Astute readers will notice I’ve been posting a lot of vegetable recipes lately. This is because we have resumed our organic veggie box from Riverford, and are currently overrun with veg!

We have a *lot* of peppers; some from our own garden, some from a friend, and some in the veg box … and some left over from a jar of roasted peppers.

With the latter, I whizzed them up with the water that I soaked some shallots in (did you know that soaking shallots in boiling water for five minutes makes them easier to peel? – and that I’m too mean to throw it away? :). That liquid, with some finely chopped carrot, leek, courgette and a small green pepper, made a nice soup, with some chickpeas added for bulk.

And last night, I made a bitsa risotto, with peppers and a leek sauteéd in olive oil, and some cubed pancetta, vermouth, and a handful of chopped parsley thrown in at the end. Sometimes bitsa meals really work, and this one did!

Now then – what to do with two cauliflowers? …