Jane’s Journal

Fig Leaf Ice cream

Figs are my favourite fruit - that heady aroma my favourite summer smell.

I even have a fig tree outside my bedroom. It produces masses of leaves but very few figs.

When I saw mention of a fig leaf ice cream being served at my favourite restaurant I had to investigate and see if I could try it myself.

The result was so much better than I even imagined - it is just the perfect flavour for ice cream - that warmth and fullness comes through in a sweet, creamy, honeyed taste.

Nettle pasta

I read recently an article about how it isn't just the quantity of fruits and vegetables that we eat that matters for our health, but their diversity. The more variety the better - even variety in tiny, tiny amounts counts - bringing vital often quite specific nutrients.

It is research that connects the forager to the mainstream - moves the collecting of wild greens or berries from the "Country Living" lifestyle to something that is much more core and vital. Something that we should all be incorporating where possible perhaps - not in a "wafting through the meadow with our trug" kind of way, or in a survivalist way, but as something much more everyday.

Not as an alternative to the weekly shop, but as an addition.

It inspired me to incorporate nettles into my pasta recipe - I tend to cut nettles to the ground in April so early July always means a new crop of fresh leaves. If you don't have any nettles then spinach, kale, water cress or any cookable greens work too.

Making calendula tea

This simple floral tea is great as a drink, it is particularly good for treating the first stages of UTIs.

You can also make it stronger and then decant it into a spray bottle and use it to calm sunburn, nettle stings and insect bites.

You need:

Method:

Make Sumayya Usmani's Attock Chana Rijai

This recipe for Attock Chana Rijai is by Sumayya Usmani of Kaleyard Cook School and Kitchen. You can read more about her enterprise in this feature.

Ingredients:

• 250g brown basmati rice
• 2 tbsp ghee
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 star anise
• 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 1 black cardamom pod
• 2 large red onions, cut into half moons
• 1 tsp each of crushed garlic and grated ginger
• 400g chickpeas or 300g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and boiled
• Sea salt, to taste
• 2 green chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
• 25 ml water

Method:

Wash the rice, rinse and soak in a bowl of water for 1 hour, then drain.

Heat the ghee in a saucepan with a lid over a medium heat until melted. Add the cumin, star anise, peppercorns and black cardamom and fry for about 30 seconds until the ghee is fragrant, or until the cumin begins to pop.

Add the onions, garlic and ginger and fry, stirring over a medium heat for 3–4 minutes until the onions are soft and light brown. Add the drained chickpeas, salt and green chilli and fry for a further 30 seconds.

Add the drained rice, stir and mix for about 1 minute, then pour in 250ml water, or enough water to cover the rice. Reduce the heat to low, cover the saucepan with the lid and cook for about 4–5 minutes in order to par-cook the rice.

Once par-cooked the water should be almost absorbed. If it’s totally absorbed add 2 tbsp water, stir gently. Cover the pan with foil firmly around the edges, cover tightly with the lid, reduce the heat to as low, and let it cook in its own steam for about 10–12 minutes until the rice is cooked through and all the water has been absorbed.

Serve with Greek yogurt or raita.