Allotment News

Husband and wife Sam and Sam Clark - owners of restaurant Moro - reveal recipes in their latest cookbook Moro East that are ideal for allotment holders. Recipes in the book were influenced by their Turkish, Turkish Cypriot and Kurdish allotment neighbours, although sadly, their Hackney allotments were one of the sites bulldozed to make way for London Olympics. For example, how about gathering chickweed, poppy shoots and dandelion leaves, chopping them together, frying them with garlic and sliding them into a pitta bread – what a wonderful way to deal with weeds! Another suggestion is that when you have to trim artichoke plants, you can take the new leaves, peel them and fry them, apparently they taste like artichoke but look like a stick of celery. The Clarks hope the book will encourage people to grow and eat their own.

The fire service was called out to help a man who trapped his own leg in a rotavator in Harlow yesterday – apparently he was working on his allotment when his leg became stuck in the mechanical digging machine shortly before midday. The fire crews tried to free the man for an hour before using hand tools to release him and give him over to the care of the ambulance service.

And in Basingstoke, a storm is brewing. The Longcroft allotments, presently in The Lines, are being slated to be moved to a currently uncultivated plot, to free up the land for about 25 ‘affordable homes’. But local councillors expect a wave angry locals to object. The head of the newly-formed Kingsclere Allotment Holders Group, said, ‘We are fighting this like mad, and lots of people have become involved. The allotments and the playground next to it are outside the Basingstoke and Deane Settlement Boundary Plan, so in order to develop the site, they have to apply for a rural exemption.’

Labels: allotment recipes, allotment-news

Spiced crabapples

I’d be the first to admit these don’t look great – but they taste wonderful! If you can ignore the murky appearance as they mellow (it looks a bit like eyeballs floating in engine oil) you'll be rewarded by a superb pickle to accompany cold meats.

We harvest the crabapples from the many trees around our allotment site – being careful not to strip the trees as birds like crabapples too and need them through the winter – and we keep our jars for about two months. The first one gets opened at Christmas, to go with cold turkey, which is massively enhanced by the tangy flavour of these pickles. They look good out of the jar too, and make a lovely presentation dish when they are arranged in a shallow plate.

2 lbs brown sugar
1 pint apple cider vinegar
3 cinnamon sticks (broken in half)
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 teaspoon allspice
A couple of pounds of crabapples

Sterilise your jars.
Wash the crabapples and prick each one several times with a fork.
Stir the sugar, vinegar and cinnamon sticks together. Tie cloves and allspice in a piece of cloth and place in pot. Bring this mixture to a boil and keep there for a minute.
While the sugar mixture is heating, pack your jars about 3/4 full of apples (watch out, they will expand). Add a cinnamon stick to each jar. Remove the spice sack and ladle the hot brine over apples (leaving about half an inch of head space). If necessary clean the rim and jar threads with a damp cloth before sealing the lids
Process the jars in a boiling water bath for about twenty minutes and refrigerate any jars that do not seal properly.
Allow fruit to absorb the flavour of the syrup for at least a week before enjoying.

Labels: allotment recipes, crabapples