Spring Soup

Ingredients
2-3 small leeks
1 medium carrot
1 litre vegetable stock
1 lemon
1 handful green garlic

Wash and cut up the leeks, soften in a little butter or oil. Add the diced carrot and stock to the leeks and simmer for 20 mins. Add the zest and juice from the lemon and the shredded green garlic and cook for a few more minutes. Add salt if desired.

Thanks to Nigel Slater for the inspiration for this soup, I hadn't thought of adding lemon to a soup before, very tasty.  You can substitute cabbage or kale for the wild garlic.

Chocolate and Beetroot Brownies

Ingredients

• 250g/10oz good, dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken into pieces
• 250g/10oz unsalted butter, cut into cubes, plus more for greasing
• 250g/10oz caster sugar
• 3 free-range eggs
• 150g self-raising flour (we used wholemeal self-raising)
• 250g beetroot, boiled until tender, peeled and grated
• Teaspoonful of good quality vanilla essence

Method: How to make chocolate and beetroot brownies

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Grease a baking tin of approximately 20 x 30 x 3cm and line the bottom with baking parchment.

2. Break up the chocolate into pieces, cut the butter into cubes then mix them up a bit in a heatproof bowl. As the oven begins to warm up, put the bowl onto one of the shelves for a few minutes until the chocolate and butter starts to melt. Stir, and put back into the oven for a few more minutes to melt completely.

3. Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a bowl until combined, then beat in the melted chocolate and butter until smooth. Gently fold in the flour then the beetroot – be careful not to overmix or it will make the brownies tough.

4. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth over the top with a spatula. Bake for about 40-45 minutes. A knife or skewer pushed into the middle should come out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Don't be tempted to overcook them! Remove the tin from the oven and leave on wire rack to cool before cutting into squares.

Thanks to Vicky Sandifer (for testing and tweaking this Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe), I will definitely be trying this - Sarah

Beetroot Soup / Borscht

Beetroot soup (Borscht) Claimed by some to be the ultimate hangover cure,I just love it.

- Beetroot
- Cabbage (about one cup)
- stock (veg or meat)
- onion
- carrot
- lemon juice

Grate the Beet and the carrot, chop up the cabbage and the onion and put it all in a large saucepan.
Add the stock (or water with a cube)so that all is covered and bring to the boil. Boil until all is tender (about 20 mins). Stick it all in the food processor or blender than back in the pan. Add the lemon juice and fresh ground pepper. Serve with a dollop of yoghurt (or cream if you prefer). Enjoy!

Thanks to Jacqueline Thatcher for this recipe

Recipe - Brussel Sprouts Cheesy Casserole

Brussels Sprouts Cheesy Casserole Recipe 

Quantities for 2

This sounds an unlikely recipe but we were amazed how good it was. This a main course dish.

Quantities need not be exact.

5 oz. Brussels sprouts

1 slightly beaten egg

1 large slice of bread /end crust made into soft bread crumbs

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup

3 oz grated cheddar cheese

1 small chopped onion

1 tbsp. butter, melted

Combine remaining crumbs and butter; sprinkle on top.

Cook Brussels sprouts; drain. Cut sprouts into halves / quarters and set aside.

Combine eggs, half the crumbs, soup, cheese, onion, and dash pepper.

Fold in sprouts.

Transfer to a casserole dish.

Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes

Serve with crusty buttered rolls or bread

Thanks to Dave and Pauline Goddard for this recipe