. It'll be served up in giant roasted slices to some lucky guests in the weeks ahead. Scroll to see another whopper - this one is a Victor Winter Squash. It may not have the smooth exteriour of the Musquee de Provence, but this gnarly squash will be just as tasty. Now to dig out a knife big enough to get in to the magnificent beasts! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
  • RECIPE - Curly Kale & Shiitake Dal A lentil dal is a healthy and sustaining dish for the new year. You can ring the changes with whatever veg you have. Here, we’re using seasonal curly kale and delicate shiitake. We’re frying off a few seeds to top the lot; known as a tarka, it adds a little extra flavour bomb, along with mint and chilli. You'll need (serves 2): 100g red lentils 1 leek 2 garlic cloves 1 chilli 1 tbsp curry powder 1 shiitake dal spice mix (1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander, ½ tsp ground ginger, 1 tbsp dried coriander) 1 tin coconut milk 150g curly kale 150g shiitake mushrooms 10g mint 1 tsp black mustard seeds 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 lime Put the lentils in a bowl of cold water. Set aside. Trim the leek and halve, lengthways, then thinly shred. Wash well. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large saucepan. Start gently frying the leek, stirring often. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Deseed and finely chop the chilli (leave the seeds in for more heat). Into the leek, stir the garlic, curry powder, shiitake dal spice mix and a pinch of chilli. Add the coconut milk. Fill the coconut tin half full of water; add that. Heat to a low boil. Drain and rinse the lentils in a sieve. Add them to the saucepan. Simmer for 15 mins, until the lentils are softened. Meanwhile, thinly shred the kale leaves. Halve any larger shiitake mushrooms; keep smaller ones whole. Shred the mint. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large frying pan. Fry the mustard seeds and cumin seeds for 30 secs - 1 min, until the seeds start to pop. Transfer them and the oil to a mug. After 15 mins, stir the kale into the lentils. Cook for 4-5 mins, until the lentils have broken down (a little mushy is good here!), and the kale has wilted. Once the kale goes in the saucepan, heat 1 tbsp of oil in the frying pan. Fry the shiitake mushrooms, with a little salt and pepper, for 3-4 mins, until softened. Transfer to a plate. Season the lentil dal and add lime juice, to taste. Top with the mushrooms, toasted seeds and their oil, mint and a little extra chilli (optional). Serve with pitta, naan or rice.
  • Guy's news: Grim in the fields, grimmer in the woods With just a few light frosts, & the squirrels still active, it's been an absurdly mild winter so far in Devon – but a horribly wet one. Thankfully, a dry start at our farm in France allowed us to plant the first lettuces. The plants are immediately covered with mini tunnels to keep out the worst weather & advance the crop. It's no warmer than Devon, & the lettuces won’t grow much for another month, but the better keeps them ticking over, providing enough energy for them to root & be ready to go when temperatures rise in Feb. At home the deluge continues, though the long-range forecast is more promising. We've banned wheels from our wetter fields to avoid irreparable soil damage; leeks, kale & cabbage carried back to the packhouse on tracked vehicles. Some 40 acres of potatoes are still trapped in the heavier, wet, low-lying land. In such a mild winter, they will keep well undisturbed – but as weeds grow over the soil it'll be hard to lift & sift the potatoes. We've been cutting brambles & nettles in the woods in preparation for the emergence of the first wild garlic next month. During high summer, the leaf canopy overhead makes it too shady for most plants to survive on the forest floor, giving the garlic a 10 week window to grow & reproduce without competition. Sadly, the canopy above is thinning as ash – the predominant species – succumbs to the fungal disease ash dieback. It’s a depressing spectacle to see more weakened trees toppling with every gale. So far, the older trees standing alone in hedgerows seem to be faring better, but I fear crowded woodland stands will be gone within 6 years; it's predicted that the UK will lose 95% of our ash. For several years, we've been planting beech trees wherever the canopy is open enough. They seem to be doing well but, given the experience with Dutch elm disease & now ash dieback, this year we will plant a mix of beech, sweet chestnut & oak to hedge our bets. From a commercial point of view, I worry that as the ecology changes, we may lose the garlic along with the ash. The only positive is that I will have enough firewood to see me to my grave.

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