market-produce-recipes | Lewes Food Market

Seasonal Recipes using market produce

There are endless variations on pasta, pita bread & eggs limited only by your imagination and of course likes and dislikes. These foods make nourishing and sustaining mid-day lunches.

A few simple recipes - adaptable to suit both children and adults - to help the packed lunch dilemmas...

You can buy pasta made from buckwheat, corn and quinoa as well as wheat cook the pasta and add loads of other ingredients especially lots of vegetables.

It's really easy and fun for children to help make pita bread so if you have the time make up a couple of batches and keep them in the deep freeze ready to thaw and pop in a filling.

Frittatas are endlessly versatile and if you are short of time, there’s no need to make them from scratch, they can be made in minutes with fridge leftovers..

Pita bread

450g wholemeal flour

12g fresh yeast

pinch of sugar

275ml tepid water

3 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon salt

Makes 6

Filling Suggestions

Smoked mackerel, cos lettuce and potato salad

Falafel with houmous and salad leaves

Roast pumpkin with ricotta cheese

Scrambled eggs with baby spinach

Roast vegetables & pesto.

Place the flour & salt in a bowl and make a dip in the center and pop in the yeast, pinch of sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and 6 tablespoons of the tepid water. Stir gently then cover over with some of the flour from the edge, and leave until it begins to froth.

Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and enough of the remaining water and mix the yeast mixture and flour together to make a soft but not too sticky dough. Knead the dough well for about 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic and no longer sticks to your fingers. Brush the inside of a clean bowl with a little olive oil, put in the dough, and roll around to cover the dough with oil. Put a dampened cloth over the bowl and leave in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size (about 1½ - 2 hours).

Turn the dough on to a floured board and divide into six. Roll each piece with a floured rolling pin, forming ½" thick ovals. Place these on a floured cloth in a warm place. Cover with another cloth and leave to rise for 20 minutes.

Preheat your oven to the highest setting and pop in two lightly oiled baking sheets. When the bread has risen, slip them carefully on to the baking sheets, spray with water and bake for 10 minutes without opening the door. Cool on a rack.

Fattoush

250 g tomatoes

4 spring onions

1/2 cucumber

1 romaine lettuce or handful of rocket

1 large bunch flat-leaf parsley chopped

1 handful of mint leaves chopped

juice of ½ lemon

50 ml olive oil

salt and pepper

2 pitta breads

2 teaspoons sumac powder

This Lebanese salad made from tomato, cucumber, onions and toasted pitta bread has a tangy taste from the sumac, a zingy lemony spice. If you can not find sumac add the zest of 1 lemon instead.

Serves 2

Cut the tomatoes into small chunks, finely slice the spring onions, slice the cucumber, (peeled if you prefer) shred the lettuce or pick over the rocket and combine altogether in a bowl. Mix in the parsley & mint. Combine the lemon and olive oil, season well with salt and pepper and mix into the salad.

Toast the pitta breads until lightly golden. When cool, tear into pieces and combine with the salad. Spoon into a lunch box container and sprinkle over the sumac.

Broccoli green bean & sausage pasta salad

250g pasta

150g french beans cut into small pieces

150g broccoli florets

handful of parsley chopped

teaspoon tamari soy sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cooked sausages cut into discs

salt and pepper

Serves 4

Bring a pan of water with ½ teaspoon of salt to the boil and tip in the broccoli cook for 2 minutes. Spoon out with a slotted spoon and plunge into a bowl of cold water for 1 minute, drain and set to one side.

Using the same water cook the pasta, adding the french beans for the final 2 minutes of cooking time. Drain, rinse with cold water then drain again. Tip into a bowl with the chopped herbs, tamari, olive oil, salt and pepper and toss well. Mix in the broccoli and sausage and pack into lunch box container.

Pumpkin, spinach & cheddar frittata

175g pumpkin diced

1/2 onion, chopped

Olive oil & butter

Salt & pepper

4 eggs

handful spinach leaves

120g High Weald Cheddar

Serves 2-4

Roast the pumpkin with the onion in olive oil in a hot oven for 10 minutes. Remove, stir in the spinach leaves and return to the oven for 1 minute to wilt the leaves. Remove and season well

Beat the eggs in a bowl and stir in the pumpkin mixture. Take a large fry pan and swirl round a little olive oil and butter over a medium heat. Pour in the egg mixture and cook until it begins to set at the edge

Transfer to a medium hot oven 190°C 375F and bake for 10 - 15 minutes until golden and firm

Slide out of the pan and cool

Cut into wedges, pop in greaseproof paper bag and pack into a lunch box.

Muesli bars

5 tbsp sunflower seeds

5 tbsp pumpkin seeds

125g ready to eat dried figs hard tip removed

75g sultanas

200g butter

6 tbsp honey

300g rolled oats

100g porridge oats