Much More Veg

Course outline

• Charring and Searing

  In the first half of this lesson, Hugh will show you the endless delights of the veggie barbecue. Charring chunky cuts of summer veg is an absolute must – they will taste intimately of themselves, with a wisp of smokiness from the charcoal fire, and the zest of the simple River Cottage dressing that adorns them. Like well-chosen guests at a party, they commingle pleasingly when tossed together, but very much retain their personal identity.

  Next, Hugh will show you a similar technique, with year-round possibilities. You will use a heavy based pan or ridged griddle pan to “dry-sear” wedges of cabbage and apple, served with bashed English lentils and dukka.

  Lesson length: 1hr 03mins

  Assignment: Create and make an original dish of charred or seared seasonal vegetables, simply dressed. Use fruits, nuts or seeds and spices too if you like.

• Raw and Real

  Fresh raw veg is so good for us, buzzing with vitamins and antioxidants that help our bodies function well and boost our immunity. Munching a just-picked raw carrot or pod of peas can be a joy in itself, but to make a whole range of raw veg not just palatable but delicious, it helps to think about how we slice and dice the ingredients, changing their shape and size as we bring them together and mingle them as a balanced dish.

  During this lesson, you will explore three low tech and inexpensive, but incredibly versatile utensils: the knife, the peeler/mandolin, and the grater. Each yields a lovely raw recipe combining seasonal veg and fruit in a fun and surprising way, dressed to emphasise the natural tastes and aromas of the freshest possible ingredients.

  Lesson length: 50 minutes

  Assignment: Create and make an original dish of raw seasonal vegetables and fruits. Use either the grater or the peeler, or both, and explain why you have decided to reduce each raw ingredient to the size and shape you have chosen.

• Veg Soups and Stews = Stoups!

  This lesson is about the delightful alchemy of blending multiple families of veg, often with generous amounts of spices and/or herbs in one big pot, for hearty, crowd-pleasing soups and stews (and stoups!). The distinction between soups and stews is barely relevant as these all are all hearty, chunky main course hot pots. The overlap of ingredients here is quite deliberate, showing that there are many different flowering branches from similar soupy roots.

  This is presented as 3 hearty “stoups” that, when finished, couldn’t be more different in feel and flavour, yet are started with a similar base and have comparable combinations of roots, pulses and greens. The idea is to stimulate your creativity to improvise and explore, and create equally satisfying “stoups” of your own devising.

  Lesson length: 38 minutes

  Assignment: Create your own veg “Stoup”. Explain your choice of ingredients, and why you think they might combine well, especially over a reasonably long cooking time.

• Ove(ga)n Roasting

  “Roast Veggies” has become a default option for vegetarians and vegans – and indeed carnivores trying to up their veg intake. So much so that it runs the risk of being thought of as somehow a lazy option – “you just throw a bunch of veg in a tray and roast them”. But if that’s all it takes to make a hearty delicious supper, what’s not to love? The point is that the sheer array of veg-that-can-be roasted is dazzling and delicious, and when you boost the proceedings with the judicious addition of fruits, nuts, pulses, seeds and spices the possibilities for improvised satisfaction are endless.

  The session will feature 3 different “tray-roasts”, each of which has an intervention or combination that builds up flavours and textures. The roast veg “two tray” curry – where two different trays of differently spiced roast veg are combined at the end, is a revelation.

  As in all his sessions, Hugh will also emphasise how these dishes are ripe for swaps and tweaks and personal touches. And as with the “stoups”, the way these dishes come together is reassuringly similar, if not formulaic. But the end results are dazzlingly and deliciously different.

  Lesson length: 37 minutes

  Assignment: Create your own tray roast of Veg. Keep it vegan. Aim to maximise and intensify flavours. Which are the veg that will caramelise well?