A feast with the Contini family

Carina Contini comes from a family of British-Italian restaurateurs who’ve been feeding Scotland for generations. Four years ago they set about renovating an abandoned Victorian kitchen garden in East Lothian. Now it supplies fresh fruit and veg for all their restaurants. We joined Carina’s family and friends for an autumnal feast using some of her favourite ingredients picked straight from the garden

RECIPES CARINA CONTINI. PHOTOGRAPHS CHARLIE RICHARDS. FOOD STYLING LOTTIE COVELL. STYLING OLIVIA WARDLE

FOUR-COURSE MENU FOR SIX

Parsnip, haddock and cardamom kedgeree

Beetroot, orange and parsley salad [v]

Slow-cooked beef shin in ale Creamy mashed potato with nutmeg [v]

Pear, vanilla and praline tart

"Our kitchen garden is looking beautiful. We’re now in our fourth year of growing and the plants are bountiful and abundant. Whatever the weather, sunshine or rain (and we do get a little bit of rain in Scotland), five minutes in the garden is energising. It’s our spa session in the country.

Nature not only looks gorgeous but it also feeds us so well. These recipes are a mixture of my favourite things. I love Indian cooking, and the spices in the kedgeree really deliver. The beef shin is slow food that works well for a dinner party."

Carina Contini

MEET CARINA…

With husband Victor, Carina runs three restaurants in Edinburgh: Contini Ristorante, The Scottish Café & Restaurant and Cannonball. They also have cafés and an events company. Their kitchen garden has heritage varieties of fruit and veg, and an abundance of herbs. The chefs change the menus daily, depending on what’s on offer – and yes, they do still have courgettes in October (see p39).

Parsnip, haddock and cardamom kedgeree

SERVES 4-6. HANDS-ON TIME 1 HOUR, SIMMERING TIME 15 MIN

“This kedgeree is lighter than most as it has more vegetables. You can grate the parsnips so they dissolve into the rice and give a delicate background favour, or cut them into cubes for more of a contrast.”

MAKE AHEAD

This makes more curry powder than you need – it will keep for up to 2 months.

Poach the haddock and roast the parsnips in advance. Keep the milk, haddock and parsnips separately in the fridge for 4-6 hours. Warm the milk before adding it to the kedgeree. FOOD TEAM’S TIPS This is quite a spicy dish, so it’s good to serve it with yogurt. To make it milder, use only ½ tsp chilli flakes in the curry powder.