Cottage Cooking Club December Two Recipes

Today's post is the eighth installment of the Cottage Cooking Club a virtual cooking group started by the talented Andrea of The Kitchen Lioness. We are currently cooking our way through the River Cottage Veg, a cookbook by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. This month I prepared 2 of the 10 recipes that Andrea chose, one from each chapter. The purpose of our group is to incorporate more local and seasonal veggies into our daily meals.

For the first recipe I prepared the Corner Shop Spanakopita which reminded me very much of a spinach pie. Caraway seeds were toasted, onions sautéed and then both were combined with spinach that has been wilted, drained, squeezed and then chopped. Thyme was added with a squeeze of fresh lemon, then goat cheese and pine nuts.

Puff pastry is rolled over the top of the dish and then into the oven for 25 minutes until golden brown.

My husband and I enjoyed this dish very much and I thought that this would make a great dish to bring to a potluck as it was delicious warm and at room temperature.

The next dish I prepared was the Curried Red Lentil Soup. Garlic, fresh ginger, red chilies, garam masala and curry powder were the aromatics used in this recipe. I loved the way these spices warmed and brought flavor to this dish.

Vegetable stock was then added and simmered until the lentils were soft, about 25 to 30 minutes. I then used a immersion blender. It was creamy and thick, water was used to thin it a bit.

Since this was a variation of the original recipe, Curried Sweet Potato Soup I was not sure if I should add the coconut milk. At the last moment I decided not to and thought that it was fantastic. Served soup with a dollop of sour cream and a sprig of cilantro.

Recipes have been adapted from the "River Cottage Veg" , cookbook by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. First recipe; chapter Comfort Food & Feasts, Corner Shop Spanakopita, page 54. Second recipe chapter; Hefty Soups, Curried Red Lentil Soup, page 166.

To see what recipes the other members chose for this month, head over to the LYL post for December on the CCC website, by clicking clicking here.