Vegetable Sponge Cake

I don't know if I've already told you about the place I was born, 50 kilometres from Valladolid and 60 from Segovia. It's a region where the primary economic activity is horticulture. The area is known as the Carracillo Region, and although you won't find it called that on any map, it covers a huge expanse of land with pine forests and irrigable land where mainly carrots, leeks, strawberries and potatoes are grown.

Because of this, today I want to teach you a recipe in which the main ingredient is carrots - a carrot cake. It's a kind of sponge cake instead of a main meal.

Ingredients for carrot sponge cake (four servings)

• 150g peeled carrots
• 50g raw almonds
• 50g grated coconut
• 100g flour
• 4 eggs
• ½ packet of baking powder
• 200g sugar
• 100g butter

Preparation and cooking instructions

1. Wash the carrots and peel them using a potato peeler. Mix them together with the almonds using a pastry blender or a whisk.
2. Once the carrots and almonds have been mixed together, put them into a bowl and add the coconut, sugar, butter and eggs. Mix these ingredients together well using a whisk until you are left with an even, creamy dough.
3. When the dough has the same consistency throughout, add the flour sieved earlier and the baking powder. Stir through again so that it mixes in well.
4. Grease the cake tray's bottom and walls with butter to prevent the cake from sticking. Once greased, sprinkle the walls of the container with grated coconut.
5. Tip the mixture into the cake tray and place in a pre-heated oven at 180º for about half an hour. When the time is up, allow the cake to cool and serve.

Now, in honour of the region I live in, I'll teach you a recipe which uses carrots and leeks as its main ingredients, and another which just uses leeks.

Ingredients for leek and carrot sauce (four servings)

• 1 onion
• 4 leeks
• 50g butter
• 1 large potato
• Water
• 1/4 litre milk
• A touch of dairy cream
• Pepper
• Nutmeg and salt (optional)

Preparation and cooking instructions

1. Chop the onion and leeks (clean and with the green cut away) into thin slices. Place into a pan and poach or fry gently with butter at a low heat.
2. Peel the carrots and potatoes, chop into fine slices and add to the pan. Add water after 2 or 3 minutes and allow to boil for about half an hour. Sprinkle with pepper and nutmeg.
3. After half an hour is up, take pan off the hob and use a whisk to turn the mixture into a smooth, fine cream and allow to cool.
4. Before serving, mix the milk and dairy cream into the puree and add the salt. Serve hot - you can also add a topping of fried serrano ham slices, which give a very succulent touch.

The final recipe for this entry, whose main ingredients are grown in my region, is leek pie.

Ingredients for leek pie (four servings):

• 500g leek(s)
• 1 ladle flour
• 200g prawns
• Salt and white pepper
• Two sheets of puff pastry
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 220ml single cream
• 1 egg yolk

Preparation and cooking instruction

1. Clean and cut the leeks into slices, then cook. When finished, drain well and transfer to a frying pan with butter.
2. Peel the prawns and add the uncooked potatoes to the frying pan with the leeks. The prawns don't need to be cooked.
3. Add the single cream and egg yolk, and add the salt and pepper.
4. Add a little flour to give the mixture some consistency and mix in.
5. When the filling is ready, place one sheet of puff pastry into the cake tray and pour the mixture onto it. Cover with the other sheet of puff pastry. Greasing the tray may make it easier to remove the cake afterwards. Place in a preheated oven at 180º until golden.

These are some easy recipes which use products grown in my region. :)