Aubergine and Green Bean Curry

Yup, no school run means more cookin'. Time to grill some auberine.

This time in wedges for a curry. I then made some curry paste with onion, coriander, cumin, garlic, lemongrass, turmeric, ginger, and a couple of mild chillis.

Have I mentioned I love my food processor? It's the kind of love that really lasts.

The paste and grilled aubergine went in the fridge overnight, because I was fed up with cooking at that point and my husband offered to cook something else instead.

So the next day, when we got back from our outing, I cooked the paste for a while, then put in the aubergines (5 in total).

In went a can of tomatoes and a can of coconut milk.

That went in to simmer for a half hour and looked like a gloupy mess.

I toasted some cashews. If you pronounce it Ca-SHOOOOO! you can pretend you are sneezing.

Once the curry had simmered long enough I put in green beans just long enough really to heat them through, a few minutes.

And I artfully chopped some cilantro/fresh coriander on a chopping board that was given to us as a wedding gift. It took us some 7 years to gather the courage to actually use it (it's real purdy), but we're over that now.

And finally, it all went together on some rice. All was well with the world, especially since there was enough left over to make another family meal for the freezer. Of course, when I say "family meal", I mean my husband and I will eat it, my eldest will force half of his down, and the other two will try to dig out the rice not touching the curry.

For the recipe, you can go here, or find it copied and pasted below:

For the curry paste
5-6 shallots (or 1 onion), peeled and finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
2 thumb-sized pieces ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
2 lemongrass stalks, tough outer layers removed, finely sliced
5-6 green chillies (medium-hot), deseeded and roughly chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric

For the curry
5 large aubergines
About 6 tbsp sunflower oil
300ml passata, or sieved roasted tomatoes
400ml tin coconut milk
300g french beans
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 handful chopped coriander leaves
75g cashews or almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)
Lime wedges, to serve

Put all the curry paste ingredients in a blender with a tablespoon of water; whizz to a coarse paste. If necessary, stop the motor a few times so you can scrape down the sides.

Cut each aubergine in half lengthways, cut each half into three lengthways, then halve each piece, so you end up with 12 wedges from each aubergine.

Heat two or three tablespoons of oil over a medium-high heat in a large, nonstick frying pan. Sauté the aubergine wedges in batches, until lightly browned, adding more oil as needed. As you remove each cooked batch from the pan, lay the wedges on kitchen paper to drain.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large, deep saucepan and add half the curry paste (refrigerate the rest for another use). Fry over medium heat, stirring constantly, for three to four minutes, then add the aubergines and stir for a minute or two until coated with the spice mixture. Add the passata and coconut milk, and simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes. Add the french beans and simmer until tender – about five minutes.

Season generously, then stir in the chopped coriander. If using the nuts, scatter them over the top. Serve with lime wedges and rice.

Aubergine Parmigiana

The summer holidays are upon us once more. Once I got rid of the idea that I could be at all productive in my own studies during this period, I started to thoroughly enjoy myself. I do not have to currently rush my children out the door every morning, nor do I have to spend at least 3 hours of the day getting them to and from school and playgroup.

No, instead we have been on day trips to 3 different local beaches, to the zoo, to the Kelpies and the Helix, and, somewhat less excitingly, we have had a leisurely trip to Costco and Ikea where we were fairly self restrained in our purchases, investing instead in parenting smugness.

My husband works from home in our small flat, so the pressure is always on to get everyone outside, but today things outside did not look good. The forecast was rain, rain, and more rain. Not wanting to visit the museum AGAIN, and dealing with three kids who were still tired from outings earlier this week, we decided to have a day mostly at home, leaving the flat only to go to the shops for rations.

After spending three hours playing monopoly (where I was not, I confess, able to hold myself back, even with a five year old pouting) I set to work on this baby, a rainy day meal to be sure:



The vegetarian meal that doesn't feel vegetarian, and is available in every respectable good Italian restaurant: Aubergine/eggplant Parmigiana. A meal, as Mr River Cottage dude says, is somehow greater than the sum of all its parts. And it is simple, if it does take ages. Don't kid yourself, grilling those aubergines/eggplants always takes a while, and is a big pain the the backside, but it is worth it if you have the time.

I sliced 5 small ones and gave them a dose of olive oil with my pastry brush then put them on to grill.

They came out in various shades of doneness; this was part of the first batch to come out:

It took 3 batches to finish them, taking quite a while to cook through.

The sauce was put on while they cooked - just a simple affair of tinned tomatoes, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, and some fresh basil thrown in once it had sufficiently thickened.

Then three layers went into a baking dish: aubergines, then sauce, then fresh mozzarella and parmesan, and this was repeated three times over.

After forty minutes in the oven, it came out looking like this:

And smelled amazing. I served it with garlic bread. Look at that precision, how carefully the lines were cut, how beautifully the bread was shaped.

Yeah, that's because I bought it ready-made from Lidl. 

I can't give you their recipe for it, but I can give you the Aubergine one:

INGREDIENTS5 small eggplants (about 2 pounds)
4-5 tablespoons olive oil
2 balls buffalo mozzarella (about 4ounces each), torn into pieces
About 1.25 ounces parmesan, hard goat cheese, or other well-flavored hard cheese, grated
For the tomato sauce:2 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 (14-ounce) cans plum toamtoes, coarsely chopped, any stalky ends and skin removed
Good handfull of fresh basil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
a little sugar

METHOD

Trim aubergines and cut into thin slices lengthwise. Heat your grill/broiler to high heat, then brush each slice with olive oil and grill on each side until browned. Remove to paper towels and continue until all are cooked.

Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a very large, wide pan over medium heat.
Add the onions and garlic and saute gently for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until soft. Add the tomatoes with their juice. Bring to a simmer, then simmer briskly, stirring often, for about half an hour, or until the sauce is thick and rich. Season well with salt and pepper and a little sugar to taste, then add basil and leave to infuse.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Lay a third of the eggplant slices in the bottom of an ovenproof dish, 8 by 10 inches and at least 2 inches deep. Cover with a third of the tomato sauce. Dot a third of the mozzarella over the sauce, then scatter a thin layer of grated cheese over that. Repeat with the remaining ingredients so you have three layers in the dish.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes, until bubbling and golden on top. Serve with lots of fresh green salad – and bread, if you like.

Cauliflower Pakora with Mango Raita

Around here, we are big fans of "two day meals", dishes that you prepare in large quantities and then eat two nights in a row. Yes, if you are really clever, you freeze the other half so it doesn't feel so much like leftovers, but we just aren't that organized most of the time. And it's kind of nice to have a break from cooking the next day after cooking a meal that size.

The night before these photos were taken my husband made a large curry, complete with naan. As we would just be heating up the leftovers the next day, I saw a cauliflower in the fridge and decided to try making a starter/side dish that would go well with the spices of our dinner. I had a recipe in my Veg Every Day cookbook for cauliflower pakora, so I thought I'd give it a bash as I had pretty much everything on the list of ingredients and it looked simple enough. 

One of our local corner shops used to sell little pakoras and samosas for hungry intoxicated people, but alas they have just shut and have posted a big sign in their window blaming the new local supermarket for their closure. I am sad to have lost a local business that supplied me with cheap large bags of spices, but I do wish they hadn't been so darned rude to their customers. Every time I went in I wanted to shout GET OFF THE PHONE or LOOK AT YOUR CUSTOMER, NOT THE TV. Instead I just quietly purchased my goods and muttered to myself. 

Ho hum, back to cooking things...

First I chopped some fresh coriander and added it with some mango chutney to some plain yoghurt. My kids pronounce yoghurt the American way - I have real trouble with the British pronunciation - it's hard enough adding that weird h in there.

Then I stirred it together and set it aside to let the flavours get to know each other.

Then in another bowl I put the flour, some baking powder, some salt, and some spices (coriander, cumin, and turmeric). The recipe asked for a bit more heat in the form of cayenne, but I didn't have any.

All those got whisked together to make sure they were well blended.

Then I gradually added water until it was a fairly thick consistency - like double cream he suggested.

In went the cauliflower.

It'll look better in a minute, trust me.

In small batches I fried them in a bit of oil, just a couple minutes on one side...

Then flipped them over and around a bit more afterwards if I thought they needed it.

Slowly I built up a pile.

A very good smelling pile.

Until it was time to serve up!

They were pretty good, though I might play with the spices to make them even more tasty.

Cauliflower Pakora with Mango Raita from Veg Every Day

• 1 medium-large cauliflower (800g), trimmed and cut into small florets, no more than 2cm across in any direction.
• Sunflower oil, for frying

For the batter

• 150g chickpea flour (go to your local Indian store)
• 1/2 t baking powder
• 2 t ground cumin
• 2 t ground coriander
• 1/2 t ground turmeric
• A good shake of cayenne pepper
• 1/2 t fine sea salt

For the mango raita

• 6 heaped T full-fat yoghurt
• handful of chopped coriander
• 2 tsp mango chutney
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. For the raita mix all the ingredients together seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Put in the fridge.
2. For the batter, put the gram flour, baking powder, ground spices and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine and get rid of any lumps. Slowly whisk in 175ml of icy cold water – you are looking for a batter with the consistency of double cream
3. Add the florets into the batter and turn them to make sure they are thoroughly coated.
4. Heat about 1cm depth of oil in a heavy-based pan over a medium-high heat. When the oil is hot enough to turn a cube of white bread light golden brown in 30-40 seconds, start cooking the pakoras, a few at a time so you don’t crowd the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes, until crisp and golden brown on the base, then turn over and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
5. Drain the pakoras on kitchen paper, then serve piping hot with the raita for dipping

Raw beetroot, citrus, and walnut salad

I never have been a huge fan of beetroot.  When we got boxes from the farm every week, I always stared resentfully at the pound or more of beetroot they would send when it was in season.  I baked with it a few times, put it in a gratin a few times, boiled it for salads, and even put its cooked form in burgers (something I highly recommend).  Mostly, though, it stayed in the fridge until it started growing things and was then chucked out.

But yesterday, having decided on making lasagne as the main for dinner (using the frozen batch of bolognese sauce leftover from the last time I made it), I thought I'd try something different for our salad. Scanning the produce aisles, I saw little bundles of beetroot winking at me.  More rich in vitamin C than pretty much anything, it seemed a wise choice for a household afflicted with illness.  But how to cook it?  I went home and consulted my newish Veg Every Day book and saw a raw beetroot salad that sounded appealing, since it meant I didn't have to cook anything to make it.

So first I peeled the beetroot (wearing gloves - this stuff's juice can get everywhere if you aren't careful) and put it through the coarse grater on my Magimix. I don't miss the days of doing this by hand, though it would have been easy enough.

Then in went the juice of a small orange and half a lemon.

Then a dash of olive oil and a handful of parsley.

While I let that all soak together, I toasted some walnuts in a dry pan.  You're supposed to add cumin seeds too, but I had forgotten that I used mine up last week, so we went without.

I also decided to throw in some apple chunks.  This was an attempt to lure the children into trying the salad.  It didn't work all that well on them, but the apple was nice in the salad.

Then right before serving, I bashed the walnuts a bit and threw them on top

Then mixed it all up

It was really nice.  Not cooking the beetroot gave it a fresh, crunchy texture, and the magenta vegetable looked so bright and cheerful on the plate, all contrasting well with the soft, creamy lasagne.  I'd be tempted to add in some of the citrus zest next time, too.

Beetroot with walnuts and apple 

adapted from Veg Every Day

75g walnuts

About 400g beetroot

A good handful of parsley, chopped

Juice of 1 small orange

Juice of half a lemon

2 Tbsp olive oil (or rapeseed oil)

1 apple, chopped

Salt and pepper

Peel the beetroot and grate it coarsely, whether it be by hand or machine, and put into a bowl.  Add the parsley, orange juice, lemon juice, olive oil, and some salt and pepper.  Give it a good mix and leave for 20 minutes or so.

Toast the walnuts in a dry pan over medium heat for a few minutes, until they smell toasted and are starting to colour in a few places.  Bash them a bit with pestle and mortar.

Add apple and walnuts to salad, stir to combine and serve.

Lasagne Bolognese with a salad of Hazelnuts, Brussels Sprouts, and Apple

Ahhh...lasagne.  Comfort food doesn't come much better than this.

Though admittedly I haven't always been a huge fan.  We never made it in my house growing up, though we did buy various frozen versions of it.  I was served it in cafeterias and at friends' houses, but it was always American lasagne.  Americans like to use ricotta as a layer, a cheese I find unpalatable in texture, too much like paste.  If they don't use ricotta then they use some other cheese like goat's cheese or cottage cheese.  But the baked pasta, the flavourful sauces all made up for this, and I was happy enough to eat it.

It wasn't until I visited my aunt in Australia that I first tried a true lasagne bolognese and was blown away.  Instead of cheese as a layer, you use a bechemel sauce (a white sauce) and the difference for me was astounding.  Everything melted together in one gorgeous whole, and I was in awe.  I asked my aunt for the recipe for the white sauce, for how she came up with the idea to use it and she looked at me as if I was nuts.  "It's just a white sauce!" she exclaimed.

Oh.  Right.  A few months later I was back in the UK and Michael suggested we make some lasagne.  We turned to Joy of Cooking for the recipe and have continued to use the recipe there for lasagne bolognese ever since.  It is a long, laborious recipe, but as it lasts our whole family at least two meals, it is worth it.  We make it about once a month.  I made it yesterday as I needed an easy dinner to heat and give to the kids tonight before guising (what the Scots call trick or treating when they don't want to sound American).

This time I made a double batch of the bolognese sauce, as it is the long, drawn out sauce to make, and paired the lasagne with a salad that uses raw brussels sprouts.  I was doubtful the sprouts would work as a salad, but they really, really did.  I love brussels sprouts in any form, I confess (I even have a song for them which my children now sing too), but it's nice to have lots of different ways to prepare them.

But, first things first, the meat sauce.  As I said, I was doing a double batch so I got everything out.  The meat was fresh out the freezer and most of it was bison from Fife.  It's free range and allegedly leaner than beef, though if you are looking to cut fat out of your diet, this is not the recipe to try.

I put the oil on to heat and threw the bacon in in frozen lumps.  No, I didn't thaw it all the way out first.  Yes, I'm sure it would be better if I did.

Once I had browned it enough for it to smell it tastily browning...

I put in the chopped onions, carrots, and celery.

They were cooked until they'd softened a bit...and I wasn't feeling patient...

So I threw in the 2 big lumps of meat still frozen.  I actually like it going in frozen for this, as you slowly shave off the cooked parts from the frozen parts and it means you don't tend to end up with any accidental large lumps of mince.

Finally everything was looking un-thawed and browned,

So I added wine, stock, and tomato puree.  Not that much tomato goes into a real bolognese sauce, according to Joy of Cooking, contrary to all I'd heard before.

Once that was stirred in I got it all to simmer and added a little milk.

Then I let it simmer for two hours, continuing to add milk every so often, until finally it looked like this.  I froze half, and set the other half aside for the lasagne.

Now for the white sauce.  Nothing too fancy.

So I melted some butter.  Mmm...

To which I added flour.

And stirred it a couple of minutes.

I slowly added milk, stirring, until I had added all that was required, then I threw in celery leaves, carrot pieces, a halved onion, and a couple of cloves.

While stirring it regularly as it heated to just below simmering, I started on the sprouts.  I love them on the stalk, but generally I just love seeing them and all their nutty goodness.

I cut off the ends, and this lady peeled off the excess leaves.

Keep whisking, it's thickening now...

Good, the sprouts were all done...

And the sauce was ready - I strained it to get out the veggies and lose any accidental lumps.

Then to this was added seasoning.  The recipe says to add nutmeg here, but we tend to grate it onto everything as we layer the lasagne.

Now for the spinach pasta - I like to sneak greens in where I can.

Basically I threw it all in the food processor with the dough blade: eggs, thawed spinach, flour, and a bit of salt

And held onto the machine for dear life until it produced this.

Then I let it rest for a while during the school run.  Only a half hour is needed.  It makes it easier to roll out the longer you leave it.  I then divided it into four pieces, one for each layer.


First into the dish went a layer of meat sauce,

Then I rolled out one piece of pasta dough to roughly the size of the dish.  Precision is not essential.

Someone else made their own version.

I transferred the rolled out pasta into the dish.

Then went a layer of meat sauce and white sauce.  My son claims he does not like white sauce, so I stirred them together to change the colour.

Then I added nutmeg, seasoning, and parmesan.

Then another layer of pasta

And another mixed layer, then another set but on top of the final piece of pasta

I just put white sauce and parmesan with nutmeg and seasoning - no meat sauce.

It was all wrapped in foil and put in the oven for 40 minutes.

While it was in there I roasted some hazelnuts.

Then rubbed them in a tea towel to get off most of the skin

And used the food processor to thinly slice the sprouts.  I think the recipe's author was under the illusion that the reader would want to slice these thinly by hand.  Aye, right.

Onto them went some lemon juice and olive oil

As well as these: some thinly sliced apples.  I love apple season.

I then took the foil off the lasagne and put it back in to brown further.

While I put the nuts on the salad

Sometimes I like it a bit more brown than this, but hey, it was good and everyone ate it.  I should have taken a photo of a slice of it, but I was too busy, you know, eating it.  My family got some too.

I'll type up the recipes later, but if you are dying to look at one of them now, the bolognese sauce is here http://joyofcooking.wordpress.com/2007/11/17/bolognese-sauce-ragu-bolognese-page-307/,   I can't easily find the others online just now.

Brussels Sprouts, Hazelnuts & Apple Salad (adapted from River Cottage Veg Every Day)

Ingredients

100g hazelnuts

300g very fresh Brussels sprouts, trimmed

juice of one lemon

3 1/2 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp thyme

2 tart eating apples 

Method

Preheat oven to 180.  Scatter nuts on baking sheet and toast until fragrant and browned, about 8-10 min.  If they are skin-on, wrap in a clean tea towel then rub vigorously to remove most of skins.  Set aside.

With slicer attachment, slice Brussels sprouts thinly, then place in bowl.  Pour over lemon juice, olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper and stir to coat leaves evenly.  

Quarter and core apple then thinly slice in food processor.  Combine with sprouts and toss lightly.   Scatter nuts over the top and serve.

Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients

3 Tbsp olive oil

30g smoky bacon bits

1 large carrot, chopped

2 celery sticks, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

500g buffalo

175 ml beef stock

160 ml white wine

3 Tbsp tomato puree

375 ml whole milk

Method

Heat olive oil over medium low heat and add bacon.  Cook until it starts to release its fat.

Add veg and soften them, about 5 min

Add the meat and brown it.

Stir in wine, stock, stock and tomato puree.

Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently, partially covered, for 2 hours, occasionally adding milk 2 Tbsp at a time until all has been added.  Season to taste.

Lasagne Bolognese

Ingredients

1 batch Bolognese sauce

Plenty of Parmesan cheese

1 batch spinach pasta (recipe to follow)

40g butter

40g flour

875ml whole milk

1 small onion, halved

1/2 carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped

4 celery leaves

2 whole cloves

Freshly grated nutmeg

Method

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  

Add flour, stirring until well blended.  Cook for a couple minutes.

Gradually stir in milk, whisking constantly to avoid lumps.

Stir in onion, carrot, celery leaves and cloves.

Simmer gently, stirring often, until reduced by one third, about 15 minutes.

Strain the sauce into a bowl and discard vegetables.

Preheat oven to 180

Spread a thin layer of meat sauce over the bottom of the dish.  Cover with a layer of pasta.  Spread a thin layer of bechemel over the pasta and top with a thin layer of meat sauce.  Sprinkle over parmesan and freshly grated nutmeg and top with another layer of pasta.  Repeat the layers, reserving enough bechamel sauce to cover the final layer of pasta.  Loosely cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes

Remove foil and put back in oven to brown.  

Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Spinach Pasta

Ingredients

170g frozen spinach

500g plain flour

2 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

Method

Place flour and salt in food processor with dough blade and pulse to mix.  Squeeze water from spinach and add along with eggs, then pulse until forms a ball of dough.  Add olive oil if needed.  Set dough aside for half hour to rest before rolling out, keeping it covered to prevent it drying out.