Cauli & Sage Risotto with Walnuts using a slow cooker - or not!

This is a dish that can be cooked on the hob, in the oven, or in the slow cooker; here is my slow cooker version, with notes on the other methods at the end. The recipe was inspired by an oven-bake version from Sainsbury's Magazine March 2017.

The resulting quantity would serve 4, and this method needs about 1h 40m from start to serving. The cooker comes on right at the start (I keep it on high setting throughout for this), and the cauliflower and following ingredients can be prepared while the onion etc is cooking.

Cauliflower and Sage Risotto with Walnuts

This is about half the complete recipe

Ingredients
30g butter
1 large onion, peeled and chopped fairly finely
3 good garlic cloves, peeled and crushed or pressed
150g risotto rice
450ml hot vegetarian stock
1 medium cauliflower, florets only, cut to ping-pong-ball size
leaves from 1 large stem of sage, finely snipped (8-10g)
50g walnut pieces, coarsely chopped
60g crumbled vegetarian cheese (I use 40g hard/Cheddar, 20g blue)

Method
1  Start the slow cooker on high, adding half of the butter and leave to melt while
          preparing the onion and garlic.

2  Add the onion, garlic and rice to the cooker, stir well, then leave for 5 mins.

3  Pour in about 400ml of the stock, keeping the rest in case needed later.
          Stir then leave for 45 mins. If the mixture starts to look claggy, stir in
          more stock bit by bit.

4  Meanwhile, prepare the cauliflower, sage, walnuts and cheese. Bring water to
          boil in a large pan then simmer the cauli florets for 5 mins. Drain the
          water from the pan, add the remaining butter and sautee the cauli very
          gently for another 5 mins. (I prefer this to adding it early on to the cooker
          as it gives better control of consistency.)

5  Optional - dry fry the walnut pieces for 3-4 mins. (Put in small dry pan over 
          medium heat and stir often, avoiding burning.)

6  After the 45 mins, add in the cauliflower, sage and walnut pieces, mix well
          and cook for 15 mins.

7  Then stir in the cheese and leave to cook for a further 10 mins.

     *                    *                    *                    *                    *                    *

To bake this in the oven, I'd suggest 160C. 
(a)  Sautee the onion and garlic in a pan.
(b)  Mix in the rice and stir for a minute or two.
(c)  Add the stock.
(d)  Pile into a large oven dish (leaving enough space for the cauliflower.) 
(e)  After about 30 mins add the cauli, sage, walnuts and cheese, mixing well.
(f)  Bake for a further 20 mins.
For more excitement, top with some grated cheddar for the last 10 mins!

For cooking on the hob, use a large pan. Follow (a) to (c) then (e), adding a little extra stock if needed as it cooks. Stir from time to time. Cook for a further 15-20 mins until you like the consistency.

No side dishes are necessary here, although some warm, crusty garlic bread would be great if that's not too much carb. Otherwise a side salad.

Substitutions
Broccoli, broad beans, peas all go well in this risotto. Instead of walnuts: hazelnuts, brazils or pecans would be good; almonds might stay rather too hard. Thyme leaves instead of sage? This recipe should be called 'Anything with Anything Risotto'.

Walnut, Three-Cheese and Apricot Strudel

Pretty pleased with this one: a savoury version of strudel that is easy to make and lovely with it. Though I say so myself!

The quantities given will serve four with large appetites or otherwise six as a hot main, or would make eight to twelve nice slices served cold - it's easier to slice more thinly then. The whole process from start to serving takes me about 70mins, including 35m cooking time. The ingredients can be prepared in advance, making the method itself very quick. The oven needs to be at 190C fan oven (200C otherwise) before the dish goes in. 

A large baking sheet is needed, lined with baking parchment, and a medium bowl.

Walnut, Three-Cheese and Apricot Strudel
Ingredients
1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry, thawed in the fridge for a few hours
90g walnut pieces (or halves), chopped fairly small
70g soft goats' cheese
50g blue cheese, crumbled
40g cheddar, coarsely grated
70g dried apricots (about 10), soaked for an hour, then drained well & coarsely chopped
3 tbsp snipped fresh herbs (basil, thyme leaves, sage, coriander all OK) 
2 tbsp milk

Method
1  Unroll the pastry on its covering paper, then roll out a little to thin it slightly. It will be 
       the right shape (rectangular).

2  Put all the other ingredients except milk into a bowl and mix them very well.

3  Spread the mixture evenly over the pastry, leaving a 2cm space at each short end 
       and the farther long side. Dampen all these edge spaces with water.

4  Starting with a short end, roll the pastry up quite firmly, pressing down at the end, then
       place the strudel on the lined baking tray and brush with milk. Use a sharp knife to
       make slashes straight across the top: for 4 people, slash the middle, then three
       evenly-spaced slashes each side of the middle (for 8 slices) or for 6 people, up to 
       5 slashes each side of the middle (for 12 slices). Brush lightly with the milk.

Half-size version, oven-ready, with Sunday cocktail

 5  Bake towards the top of the oven for around 35 minutes, until well browned. Use a
       very sharp knife to slice the strudel.

And ... carve!

Alternatives
As usual, substitutions are fine. A different nut, or selection of them, will work just as well; pecans or brazils especially, and could include a few pine nuts. Instead of apricots, dried cranberries would work, no chopping required, and a festive feel. I've not tried this with capers, but that might be nice. As long as there's a mix of nuts, cheese and a little fruit, it would be hard to go wrong.

Serving
For info, I like to serve with buttered baby potatoes and a vegetable such as broccoli, cauli or tenderstem in a parsley sauce (lazily made from granules in a drum, just add boiling water or, better still, the boiling water from the veg when they're done). Red or dry white wine both go well; as it's nuts and cheese, quite strong flavours, I'd choose red. A dry cider would match, too, or apple juice.

Candied Walnuts - you can't eat just one ...

Here's one of my favourite sweet nibbles, just right if you've finished the Quality Street, After Eights, liqueur chocolates and so on.

Ready in 20 minutes plus a little cooling time. Pecan nuts would work well too, and maybe macadamia, but probably not harder nuts like brazils or almonds.

Candied Walnuts
Ingredients
20g butter
20g caster sugar
200g walnut halves
pinch of salt

Method

1  Heat the butter and sugar gently in a medium pan, stirring at times, until the

       butter melts and sugar dissolves.

2  Add the nuts and salt and allow to bubble very gently for 12-15 mins, stirring

       often, until the nuts are well coated and starting to caramelise.

3  Tip onto baking parchment, separate the nuts, and leave to cool.

4  Store in a tin. 

Nice Savoury Tart for the Family - Leek, Mushroom & Walnut

Usually my recipes serve 2 or 4, but since I made this tart for 6 of us, here are the recipe and the quantities used. It's at its finest straight out of the oven - and is most easily divided by cutting with scissors! Can be eaten at room temperature, or - if there is any left - reheated in a moderate oven for about ten minutes.

Ready-rolled pastry is a little more expensive than block, but saves so much time. Here I used a single sheet of Sainsbury's puff pastry; it weighs 375g, which is a little more than most other brands, and just right for six.

Leek, Mushroom and Walnut Tart
Ingredients

READY

375g sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry
3 tbsp decent oil
4 fat leeks, trimmed & sliced to about 15mm
200g mushrooms, trimmed & thinly sliced
50g walnut pieces, chopped coarsely
2 eggs
150ml creme fraiche or double cream
90g blue cheese - preferably vegetarian Stilton
2 tbsp snipped sage leaves (or other herb)

Method 
1  Line a large rectangular baking sheet with parchment. Unroll the pastry and place 
    on the sheet, then use fingers to pinch up the sides all round to about 15mm.

STEADY

2  Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large pan and saute 
    the leeks for about 10 mins; stir occasionally.
    Move them from the pan into a large bowl.

3  Add the rest of the oil to the pan and saute the
    mushrooms and walnuts for 3-4 mins. Add to 
    the leeks.

4  Beat the eggs lightly in a bowl with the creme 
    fraiche or cream, then crumble in the cheese, 
    add the sage and mix well.

5  Spread the leeks and mushrooms evenly across the pastry, then pour the egg/creme
    mixture over them and smooth out.

6  Bake for 30-35 mins until the filling is set and the pastry browning nicely.

GO!

Adjustments, Anyone?
If the family likes tomatoes, halved baby cherry or plum tomatoes could be dotted around the tart before baking, cut side upwards. If there's no sage, thyme leaves or coriander would be good. Hazel nuts could be substituted for walnuts, and you could add peas or sweetcorn!

Sides
We had a salad of baby spinach leaves, rocket, celery, cucumber, chopped dates and chopped pears. For a more substantial meal, buttered baby potatoes would be nice, and parsnips roasted in a lower shelf as the tart cooks instead of salad.

And to Drink?
Either a dry white wine or a light red (e.g. beaujolais) might go well, otherwise perhaps apple juice or just a sparkling mineral water.

What a Whopper! Courgette Longboats - Vegetarian or Vegan

Fritters, soup, stir-fried or baked, and still the courgettes come. When Mr P found one that had escaped his notice and grown to about 22cm, something had to be done with it. The result was a repeat of a recipe I devised for a competition a while ago; requirement was a cheap two-course meal and the prize was a set of kitchen white goods. Those were the days, when really good prizes were plentiful if you made the effort.

Courgettes stuffed with mainly inexpensive ingredients seemed worth a go, so I sliced them longways and scooped out the flesh to make a boat shape. Longboats seems a good title - really important in recipe competitions at that time. For info, the dessert recipe was for a butterscotch meringue mountain, which I still make quite often.

The recipe below serves two, or four for a starter as there are four pieces. It's vegetarian, but would be vegan if the bread is suitable (e.g. Everfresh Sprouted Rye Bread from Holland & Barrett; it's organic and free from dairy, wheat and yeast). Timing is under an hour from start to serving, and the dish is not diet-antagonistic! Quantities are approximate, depending on the size of the veg and how much you scoop out.

Courgette Longboats
Ingredients
1 very large courgette, or 2 medium, halved lengthways, & if large, across also
tsp of oil
1 medium onion, chopped fairly finely
1 large savoy cabbage leaf (or similar), spine removed, chopped
half slice of bread, preferably wholemeal, hand-crumbled or whizzed
juice (and optional grated zest) of half a lemon
3 tbsp cream cheese, pref lower fat
4 skinned, chopped tomatoes or 4 tbsp from a tin, drained of 'loose juice'
2 heaped tbsp walnut pieces
salt & pepper

Ready for the oven

Method
1  Using a teaspoon, hollow out most of the courgette flesh, leaving each piece in
          a boat shape and reserving the flesh.
2  Heat the oil and fry the onion gently 3-4 mins.
3  Add the cabbage (or whatever greens) and fry a further 3 mins.
4  In a small bowl place all the rest of the ingredients, add the onion mixture
          and about a quarter of the removed flesh, finely chopped. Stir well.
5  Judge whether the amount is enough to fill the boats; if not, add a little more 
          onion, cream cheese and/or chopped flesh.
5  Place the boats, hollowed side up, in a greased oven-proof dish and pile the 
          mixture into them, pressing down as you go.
6  Cover the dish with foil and bake in the centre of the oven for 30-35 mins
          until the shells are soft when pierced with a knife.

Served up with sauce

Adjustments
To the mixture could be added chopped mushrooms, grated nutmeg, or light herbs such as thyme, sage or parsley. Spinach could replace the cabbage, and other nuts used instead of walnuts. Whatever you fancy!

Accompaniments
Here it's served with cheese sauce - I like Asda's packet sauce which requires only boiling water to make up. It tastes great and isn't high in calories. I also have a drum of non-dairy 'cheese sauce powder' which would go well too. Baby potatoes would be good, or some French beans or sugar snap peas. To drink, maybe apple juice or vegetarian/vegan dry white wine. OK, no contest there.

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