Carrot pie with apple and goat cheese

This unusual recipe from Dutch cookery writer Yvette van Boven's lovely Home Made Summer is a great way to kick off National Vegetarian Week.

It's well worth getting the book for the other recipes too - including an imaginative range of drinks.

Carrot pie with apple and goat cheese

for 6 to 8 servings

8 carrots, peeled

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

1 fresh, tart apple, peeled, cored, and sliced as thinly as possible

4 oz (100 g) soft goat cheese

½ cup (100 g) crème fraîche

½ cup plus 2 tbsp (150 ml) carrot juice

3 large eggs

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Boil the carrots in salted water for 8 minutes, until just tender. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Halve them lengthwise and set them aside.

Grease a 9-inch (24-cm) tart pan with a removable bottom with a little butter.

On a well-floured counter, roll out the puff pastry into a nice round slab the size of the pie plate. Press the dough firmly into the plate and trim the edges neatly. With a fork, stab some holes in the bottom, then cover the dough and place the pie plate in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Arrange the onion and apple over the bottom of the pastry in the pie plate and place the halved carrots on top in a spoke pattern. Crumble the goat cheese over the pie, somewhat in between the carrots.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the crème fraîche, carrot juice, and eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the mixture over the carrots and sprinkle everything generously with pepper.

Bake the pie on the lower rack of the oven for about 35 minutes, until golden brown.

What to drink: Almost any crisp fresh white or rosé would work with this. I'd probably go for a smooth Italian white like a Soave, an unoaked Chardonnay or Chenin Blanc or a Provencal rosé. Verdelho would be nice too. Or cider . . . yes, cider would be lovely.

Buckwheat galettes with spinach béchamel

Although you can find any kind of recipe online these days nothing beats a beautiful cookbook and the new Fern Verrow book by Herefordshire farmers Jane Scotter and Harry Astley is one you're definitely going to want to own.

This recipe comes from the spring section and it's good to be reminded what a delicious meal pancakes can make.

Scotter and Astley write: The nutty taste of buckwheat flour is key for these traditional French savoury pancakes. There are many different fillings, but we particularly like this one.

Serves 4

125g buckwheat flour

50g plain flour

a pinch of sea salt

1 egg

175ml milk

175ml water

25g butter, melted

For the spinach béchamel

500g spinach, tough stalks

removed

500ml milk

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 bay leaf

a little grated nutmeg

40g butter

40g plain flour

150ml double cream

100g Comté or Gruyère cheese,

grated

sea salt and black pepper

Put the buckwheat flour, plain flour and salt into a mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Break the egg into the well and whisk while you slowly add the milk and water. Keep whisking out any lumps as you gradually draw all the flour into the liquid. When the batter is smooth, stir in the melted butter. If you can, allow the batter to sit in the fridge for half an hour before you cook the galettes.

Meanwhile, prepare the spinach béchamel. Bring some salted water to the boil in the largest pan you have. When it is boiling rapidly, immerse the spinach in it for 30 seconds, using a pair of tongs to dunk the leaves so that they all soften. Drain the spinach through a colander and run some cold water over it until it is cool enough to handle. Squeeze out as much of the moisture as you can, then chop it up and set aside.

Put the milk, onion, bay leaf and nutmeg into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 20 minutes or so. Then, in another saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the flour to make a roux. Cook the roux over a gentle heat for a minute or two, stirring with a wooden spoon, until it starts to brown and smell nutty, then gradually strain the infused milk into it, whisking until the sauce thickens. Simmer for a few minutes, then add the cream and simmer for a minute or two longer.

Remove from the heat and stir in half the grated cheese plus the chopped spinach. Season to taste and set aside.

Next cook the galettes. Heat a 20cm frying pan or pancake pan over a medium heat and use a wad of paper towel to rub a little butter around it. Ladle in about 2 tablespoons of the batter, quickly lifting and tilting the pan to spread the batter evenly. Once the underside of the galette is brown, flip it over and cook for a minute or so longer, then transfer to a plate. Repeat the process, adjusting the heat and the cooking time until you find a good rhythm.

You can pile the galettes on top of each other as they’re done; they will not stick. You should have 8–10 galettes altogether.

Heat the oven to 190°C/Gas Mark 5 and lightly butter a baking tray. Place a heaped tablespoon of the spinach béchamel in the centre of each galette and spread it out a little. Fold the galette in half and then in half again, so you end up with a triangle. Arrange the parcels snugly on the baking tray, add any remaining filling and sprinkle the remaining grated cheese on top. Bake for 10–15 minutes, until thoroughly heated through. Serve with a green salad.

What to drink: I prefer white wines to red with spinach and would probably go for a Chablis or a dry Italian white such as a Gavi

From Fern Verrow: a year of recipes from a farm and its kitchen by Jane Scotter and Harry Astley. Photography by Tess Traeger. Published by Quadrille at £25. You can buy their produce from the Spa Terminus in Bermondsey every Saturday. For more information visit fernverrow.com

Twice-baked goats' cheese soufflés

A classic starter from the ‘70’s but one that our customers seem to enjoy every bit as much today. This version originally came from a book called Take Twelve Cooks and was one of Pru Leith’s recipes. However Stephen Bull attributes it to Peter Kromberg of Le Soufflé at the Intercontinental who was also featured in the book . . .

Anyway the beauty of them is that they can be made a couple of days ahead or frozen (see below) which makes them ideal for dinner parties. (This also explains the slightly larger than usual quantity. It is a recipe that’s tricky to scale down so you might as well make a few extra while you’re at it, borrowing some extra ramekins or dariole moulds from a friend or neighbour if you don’t have enough!)

Serves 8-10

Ingredients
6 medium eggs
55g (2oz) strong Cheddar
55g (2oz) Gruyère
110g (4oz) goats' cheese (from a goats’ cheese log)
425ml (3/4 pint) whole milk
a slice of onion
a bayleaf
85g (3oz) butter
85g (3oz) plain flour
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and nutmeg

You will also need 8-10 individual ramekins, dariole moulds or ovenproof coffee cups, lightly buttered.

Method
I prefer to do the preparation and weighing of the ingredients first, then the job can be done as a continuous process without having to stop and start all the time. Separate the eggs - the whites into a bowl for beating later and the yolks for adding to the soufflé mix. Grate your Cheddar and Gruyère and cut the goats cheese into cubes. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5.

Next heat the milk up with a slice of onion and a bay leaf. In another pan melt the butter and add the flour to make a roux (thick flour and butter paste) then gradually beat in the hot milk, returning the pan to the heat after each addition until the mixture is thick.

When all the milk has been added let the mixture cook over a low heat for a few minutes then beat in the Cheddar and Gruyère. Now take the pan off the heat and season with the mustard, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg. The mixture needs to be quite highly seasoned because you are going to add a large amount of egg white.

Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, then mix in the goats cheese. Beat the egg whites until stiff then fold them lightly but thoroughly into the soufflé base using a large metal spoon.

Fill the buttered ramekin dishes or moulds with the mixture to just below the rim of each dish then stand them in a roasting tin lined with a tea towel. Pour hot water into the tray just under half-way up and cook in the pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes or until well-risen and set.

Allow the soufflés to cool a little before turning them out. (They will sink slightly but don’t worry!) You can keep them wrapped with cling film for a couple of days in the fridge and even freeze them. (You will need to defrost and unwrap them before heating them.)

To serve reheat them in a hot oven at 200°C/400°F/Gas 6 for up to 15 mins until well risen.

If I’m serving them with a salad I put them on baking parchment on a baking sheet otherwise I put each one into an individual serving dish with a little double cream poured over and a sprinkling of grated Cheddar or Gruyère cheese.

* For the salad I use some roasted beetroot, walnuts, mixed leaves and a spoonful or two of salad dressing.

What to drink: Although the recipe title refers to goats' cheese it's also got Cheddar and Gruyère in it so I'd be inclined to serve a Chablis or other unoaked or lightly oaked Chardonnay rather than a Sauvignon Blanc. A blanc de blancs Champagne or sparkling Chardonnay would also be delicious. FB