Scroll through for some snaps of the week- courgettes and green fields abundant!

Hi everyone,

We’ve had a week of early mornings and late evenings in the field, slowly but steadily planting out leeks and tackling the weeds in our brassica patch. The courgettes have soaked up the sun and produced some bumper fruits. There are a few that have sort of fused together as they’ve grown; if you have one of these, don’t worry, they’re perfectly good to eat, it’s just something that sometimes happens temperature irregularity is one possible cause, and I think we can safely say that’s high up on the probability list this spring!).

One of my favourite ways to prepare courgettes is with spicy smoked paprika (you can also use regular smoked paprika if you don’t like chilli), and that goes really nicely with a creamy broad bean mash and buttery new potatoes. Scrub your potatoes, cut them to regular sizes and steam or boil until tender all the way through. Meanwhile, pod your broad beans and boil them for a few minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water to keep them bright green, and slip the bigger ones out of their skins. Roughly mash the beans with olive oil, some minced garlic, lemon juice and zest, salt, pepper and a handful of fresh, chopped herbs (parsley, dill, basil and coriander are all great). In a big bowl, mix together oil, smoked paprika and salt, and then toss thickly sliced courgettes until well coated. Lay the strips out in a hot pan – leave in place for a while so that they blister and char slightly. Pressing down with a spatula can help to release the moisture more quickly, too. When the potatoes are cooked, drain and toss with butter until coated and season with salt and plenty of pepper. Serve the beans, potatoes and courgettes together with a lemony side salad of sliced radish or grated beets. Click here for the full recipe.

Have a lovely weekend!

Lauren and the Tir Awel team x