Aubergine/eggplant caviar

A nice simple roasted aubergine and red pepper spread. Next time I might add some chilli and raw garlic to sharpen up the flavours.

2 aubergines / eggplants
1 red capsicum / pepper
Half a head/bulb garlic, unpeeled
Squirt of lemon juice, to taste
Salt, to taste
Olive or vegetable oil, to grease

1) Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (about 350F). Cut tops off aubergines, prick several times into the body with a sharp knife or fork (to let steam escape so they don’t explode, like when you bake potatoes!). Do not peel aubergines.

2) Grease a baking sheet. Lightly grease aubergines. Place onto baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes.

3) Cut capsicum in half and remove seedy core and stem. Rub oil over it lightly. Oil the unpeeled garlic bulb. Add to baking sheet; bake, along with aubergines, another 20 minutes or so. Aubergine should be soft, the capsicum should be collapsed with the skin lightly blackened and coming away, and garlic cloves should give way when pricked with a knife.

4) Peel capsicum. Cut aubergines in half and scoop out cooked flesh; discard skins. Peel softened garlic (this should be easy). Blend together in a blender or using a stick blender – or just chop very finely. Add splash of lemon juice, to taste. Season with salt. Make sure to taste and adjust the flavours, adding more lemon juice if you need to. Don’t skip it – it really lifts the flavour.

Melt-in-your-Mouth Indian Eggplant

eggplants, sliced thin, salted and dried on a paper towel to remove bitterness

For frying:

8 whole fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp whole fennel seeds
1/4 tsp whole cumin seeds
1/2 tsp kalonji

To garnish:
salt
tabasco sauce
lemon juice
sour cream

Take the prepared eggplants, and fry them in the spiced oil until golden and crisp.  Garnish with salt, lemon juice and a dash of tabasco sauce, and serve with sour cream.

Delicious!  You won’t be able to find an eggplant big enough to make as many as you’d want to eat.

-Emma

Stuffed Peppers (another version!)

Ingredients:

1 large pepper per person
25 g. peas
handful of mushrooms
50 g. rice
1 Tbsp. Cream Cheese
3-4 meatballs (or veggie balls) optional
olive oil

Slice the top off the pepper, and cut in half lengthwise if it will not stand upright of its own accord.  Remove all pith and dice a good bit of top.  Put aside.

In a small-medium pan, boil the rice for 10 minutes.  Add the peas after 4 minutes.  When ready drain and return to pan.

Mix the cream cheese, mushrooms, and meatballs into the rice and peas.

Place pepper on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, and stuff with mixture.  Drizzle again.

Place baking tray on middle shelf of oven preheated to 190 C for 20-30 minutes.  The longer they are cooked, the crispier the rice becomes.

Enjoy!
-Juliet

It’s not Easy Eating Greens

Actually, it is with this tasty and simple recipe!  Try this to avoid any Kermit the Frog related complaints at the dinner table.  You can use any kind of greens: kale, chard, collard greens, spinach, brocolli leaves…they’ll all have their own flavor, but will be tasty.  Keep in mind that the greens will melt down to practically nothing, so you need to start with quite a lot to get a decent serving.

For approximately 1/2 pound of greens

2 tbsp. olive oil
a pat of butter
3 cloves of coarsely chopped garlic
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
chili flakes or cayenne pepper to taste

Warm the olive oil and butter (the blend gives a wonderful flavour, but isn’t necessary) over medium heat and add the greens.  Once the greens are approximately half their original size, add in the chopped garlic and let it sautee, now is also the time to add the spice if you’re using any.  After the garlic has been sauteed, add in the balsamic vinegar, and let it carmelise.  Now turn off the heat and serve.

The result is a wonderful medley of sweet, sour, and spicy flavours.

Enjoy!
-Emma

Pico de Gallo: Fresh Salsa

Salsa doesn’t have to come from a jar at the store!  It’s delicious when you make it yourself, and is a good way to use garden tomatoes when an onslaught comes. 

You can obviously increase the quantity easily, but I’m giving proportions for one normal-sized tomato.

1 fresh tomato
1/2 onion (I prefer red) (optional)
1 clove garlic
1 TBSP cilantro
1 TSP salt
juice of 1/2 lemon (can use lime, too)
a dash of hot sauce or a chopped chipotle pepper

Cut everything up and throw it in a bowl.  Simple and tasty.  You can experiment with some additions for fun;  my mom sometimes adds mango, and it’s delicious.  Use it just like salsa from the jar; dip in tortilla chips, or add to tacos or burritos.

-Emma

Black beans and rice

This rather marvellous dish was introduced to me by Emma. As delicious as it is lovely to look at, it, like many one-pot meals, improves with age.

Black beans and rice

Serves about 4 – 5

about 250g black beans, soaked for six hours
about 250g rice
about 1 red capsicum, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 onion, chopped finely
2 tomatoes, diced

Boil beans for ten minutes and then simmer for about 50 minutes, until cooked. Black beans need to be boiled for ten minutes at least to destroy the toxins.

Suate onion, garlic and capsicum until slightly soft. Add tomato.

Add black beans, raw rice and water (a bit more than you would normally use to cook the same amount of rice). Simmer for 20 – 40 minutes – however long it takes for the rice to cook through. Not all of the water should be absorbed, though…

Serve with hot sauce.

Eat well…life is too short not to!

Chloe

Something on the side

Everyone needs their little bit on the side. Side dish, I mean. Stuffed capsicums are a sunny, summery side which are delicious and flavourful. What I really like about them, apart from their simplicity, is that they are robust and present beautifully. Their strong, though not overwhelming, flavour means they can stand up to whatever other mains you provide – I think they would be marvellous with plainly grilled meat or steak (mm…steak) – but they are also filling enough for any vegetarians you may be catering for (as a former vegetarian, I can attest that a little thoughtfulness in this area is much appreciated!).

The recipe below reflects what I did. The recipe easily stretches and measurements are versatile. My capiscums were somewhat small and I had a little zuchinni left over; you could use more capiscum or different stuffings. I considered adding a topping of dried breadcrumbs and cheese to add a little crunch!

Zuchinni-stuffed capiscums

4 capiscum, halved, with the stalk and white pith and seeds inside removed (I halved either lengthways or sideways depending on which side seemed most stable; generally I would say halve the capsicum along the width)
1 zuchinni, grated using the largest holes on a box grater
Pinch dried thyme and dried basil
4 tomatoes, diced
2 – 4 tablespoons parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius and oil a baking sheet.

Combine zuchinni and dried herbs. Stuff inside hollowed-out capsicum halves.

Place diced tomatoes on top of zuchinni inside the capsicum halves.

Sprinkle with parmesan.

Place on oiled baking sheet.

Bake until filling is cooked and capsicum are soft but not collapsed, about 20 – 30 minutes depending on the size of your beasts.

Eat well…life is too short not to!

Chloe

Parmesan potato wedges

These were both simple and delicious. I adapted the original recipe a little to be more convenient for me (e.g. it’s not easy for me to use only eggwhites, so I used a whole egg). It was very tasty and a delicious and super-simple accompaniment to some stuffed baked peppers (recipe soon!). It would also be a really nice side to something like roast or meatloaf.

Parmesan potato wedges

6 potatoes, cut into about 6 wedges each
1 whole egg, beaten
finely grated parmesan, about 3/4 cup

Preheat oven to 220 degrees celsius. Oil a baking sheet. Toss the potatoes wedges into the beaten egg (you may need more) and place on baking sheet. Sprinkle parmesan over the wedges and bake until the potatoes are soft, about 30 minutes.

Original recipe here.

Eat well…life is too short not to!

Chloe

Soba Noodles with Peanut Butter

This is one of my ’sunny foods.’  I wouldn’t dream of having it in fall or winter, this is a spring and summer recipe.  I’ve cooked it and am posting it here in celebration of our nice spring weather! 

Ingredients:

Soba Noodles

Sauce:
2 spoonfuls peanut butter
1 TBSP Sesame Oil
1 TBSP Soy Sauce
a pinch of cayenne pepper
Optional:
diced ginger

Topping (optional):
Spring Onions
Vegetables (green beans and peas are both nice)
grilled chicken breast

Prepare the Soba noodles as directed on the package.  Make sure you rinse them in cold water after they’ve been boiled; this keeps them from clumping all together.  Mix the peanut butter, sesame oil, soy sauce and cayenne pepper together (to taste) to a molassesy consistency.  Prepare your chopping of choice, and mix it all together.  Simple as that; and delicious!

Let us know if you have any other great toppings!
-Emma

Easing into the wonderful world of breads…

When someone says baking, i immediately think of extravagant yet comforting desserts, the scent of vanilla gracing the household and of course, the warm, chewy centre of a perfect fudge brownie. While i knew there was more to this fine art than just sugary delights, i somehow never came around exploring other options until a few days ago.

Originating in central Asia, and now more popularly known as one of the many kinds of indian bread, naan traditionally cooks in a tandoor, or clay oven, from which tandoori cooking takes its name. Its common practice to serve naan with any kind of meat or bean dish that can be scooped up but there are a whole range of variations when it comes to innovating this humble piece of bread from the peshawaari naan (with mixed nuts and raisins), keema naan (stuffed with minced meat) and the aloo naan (stuffed with potatoes) to name a few.

When i stumbled upon this recipe i decided to give it a go as it looked relatuvely simple and required such minimal ingredients. I soon discovered that savoury baking is in fact a possiblity and i would recommend this recipe to anyone who is yet to venture into the wonderful world of breads.. or simply because a good naan should be on your menu anyday! 

Naan

2 cups flour

3/4 cup water

2 tbsp cooking oil (any kind)

2 1/2 tbsp yougurt

i tsp sugar

i tsp salt

a pinch of baking soda

i tsp yeast

Method:

1. Mix the yeast into the water and set it aside.

2. Measure out the flour and transfer it into a relatively lareg pot/bowl.

3. Stir the salt, sugar and baking soda into the flour.

4. Pour in the cooking oil, mix thorouhly and repeat this with the yogurt. Using your hands would be ideal for this as the dough gets pretty sticky from this point on and trying to handle it with utensils can be really annoying.

5. Add in the water and yeast mixture and work the dough untill everything is completely incorporated Rub your hands with a little bit  of oil at this point as it makes kneading the dough much easier.

 6. A few minutes of kneading will result in a homogenous blob of goodness and you have now created the perfect dough! Cover the bowl with some cling  and leave the dough to rise for about 3-4 hours.

 7. Now, the dough should have doubled in volume and we are now ready to roll out the naan. I deally, we should use a rolling pin for this but i highly doubt most university students, with our “state of the art” kitchen facilities would own one. What we often do have lying around however, are used glass bottles, with smooth, cyndrical surfaces. This will serve as a perfect substitute.

8. Preheat the oven to about 220 degrees celcius. 

9. Divide the dough into 8 equal parts. 

10. Dip each ball in flour before rolling them out.

11. Roll them out in any shape you fancy, but remember that they should be at least about 1/4 of an inch thick.

12. Depending on the size of your oven/baking tray, use your discretion to determine how many naans you want to bake at any one time. Keep in mind that they will puff up slightly.

13. Bake the naans for about 7-8 minutes, or until they look gorgeously tanned in most areas.    

14. Once out of the oven, brush each piece with a thin layer of butter, ghee or even margerine if thats what you have. The spread will melt beautifully, leaving the naan glistening with goodness.. and you can now serve it with any curry/chutney/dish of your choice!

 

Eat well…. because life’s too short not to !

Tina