Book review
Filo tart of mixed greens and feta
Seasoning: How to Cook and Celebrate the Seasons By Angela Clutton Murdoch Books, £30
Food writer Angela Clutton’s newest book, Seasoning, is a guide on how to cook and cel- ebrate seasonal ingredients that’s even caught actor and foodie Stanley Tucci’s attention. He said that it’s a “brilliant and beautiful book that everyone who loves to cook should own”. Each section covers a season and its produce, as well as how to shop and care for your ingredients. Take summer stone fruits, such as a juicy peach. Clut- ton breaks down how to find the best in the market (firm peaches with a little give), where to store them (out of the fridge if they need to soften; in the fridge if they’re ready to eat) ways to use them raw, ways to use them cooked, their best flavour pairings and how to preserve them. She then lists a handful of recipes, such as a savoury fruit salad with peaches, spring onion, lime, mirin and chilli. The book is a refreshing reminder to find joy
in living in ‘the now’, a reminder that we don’t need every ingredient at every time. There’s beauty in recognising what’s specifically avail- able for each season, and that when we hoard produce rather than wait for it, we forget the feeling of excitement and anticipation. Clutton also reminds us about the importance of stay- ing connected to the land and climate, explain- ing how essential it is to understand nature and its cycles to fully embrace seasonality. This goes for meat and fish, too – for example, the term “spring chicken” wasn’t always just an expression of youth and liveli- ness. Mackerel are a fantastic, versatile sum- mer fish that Clutton urges we use to replace farmed salmon, which can often escape to the ocean, compete and mate with wild salmon and completely change their genetic makeup. Whether you actually are a “spring chicken” or a “seasoned” vet, Seasoning is a clever and delicious read that helps cooks analyse their own kitchen inventories and their values beyond. It’s a reminder that despite trends and technology, it’s never a bad idea to go back to basics. By Daniela Toporek
40 | The Caterer | 22 March 2024
Winter’s fabulously bitter leafy greens (of which chard is here the star, ably supported by cavolo nero) have their edge smoothed out by baking them with cheese. The ratio of nutritious to comfort- ing is just right. You could happily switch round the proportions of the greens here. Or swap in what- ever leaves you have hanging around – spinach, kale, beetroot tops, turnip tops, collard greens – they’d all be just as lovely, just as green.
Serves 6 as a main
400g chard 200g cavolo nero 1 medium onion 4tbs olive oil ½ orange 1tsp ground cinnamon 3 eggs 200g feta 40g leafy herbs (any mix of dill, mint, coriander, parsley) 1 tbsp honey Nutmeg, for grating 1tbs plain flour 4 sheets of filo pastry Salt and black pepper
Separate the stalks and the leaves of the chard and cavolo nero. Trim and finely chop all the stalks. Wash all the leaves, drain and shred. Peel and chop the onion. Heat
two tablespoons of the oil in a deep frying pan. Gently cook the onion until just about softening, then add the chopped stalks. Sea- son, squeeze in the juice of the orange half, stir round and cook for 10 minutes until soft. Add the cinnamon, then the shredded leaves. Cook for five minutes to wilt, then take off the heat. Let it cool a little before spooning into a fine sieve set over a sink or bowl to drain away any excess liquid. Beat the eggs in a large mixing
bowl. Crumble in the cheese. Chop the herbs and add too, keeping just a few back for garnish. Mix well, adding the honey and a good grat-
PHOTOGRAPHY BY PATRICIA NIVEN
ing of nutmeg. Add the drained chard mix and combine thor- oughly. Taste before seasoning. This can be done ahead of time. Preheat the oven to 190°C fan.
Brush the cake tin with some of the remaining oil and dust with the flour. Lay one sheet of filo in the base, overhanging the sides. Brush it with oil, then lay another sheet of filo on top, going cross- ways to cover the other sides of the tin. Oil and repeat with two more sheets. Fill with the cheesy greens filling. Bring up the overhanging pastry and scrunch to form an edge to the pie (not a lid). Bake for 25 minutes until the pastry edges are golden. Cool in the tin for five minutes,
then remove and serve warm or at room temperature with the reserved chopped herbs scattered over.
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