Baked aubergines in tomato sauce

Once, a long time ago, on our last holiday before the kids were born, we went to Crete, where we ate a delicious baked aubergine dish that we christened Sitia Aubergines, after the town where we ate them. We tried many times to replicate the oily, tomatoey, garlicky delectableness, with the soft aubergines that melted in our mouths and the delicious sauce that just cried out to be mopped up by the hunks of fresh Greek bread. But we never quite got there. Recently I tried again, and although we consumed that original dish getting on for 24 years ago, I think it was something like this. As with most Greek cooking, copious amounts of olive oil help to achieve a good level of authenticity. Anyway, it was very tasty and perfect with pasta. Or just with hunks of bread reheated th next day for lunch . 

2 large aubergines 

Olive oil, more than you would think sensible 

1 onion 

2 cloves garlic 

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried basil

Salt

Pepper 

1 tin chopped tomatoes or Passata 

Squirt of tomato purée 

Dash balsamic vinegar 

Tsp sugar

Some red peppers from a jar in oil if you like

Fresh basil if you have some

Slice the aubergines lengthwise to about 1/2 cm thickness.

Spread the slices on a tray and sprinkle with salt.

Set aside for about 30 minutes to allow the moisture to run out.

Meanwhile, finely chop the onion and mince the garlic, then fry them gently in olive oil to soften, adding the dried herbs. Add the tomatoes, purée, balsamic vinegar, swish out the tin with water and add that too, add the peppers if using, then season with plenty of pepper and simmer gently for about 20 minutes. Purée with a hand blender.

Heat a good glug of olive oil in a heavy frying pan, mop the aubergine slices with kitchen towel and fry them gently in batches until lightly browned. 

Spoon a layer of tomato sauce in to a large shallow oven dish, top with a layer of aubergines and shred some fresh basil over it if using. Repeat these layers, ending with sauce. You can top with some torn up mozzarella at this stage, but it is great without.

Bake in a 190c oven for about half an hour, until the sauce is bubbling and the aubergines are nice and soft.

Pastitsio with soya mince

Last summer we visited relatives in Greece. When we arrived, Milly had cooked us a delicious pastitsio - a traditional Greek pasta bake, with layers of tomato sauce, cheese sauce and pasta, quite a lot like a lasagne but using a pasta similar to macaroni. Unfortunately, Milly didn't know that veggie daughter didn't eat meat, so the pastitsio contained beef, but veggie daughter was hungry after our long journey and managed to eat around the meat layer, finding out in the process that pastitsio is a wonderful thing. 

Fast forward to a cool spring day in the UK and veggie daughter and I find ourselves craving that delectable feast (along with the Greek sunshine that went with it). I looked up recipes, wondering how I can feel so hungry for the flavours of pastitsio at 10 in the morning. Many of the traditional recipes have cinnamon and allspice in them. I'm not a huge fan of cinnamon in savoury dishes and one recipe I found said that cinnamon absolutely does not belong in traditional pastitsio. I took that as permission to leave it out! I don't remember Milly's tasting particularly of cinnamon; the meat layer was more like the beef sauce layer of an Italian lasagne; lots of tomato, garlic, and probably oregano. A lot of the recipes said to put oil and parmesan or an authentic Greek cheese called Kefalotyri (which I've never tried but would like to) into the pasta layer. I ended up using halloumi, as I had a pack open in the fridge that needed using up. Some recipes added beaten egg to the white sauce. Some separated the egg, adding the whites to the pasta layer, and the yolk to the white sauce. 

The type of pasta to use is the source of much debate, with some saying it must be ziti or some other traditional Greek type and others saying that penne or pretty much any type of macaroni will do. A lot of the recipes show the pasta very carefully and evenly laid across the dish to make a beautiful pattern when the pastitsio is served. It looked like too much effort for a lazy cook like me. I used macaroni, layered as it fell rather than artfully arranged.  Most of the recipes suggested using beef, some lamb, but obviously I needed a veggie alternative. I found some versions using lentils and some with varying combinations of mixed vegetables, and then I came across this recipe for soy pastitsio on a great website called vegetarian underground. So thanking Sally K for that recipe, I unearthed the savoury soya protein mince from the back of the cupboard and assembled the rest of my ingredients. I did make quite a few changes to the original recipe, mainly based on what I'd read on other sites and on what I remembered of Milly's pastitsio. 

One layer of Sally's pastitsio that intrigued me was the silken tofu - I think it could probably be omitted, but I must admit that it did keep the dish nice and moist and the herbs in it added to the flavour. I happened to have a couple of cartons of silken tofu in the cupboard and welcomed the opportunity to use it - I'm never really sure what to do with it. Anyway, my recipe is below. It was a hit with veggie daughter and the meat eaters alike. It did take longer than I had planned to assemble, so by the time I got it into the oven we were ravenous. We ended up taking it out of the oven a bit earlier than I would have liked, but it still tasted great. Most people say you should leave it to rest after it comes out of the oven, and eat it lukewarm, as you get a nicely shaped firm portion, but we just couldn't wait...

The soya mince a-soaking - it does not smell very appetising at this stage, but don't be put off...

Silken tofu and herbs

Soya Mince Pastitsio (serves 6)

For the mince layer:

200g dried soya mince (TVP)

600ml cold water

4 tbsp olive oil

2 yellow onions, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp allspice powder

2 tsp paprika powder

salt and pepper

1 tin tomatoes (chopped)

1 carton passata

a good squeeze of tomato puree

dash of balsamic vinegar or red wine (I only had balsamic)

1 bay leaf

For the pasta layer:

500g macaroni or similar pasta

salt

olive oil

1 tbsp grated halloumi

For the tofu layer:

1 carton (350g) silken tofu

handful of fresh basil and parsley

1 small clove garlic

50g grated halloumi

salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the white sauce:

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp plain flour

about 500ml milk (I added some cream that needed using up)

250g grated halloumi

50g grated halloumi to sprinkle over the top

freshly grated nutmeg

1. Prepare the mince layer: 

1. Put the soya mince a large bowl, pour over the water and stir in the olive oil. Leave to absorb for about 30 minutes or so.
2. Gently saute the onion, garlic, dried herbs and spices in a good glug of olive oil.
3. Add the soya mince and stir to combine with the onion and garlic mixture.
4. Add the tin of tomatoes, passata, tomato puree, balsamic vinegar, bay leaf and seasoning and bring to the boil. Simmer for a few minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated or been absorbed into the mince.
5. Take off the heat and set aside to cool slightly.

2. Prepare the pasta layer:

1. Cook the pasta in boiling salted water for 2 minutes less than the correct cooking time (it should still be firm.
2. Drain and stir in a tablespoon of olive oil to stop it sticking together, along with a tablespoon of halloumi cheese and set aside to cool.

Herby silken tofu layer

3. Prepare the tofu layer:

1. Wash the herbs and discard tough stems.
2. Peel the garlic clove.
3. Put the tofu, herbs, garlic, halloumi into a blender and season with black pepper.
4. Blend until smooth.

4. Prepare the white sauce:

1. Melt the butter in a large heavy based pan.
2. Stir in the flour, combining it with the butter to make a smooth paste.
3. Gradually add the milk, stirring all the time to combine. Keep stirring as the sauce thickens to avoid lumps forming.
4. Remove from the heat and stir in the grated cheese.



Smooth creamy cheese sauce

5. Once it has cooled slightly add the beaten egg and beat it in (you don't want it to be too hot or the egg will scramble).

5. Assemble and bake the pastitsio:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade.
2. In a large oven proof dish (about 2 inches tall, about 12 x 9 inches base) put a layer of soya mince sauce (aim to use about a third of the sauce in this layer).
3. Top with half the macaroni, pressing it down quite firmly (you don't want gaps)
4. Spread over half the tofu sauce.
5. Use another third of the mince sauce for the next layer.
6. Add the rest of the macaroni and press down firmly
7. Use the rest of the tofu sauce over the top of the macaroni.
8. For the next layer add the rest of the meat sauce.
9. Top the whole thing with the cheese sauce, smoothing it out evenly.
10. Sprinkle with grated cheese and grated nutmeg.
11. Bake uncovered for about 35 minutes,  until golden brown and bubbling. (Stand the dish on a baking sheet if you have overfilled it like I did, otherwise you will be in for an oven cleaning session.)
12. If you can bear it, leave to rest for at least 15 minutes before serving (purists say pastitsio should be cooked the day before eating; certainly the leftovers were amazing the next day).
13. Serve with some green veggies or salad.

Butternut filo pie with North African Spices

This was served to us by some veggie friends recently and we loved it! Fortunately for us, they didn't mind divulging where they got the recipe (BBC Good Food Moroccan Spiced Pie). I did make a couple of adjustments, mainly because I'm a bit of a lazy cook and will always seek out ways to cut corners. The technique with the filo pastry works really well, and looks very impressive - I think I will try out different fillings using this pastry technique. The addition of some feta cheese, or maybe some halloumi might be nice, but it is very good without. It is also delicious served cold the next day and would make a great picnic pie (although it does tend to fall apart when cut). It is very filling, with all the nuts, and perhaps a tad on the dry side, but the harissa yoghurt sauce is a perfect accompaniment. Ironically veggie daughter is not as keen on the pie as her parents...

2 medium butternut squashes, about 900g, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks

2 tsp ras el hanout (or mixture of cumin seeds, coriander, cayenne pepper and smoked paprika)

good glug of olive oil

salt and pepper

225g frozen spinach

about 12 shallots, peeled and halved

thumb sized piece of root ginger, grated or finely chopped

100g whole blanched almonds

100g shelled pistachios

50g flaked almonds

50g dried cranberries 

2tbsp honey

400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 fat clove smoked garlic (or normal garlic if you can't get smoked)

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tbsp lemon juice (to taste)

small bunch fresh coriander, washed and dried

good glug of olive oil

1 pack of filo pastry

100g butter

For the harissa yoghurt sauce:

3 - 4 tbsp plain yoghurt

2 tsp harissa paste

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

1/2 tsp sugar

salt to taste

1. Toss the butternut, grated ginger and halved shallots in olive oil and spice mix, season well. If you like a bit more spice, add a teaspoon of korean chili paste (gochujang)
2. Roast in a 200C oven for about 20 minutes
3. Meanwhile cook the spinach in a microwave for a couple of minutes, then drain well. (The original recipe called for fresh spinach, but I forgot to buy it, and had some frozen that I substituted).
4. In a frying pan, toast 80g each of the  almonds and pistachios.
5. When brown stir into the butternut mix along with cranberries, (I used half and half cranberries and goji berries, because I wanted to try goji berries and they were an interesting colour - I liked them, but veggie daughter thought they tasted of feet) 1 tablespoon of honey and the spinach. Set aside. 

Butternut, spinach, nut and shallot mixture, yum!

1. In a food processor, whizz the chickpeas with the coriander (no need to chop first) garlic, cumin, remaining oil, lemon juice, 2 tbsp water and salt and pepper to make houmous. 
2. Melt the butter in a small pan. Put a loose-bottomed 28cm quiche tin on a baking sheet and brush with some butter. Keeping the filo covered with a damp cloth so it doesn’t dry out, lay one sheet over half of the tin so that it hangs over the edge by about 10cm. Lay another sheet on the other side, so it overlaps the first in the centre and hangs over the opposite edge. Brush with butter. Lay two more filo sheets in the opposite direction in the same way and brush with more butter.
3. Keep building up the layers until you have used all of the filo. Pile half the butternut mixture in the centre of the pastry. Spread over the houmous and then the rest of the squash mixture.One at a time, bring the edge of each filo sheet up to the centre to cover the filling, creating voluptuous folds as you go. Brush carefully with more butter. (If making a day ahead, cover now with cling film and chill. To reheat, remove the pie from the fridge, heat the oven, then bake for 35-40 minutes.)

   

   The pie in progress - hummous layer on top of butternut layer

   

   The pie ready to bake

   
   
   
   
4. Bake in a preheated oven (fan 180C) for 30-35 minutes, until crisp and golden. Just before the pie is ready, reheat any remaining butter in the pan, tip in the rest of the nuts and fry until golden. Spoon in the remaining tbsps of honey and, when it melts, take off the heat and pour over the pie. Serve with Harissa yogurt sauce (mix the yogurt, lemon juice, sugar and coriander. Swirl in harissa to taste).

Barley and Vegetable Bake

This barley and vegetable bake has its roots in another old recipe from my student days. The original rice and veggie bake was an old favourite and will definitely make an appearance in a future post. However, as we fancied a good old fashioned rice pud for dessert, I decided to try barley in place of the rice. It worked well and was just the thing on a cold winter's evening. And the rice pud went down very well too.

The veggie layer had butter beans added, which made it a bit heavy. They could be omitted or substituted with some other cooked pulses or beans. Brown or green lentils would probably work well. On balance I think I would use courgettes in place of the butternut to make more of a lighter ratatouille style middle layer, but I had half a large butternut to use up from a risotto yesterday, so butternut it was.

Barley and Vegetable Bake

Serves 4

Base layer:

200g pearl barley

1l vegetable stock

1 onion, chopped quite finely

1 egg, beaten

Veg layer:

150g (dry weight) butter beans, cooked, or easier from a can

1 small butternut squash, peeled and chopped into 1" chunks

1 red or yellow pepper

1 aubergine, chopped into 1" chunks

1 or 2 cloves of garlic

Olive oil

1 400g tin chopped tomatoes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cheese sauce topping:

25g butter 

25g plain flour 

500ml milk 

100 - 150g grated cheddar 

1 beaten egg

For the base layer

Sauté the onion in some olive oil until softened. 

Add the barley and stir around.

Add the stock, boil fast for 5 minutes, then simmer for about 50 mins until the barley is cooked adding a bit more stock if it dries out too much during the cooking process. It should have absorbed the stock by the end, but still have some 'bite', ie al dente, not soggy. Allow to cool slightly then stir in the beaten egg. Put in the base of a large, fairly deep ovenproof dish and set aside.

For the veggie layer:

While  the barley is cooking, toss the butternut, aubergine and peppers with the crushed garlic, some salt and pepper in a large baking tray. Roast at 200 c for about 30 mins until the veg is cooked and nicely browned.

Stir in the cooked beans and the tin of tomatoes.

Spread over the barley layer.

For the cheese topping:

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan

Add the flour and stir and cook for a few minutes. Stir in the milk, heating and stirring until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese. Allow to cool slightly, then beat in the egg. (Don't add the egg too soon or the heat of the  sauce will scramble it.)

Spread over the veggie layer.

Bake at 200 c for about 20 -  30 mins until it bubbles and the topping is golden brown.

Serve with green veg or salad.

Vegetable and Ricotta Lasagne

This has become one of veggie daughter's favourites. It was first cooked for us by my mum, who found the original recipe on the BBC Good Food website here:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/root-veg-ricotta-lasagne

Stir fried leeks

It is a very simple recipe, particularly if you have a food processor to grate the veg, which goes into the lasagne raw. Whilst the original recipe is delicious, I felt it lacked a bit of oomph and as is my wont, I added some extra ingredients to jazz it up a bit: stir fried leeks, a dollop of Patak's curry paste, some garlic and some chopped herbs (coriander and basil). I used passata with added chili too. I also mixed up the vegetable combination a bit, based on what I had in the fridge (swede, sweet potato, carrot, parsnip and a courgette). Even though veggie daughter and I are not big parsnip fans, I did leave the parsnip in, and it didn't spoil it. Perhaps parsnip is growing on me... Veggie daughter says she still prefers the original recipe, but I like the spicier version.





Vegetable and Ricotta Lasagne

Ingredients
(I guess on quantities - depends on how many I'm feeding. This made a lot, enough for 5 hungry people and enough to put a second lasagne in the freezer for another day)
For the vegetable layer:
2 or 3 large leeks, sliced
mixture of vegetables, grated (I used two large carrots, two large parsnips, half a swede, a large sweet potato, a large courgette)
chopped coriander and basil to taste
2 cartons of passata (I used Napolina with peppers and chilis)
1 tbsp Pataks curry paste (I used madras)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
salt and freshly ground pepper

For the cheesy layer:
250g ricotta
250g creme fraiche
2 beaten eggs

lasagne sheets

grated cheese (Parmesan or vegetarian hard cheese and cheddar or similar mixed together)

1. Stir fry the leeks in some olive oil until soft.
2. Mix together the grated vegetables (use a food processor to grate them unless you have a lot of stamina) and the leeks.
3. Mix in the passata, garlic, curry paste and chopped herbs and season well.

The veggie mixture

4. Mix together the creme fraiche, ricotta, beaten eggs and some grated cheese (quantity depends on how cheesy your diners like their fare).

5. Assemble the lasagne, starting with a layer of vegetables, then lasagne, then cheese sauce, repeating these layers at least once more and ending with a layer of the cheese sauce.

Layer the veggies, cheese mixture and lasagne sheets

5. Sprinkle the remaining grated cheese over the top.

Top with grated cheese - a mixture of vegetarian hard cheese and red leicester here - and you're ready to bake it

6. Cover with foil and bake in a preheated oven at around 200 degrees C for half an hour, then remove the top and let it brown up for about another 20 minutes, until the pasta is cooked and the top is golden. Serve with a salad.

Korean-style Pancakes on Shrove Tuesday

When veggie daughter was just 4 months old we upped and moved from the UK to live in Seoul, Korea for five years. As a result the whole family developed a strong taste for the delights of Korean cuisine. Now, eleven years after leaving Korea this still often manifests itself as an irresistible craving for some kimchi, or maybe a bowl of soft tofu stew or bibimbap.... Sadly, Korean restaurants are few and far between where we now live, although we did just discover a new bibimbap restaurant in Cambridge last weekend. 

Anyway, on pancake day this week, veggie daughter decided she would like to try making one of our old favourites, pajeon, or Korean pancake, with spring onion. We found a couple of recipes, one of which called for mung bean flour, not something we tend to have in our larder. It also called for a spoonful of toenjang, or fermented soybean paste, which we did happen to have.  The recipe that veggie daughter found here on the Maangchi Korean food website didn't have any eggs, which I found strange as the pajeon we consumed in various Korean restaurants in the past have always tasted decidedly eggy. The Maangchi lady had even picked her own green onions from Central Park in New York! That option not being open to us, we bought a bunch of spring onions from Morrisons. Veggie daughter was determined to try the no egg recipe and I was determined to chuck in an egg or two. So we made both. Then the two of us called in cheffy son to help us decide on a winner.

Maangchi's recipe was half a cup of flour, half a cup of water, a teaspoon of toenjang, half a teaspoon of sugar mixed into a batter, poured over the sliced onions in a frying pan and fried until golden. That was where we started. We used half plain flour and half gram flour (besan, or chick pea flour).

Here's the batter and the sliced onion.

Here's veggie daughter's pancake - not bad at all! Nice and crispy, and very tasty, but cheffy son and I definitely felt it lacked the egg. The consistency was quite dense. So I took the remains of the batter, tossed in a beaten egg, a splash more milk and a bit more flour. In my usual style I didn't measure. but I wish I had, because the resulting pancake was pretty good. I tried a third pancake, throwing in yet another egg, some more milk and flour, and a squeeze of Korean kochujang, or hot chili paste. That one was not so good - the texture was heavier and more like a Canadian breakfast pancake. So it will be back to trial and error to try to emulate the second pancake. We served them with a dip made from soy sauce mixed with some rice vinegar, but veggie daughter preferred just plain soy sauce.

Crispy oven baked tofu cubes

When my kids were younger it's safe to say that tofu was not one of their favourite foods. In fact one of them genuinely thought it was called toad food and felt sorry for the toads forced to live on it day after day. A lot of the dislike stemmed from the texture (after all it doesn't have a lot of flavour to dislike). This recipe produces nice flavoursome, crispy cubes, delicious with stir fried veg and noodles. It's still tolerated rather than loved by my boys, but veggie daughter is definitely a big fan. Firm tofu is drained, then marinated before being coated in cornflour and baked in the oven to crispy perfection.

You need a block of firm tofu (I use Cauldron as it's the one that all the local supermarkets seem to stock). To get the crispy texture of the finished dish, it's really important to press and drain out as much of the liquid from the tofu as possible. Wrap it in paper towel, put on a plate, place another plate on top with a weight on it and leave for about an hour. You'll need to replace the soggy paper towels a couple of times.

pressing out the liquid under heavy weights

Cut the tofu into chunks (a couple of centimetres across) and they're ready to be marinated. I have to admit that I don't normally measure the ingredients for the marinade, adding a squirt of this and a dollop of that, so it is never the same twice. I tried to keep a note of the amounts I used this time, and the recipe for this batch is below. The ingredients that go down well with my family are mainly Chinese and Korean flavours, but I think Thai green curry flavourings might work well too, or perhaps some kind of chili peanut satay marinade. I will experiment at a later date and report my findings. Basically, you dollop the various ingredients into a ziplok bag, squish them around to mix them, then throw in the tofu cubes, toss them around in the (closed) bag until they are all nicely coated, then just leave them to marinate for a few hours. I have left them for as little as half an hour when I have forgotten to marinate them earlier and actually they were fine too.

Coriander, cumin and sesame seeds ready to be crushed for the marinade

Squish the marinade ingredients together in the bag

Toss the tofu cubes in the marinade and leave in the fridge for a couple of hours or so

Crispy Oven Baked Tofu Cubes

1 400g pack of firm tofu, drained
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp sunflower oil
1 tsp Korean kochujang (chili paste)
1 tsp rice wine
1 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp crushed coriander seeds
1/2 tsp crushed cumin seeds
1/2 tsp crushed sesame seeds
1 clove smoked garlic, crushed
2cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder

1. Wrap the tofu in paper towels and press under a heavy weight for about an hour to remove all the liquid, changing the paper towels when they become saturated.
2. Cut the tofu into chunks of about 2cm square
3. Put all the marinade ingredients into a large ziplok bag and squish them together to mix
4. Toss in the tofu, tossing around until the pieces are all coated.
5. Leave the bag in the fridge for a couple of hours or more, tossing the tofu around a couple of times to ensure that the pieces are evenly coated.
6. Add 2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch) to the bag and toss around to coat the tofu.
7. Tip the tofu out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or foil to aid in the clean up.
8. Bake at 200 degrees C for about  20  - 30 minutes, until the tofu is crispy and browned.

Serve with noodles or rice stir fried with vegetables and a handful of salted peanuts.