Cookbook Club No.3
The perfect recipe for Asparagus season, from the book "A Good Appetite" by Jenny Chandler
There are a few key moments in the year that food lovers treat with the same reverence as Swifties treat a Taylor Swift album drop, and the first Asparagus is one such moment. Anticipation is high, palates are poised, standards unforgiving. So when I asked Bristol’s very own Queen of the Bean, Jenny Chandler, if she would cook a recipe for this month’s Cookbook Club, I was a little over excited when she offered up Socca with ASPARAGUS!!!!
Jenny is probably best known for her groundbreaking cookbook Pulse, which was first published in 2013 and turned a lot of people in the UK onto the joy of eating more beans. She’s written many cookbooks over the years, and I’ve had the absolute pleasure of shooting two of them for her - Green Kids Cook, and the one we are using today - A Good Appetite.
SOCCA WITH ASPARAGUS AND CREAMED CANNELLINI
Socca is simply a batter, usually made with Chickpea Flour (also known as Gram Flour or Besan) Water, Olive Oil and Salt.
Jenny’s a committed food sustainability champion and wanted to shout about the fabulous Wrinkled Pea Flour from Hodmedods, which uses the peas that have been rejected by the frozen pea industry would have otherwise gone to waste. The flour has a delicious nutty flavour and is perfect for this recipe, so do get your hands on some if you can. It’s also the most wonderful bright green colour!
This is one of those brilliant back pocket recipes - perfect for a quick lunch and can be made with (mainly) storecupboard ingredients. It can be adapted in loads of different ways, so play with different chopped herbs (Rosemary is a delicious addition) or spices (Cumin, Smoked Paprika or Turmeric would all be excellent options to try)
Here we go:
As she cooked, Jenny chatted about her ethos for shopping and eating. At the heart of all her recipes, and the idea behind this book, is her determination that we should all eat for “pleasure, health and planet.”
“Relish food that is as good for you as it is for the planet”
This means buying the most ethical options you can find (and afford), supporting small producers and suppliers who focus on both social and environmental sustainability. In the book she gives some achievable ways to take these steps.
Support community cooperatives and independent stores
Shop in local markets as a way of getting to know - and value - the producers and growers, as well as really buying seasonally.
If you don’t have access to these things, then consider swapping some of your supermarket buys for Fairtrade versions and buy loose fresh produce where you can.
Seek out veg box schemes and specialist food producers who sell online, it can pay to join forces with neighbours to share any delivery charges.
The huge chunk of fresh Parmesan in the video is the result of a street co-operative where Jenny lives where one neighbour buys a whole wheel and then divvies it up!
Jenny’s book is full of delicious, sustainable recipes, as well as a wealth of practical information from making expensive ingredients go further to adapting recipes to suit both what’s in season as well as what you already have lurking in your cupboards.
The recipe she made for this Cookbook Club is downloadable below, and if you love this recipe then I really recommend that you get your hands on the book!
Suppliers:
The suppliers we used for this recipe were
Wrinkled Pea Flour - Hodmedods. A company committed to sourcing minimally processed, British-grown pulses and grains, supporting British farmers, and promoting more sustainable farming practices.
Smoked Salt - Maldon. A company with strong sustainability credentials, they are committed to reducing their carbon footprint, aiming for net-zero emissions by 2050 and achieving zero-waste to landfill status.
Olive Oil - Shorkk Food. A small, socially-minded business based in Bristol, focusing on importing ethically-traded Lebanese ingredients. Their sustainability credentials are rooted in their commitment to supporting Lebanese farmers and food producers affected by the economic crisis in Lebanon, as well as their emphasis on ethical sourcing and promoting Lebanese culinary traditions
Asparagus - Wye Valley Produce. A family run company that prioritizes environmental sustainability by focusing on local sourcing, reducing food miles, and using innovative growing techniques. Their asparagus is hand-harvested, quickly hydro-cooled, and grown in a unique microclimate to produce early, high-quality produce, while also managing land sustainably and reducing emissions
The gorgeous Asparagus plate was handmade in Bristol by 14 pots
With huge thanks to Jenny for spending a few hours chatting and cooking with me. Her book is A Good Appetite and it’s full to the brim with irresistible recipes like this one.
Do let me know if you make this, and as always I’d love to see your Photos!
gorgeous and how lovely to see Jenny cooking it xxx