The last couple of months have been intensely busy for me as I have been drafting my book manuscript. Most other things in my regular routine, such as housework, cooking and social activities,  have fallen by the wayside and been neglected. Thank goodness for my parents and in-laws for the time they have given me to write and all the housework and activities with the kids they have organised on their visits.  About a month ago I did a quick garden check and saw that the little bok choy seedlings were being destroyed by snails or slugs. I feared we would have none to harvest as most of them were reduced to stumps.  I added (rather belatedly) some crushed egg shells around the base of the plants and they revived and regrew beautifully.

The image below shows the bok choy on the day I added the egg shells. As you can see they regrew beautifully once they were no longer feeding the snails.  Snails dislike the sharp edges of the dried egg shells. They tend to stay away once they have been placed near the plants.

Bok choy leaves can be picked as required, as with lettuce.  This allows the plant to continue to re-grow from the base. I find the flavor of bok choy to be quite overpowering but I enjoyed it in combination with the sweetness of our home grown fennel and the creaminess of the egg coating the pasta with a silky sauce. Warm winter comfort food that is quick to prepare for a family meal.

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Winter Vegetable Fettuccine

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

20 mins

 

Winter Vegetable Fettuccine, simple flavors of home grown vegetables make a wholesome family meal that is quick to prepare.

Course: Main

Servings: 2 -3

Author: Kyrstie Barcak - A Fresh Legacy

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 large fennel bulb sliced finely
• 3 cloves of garlic - chopped finely
• zest and juice of one lemon
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 bok choy - ends trimmed
• freshly ground black pepper
• freshly shaved Parmesan cheese
• fennel fronds

Instructions

1. Set a pot of water to boil on the stove top
2. Warm a pan on the stove top and add the oil
3. Once the water has boiled add the pasta to cook, then drain and put back into the saucepan
4. Add the sliced fennel and garlic when the oil has warmed and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes until the fennel has softened
5. Once softened add a few generous grinds of black pepper and add the lemon juice
6. Add the bok choy and stir until it just begins to wilt
7. To the saucepan that is holding the cooked and drained fettuccine, add the fennel and bok choy and the egg yolks, stir to coat the pasta and serve with more pepper if desired, parmesan and some fennel fronds

Recipe Notes

Don't add the egg yolk until last or it will scramble and give the pasta a lumpy coating rather than a silky one.

Leave out the egg if you wish to make a vegan meal. Note that the pasta will be drier if not coated by the egg yolk as it acts as a sauce.

I would love your tips on uses for excess bok choy if you have any good ones. I am working on something at the moment that requires this information and I am stumped! Thanks in advance.