The fourth episode of series 2 of ‘GROW COOK EAT’ is set to air on Wednesday, April 3rd and presenter duo founder of GIY Michael Kelly and the GIY Head of Community Development Karen O’Donohoe meet a family of specialist mushroom growers in Wexford and an incredible community of growers in West Cork.
During the programme which will air on RTE 1 at 8.30pm, Michael and Karen get growing a variety of courgettes and expert food grower Mick Kelly shows us how to grow up to 40 Courgettes for just 20 cents. Three different varieties of courgettes are planted in the raised beds and Karen shows us just how easy it is to grow the veg in containers.
Karen heads to Wexford to meet Catherine and Nikk George who are specialist and exotic mushroom growers behind the business FancyFungi based in Galbally in Enniscorthy. She learns how their business developed from selling foraged wild mushrooms to local restaurants to having a farm dedicated to growing a huge variety of mushrooms which are sold to restaurants and retailers all across the country. Karen also learns about the Wexford Food Family, a group of 45 food members that support each other through this hands on network of cafes, producers and buyers.
Karen then hits to the road to Goleen in West Cork which boasts the most South Westerly community garden in Europe! Karen meets the people behind the garden, some of whom have moved to the area from Australia, Poland and the UK, for whom it is a place to meet people, learn new skills and support other valuable community initiatives such as Meals on Wheels and The Cottage Market.
Chef Katie Sanderson takes the variety of courgettes and shares an unusual and delicious recipe for Courgette Carpaccio with parmesan, walnut and crispy caper berries.
‘GROW COOK EAT’ is a very practical series, aimed at helping people with little or no knowledge of growing their own food. As well as the step-by-step guides to growing vegetables, the series showcases features on water harvesting and improving soil fertility.
The show is anchored at the home of GIY, at Grow HQ in Waterford City and each week the TV show also sees presenters Michael Kelly and Karen O’Donohoe travel to meet and visit expert food producers, chefs, and community food growing projects all across the country, plus delicious menu ideas will be shared weekly by Chef Katie Sanderson.
GROW COOK EAT airs each Wednesday evening at 8.30pm on RTE until April 24th; the show is sponsored by Bord Bia and StopFoodWaste.ie. For further details, the veg growing guides, lots of extra recipes and more info on each episode visit http://growcookeat.ie/
RECIPE BY CHEF KATIE SANDERSON
COURGETTE
Thinking up her recipe for the show Katie says, “Originally I was thinking about a stew but really courgettes are just so good raw, spiralized courgettes are a really nice alternative to pasta, but the big bulky machine sometimes puts me off.
This is summer on a plate.
Simple tasty food.”
Courgette Carpaccio with parmesan, walnut and crispy caper berries
Courgette yellow and green if possible
Parmesan
4 Walnuts Roasted
Capers drained and dried. 1 jar
Good quality olive oil
Sunflower oil for deep frying
Mandolin the courgettes so you have disc shapes or slightly elongated ovals,
Marinate the courgettes in olive oil and salt and pepper and leave to soak up the oil for 2-5 min.
In a small pot add some sunflower oil, drain the caperberries and pat dry with a tea towel. Once the oil is hot add the berries and be ready with a slotted spoon. They will flower open and
Lay the courgette discs out on a plate then microplane some parmesan and some roasted walnut on the top. Add the fried caper berries and some parsley.
Great served alongside an Heirloom tomato salad and some crunchy bread.