Fresh from the garden to the kitchen

Let’s the season of chive begins.

Pumpkin and Chive Risotto

50 g butter

1 onion peeled and chopped

500 g pumpkin flesh, cubed

375 g arborio (risotto), rice

1 litre hot chicken stock

salt, pepper

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

75 g parmesan cheese, grated

3 tablespoons chives, chopped

Melt the butter, then gently fry the onion until softened. Add the pumpkin and stir to coat in the butter. Cook over a low heat for about 10 minutes.

Add the rice, stir to coat, then gradually add the hot stock (the easiest way to keep the stock hot is to have it simmering in a pan alongside your risotto pan). It should be added a ladle at a time, until the rice is just cooked. (You may not need the all amount of stock.)

Season to taste, stir the olive oil and add the parmesan cheese. Remove from the heat, cover tightly with a lid and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Then remove the lid, mix in the chives and serve!

Potato, Chive and cheese pie

Pastry:

275 g plain flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

150 g unsalted butter, cubed

1 egg

1-1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 egg yolk

Filling:

1 kg potatoes, peeled

175 g Lancashire cheese, grated

15 g chives, chopped

salt, pepper

2 large eggs

300 ml sour cream

For the pastry, sieve the flour and salt into a food processor, then add the butter and process until it resembles breadcrumbes. Then add the egg, mixed with 1 tablespoon oil. Process until the dough will come together easily in your hands. You may need to add the extra 1/2 tablespoon oil. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for half an hour.

Roll out the dough, on a floured board, to fit a deep, 24 cm, loose-bottom pie tin (be sure the pastry comes right up the sides). Prick the pastry base with a fork. Chill the pastry case in the fridge for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 200 C°. Before baking, brush the inside of the pastry case with egg yolk. Bake for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice the potatoes as thinly as possible. Cook for 4 minutes in boiling water, then immedialty drain and plunge into cold to stop the cooking. Dry the slices extremely well.

Then, seasoning as you layer, place half the dried potatoes on to the pastry, followed by half of the cheese and then half the chives. Repeat this with the remaining potatoes, cheese and chives. Mix together the eggs and sour cream and pour the mixture slowly over the top of the pie, ensuring that all the edges are covered with liquid. Bake for about 45 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the top is crusty and browned.

Remove and wait for about 15 minutes before carefully turning out of the tin. Serve warm, in good size wedges.

You can find more of those recipes in “Feasting on Herbs” from Sue Lawrence