COLUMNIST: DINA WATT
My beautiful cabbage pie recipe is inspired by the French dish Chou Farci but, instead of meat, I stuff it with mashed potato and spring onions. It is a simple yet tasty dish using spring greens. I recommend you bring it to a picnic because even when it is cold, it tastes amazing. You can also serve it hot with a piece of steak or pork chop if you prefer.
5-6 outer leaves of a savoy cabbage
2 tbsp of olive oil
half a brown onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
750gr baby potatoes
1 egg yolk
¼ cup of full cream milk or single cream
one cup of chopped spring onions
Start by parboiling the cabbage leaves for around 2-3 minutes.
In another pot, boil the potatoes, then drain and leave them for a couple of minutes.
Set the stove to medium heat. Pour olive oil into the pan then add the garlic and onions, and sauté for about 1-2 minutes.
Add the chopped spring onions, some chopped coriander leaves, and also a bit of the cabbage. Turn the stove to low to prevent burning and give it all a mash.
Season well with salt and pepper, then add the egg yolk and milk to make the mash creamier. Once it is done, set aside.
Using a medium pyrex bowl or equivalent, rub some olive oil inside the bowl to prevent the leaves sticking. Place and layer the cabbage leaves on the bottom and make sure they overlap each other. Fill the inside of the layered cabbage with the mash potatoes. At the top, just fold them over, tucked in neatly.
Put into the oven at 180°C for 30 minutes, and enjoy.
My second recipe is back to my Asian roots. I always crave a great salad with a sweet, sour, spicy, and salty dressing drizzled on which is so refreshing. I am sharing my Vietnamese noodle salad recipe which allows you to make the best of your early carrots, radishes, cucumbers, and herbs. My favourite herbs are mint and coriander leaves to add that aromatic taste to every dish.
200g rice vermicelli noodles
1 cup of shredded carrots
1 cup of sliced cucumber
¼ cup of coriander leaves
¼ cup of mint leaves
2-3 tbsp of soy sauce or fish sauce
3-4 tbsp of lime juice
2 tspn of sugar
2 clove garlic, minced
1 small chilli, finely chopped (optional)
¼ cup crushed peanuts (optional)
200gr of cooked tiger prawns (optional)
Boil the rice noodles according to the pack instructions. Drain and set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together soya sauce, lime juice, sugar, minced garlic, and chilli for the dressing. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the cooked noodles, shredded carrots, cucumber, coriander, and mint.
Pour the dressing over the noodle mixture and toss gently until mixed well.
Place the salad onto serving plates and optionally, you can top with crushed peanuts for a crunchy finish or cooked tiger prawns for a fancy finish.
Last but not least, as we look forward to sunny days across April and May, is something to quench your thirst. This is my recipe for a minty strawberry cocktail, which might encourage you to grow strawberries or mint.
1 medium bowl of frozen chopped strawberries
5-6 mint leaves, chopped
1 shot of your preferred gin (optional)
2 cups of strawberry lemonade
pansy flower ice cubes
Using a hand blender, grind the chopped strawberries and mint leaves in a bowl. Add the lemonade. Sift the mixture from its pulp and transfer into a small jug. Add gin (optional) and ice.
You can have a lot of fun garnishing cocktail drinks. Here I have used watermelon, pineapple leaves, and also my famous pansy ice cubes - my friends and family know that I will never serve any fun drinks without these pretty ice cubes.
Dina Watt, an Indonesian, now living in Aberdeenshire, is known as The Indonesian Cook. Dina’s love of nature and gardening fuels her passion for cooking using home-grown ingredients. She appeared on BBC's 'Beechgrove' in 4 episodes in 2021.
In her column, Dina shares her own adventurous recipes for delicious home-cooked meals that are easy to make using home-grown, seasonal fruits and vegetables from her own kitchen garden. She is passionate about using every bit of the plant in order to practice zero-waste principles.