I am personally very excited to know that this Christmas I will be cooking with seasonal, chemical-free vegetables that have been locally grown, whilst supporting our community. It’s a win-win.

For many of us, we have staple dishes that we cook, especially around the festive seasons. Dishes that we perhaps only eat at certain days of the year.

But where do these dishes come from? Whether it’s secret family recipes that have been in your family for generations or new creations, do their ingredients reflect the area in which you now live?

Not for me. I’m originally from Sweden and around this time of the year we tend to try to keep warm by drinking mulled wine, eating pickled herring and drinking schnapps. All things that I find delicious, but not necessarily things I want on a 30 degree day.  So I have really enjoyed getting to know our region this year and thanks to Green Connect I have learned to cook seasonally.

As we all are getting busy planning for our holiday celebrations, let me help you with some tips of what you can use our products for over the next couple of weeks.

In our last box for 2018, we will see the following produce

Cal from the farm has been reporting on a great year for our zucchinis and what a great vegetable it is, it can pretty much be added into any pasta, stew, salad and makes a great addition to a summer quiche.

Here is a recipe of my own, which will make a perfect addition for the summer table. It’s great on its own or as a side at the Christmas table or BBQ.

Cherry tomato, zucchini, kale and olive quiche

Shortcrust pastry:
125g butter (fridge cold, cut into cubes)
160g plain flour
3tbsp cold water.

Filling:
1 large Zucchini or squash
250g Cherry tomatoes
2 cups of chopped kale
1 cup of olives
4-5 Eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup fresh basil

Method:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees Celcius
  2. Make a shortcrust pastry: Add flour and butter to a food processor and mix until it becomes a crumbly mess, then add a little bit of water at a time. Once its all combined roll out into a pie dish and let sit in the fridge for 1h to rest.
  3. In the meantime slice your zucchini and season with salt and pepper and leave in a colander as the zucchini will most probably sweat and get rid of some moisture which will help your quiche not to become to wet. (You can substitute with Squash here as well.)
  4. Wash, pick and roughly chop your kale, add a teaspoon of olive oil and massage into the kale.
  5. Once your pie dough is rested and your oven is up to temperature, take it out of the fridge and use a fork to nag the dough, this will stop it from rising in the oven.
    I like to pre-cook my crust before I add the filling. So pop it in the oven for 10min.
  6. Mix together 4-5 eggs with 1 cup of milk and season with salt, pepper and stir in some chopped fresh basil.
  7. Take your pie crust out of the oven and scatter your zucchini, cherry tomatoes (whole or half, your preference) kale and olives and top up with your egg mix.
    If you want you can add some cheese here, perhaps some grated cheddar or crumbled feta.
  8. Turn your oven down to 180 degrees and place your quiche back in the oven for another 40 min. If your quiche starts to catch a bit too much colour but still is a bit wobbly, just cover with foil or turn your temperature down and place it in the bottom of your oven.
  9. The quiche is ready once the egg is cooked. You can easily check this by sticking a skewer or fork in it to make sure it’s not still runny.