Summer time means time to eat more vegetables. Warm weather and lighter food go together. Also, I grow vegetables with varying degrees of success. Still not sure why given my childhood memories of vegetable garden serfdom. This recipe is a great ways to use what you’ve grown plus a few store cupboard staples to produce satisfying yet light food.

I was challenged to eat ten different vegetables in a single day – this recipe was the result and knocked out 8 vegetables in a single recipe. It was a Davinator favourite from the very first taste. It keeps well in the refrigerator for two or three days. I have not tried to freeze this. I’m not sure that freezing is a great choice because it will have a negative impact the texture of the chickpeas and the potatoes. But needs must sometimes.

The recipe is very flexible – the crucial elements are chickpeas, tomatoes and potatoes. Beyond that feel free to improvise. It is easy and forgiving to make a double batch as well.

I use my slow cooker for this and it takes 5 to 6 hours. You could also use a covered casserole in a low to moderate oven for the same time. Slow cooker does not heat up the kitchen in the same way.

Let’s get cooking.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 400 gram can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 400 gram can of chopped tomatoes or 6 fresh ripe tomatoes peeled and chopped
• Olive oil for sautéing vegetables
• 2 garlic cloves peeled and crushed or chopped fine
• 2 onions peeled and sliced
• 4 celery sticks, sliced
• 4 medium carrots, scrubbed and sliced
• 1 pepper (red, yellow or green) cored seeded and chopped
• 1 tsp mixed herbs (use any mixture of oregano, thyme, basil)
• 225 grams of potatoes in 2 cm pieces (if using new potatoes or young potatoes a good scrub is enough, don’t peel them. More mature potatoes you might want to peel)
• Vegetable stock cube or 1 tsp of loose stock granules
• salt and pepper to taste
• Chopped olives and either crumbled feta cheese or Greek yoghurt to serve).

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil with a small knob of butter in a large deep skillet until warm. Get your slow cooker or casserole dish ready.
2. Add the garlic, cook over low heat until softened.
3. Onions next and turn up the heat to medium. (Tip – I use a handheld mandolin and slice many of the vegetables straight into the pan. I dislike extended vegetable prep and this speeds things up). Cook until softened and starting to turn transparent.
4. Add the celery, carrots and pepper. Continue to cook over medium heat. I often pour a generous slug of brandy over the vegetables at this point and turn up the heat to high until the raw alcohol smell has gone.
5. Add the stock cube and a bit of water to soften it. When your stock cube has dissolved pour in the tomatoes with their juice. If you used fresh tomatoes, add a quarter cup of water. Bring the mixture to a simmer.
6. Transfer to your slow cooker or oven proof casserole. Stir in the potatoes, chickpeas and herbs.
7. Wait. Your kitchen will start to smell great. Stir from time to time and take a sneaky taste. It’s ready to eat when the potatoes have reached a good eating consistency. Correct salt and pepper, if necessary.
8. Serve with Greek yoghurt or feta cheese and a handful of chopped olives. Lovely with a chunk of crusty sourdough bread.

This is an easy recipe to adapt for vegans. Eliminate butter and make sure you’re using vegan stock cubes. Then consider your toppings. A vegan yoghurt or cheese would be perfect.

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We are blessed with a great local fishmonger (The Fish Shop – Camberley) and we eat a lot of fish. This recipe requires some prep work and about 15 minutes of intense cooking. It makes a hearty dish for six people. It’s so yummy the Davinator has been spotted sopping up the last of the sauce with a piece of bread.

You can adjust the mix of seafood – not everyone likes mussels, for example. The shellfish – clams and mussels – do add layers of flavour and I strongly recommend including in the dish. But if you can’t get them, or are nervous about cooking them, you can omit.

This recipe also cooks well with frozen seafood (defrost in advance) if you don’t have access to fresh seafood. I keep a bag of frozen squid rings in the freezer (because you never know when you might have a calamari emergency) and I used the frozen squid in this recipe.

I don’t make my own pasta (yeah – I know you’re all shocked) but for this recipe I like to buy the best quality linguine – squid ink if I can get it. It so happened I couldn’t this time, but it deserves high quality pasta.

Ingredients

95 mls olive oil, plus the oil from the anchovies below

1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes (or more if you like it hot)

500 grams of small clams, scrubbed

500 grams of mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded

1 x 400 gram can of high quality tinned tomatoes

225 mls clam juice or fish stock, if making fish stock from bouillon, make it strong

225 mls dry white wine

1 large bunch of fresh parsley, discard stems, chop leaves and divide in half

I small flat tin of anchovy fillets, drain and reserve the oil

1 teaspoon dried thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

450 grams, peeled and deveined shrimp

225 grams of squid, cut in rings (I use frozen and defrost in advance)

500 grams top quality linguine, squid ink if you can get it

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

Instructions

Okay, it looks like a lot of steps between you and food. Objectively, yes there are a lot but they are done quickly. I’ve done the steps in the order I do them which is all about not wasting any time. Your guests will be sitting at the table with knives and forks in their hands and napkins tied around their necks.

1. Put a large pot of salted water on to boil. When the water is boiling, add the linguine and cook until al dente – about 75% of the recommended cooking time. Reserve a mug of water from the boiling pasta. Drain the pasta. Do not rinse it. Put it back in the cooking pot and put a lid on the pot.
2. Meanwhile, get out a Dutch oven – a big deep heavy cooking pot. I use my big le Creuset for this. Get the olive oil and the oil from the anchovies really hot. You’ll know it’s ready because it will smell sweet and sort of shimmer on the surface. Throw in the chilli – cook it for about a minute. Reduce the heat to medium-high. Add the clams. Cover, shake, give it about two minutes on the heat.
3. Add the mussels. Cover, shake and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Check, all of the shellfish should be open. Remove the pot from the heat.
4. Using slotted spoon, move the clams and mussels to an oven proof dish, Cover and stick in a warm oven for now.
5. Add the tomatoes, the clam juice or fish stock, the wine, half of the parsley and the thyme to pot. Return to a medium high heat. Bring to a high simmer and allow the sauce to reduce by about a third.
6. Put the shrimp and squid in the pot and stir. Add the drained the pasta and stir well. Cook for about 3 minutes – you’ll know because your shrimp will be pink and opaque. Stir in the lemon zest and the rest of the parsley.
7. Take the clams and mussels out of the warming oven. Quickly throw any cooking juice into the sauce. Serve up the pasta and add the shellfish on top.

The Davinator likes a nice red wine with this dish – the shellfish and the spicing mean it will stand up to wine. Personally, I prefer Muscadet but to each his own. And a serving suggestion – it’s always good to have some nice bread on hand for those who want to soak up all the sauce.