These days of early summer with crisp young greens at the market and the garden fizzing with new growth are glorious. This week, I stuffed great handfuls of spinach – thick stemmed, leaves as pointed as an arrow – into a deep saucepan, letting them cook for a minute or two in their own steam, then tossed them with young broad beans into a classic, aromatic white sauce. The filling was then covered with a rubble of butter crumbs and baked until the green-freckled sauce bubbled up around the edges and the crumble was lightly crisp.
Deeper into summer, I will make this recipe with lightly cooked runner beans and shredded summer cabbage. Blanched asparagus may go in, too, especially now the price of homegrown spears has come down. The crucial point is to make a seriously good sauce, using cloves, bay leaves and onion, but also to give your sauce the baptism of time. A béchamel, thoughtfully seasoned and given a good 25 minutes or longer over a very low heat with scarcely a bubble to be heard, is a cook’s time well spent.
The sauce will happily take some fat, cooked butter beans, nuggets of crisp bacon or a spoonful of fried onions. You could add a handful of finely grated cheese to the crumble if you fancied, but I’m not sure it is necessary.
The crumble came to the table with a crunchy salad: cool cucumber and microgreens (radish sprouts, broccoli and alfalfa) and the punch of wasabi paste. The contrasts of cool, crisp and hot made for a better cucumber salad than I can remember, one that I must bring out more often. The microgreens were more than purely cosmetic; they carry peppery notes that make their inclusion worthwhile.
Green vegetable crumble
A calming dish of gentle summer flavours. It is worth mentioning that the crumble can be assembled the day before and baked as needed. Serves 4
milk 600ml
bay leaves 3
onion 1, small
cloves 4
black peppercorns 6
butter 50g
plain flour 50g
crème fraîche 100g
spinach 500g, large-leafed variety
peas 200g, podded weight
broad beans 400g, podded weight
For the crumble:
flour 100g
butter 100g
breadcrumbs 50g, soft and fresh
thyme leaves 1 tbsp
Pour the milk into a saucepan, add the bay leaves and the onion, peeled and cut in half, then add the cloves and whole peppercorns. Watch carefully, then just as the milk is reaching boiling point, remove from the heat and set aside for 20 minutes to infuse.
In a nonstick saucepan, melt the butter over a moderate heat, then stir in the flour. When you have a thick, biscuit-coloured paste, let it cook for a minute or two, stirring regularly, then pour in the milk, slowly, stirring constantly, holding the aromatics back in the pan (you can discard them, they have done their work).
Keep the sauce at a low to moderate heat, stirring regularly, and let it cook for a good 20-25 minutes. Should the sauce be lumpy, then beat with a whisk until smooth. Stir in the crème fraîche. Check the seasoning and set aside.
Make the crumble: put the flour in a mixing bowl and rub in the butter with your fingertips (or give it a quick blast in a food processor) until it resembles the texture of coarse fresh breadcrumbs. Add the breadcrumbs, the thyme leaves and 1 tbsp of water. Shake the bowl from side to side until you get a good mixture of crumbs of different size, then set aside.
Wash the spinach and pile the leaves, still wet, into a pan, cover tightly with a lid and cook for a minute or two over a high heat. When the leaves have relaxed (they cook in their own steam) drain, then gently squeeze most of the moisture out and set aside. Fill the empty pan with water and bring to the boil. Cook the peas for 3 or 4 minutes, then remove with a draining spoon. Bring the water back to the boil, add the beans and cook for 6 or 7 minutes or until tender. Drain and mix with the peas.
Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Add the drained spinach to the peas and beans, then stir into the sauce. Check the seasoning for salt and black pepper, then spoon into a gratin or other shallow, ovenproof dish or, if you prefer, four individual baking dishes. Sprinkle the crumbs over the surface and bake for about 25 minutes until lightly browned.
Cucumber, microgreens, wasabi
Crisp, refreshing and with a mild horseradish warmth. A good accompaniment for grilled prawns or lamb cutlets. Serves 4 as a side salad
shallot 1, small
rice vinegar 1 tbsp
cucumber 1, medium
wasabi paste 2 tsp
olive oil 3 tbsp
parsley leaves 2 tbsp
dill fronds 2 tbsp
microgreens or sprouted seeds 50g
Peel the shallot, chop it finely and put it in a mixing bowl. Pour over the rice vinegar and let it sit for 15 minutes. This will soften the shallot’s pungency.
Peel the cucumber, slice in half from stalk to tip, then scrape out the seeds with a teaspoon. Cut the flesh into short lengths, about 2cm, then put them in a mixing bowl.
Using a small hand whisk or fork, make the dressing. Put the wasabi paste and a pinch of salt into a small bowl, add the oil and beat until well mixed. Stir in 2 tbsp of the vinegar from the shallots. Pour the dressing over the cucumber, then add the shallot. Roughly chop the parsley and dill, then add to the salad and stir gently. Separate the microgreens (they tend to clump) and scatter over the cucumber.
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