Cherry Orchards ice cream dream recipes.
At Cherry Orchards ice cream is popular, especially in summer during hot work in the garden. We are lucky enough to own a one litre capacity ice cream machine, that freezes and churns the ice cream. The following recipes require an ice cream maker. Please follow the directions on your own machine. Alternatively, if you have a LOT of time and patience, ice cream can be alternately frozen and hand-churned.
All the recipes in this section make about a litre of ice cream - this provides a moderate portion for 8 - 10 people, or a very generous portion for 5 or 6. Obviously if your machine has a different capacity then adjust quantities. Once made, ice cream should be stored at -18 degrees C.
This base uses no eggs and is used in all recipes unless otherwise stated.
Whisk these ingredients until smooth and consistent. This is your base.
classic all time favourite.
An unusual and sophisticated taste, my personal favourite!
All natural ingredients and no processed sugar. Refreshing and ideal for ginger lovers.
A slightly healthy low fat version of ice cream. The flavour is not so sweet as traditional vanilla ice cream. The fresh taste is ideal for a hot summer’s day.
Another traditional favourite.
As above but substitute strawberries for raspberries. A little more unusual than traditional strawberry ice cream.
An unusual Cherry Orchards speciality. Made in June when roses are in full bloom. Ideal for special occasions.
Vegetable dishes
I have chosen to include vegetables as a main part of the recipe section. We grow all our own vegetables, and each one in its height of season has provided the community with the challenge of making appetising and varied dishes. Together with cultural influences, this has resulted in some interesting and simple ways to serve vegetables. These recipes are aimed at those trying to eat seasonal local organic food.
Note: Some of the following recipes contain basic batter or a white or cheese sauce. It is assumed that the cook will either know how to make these and use their own version. If you do not know then recipes for these basics can be found in any good cookery book. I have not included them partly as most people already have a tried and tested method, and because the ones made at Cherry Orchards use ingredients to serve twenty. In all recipes it is assumed that the cook will decide how much they need. There is, however, a guide to how filling each vegetable is likely to be.
Most people tend to eat beetroot pickled, which detracts from its natural sweet flavour. Beetroot makes a delicious salad, either sliced or grated. The beetroot should be washed then boiled whole with its skin on, and allowed to simmer for some time. When soft, drain in a colander under cold water. The skins should come off easily simply by peeling and squeezing with fingers. The beetroots can then be sliced or grated.
Beetroot is fairly filling.
Believe it or not beetroot’s sweet taste lends itself well to cake. Simply make a carrot cake, but substitute beetroot for carrot. The result is a sweet, healthy, moist and slightly pink cake.
Broad beans are delicious simply boiled when fresh. They are also good served in a cheese sauce, they are also a good accompaniment to fish.
Broad beans are filling.
Cabbage is a traditionally hated vegetable, and as we produce a lot of it at Cherry Orchards we have had to come up with ways to make it exciting.
Cabbage is not very filling.
A favourite, usually demanding second helpings.
Clean and prepare either a red or white cabbage. Slice fairly finely and boil lightly. Prepare a thick cheese sauce. Add to the flavour by using a touch of yeast extract, mustard or basil. The trick in this recipe is too have a lot of cheese sauce. Mix sauce and cabbage and top with cheese, nuts or breadcrumbs, or all three! Oven roast until topping is golden. Can be served either as an accompaniment or as a vegetarian main dish.
This ugly vegetable is largely overlooked, but is available in many greengrocers. It is like all the good things about celery - a similar taste, but no stringy bits. In Cherry Orchards we are inundated with a winter crop of celeriac, prompting many ways to serve it.
Initially celeriac should be washed, if organic it will be very dirty. Simply hold under a cold tap at full pressure. The roots and hard peel can be removed with a knife, in much the way one would peel a potato. The remaining vegetable should vaguely resemble a white sphere.
Celeriac is not very filling.
Simply slice the clean celeriac sphere into slices, roast with a little oil and salt.
Cube celeriac and boil until soft. Use a potato masher to combine with butter, salt and pepper. This also combines well with mashed parsnips.
Slice celeriac sphere and either boil or roast pieces lightly. Prepare a light batter mixture of eggs, floor and milk (as a pancake mixture). Dip the celeriac and fry for several minutes on either side, until golden brown. Alternatively coat dip battered celeriac in bread crumbs and either fry or roast.
Boil celeriac slices lightly. Prepare a cheese sauce of flour, butter, and milk and cheese, layer celeriac with sauce in a casserole dish, cover with grated cheese and bake in the oven until the topping is golden.
Celeriac is also good with other vegetables in bakes of any kind.
A favourite at Cherry Orchards is roasted parsnip with ground ginger. Simply slice parsnip as usual, and sprinkle with ginger before placing in oven to roast. Another favourite is to sprinkle parsnips with Hungarian paprika, this gives them a slightly peppery taste and red colouring.
Parnsip is moderately filling.
In 2002 Cherry Orchards produced about 400kg of pumpkin - enough to last the community several months. The part of the pumpkin one eats is the flesh, and if organic the skin. For the following recipes slice the pumpkin in half and scrape out the seeds. Then slice the pumpkin into small pieces. The smaller the pieces the quicker it will cook; about 1 inch by 2 inches is a good size. Pumpkin should be roasted in a moderate oven for at least half an hour.
Pumpkin is filling.
The following work well for roasting pumpkins:
The latter two can be used with sugar to make a dessert. One needs to use some olive oil, but the calorie-conscious can add water too. The best thing about pumpkin is that I think it tastes better than chocolate but only contains 13kcals per 100g.
Slice up pumpkin in half, scoop out seeds, and slice into small pieces. Place in pan with a little water and bring to boil. When pumpkin becomes soft place in liquidiser and liquidise. You should have a thick orange purée. This can be seasoned and watered down to taste, it can also be frozen.
A good way to enhance the flavour of spinach is to stir-fry with a little powdered nutmeg.
As cabbage bake, substituting cabbage for spinach.
Finely cut spinach in a cheese sauce makes a delicious savoury pancake filling. Make pancakes as usual. Lay pancake on a flat baking tray and spoon in mixture. Fold pancake around the mixture and cover with grated cheese, bake in the oven until topping is golden. Several pancakes served in this way make an interesting alternative to spinach cannelloni.