So, having done my previous three top fives of Turkey, I was going to follow on with my top five foodie purchases. These were sumac, pomegranate molasses, saffron (which I don’t believe Turkey is particularly known for anyway), rose water (I did though actually buy this in France in their Moroccan section) and Turkish delight for my colleagues. Basically, these are all (other than the last one) ingredients that should arm me well for attacking the recipes in ‘Plenty’. I imagined myself, all holstered up, twirling my pomegranate molasses in one hand and rose water bottle in the other; sauce pan in front of me. A bit of Western Cowboy (is that tautological?) music in the background, with a giant brimmed hat, tipped downwards on my (very small) head. But nope, I’m not going down that route just yet.
I have decided instead to follow on with my five favourite vegetables. My blog is fairly young and you are still getting to know me. I therefore thought this next post would be more apt. In fact, my husband and I had a conversation about our favourite vegetables on our first date (hence the getting to know me reference) and that discussion alongside our mutual love of cooking, did influence my decision to see him again. I’m starting with my top five vegetables because it gets really exciting when I get on to my top five pulses, and I don’t want to peak too soon.
If I bring my favourite meals back to basics, I guess they can be described as ‘vegetables with cheese’. So, in no particular order and with brief reference to my favourite ways of eating each of my favourite vegetables I present the list below – pictures might have to follow (or maybe post your own?).
1) Butternut squash
The humble squash is right up there for me as a brilliant versatile vegetable that is always in my shopping basket (even though it can be a massive nuisance to peel and chop, I persevere). In winter it can be churned into a delicious spicy vegetable soup, as well as a headliner in a Thai curry or a constituent in a vegetarian lasagne. One way I like to eat it throughout the year is in a warm salad with butter beans (see what I mean about exciting pulses!?) and feta. I am going to share my favourite recipe (which is of course my own).
What you’ll need
1 Butternut squash
1 tin of butter beans
2/3 onions
1 packet of feta
2 cloves of garlic
Decent slug of olive oil
Dressing
1 heaped teaspoon of chopped capers
½ dried chillies (add or omit as preferred)
(2/3) Olive oil to (1/3) white wine vinegar/ 6 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons of vinegar
Teaspoon of lemon juice
4/5 sprigs of lemon thyme
Salt and pepper
It’s really easy. Peel and de-seed the squash and cube evenly (don’t make these too big as they’ll take longer to cook). Peel the onions and cut into sixths. Toss the lot in some olive oil, with the crushed garlic and season. Place on an oven tray and roast in a pre-heated oven at 220 degrees for about 50 minutes. The squash needs to caramelise (darken) and become soft and sweet. If you don’t want the onions to burn, roast them for about 10-15 minutes less than the squash.
In the meantime, mix together the dressing ingredients (taking the lemon thyme off the stems). Remember to tailor the oil and vinegar ratio to taste (after you have added the lemon juice). Don’t worry if you’ve made too much, this will keep in the fridge.
To serve, drain the butter beans and place on a dish. Top with the roasted butternut squash and onions. Crumble over (as much or as little of) the feta cheese and dress with as much vinaigrette as you like.
2) Aubergine
Aubergine can be much maligned due to it not being cooked well. I hate the ruination of aubergine through poor cooking which leaves it chewy, rubbery and sometimes greasy. One of my favourite ways of eating aubergine, which is really easy to cook on a school night when I get home from work, with minimal effort, is aubergine parmigiana. This paired with some lovely crusty bread or roasted new potatoes is extremely comforting on a cold winter’s night (this is also perfect for pairing some kind of meat product with for Gipsy spread). My recipe’s ingredients are not particularly different to those of most recipes, but I minimise the number of cooking processes to one and see absolutely no reason for the addition of oil through frying the aubergine first.
What you’ll need
2 Aubergines
2 tins of tomatoes/ 1 jar of passata
3 cloves garlic
2 dried chillies/ a teaspoon of chilli flakes
Fresh basil
Salt
Cheddar
Parmesan
Slice the aubergines finely length ways and arrange in a baking dish. They can overlap. Season with a fair amount of salt (but don’t overdo it). Open the two tins of tomatoes (or 1 jar of passata) and pour evenly over the aubergine. Sprinkle over the crushed garlic, torn fresh basil leaves and chilli flakes then grate over the cheeses (1/5 parmesan and 4/5 cheddar) until the top is covered with an even spread of both. Bake the whole lot for about 45-50 minutes at 220 degrees. It is essential that the moisture from the aubergine has evaporated to ensure that it is not rubbery, but rather soft, supple and full of intense flavour.
I propose leaving my recipe for Indian spice stuffed baby aubergine for my vegetarian thali post (watch this space).
3) Asparagus
I know it makes your pee smell, but the asparagus spear is very regal to me. It is a kingly spear which is at its best in May, eaten the same day as it is harvested. None of this asparagus that has been flown in from Peru with my Christmas dinner thanks very much. Now, asparagus doesn’t require much messing about with and it is best enjoyed treated simply. So all you really need is some good crusty bread, parmesan and a couple if eggs. This one isn’t really rocket science! Slice the bread, drizzle with some olive oil, top with steamed asparagus, poached eggs and parmesan shavings. A bit of seasoning and voila, an easy spring supper.
4) Spinach
Again, another one of my weekly shop staples. Spinach is awesome, because I can have it in my side salad as the leaf and it can also be the main event in my meal. Mother in law Toast put it in a smoothie for me at the weekend to help me combat my cold and I even love it on my pizza – spinach and ricotta being an all time favourite combination of mine. So, the basic principle is, saute some onion and garlic, wilt the spinach into this. Add the ricotta, seasoning, mustard and nutmeg and you have your filling. Stuff it into pancakes and cannelloni, top with tomato sauce and cheese then bake. Add some eggs and cream and it becomes a great quiche filling or stuff it inside some lovely light and billowy filo pastry to creat pillows of beauty.
5) Brassica oleracea
Ok, this is just cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage to you and me. I could not pick just one, so I’ve included the whole family. Sticking with the whole vegetables with cheese theme, again on a nice winter’s evening there is nothing better than a cauliflower and/or broccoli and cheese. Sometimes, the addition of macaroni also proves genius to provide a really heartening meal. I recently obtained some cavolo nero from mother-in-law Toast’s garden and considering what I had in the house, I decided to cook a fresh pasta dish with garlic, lemon and chilli, as well as the aforementioned butternut squash (I had some leftover). The recipe for which is below. I paired this with some herby pork balls(M&S cheat with lemon and thyme) for Gipsy spread.
What you’ll need
1 head of cavolo nero cabbage
Pasta(I used trottoli)for 4
1/1.5 lemons
2 dried chillies/ a teaspoon of chilli flakes
2 cloves garlic
Roasted butternut squash (optional)
I finely sliced, then steamed my cavolo nero for a couple of minutes first (you could just blanche it). I then lightly fried off thinly sliced garlic in olive oil and added the drained cabbage. To this I added the juice of the whole lemon, the chilli flakes and seasoned.
I cooked the pasta as per instructions and then added these to the cabbage mix with a table spoon of the salted cooking water and tossed it all together (along with the roasted butternut squash). This was served with a good grinding of black pepper and grated parmesan (Gipsy spread got to have some herby pork meatballs (an M&S cheat) through his). The picture below is indeed of my dinner plate. It was fresh, light, crispy, sweet through the butternut squash and earthy from the cavolo nero.
Yes, it will be the pulses next. This is where a vegetarian Indian person comes into their own – I could probably provide Indian food recipes for all my pulses (which would then also be great for vegans), but I shan’t. I plan on mixing it up. You will just have to wait for the five ways with lentils which is planned for a much later post. Also, don’t worry – I don’t intend on developing OCD and only doing things in fives!
On another exciting note (for me anyway). I have won food photograph of the week in Olive magazine’s face book competition. I submitted the picture of the Anatolian manti that featured in my last blog. My prize is a pre-release copy of ‘The best of Rose Elliot. The ultimate vegetarian collection’ cookbook. I’m thrilled!
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