Organic September: Three Abel & Cole recipes

Known for delivering fresh organic produce to doorsteps up and down the land, Abel & Cole has two fine veggie meal ideas – with a pheasant option – and a fab dessert

Swede and coconut dal

This Anglicised dal is cosier than a pair of woolly slippers and, of course, tastes miles better. It makes a wonderful bed for whole roasted pheasant – or keep it veggie and serve with rice, fried onions and naan.

Ingredients

4 servings

A gloss of olive or coconut oil
210g finely diced swede, carrot or squash
2 bay leaves
1 whole red chilli
1 cinnamon stick
280g red lentils or yellow split peas, rinsed
1 onion, finely diced, or 6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
350ml coconut milk
1 litre water
1 lime or lemon, zest and juice
A handful of desiccated coconut and/or almonds, toasted
A large handful of fresh coriander
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Gloss a large hot pan with a little oil. Add your diced swede, carrot or squash. Season. Sizzle till just softened and starting to colour a bit.

Add the bay leaves, chilli and cinnamon stick. Swirl in the lentils, onion or garlic, ginger, cumin and coriander. Pour in the coconut milk and water. Pop a lid on. Simmer for 45 minutes or till all the liquid is absorbed into the lentils. Give it a good stir every 10 minutes or so. Trickle in a little more water as and when needed.

Taste. Whip in more spices if you like. Season with salt and pepper. Finish with a hit of lime or lemon zest and a squeeze of juice, toasted coconut and/or almonds, and fresh coriander.

For pheasant to perch on top

For four people, you will need one or two pheasants, depending on size. Preheat your oven to 200C. Unwrap your birds to let them warm up to room temperature. Season the pheasants all over. Add a nugget of butter and a splash of olive oil to a large frying pan over a medium-to-high heat. Brown the pheasants all over. Pop them in the oven. The pheasants will need about 30 minutes, depending on size. If you’ve got quite a plump bird that looks more like a small chicken, add another 5-10 mins. It will be done when you can pull the leg away from the breast with ease and there is no sign of pinky/red flesh when you do.

Not quite vegan-friendly but certainly a delish vegetarian dish (Abel & Cole) (Able & Cole)

Broccoli walnut rarebit

Well, this is a rare treat. Ditch the toast and bring on the veg. This dish is easy to make and insanely delicious and works as a veggie standalone. The cider-y cheese sauce complements the earthy walnuts, which both go beautifully with the texture and flavour of the broccoli.

Ingredients

4 servings

1 Portion of fruit and veg 
1 broccoli head
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp plain white flour
150ml cider
150g cheddar, grated
2 tsp dijon mustard
A pinch of chilli powder
A handful of chopped walnuts
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat the grill to high. No grill? Preheat your oven to 220C. Get a pot of salted water on to boil. Trim a good bit off the stem of your broccoli. Compost the stalk. Plunge your broccoli into the boiling water. Cook for 3-5 mins, or till just tender but still bright green. Drain and tip into a bowl of ice-cold water.

Put your now empty pan back on the heat. Add the butter. As soon as it’s melted, swirl in the flour. Whisk to a smooth paste. Whisk in the cider, little by little, until you have a sauce consistency. Heap in the cheese. Stir till melted. Fold in the mustard, the chilli powder and some black pepper. Taste. Tweak seasoning as needed.

Put your broccoli head in a baking dish. Spoon the cidery cheese sauce over your broccoli. Scatter with the walnuts. Cook on a high shelf in the oven till the cheese is golden and bubbly, 10-15 mins.

Colour and juice: pomegranate topping (Abel & Cole) (Able & Cole)

Jewelled chocolate torte

A showstopper of a cake, this rich dark chocolate cake has a moreishly squidgy middle. A big scattering of pomegranate seeds adds a splash of colour and juiciness.

Ingredients

6 servings

Sunflower or olive oil, for greasing
200g dark chocolate
150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
150g caster sugar
4 eggs
2 tbsp plain flour
1 level tsp ground cinnamon
35g ground almonds
1 pomegranate
Crème fraîche, to serve

Heat your oven to 180C. Brush the bottom and sides of a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin with oil. Line the base of the tin with baking paper. Break up the chocolate. Put it in a heatproof bowl. Half-fill a pan with boiling water. Pop the bowl in the pan so it sits on top but the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl. Gently heat for 2-3 mins till the chocolate melts.

In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar together with an electric beater or a wooden spoon for 2-3 mins, till pale and fluffy. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl. A little at a time, add the eggs into the butter and beat well. If the mix looks like it’ll curdle, add a spoonful of the flour. Sieve the flour into the mix with the ground cinnamon. Add the melted chocolate and ground almonds. Use a flexible spatula to lift and fold the cake mixture together.

Scrape the cake mixture into the tin. Bake for 25-30 mins till it’s just set with a little wobble in the middle and has formed a crust. Leave the cake to cool in the tin. Pop it in the freezer overnight (this helps make the texture fudge-y). Or, freeze for up to 1 month if you really want to get ahead. Defrost the cake for a few hours before serving. Slather the crème fraîche over the top of the cake. Quarter the pomegranate. Scoop out the seeds. Scatter them over the cake and serve.

How to Eat Brilliantly Every Day by Abel & Cole. Published by Ebury Press, photography by Gary Congress