There is a large leafy thing in my vegetable box. I’m not quite sure what it is and so I check the website. According to the suppliers, these are spring greens. I had honestly never noticed that we get spring greens in September. I sent a quick e-mail to Abel and Cole, just to make sure, and this is their response……

“Spring greens are apparently so named because their ability to withstand cold winters is valued for an early Spring supply of edible leaves in what is commonly known as the “hungry gap” – the period when winter’s crops have all been harvested but the next season’s crops are not yet ready.”

So there you go, what a marvellous Brassica they are, keeping us going through our ‘hungry gap’ and what a fab company Abel and Cole are, so friendly and efficient. And while I’m on a gush, this is a wonderful recipe, even if I do say so myself.

Chorizo and spring greens broth with sherry (Serves 4)

1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 chorizo sausages
1 head spring greens, finely shredded
2 medium potatoes, diced
A generous splash of dry sherry
700 ml chicken stock
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

- Heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic for 30 seconds, before adding the sherry.
- Cook every thing for another couple of minutes until soft.
- Add the potatoes and chorizo for a few minutes until golden.
- Add the stock, season and cook for around 10 minutes until the potatoes are really soft.
- Mash the potatoes into the soup a bit if you like (I did), bring back to the boil, add the greens and simmer for around 5 minutes until tender.
- Serve with crusty brown bread.

N.B. I made this soup again the next day using chard in place of the spring greens and it was even better.

Fast food is really coming along isn’t it? No, I don’t mean McDonalds and the like – as I’m sure you realise! I mean, when you go to this type of event, street entertainment, food and craft stalls, fireworks etc, the quality of the fare has really improved. We ate Burritos first – beef chilli with chorizo, guacamole, rice, black beans, tomato salsa, sour cream, cheese, salad and smoked chilli paste (phew!) and they were actually really good, everything was home made and tasty.

Later, we browsed the various food stalls and found huge stacks of salted fish and some very impressive meringues.

I was pleased to see a stall championing quinoa, which they had spelled keenwah, I assume to help people out a little with the pronunciation.

We rounded off our visit with a salt beef sandwich; a crusty white roll, packed full of tender salt beef and garnished with pickles and mustard. I think that most of the stall holders were Borough Market traders but I can’t be sure as I didn’t get a chance to ask. I’m keeping my eyes peeled for that salt beef stall on my next visit though.

Every so often I decide that my stack of food magazines is getting out of control and I sit down (snacks on hand) to flick through them, tearing out any interesting recipes as I go. The scraps are then pasted into a sketchbook for future reference. As a general rule, I will only tear out something that strikes me as innovative or inspirational in some way, but this recipe, although nothing new, just grabbed me as a perfect starter for Wednesday night’s 3-course dinner.

I am always a bit reluctant to eat crab any other way than with thin brown toast and a little good mayonnaise and salad but I gave these cakes a whirl as the recipe is so simple that the flavour of the crab seemed sure to sing through – and it did, as did the texture. So here is the recipe, along with the remoulade, which is adapted from Olive magazine.

Crab cakes with Fennel Remoulade

250g cooked white crabmeat
1.5 tablespoons good mayonnaise
1.5 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped finely
1 egg, beaten
3 spring onions, chopped finely
Fresh breadcrumbs
A good knob of butter

For the remoulade

One bulb of fennel, finely sliced
1 small onion or 2 shallots, finely sliced
A small handful chopped flat-leaf parsley
4 tablespoons good mayonnaise
1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
1 dessert spoon caper berries, chopped
1 tablespoon cornichons, chopped
Juice of 1/2 large lemon

- Mix together the crab meat, mayonnaise, spring onion and parsley.

- Form into 6 cakes and dip into the egg followed by the crumbs. Allow to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up.

- Mix all the remoulade ingredients together and set aside.

- Fry the crab cakes in butter for around 2 minutes each side until golden brown.

As I write this I am eating a houmous and cornichon sandwich. This is not because it is a favourite combination, or even one that I’ve tried before, they were just the first things I could lay my hands on when I raided the fridge after returning from work. I slapped a dollop of houmous and a handful of tangy cornichons onto some really seedy wholemeal, folded it and voila! I must say, it’s really rather good.

Anyway, I am here to talk about the herbed potato salad and chops that I made last night as part of our dinner. The meal was a 3 course one, something I had promised Chris the day before as a treat for actually making it back to work after our holiday and to give him something to look forward to after a long day at the office (but don’t you always look forward to my cooking darling?). We started with crab cakes served with a fennel remoulade (recipe tomorrow, not very English!), followed by pork chops with caramelised apples and cider sauce, wilted greens (with a touch of nutmeg, it really brings out the flavour) and potatoes in a vinaigrette and herbs. We finished the meal with a chocolate and cardamom mousse.

I like to make potato salads in this way, using a vinaigrette or similar dressing as I find it lighter and fresher than those creamier versions reminiscent of a supermarket ‘lunch box’ or a pizza hut salad counter. The dressing also provides a pleasing sharpness which cuts through the richness of the cider and crème fraiche sauce on the chops. You could use just about any soft herbs for this, I used flat-leaf parsley, chives and the fronds from the spanking fresh bulb of fennel I picked up from the fish monger. The salad would work best with new potatoes, but any firm spud will do.

The flavours of a waning summer are here; fruity cider, apples in season, crisp, sweet crackling with a creamy mustard sauce – how very British!

Potatoes with vinaigrette and herbs

900g potatoes, in bite size chunks
1 bunch spring onions, chopped
A good handful parsley, chopped
A good handful chives, snipped
Fennel fronds (optional)

Extra virgin olive oil, 5 tablespoons
Mustard powder, 1 heaped teaspoon
2 fat cloves garlic
1 heaped teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper

- Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water.

- Meanwhile, chop the herbs and onions and set aside in a serving bowl.

- To make the dressing, crush the garlic in a pestle and mortar with the salt until creamy.

- Add the mustard powder and work this in before adding the vinegars, a good grind of black pepper and finally the oil. When you have added the oil ( you may decide it needs more or less depending on taste), switch to one of those mini whisks if you have one as they really emulsify the dressing well.

- Drain the potatoes, allow to cool for a few minutes and mix everything together while they are still warm.

Pork Chops with Cider and Caramelised Apples

2 pork chops, fat snipped at the edges to increase chances of crispiness
3 small, good flavoured eating apples, cored and cut into wedges
2 tablespoons creme fraiche
1 medium onion, sliced
1 dessert spoon wholegrain mustard
200ml good cider
Butter, a generous knob

-Heat the butter with a touch of oil in a non stick frying pan or skillet.

- Cook the apples and onions over a fairly high heat until caramelised, set aside.

- Add the chops to the pan and cook for 2 minutes each side. If your fat isn’t crispy at the edges, it helps to hold the chops on their side to really help that rendering along.

- Add the cider and allow to bubble, along with the apples and onions and the mustard. Allow to reduce and thicken to a scrummy sauce (around 2 minutes).

- Remove the chops and allow to rest on a warm plate. Add the creme fraiche to the pan and stir everything together before allow it to ooze over those delicious chops.

I have a week off work! This is very exciting for me as I haven’t had any time off for a year now (excluding time off to revise for exams – hardly a holiday!). So yesterday two girlfriends and I took ourselves down to Green and Blue Wines in East Dulwich for a lunch date. Myself and friend Louise have been wanting to visit for ages and we weren’t disappointed. There is something about food on wooden boards isn’t there? I love it, so rustic and not yet unfashionably gastropubby. It reminded us of a favourite restaurant in Oxford (where we both used to live) called the fishes; although the boards at the fishes are much more impressive, but also a little more expensive to match. This place was perfect for lunch though, 6 pounds bought us each one of these platters; I opted for the fish, Louise for the meat (minus bread, she is gluten intolerant) and Sarah for the cheese. Mine is pictured above and came with lovely fresh gravadlax, smoked mackerel and a heap of salad including fennel and caper berries, accompanied by breads including, rye, wholemeal, a sweet bread with raisins and a small pot of olive oil nestled on the side for dipping. It was delicious.

I think the meat platter included Serrano ham and the like while the cheese board featured a blue, a goat’s cheese and a fig chutney but I can’t really remember – too busy concentrating on mine.

I also had a very delicious glass of sparkling red before my meal. Again, the name escapes me but I am returning next week with Chris so I will jot it down and get back to you. Before I go I must also give credit to Louise for introducing me to the delights of tea with Amaretto liqueur. Yum, yum, yum! I picked up a bottle on the way home and I have been tottering around merrily ever since; well I am on holiday you know!