Poached Baby Veg with 3 sauces

Spring into Summer – At last there are a few fresh veggies ready to harvest. It seems to have taken even longer this year, with a very mild winter turning into a very cold spring! Even in the mildest of seasons, plant growth is restricted by day length and then as the days get longer, the temperature has plummeted! I love to have a plateful of these young veg virtually raw to remind me just how good they taste. Fresh young vegetables, baby carrots, beetroot, turnips, spring onions, maybe asparagus and perhaps, some mangetout or broad beans are great just poached or steamed, but for a lovely lunch I like to dress them up a bit – the simplest way is to sprinkle them with black pepper, butter and flakes of Parmesan with perhaps a little fried pancetta. Poaching the vegetables in an enhanced “stock” makes the dish come together as one and with some dipping sauces it can be served with couscous or bread for a feast. I included a bit of lovage in the poaching liquor for an fresh celery type flavour, if you can’t find any use a young stick of celery and whatever herbs you have. Below are some ideas for some sauces :- you can serve one, or two or three to your preferences!

Ingredients

• 300g baby veg

For the poaching liquor:

• 450 ml vegetable stock
• 60 ml olive oil
• 60 ml white wine
• 2 bay leaves
• sprig of lovage

For the almond sauce

• 2 Tablespoon flaked almonds
• 1 thin slice of bread
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice

For the caper mayo

• 3 Tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 Tablespoon chopped parsley
• 1 Tablespoon chopped capers

For the red pesto

• 75g sundried tomatoes in olive oil
• 1 teaspoon tomato puree
• 30g grated parmesan
• salt and pepper
• sprig of basil

Mix all the ingredients for the poaching liquor together in a saucepan. Gently bring to simmering and start adding the vegetables – carrots and turnips first. After a few minutes add the more tender varieties – asparagus, peas, courgettes etc. Lift them from the pot with a slotted spoon – they should still retain a crunch – and arrange on a serving plate.

Sauces

First make the almond sauce.

Put a small heavy based frying pan over a medium heat and toast the flaked almonds, stirring continuously until the are a golden brown. Place in a small processor or pestle and mortar. Chop the garlic and fry it in half the olive oil until golden brown. Discard it from the pan, the idea is to flavour the oil only. Cut the bread into cubes and fry it in the oil until it too is golden. Add it to the processor with the almonds and blitz. Turn into a small bowl and add the remaining olive oil and lemon juice.

To make the caper sauce, add all the ingredients to a small bowl and mix well. You can use a vegan mayo if you wish or even yoghurt.

To make the red pesto, finely chop the sundried tomatoes and place in a small bowl with their oil. Add the other ingredients and mix well. You can add a few ground cashews or pine nuts if you like or even substitute them for the Parmesan for a plant based variety.