And other Winter Weeding Hidden Gems
It’s slightly melancholic putting a garden or polytunnel to bed for the winter and yet it’s strangely uplifting at the same time.
In the midst of all the nettles, weeds and radishes that had gone to seed there were a few hidden gems and some weird and wonderful things left behind to discover.
Despite the months of neglect I was able to harvest some final spoils of war.
There were a few tender baby Sutherland Kale leaves which I gently wilted to act as a bed for some sautéed scallops with a creamy gorgonzola and pancetta sauce.
Some weedy looking leeks, that I will use to make a Welsh Onion soup and a then there was the bumper harvest of beetroot. 
My brother-in-law once told me that beetroot was notoriously hard to grow, so in the past I bought beetroot plants from the garden centre. Last year I grew them from seed for the first time. I did pick a variety that was supposedly “bolt hardy.” Bolting is where a plant has a tendency to go to seed prematurely, usually due to a sudden cold spell, and is not usable. I planted 2 crops this year and both did okay.
After pulling up the remaining plants, the larger beets were turned into beetroot mash served with sous vide lamb shanks with a beetroot sauce and served with fresh salad leaves harvested from the winter hydroponic garden.
Beetroot Sauce
Saute chopped carrot, onion and celery.
Puree cooked beetroot in a jug blender with a little water
Add the cooking juices from the sous vide lamb shanks.
Thicken to desired consistency.
There’s no need to strain the sauce at this point, unless you want a clear jus.
Handy Cooking Tip: Beetroots can be cooked relatively quickly in a microwave.
The baby beets were left whole and pickled using my own pickling spice blend. I used a 500ml preserving jar and 155g of peeled baby beets.
Beetroot Pickling Spice
1 tbs yellow mustard seed
1 tbs whole black peppercorns
1 tsp mace blades crushed
2 tsp dried juniper berries
1 tsp black onion seed
1 tsp chili flakes.
Dry roast the spices. Don’t let the chilli flakes burn.
Add the roasted spices to 500ml of white wine vinegar & 80g of soft brown sugar and bring to a simmer.
Put the cooled cooked beetroots in a sterilised jar.
Pour over the hot spiced vinegar.
Add 1 tsp of course sea salt to the jar and seal.
These should be ready to eat in about 2 weeks.
One beautiful little thing I found nestling in the soil of my neglected polytunnel, protected from the incessant welsh rain were these delicate little tomatillo husks.
hydro2plate 