Jenny Chandler, the Bristol-based cook and food writer, is passionate about getting more natural, whole foods on our tables. She runs workshops, with both food industry chefs and home cooks, focusing on putting plants at the centre of the plate. Jenny believes that using economical pulses and grains as the bedrock of our cooking, makes spending that bit more, on sustainably produced vegetables, fruit, dairy, meat and fish, a much more viable option.

Jenny has written a number of cook books, including A Good Appetite, Pulse, and Green Kids Cook, that celebrate cooking from scratch, using simple techniques and the very best ingredients. She is a regular judge for the Soil Association’s Best of Organic Market Awards, championing and celebrating the very best that our farmers and producers have to offer.

This Organic September, Jenny will be sharing exclusive recipes and tips for you to make the most of your seasonal produce and store cupboard essentials.

We will be providing a series of recipes that are Twice as Nice. With some minor tweaks, each recipe can provide two distinctly, deliciously different meals – reducing your time, energy, and food waste in one go, nice!

Sign up to our newsletter to make sure you don’t miss the rest of the series.

P.S. When you sign up to our newsletter, you’ll get 10% off your shop which you can use to recreate the recipes.

Roast Vegetable Tart

Perfect for September’s changeable weather served hot or cold.

The shallots are key to giving a sweet depth to the tart but the other vegetables can be swapped in and out, aubergines and red peppers work well. Leave the skin on the vegetables, scrubbing really well to remove any grit.

Put the pastry in the fridge to thaw for a few hours/overnight.

Pre heat the oven to 220 C.

Ingredients

Serves 4 (6 as light lunch) Vegetarian

300g small beetroot, scrubbed
Leaves from a large sprig of thyme
4 tbsp olive oil
300g carrots, well scrubbed, or peeled if you prefer
300g shallots, halved through the root and skins removed
Pinch of salt and black pepper
1 x 300g frozen puff pastry
2 tbsp flour for rolling out
1 large egg
250g ricotta cheese
100g crumbled feta or any grated, random left-over cheese
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil,
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and plenty of black pepper

Method

Quarter the beetroot and pack into a small foil parcel with the thyme and 1 tbsp of the olive oil. Roast for about 45 minutes until just tender.

Halve, the carrots lengthwise if they are large, they want to be about the thickness of your thumb. Take a large roasting tray and toss the carrots and the shallots around in the remaining oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Roast for about 30 minutes until tender and beginning to caramelise, giving everything a stir after 15 minutes to cook evenly.

Meanwhile roll out the pastry to a rectangle about 25 x 30 cm on a flour dusted surface.

Slide the pastry onto an oven tray and carefully score a frame about 3-4 cm from the edge and poke a few holes inside the frame with a fork. Bake on the top-shelf of the oven for about 15 minutes until golden.

Mix together the egg, ricotta, chosen cheese and season with salt if necessary, and plenty of black pepper.

Once your vegetables are ready, spread the cheese mixture over the base of the tart and arrange the vegetables on top.

Bake in the oven for about 7-10 minutes until the pastry is as crisp and brown as you dare.

Serve hot or cold, splashed with a little extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and seasoning.

Doubling Up

It’s always worth roasting a batch of extra vegetables whilst the oven is on. These will keep for at least 3 days in the fridge, great for packed lunches and simple meals.

Serve your veg hot or cold, piled onto simply-cooked quinoa or bulgur wheat with this delicious dressing.

Whipped Tahini, Shallot and Lemon Dressing

Whilst you can mix this together with a fork you will get a much lighter, frothier texture with a blender or small food processor.

Blend 120g tahini with 3 or 4 of your roasted shallots (or 1 clove of raw garlic for a zingier version), juice of 1/2 a lemon, 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, pinch of salt and about 100ml of water.

Enjoy!