Our aubergine roll ups are quick and simple cooking with maximum flavour – perfect for a small party or delicious as a starter, this uses simple fresh and some seasonal ingredients. Totally gluten free and vegan we assure you these will go down a treat with anyone. Our recipe for vegan ‘Not Cheese’ is very simple and can be played around with and used in other recipes too. It’s a ricotta type consistency so quite rich and creamy – delish!…
pesto
Basil Pesto
Nothing says Summer like a bowl of basil pesto to mix in with your pasta, spread on toast or just eat! We love a good bit of zingy tang and this recipe gives plenty. Who says pesto needs parmesan?!…
broad bean salad
Summer is really here now and we are starting to enjoy more veg from the garden at the Steading. We have just enough broad beans to make this salad so we thought we would share it with you too! Very simple, just a celebration of fresh healthy green stuff – serve along with our lemony zingy pesto dressing. …
Garden Pesto
Everyone loves pesto made with basil and pine nuts in its traditional form, but as pesto literally means ‘pound’ or ‘ground’, you can just chuck the basil version out of the window – especially at this time of year when it is not in season – and blitz up something else that’s green. We make our pesto from just about anything at any time of the year – spinach, sorrel, rocket, coriander, parsley… whatever! You also don’t need pine nuts or parmesan – you can vary the nuts and leave out the cheese altogether. Serve with pasta, spread on toast, with new potatoes, or as a salad dressing… the options are really endless. Here’s what we did this week – a bunch is a small handful!
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Potato asparagus egg
With asparagus season in full swing we have really been enjoying roasting this veg for a simple but delicious meal. This serves 2 as a lunch so increase the quantities for more people or a more filling meal. It works well as an accompanying side dish, possibly without the egg. 
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Quinoa, avocado & mango salad
A colourful salad recipe that compliments main dishes very well or is equally great on its own as a sustaining lunch. Quinoa (which means mother grain) contains protein and is an excellent source fibre, iron, copper, thiamin and vitamin B6. It does unfortunately only grow in Peru, Bolivia and Chile… roll on Quinoa cultivation in Scotland we say!! …
Provençal Loaf
A delicious savoury, moist loaf from the south of France – the recipe comes from our friend Julien. We would call this a bread, but in France it’s called cake (Cake Salé Provençal) – We think it’s magnificent … Merci Julien !…
Wild Garlic Pesto
We went foraging! While the snowdrops are still out, the wild garlic has poked up its first shoots in search of sunshine. We are lucky to have carpets of this delicious green stuff growing just round the corner in a relatively dog free haven! Pick your own and put it into all kinds of savoury dishes. The flavour may at first appear strong, but is easily tempered with other flavours. Serve with pasta or in a pancake or on a piece of toast!…
Carrot & Cardamon Soup with Carrot Top Lemon Pesto
This is a variation on a recipe that Helen has been making for years. The carrot top pesto, with its citrus sharpness, enlivens the soup and is a worthwhile addition if you grow your own carrots or can get organic carrots with their tops still on. If not, you could substitute parsley. Serve with oatcakes at lunchtime or for a quick dinner during the work. Enjoy!…