Recipes  

Brigitte and Ricardo’s 8 Favourite Garden Recipes

For Brigitte and Ricardo, their garden is like a little oasis in their backyard. Check out a few of their favourite seasonal recipes that star the fruits (and vegetables) from their harvest.

1. Pasta with Pesto, Raw Tomatoes and Burrata

Even if we grow several varieties of tomatoes, the cherry tomato remains the queen of our vegetable garden, because it just tastes like summer. And we like to cook it simply, served at room temperature with pesto in a warm pasta dish with bits of burrata.

2. Risotto with Pork Meatballs and Sugar Snap Peas

In our vegetable garden, we grow sugar snap peas almost exclusively to cook this risotto. It’s topped with tender pork meatballs and garnished with spicy kale chips, which we also grow.

3. Fresh Herb and Garlic Salt

Aside from pesto and salads, we also enjoy using the fresh herbs from our garden in a homemade salt. Dill, rosemary, parsley, mint; we take whatever we have on hand and mix it with coarse salt and garlic to sprinkle on our crudités.

4. Shrimp Burgers with Pickled Zucchini and Nasturtium Petals

We tend to grow a few edible flowers in our garden, like lavender, marigold and nasturtium. We opt for nasturtium leaves instead of lettuce in our burgers. They have a light peppery bite, reminiscent of arugula and watercress.

5. Decorated Focaccia (Focaccia d’Arte)

Herbs and vegetables really inspire us, especially Ricardo. He even enjoys making pretty patterns on focaccia. Simply spread out pizza dough on a baking sheet and drizzle on some olive oil before letting it rise. Then get creative when arranging your tomatoes and herbs before baking.

6. Strawberry and Verbena Water

While working in the garden, we always have a pitcher of flavoured water nearby, prepared with whatever fruit and herbs we have on hand. Some strawberries and verbena are just enough for a tall glass of this colourful and refreshing water.

7. White Sangria with Peaches

Cultivating peaches is never easy, but we hope to one day harvest enough to prepare a complete pitcher of this delicious sangria with white wine, white cranberry juice, orange liqueur and vodka. For the time being, we simply hit the produce aisle!

8. Floating Islands with Strawberries, Croutons and Lemon Balm

During summer, a simple bowl of fresh fruit is one of our favourite desserts. We make the most of strawberry season by baking simple yet superb desserts, like this floating island; it’s crème anglaise and meringue, topped with strawberries and croutons.