Come springtime, Lincolnshire is bursting at the seams with asparagus, spring onions, spinach and leeks. More often than not, we’ll come home with bagfuls of greens, very lightly spice whatever we have and eat them with some bread or a steaming bowl of basmati rice.
Serves 2
- 3 tablespoons rapeseed oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 3 large leeks, very finely cut into rings
- 50g asparagus, chopped into 2.5cm pieces 1⁄2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1⁄2 teaspoon chilli powder
- 1⁄2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 3⁄4 teaspoon salt
- a bunch of asparagus
- 2 handfuls of peas (frozen are fine) lemon wedges, to garnish
- 250g green beans or mange tout, chopped into 2.5cm pieces
Put a pan of water on to boil, as you’ll need this later to blanch the beans and asparagus.
Put the oil into a wide-bottomed, lidded frying pan on a medium heat and, when it’s hot, add the mustard seeds. Wait for them to pop, then add the onion. Fry the onion for 6 to 8 minutes, until translucent and soft but not brown, then add the garlic and leeks.
Meanwhile, throw the beans and asparagus into the pan of boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes to blanch them. Stir the leeks occasionally and keep cooking them until they are soft and lose their shape. Then add the turmeric, chilli powder, coriander and salt and stir to mix.
Drain the blanched veg and add to the pan along with the peas, leave them to cook for a couple of minutes, then take off the heat.
Serve with a squeeze of lemon, some rice or hot buttered chapattis.