Plenty: Chard and saffron omelette

All the very in green superfoods seem to be finding their way into Finnish supermarkets. The other week I got my hands on some kale, and now I've stumbled across chard. Which doesn't come cheap, I might add. Still, Plenty has several recipes with chard on the list of ingredients, so I took a stab at one of them, the chard and saffron omelette. It was wonderful. I'm going to be putting in the extra cash for another stash of chard and making this again soon, what with the lovely summer potatoes available as well. 

 

Plenty: Potato tatin

I had a busy start to the month but that hasn't deterred me from trying more new recipes (though I have fallen behind on my blog updates). It feels like I've gone through the whole book, but I'm still ploughing through Plenty. New potatoes are finally in season, so a couple of weeks ago I grasped the opportunity to try this Potato Tatin. I don't need to explain how gorgeous new potatoes are, especially in the early summer. In this recipe they are caramelized with oven-roasted tomatoes, slow-cooked onions, thyme, and goat's cheese. It's really easy to make and tastes divine. Yesterday I bought a big bag of potatoes to make it again this weekend. The perfect summer meal!

 

Plenty: Baby poached vegetables with caper mayonnaise

This didn't sound so exciting on the page but delivered just as beautifully as the other Plenty recipes. Baby vegetables with caper mayonnaise however was delightful surprise, thanks yet again to my neighbours, who provided me with the season's last batch of baby vegetables from their country plot - carrots, potatoes and turnips. I also bought some baby corn and baby asparagus and fennel to poach.

The poaching liquid is sublime: mostly white wine, with generous portions of lemon juice and olive oil, plus bay leaves, celery, onion and salt thrown in. My attempt at the caper mayonnaise failed; perhaps I didn't mix long enough since the mayonnaise failed to go thick (as you can see from the picture: sadly runny). Still, it tasted wonderful, made with white wine vinegar, garlic, lemon juice and zest, dijon mustard, egg yolk, salt and chopped capers.

I'l definitely be making this again. The vegetables were poached so that they were cooked but still crunchy, and the poaching liquid more than did justice to all the flavours of the little guys. Heaven. For a vegan version, leave out the mayo - the veggies are still good :)

Plenty project: Royal potato salad

Plenty project, recipe #2. While new potatoes are still in season, it is imperative to try Ottolenghi's Royal Potato Salad. First, you make the pesto base (garlic, basil, parsley, pine nuts, parmesan and olive oil), then add freshly boiled new potatoes and peas, mint, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper, and you're done! So easy and so delicious. Ottolenghi also folds in some boiled quail's eggs, but those can be left out too if you ask me. I served a fist-sized portion of this on top of a large bed of lettuce, and it was a very filling meal. A great summer food, ideal for picnics or the like. The leftovers also made a perfect lunch the next day.