Part-time Vegetarian

Tortilla with spring greens and pimiento

Tortilla (Spanish omelette) makes the perfect versatile family food. Made with fresh eggs and seasonal vegetables, an everyday dish becomes a true luxury. I often make a large one for Saturday lunch then any leftovers can be served cubed as tapas, sliced into wedges for a picnic or kept in the fridge as a snack for grazing teenagers.

Serves 3-4 for a supper or lunch
Preparation time: 10 minutes. Cooking time: 25 minutes

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 large red onion, sliced
• 350g (12oz) spring greens, sprout tops or cavolo nero cabbage, washed, tough core removed and sliced
• 1 pimiento from a jar, sliced
• 8 eggs
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat half the oil in a large frying pan and layer up the sliced potatoes, onion and plenty of seasoning. Cook over a medium heat for 10-15 minutes, turning potato slices to allow them all to cook through. Once potatoes are tender, turn up the heat and cook until golden.

Meanwhile, blanch greens in a pan of boiling water for a minute until just wilted. Drain well and pat dry on kitchen paper. Add to potatoes with pimiento and cook for a couple of minutes.

Place eggs in a bowl with seasoning and beat. Add hot vegetables from the pan and mix thoroughly. Leave to stand for 5 minutes.

Heat remaining oil in a 20cm non-stick frying pan until very hot and pour in egg mixture. Stir with a fork, lifting the middle of the tortilla to let the runny egg down into the base. Cook over a medium heat for 4-5 minutes until tortilla is set and base is golden.

Place a large plate over the pan and very carefully invert the frying pan to tip the tortilla out onto the plate, cooked side upwards. Carefully slide the tortilla back into the pan to cook the other side. To get the traditional cake shape, slide the omelette back into the pan a couple more times until the whole thing is golden brown and cooked through. Turn onto a plate and serve warm or at room temperature.

Local food tip: Spring greens and cabbages are at their best now at the start of the year. Buy them at local farm shops and farmer’s markets and use in soups, hashes and steamed with plenty of ground black pepper to benefit from their high vitamin levels.

Spiced chickpeas with spinach

I have started growing spinach in my new raised vegetable beds and it makes the perfect quick supper dish, used here with canned chickpeas. I serve this curry with pilau rice, warmed naan bread and a yogurt raita.

Serves 4
Preparation time: 5 minutes. Cooking time: 25 minutes

• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tsp grated fresh root ginger
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• ¼ tsp dried chilli flakes
• 200g can chopped tomatoes
• 400g can chickpeas in water
• salt
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 250g (9oz) fresh spinach, washed and leaves shredded

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onion, garlic and ginger and fry gently for 5 minutes until soft and lightly browned. Stir in the coriander, cumin, turmeric and chilli and cook for a further minute then stir in the tomatoes and their juices and bring to a gentle boil. Simmer, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes to give a thick sauce.

Add the chickpeas and their liquid, salt and garam masala and bring back to simmering point. Cover and cook gently for 10 minutes. (You can prepare the dish to this stage and leave to cool then finish just before you need it.)

Stir in the spinach then turn up the heat and cook for 5 minutes until the spinach is tender and the liquid has almost evaporated. Check the seasoning and serve with warmed naan bread or rice.

Local food tip: I’ve started using The Merchant Farmer’s Pure Gold Extra Virgin Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil for frying and making curries. It has ten times more Omega 3 than olive oil, has half the saturated fat and is high in monounsaturated fats, and also a good source of Vitamin E. Because it has a high burning point it is wonderful to cook with – try it for roasting local seasonal parsnips and other root veg. Look out for it in delis, vineyards and farm shops across Kent, Sussex and Surrey.

Baked mushrooms with goat’s cheese and pesto

A quick lunch or light supper, making the best of some wonderful local ingredients, so just the thing to make for lunch after a trip to my favourite farmer’s market at Penshurst. Serve with a winter salad of leaves and crusty bread to wipe up any juices.

Per person
Preparation time: 5 minutes. Cooking time: 12-15 minutes

• 2 large flat mushrooms
• 1 tsp pesto
• 75g (3oz) goat's cheese
• 1 tsp sunflower seeds
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• a couple of fresh thyme leaves
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200C Gas Mark 6. Remove stalks from mushrooms. Spread pesto over inside of mushrooms and place on a small baking sheet. Slice goat’s cheese and arrange over mushrooms and scatter over sunflower seeds.

Drizzle with olive oil and scatter with thyme leaves. Season and bake for 12-15 minutes until cheese is melted and golden.

Local food tip: Ouse Valley Foods pestos come in several flavours and although I usually have a pot of classic basil pesto in my fridge, so use it for this dish, I also love the Spinach and Sorrel, and Parsley, Watercress and Rocket. Tel 01273 891893 www.ousevalleyfoods.com

For this recipe, I’ve used Nut Knowle Farm’s Wealdway Red & Green Crushed Peppers cheese which works really well with the mushroom and pesto. It’s made with vegetarian rennet. You can use any rinded goat’s cheese here successfully or a Camembert style cow’s milk cheese. www.nutknowlefarm.com

Mary Gwynn is a highly respected editorial consultant and food writer, who works with companies such as Waitrose and the BBC. Formerly Editor in Chief of The M&S Magazine she has also worked for Good Housekeeping, Woman and Home and BBC Good Food and Vegetarian Good Food magazines as a food writer and editor, and has written several cookery books. Now based in Kent, she is currently working with Stack House Cookery School near Sevenoaks as a teacher, and running bespoke cookery courses for students from her own kitchen.