Baked Eggplant or Aubergine with anchovies, parmesan and crunchy garlic breadcrumbs

 

These tasty baked globe eggplants or aubergines are delicious enough to be the hero and stand alone served with a salad, or will still hold their own as a part of larger banquet. This is such a delicious way to cook and serve eggplant. The peak season for growing eggplant in Queensland is from December to April, so they are still at their best right now. I was gifted these eggplant by our good friends who have a very sunny garden which really suits the growing of eggplant, so whilst the vegetables were still only a couple of days old, I needed to cook them. They need to be really fresh for this kind of recipe where they are baked and aren't cooked in a sauce. However being organic and home grown, they weren't as large or as consistent in size as those at the supermarkets. At the supermarkets they would be called the Odd Bunch, however I think they are the Perfect Bunch.

 I had spotted iconic Australian cook Maggie Beer's eggplant recipe during the week, and this was the perfect opportunity to cook it. I'm so glad I did because this is just the best way to enjoy eggplant and it's a cinch to make. I wish my photos were as good as Maggie's in the magazine though, however minus professional stylist Michele Cranston and photographer Con Poulos, it was just me, but  I'm pretty sure they taste just as good as the ones Maggie cooked. Next time though I will remember to leave the stalks on the eggplant, oops. Not that the stalk is edible, it just gives the eggplant a better shape in the photo. 

 I ate two of these for dinner, and Mr. HRK who can generally take or leave eggplant ate one and really enjoyed it. There is still a variety of opinion as to whether or not eggplant needs to be salted before cooking to remove the natural bitterness. Because these were so fresh I didn't salt them and I rarely do these days, and there was no bitterness at all.  

Let's cook:

Ingredients:

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking time 40 minutes

2 medium (600 g) eggplants

1/2 cup (125 ml) extra virgin olive oil 

4 (20 g) anchovies

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1 cup (75 g) coarse sourdough breadcrumbs 

1/3 cup parmesan or pecorino cheese, finely grated

2 tablespoons each of mint and parsley, coarsely chopped

Method:

Preheat the oven to 240 deg. C (220 deg. C) fan forced

With a small sharp knife, cut the eggplants in half lengthways, leaving the stalk in tact. Then remove the eggplant flesh carefully, so as not to pierce the skin of the eggplant.

Place the eggplant skins and the flesh on a baking tray that has been lined with baking paper.

 Measure out 1/4 cup of the olive oil, and drizzle this over the eggplant. I also used a pastry brush to distribute the oil evenly over the eggplant shells and the flesh.

Season with freshly ground black pepper and salt and bake for 15 minutes. The skins should be crispy and the flesh tender. If the eggplants are very fresh, and hopefully they are, this might take longer than the recommended 15 minutes.

Select a small frying pan, add the remaining olive oil, and over a low heat gently cook the anchovy fillets and the garlic. This should only take a minute for the anchovy fillets to break down and the garlic to soften. You will also smell the heady aroma of the garlic and the anchovies cooking.

Add the breadcrumbs and cook for 2 minutes until they are lightly toasted in the pan. 

This is tasty enough to eat on it's own like this.

Remove the pan from the heat and combine the toasted breadcrumbs in a bowl with the cooked eggplant flesh and 1 tablespoon mint.

 

I used some extra mint because I love it.

 Spoon the eggplant mixture into the eggplant skins. Top with finely grated parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil, and place the eggplants back in the oven for 10 minutes until golden.

When cooked, remove from the oven, place tray on a cooling rack and rest the eggplants for 5 minutes.

Before serving, add the remaining mint and the parsley to serve. I also added a few basil leaves because I grow them.

Cook's tips:

• This dish isn't suitable to freeze
• Small cubes of sourdough bread instead of breadcrumbs, might be an easier way to incorporate the sourdough, and works really well. One thick slice of sourdough bread cut into small squares works well, or use breadcrumbs.
• If you really enjoy the flavour of anchovies, add another few to this recipe.
• If your eggplant are over a few days old, draw out the natural bitterness by sprinkling them with salt and stand for 30 minutes. Rinse off the salt before you cook them. Because the ones I used were so fresh, I didn't salt them.

I just had to share a photo of my beautiful Cattleya orchid with you, I hope she brightens up your day. She is flowering on my patio at present.

Her name is: Blc. Haadyai Delight x Blc. Laddawan Beauty. I bought her from a local orchid nursery in 2021, and I am thrilled she has flowered for me again this year.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Warm wishes,

Pauline

Bulgur Wheat with Tomato, Eggplant (Aubergine), and Lemon Yoghurt

The beauty of this Middle Eastern vegetarian recipe is that all of its elements can be prepared in advance, kept refrigerated separately, and then just warmed through and assembled when you are ready to serve it. My friends, I assure you that the bulgur and tomato is delicious enough to eat on its own if you wish. I have a tub of it in the freezer which was leftover, and it will be perfect when I need an easy side dish to eat. However, it is meant to be served with the aubergine (eggplant) and yoghurt as a main dish or as part of a selection of dishes. If you are happy to eat this as a vegetarian dish on its own, it will feed four people, otherwise it will serve at least 8 as a side dish. So easy to make, and I love that this dish can be prepared totally in advance and that it so creatively and deliciously uses up the eggplants (aubergines) which I always seem to have in abundance.

I am always so happy when I have fresh mint growing in a large pot which is the perfect garnish for this meal. Middle Eastern dishes and mint are the perfect marriage. This one could also be served as a side with a curry. It is a variation of another recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi's book, aptly named Simple.

This week I have been doing a lot of cooking with vegetables, which I seem to have accumulated. How do I end up with so many? I'm not a vegetarian by any stretch of the imagination, I adore meat. However Winter is a wonderful time to cook with veggies, don't you think? I'll be sharing my Green Broccoli and Coconut soup with you shortly, it is so good and provides our bodies with a blast of nutrients, is great for the gut, and at the moment I have another batch of Green Cabbage sauerkraut on my kitchen bench waiting to be bottled for processing over the next few days. We are enjoying another cold snap here, well I call a minimum temperature of 7 deg. F. a cold snap, and with Spring just over the horizon, there won't be many more opportunities to make cool weather sauerkraut. This is my recipe for sauerkraut if you are interested in making a batch in the cooler climates.

If you feel challenged at the thought of cooking with bulgur please don't be. It can be used interchangeably with cooked rice, couscous or quinoa and is often used to make tabbouleh. It
doesn't require cooking though, only soaking, as it is a whole wheat grain that has been cracked and partially precooked for your convenience. It is a staple in the Mediterranean region and Middle Eastern countries, often used in grain salads, side dishes, soups, even green salads after it has been soaked. If you can't find it in your supermarket, try a health food shop or an Asian or Indian supermarket. It is nutty and delicious and makes a nice change to the usual grains we cook with.

Let's cook:

Ingredients:

2 eggplants (aubergines) cut into 3 cm chunks (about 500 g)
105 ml. olive oil
2 onions, finely sliced (320 g)
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp. ground baharat or allspice
400 g very ripe cherry tomatoes or 1 can of drained cherry tomatoes
1 tbsp. tomato paste
250 g bulgur wheat (preferably fine grind)
200 g Greek-style yoghurt
1 small, preserved lemon (25 g) skin and flesh chopped finely.
10 g mint leaves
salt and black pepper
Pomegranate Molasses (optional)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200 deg. C fan forced.

Roasting the Eggplant
Firstly we need to roast the chopped eggplants. Place them into a large bowl with 4 tablespoons of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a good grinding of pepper. Mix well together with your washed hands, then spread them out onto a large baking tray lined with baking paper. Roast for 35-40 minutes turning over halfway through, until the eggplants are caramelised and soft. Remove from your oven and set aside.

Cooking the Bulgur, Onions and Tomato
Add the remaining oil to a large frypan with a lid and set to a medium-high heat. When it is hot, add the onion and fry for 8 minutes, stirring a few times. It will become soft and caramelised. Add the garlic and Baharat and fry for another minute, stirring until the garlic becomes aromatic.

Add the ripe cherry tomatoes, and mash them with a potato masher to break them up. You might need to warm up the tomatoes first so that they break up easily. If your tomatoes aren't ripe enough to be mashable, use a drained can of cherry tomatoes instead.

Stir in the tomato paste, 400 ml of water and 1 teaspoon of salt.

Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to medium low, cover and cook for 12 minutes.  Add the bulgur, stir so that it is completely coated in the tomato mixture and remove the pan from the heat. Set aside on your bench for 20 minutes, and the bulgur will absorb all of the liquid.


Lemon Yoghurt

In a medium bowl, mix together the yoghurt with the preserved lemon, half the mint and 1/8 teaspoon of salt.

Divide the bulgur between four plates. Plate up with the yoghurt and a serving of eggplant on top, and garnish with a sprinkle of the remaining mint. If you have any pomegranate molasses on hand, I know that a splash of that on top would be the finishing touch, but that is optional.

Serve with a Curry or a Tagine for a perfect dinner.

Thanks for dropping by,

Best wishes

Pauline

Roasted Eggplant (Aubergines) with Anchovies and Oregano, and a quick batch of Sweet Chilli Jam

"Anchovies and eggplant might sound like an unlikely combination but it's one that really works. The anchovies bring more of a salty depth to the dish (rather than anything really fishy.)" This is a quote from Yotam Ottolenghi's book, SIMPLE. I love this book, and there are so many practical and delicious Middle Eastern inspired recipes in it.

My friends who grow eggplants, often find themselves with too many to use and are always looking for easy and new ways to use them. Or if you are given some by a generous friend this recipe is also for you. I found myself in that situation when my Lebanese eggplant bushes yielded 1 1//2 kilos in one harvest. They stay fresh for days so I wasn't under too much pressure to cook them however  I tried out this new way of using them as a side dish which was delicious. I'm so pleased I harvested them when I did though, as two days later when Mr. HRK and I were checking the bushes, four of the eggplants had been eaten out, presumably by possums. I can't imagine how raw eggplant would be too tasty, however the texture is quite crispy and they are a mild flavour so I suppose it depends how hungry the possums were. I had to laugh though as we have Locky, our large chocolate Border Collie, sleeping very comfortably in his bed on the patio at night, just near this garden.  Need I say anymore, so much for being a watch dog, he is more of a big cuddly bear. He will bark though if he doesn't know our visitors just to alert us, but then the tail starts wagging.



Ingredients:

Serves four as a side

4 medium black globe eggplants or 1kilo of any other variety (sliced into 2 cm thick discs)
100 ml olive oil
20g anchovy fillets in oil, drained and finely chopped
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 small garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp fresh oregano leaves
5 g parsley leaves, roughly chopped
salt and black pepper



I chopped the eggplant up into short pieces, however next time I think I will cut this variety into long thick pieces, more for presentation than for any other reason.The globe eggplant is best sliced lengthwise into 2-3 cm pieces

Method:

Preheat the oven to 220 deg. C fan forced.

Place the eggplants in a large bowl, and mix in 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Then using your hands, if you wish, mix through 70 ml of olive oil to coat them all thoroughly. However if you don't like the idea of using your hands, transfer the eggplant slices to two large baking trays, lined with baking paper, and brush each slice on both sides with the oil. I think the first method is much quicker.

Bake for 35 minutes, and check after 20 minutes just in case they are cooked. Mine were because I was using much smaller slices. They should be cooked through and browned up.

Now for the delicious anchovy dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the anchovies, vinegar, garlic, 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Slowly pour in the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, whisking continuously, until combined.

Leftovers of this dish are even more delicious heated up or brought back to room temperature, and served the following day. This one isn't for freezing though. It's lovely as it is,  spooned on top of toasted sourdough and also works as a side dish to all kinds of mains.

 A batch Sweet Chilli Jam

It's time to start cleaning out my freezer and use up some of the frozen bags of chillies that I have squirrelled away during Summer when the chilli bushes are at their best. Frozen chillies worked perfectly this time. I left them in the frig overnight, and they were marginally softer than when freshly picked. They still minced up well in the food processor.

Ingredients and equipment: 
(A large batch)

30 medium mild red chillies (or any combination of other mild chillies you might have),including seeds
8 small Birds Eye chillies (very hot), including seeds
3 red capsicums
4 large brown onions
4 cloves crushed garlic
2 cups of white sugar
1 cup of white cooking vinegar
1 cup water
juice of 3 lemons or limes
2 teaspoons fish sauce
Pair of plastic gloves for hand protection
7-8 medium jam jars for this recipe

METHOD:

Wash the chillies and dry them.
Have your food processor ready to use on your kitchen bench.
(At this stage I generally have my small jam bottles on a short cycle in the dishwasher so that they will be sterilised and nice and hot when the jam is ready and I can just ladle in the hot, sweet and spicy finished jam. Or you may prefer to have them washed in soapy water, and ready to sterilise in a warm oven set to 120 deg F.)

I took all of the chillies, capsicums, and onions, 2 cutting boards and a couple of bowls outside onto my patio, made a cup of tea, and then sat down in a comfortable chair at our outside table in the sun and started chopping, enjoying the beautiful day outside.



Top and tail the chillies, and don't bother removing the seeds, except in the capsicums.
I chopped them all up roughly outside.



Place the chopped chillies, capsicums, onions and garlic in your food processor and blitz until they are chopped into small pieces.



Add the contents of your food processor to a large saucepan, add the sugar and other liquid ingredients.



Bring the jam slowly to the boil, which will dissolve the sugar. This is where you test the taste to check if it is too hot or not sweet enough. Very carefully take out a teaspoon of the jam, taste it, being careful not to burn your mouth, and if it is too hot and spicy, add another chopped capsicum. Or if it's not spicy enough for you, add another hot chilli.



Let the jam cook on a rolling boil for 45 minutes. To quote Rhonda from her Down to Earth blog, "a rolling boil is when the jam boils and even when you put a spoon in it to stir it, it continues boiling, but won't boil over". Very important.



After 45 minutes on a rolling boil and being stirred, the jam should be the right consistency.

Ladle it into the hot jars, put the lids on straight away and tighten them.

Leave them out on the kitchen bench to completely cool, label, and then store them in your pantry. The vinegar and sugar will act as very efficient preservatives. The jam should last for about 6 months in the pantry.

I always place a bottle in my frig straight away to use, as I will have already tasted it.

You might hear quite a few of the jar lids popping over the next few hours, ensuring the jars are well sealed.

This batch was just how we like it, suitable to eat as a condiment at anytime of day, with the taste of chilli but not too much heat. Add more Bird's Eye chillies if you like it really hot. You can find my original recipe for this jam here, and I changed this recipe slightly to an extra lemon and an extra capsicum as I always end up adding another capsicum to the original two anyway. The pectin in the extra lemon helped it to set even better than before.

These two recipes aren't mutually exclusive, as we ate this Eggplant dish as a side with my
Tuna Kedgeree, and a dollop of the Sweet Chilli Jam. Delicious. I think it's pretty hilarious and quite wonderful, that my daughter was telling me the other day that our son-in-law Daniel, has really taken to my Sweet Chilli Jam, and my Mango Chutney. More often than not, they will be sitting down to dinner, and he will say, "Do you know what would go really well with this dish, Pauline's Sweet Chilli Jam." So off he goes to the frig and comes back with a bottle and adds some to his plate. Needless to say they have now run out, so some of this batch will be heading to Cairns very soon.

Here in Queensland, we are feeling very relieved for the economy and everyone's mental health that it is almost back to business as usual, whilst southerners are chafing at the bit to get into Queensland, despite the borders being closed. We are all hoping and praying that there won't be a recurrence of the virus in Queensland and if everyone behaves themselves and remains vigilant there shouldn't be. However the staggering increase in daily infections, albeit all around the world,  is very sobering, and reminds us that we are not yet in the clear here in Queensland by any stretch of the imagination.

Stay well and happy,

Warm wishes

Pauline

Beef and Eggplant (Aubergine) Fatteh Recipe or Middle Eastern Nachos

"You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength".
-Marcus Aurelius

The fresh Mint is still to be added

Fatteh is an Arabic word meaning crushed or crumbs, and often refers to a dish consisting of fresh, toasted or stale flatbread covered with other ingredients. Day old homemade pita bread is often used for fatteh recipes. What a clever creation this dish is, a Middle Eastern version of the universal family favourite, Mexican Nachos. 

Ratatouille, Chicken, and Haloumi Traybake

"It's not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving."

Mother Teresa

This traybake ratatouille is based on a healthy Mediterranean combination of vegetables, and is my go to when I have fresh eggplant and capsicums on hand. I cook it a lot. I've added chicken fillets to the original vegetarian ratatouille recipe here, however just serving the vegetables and haloumi with a grain such as Burghul or brown rice is delicious for dinner. 

Slow Cooker Beef, Spinach and Prune Tagine

When I was precooking the combination of onion and garlic with the fragrant spices in this dish, the cinnamon, cumin, turmeric and ginger, my mind drifted to our holiday a few years ago in amazing and exotic Granada in the south of Spain, just over the Strait of Gibraltar from Morocco which is still on my bucket list by the way. The Moroccan style foods we ate in Granada were delicious including the tapas, and have probably given me the taste for Tagines and spicy vegetable accompaniments. Then I wandered to the famous spice markets in Istanbul, Turkey where the aroma from the piles of colourful spices are intoxicating. For my friends reading this who don't like eating dates in their food, and there are a couple, I actually think they could be left out of this dish but definitely keep the prunes.. There is enough going on without them. 

Eggplant Parmigiana

Parmigiana, yes please. Freshly picked, tender young Japanese Eggplants are the secret to the success of this recipe, particularly if it is being served up to family or guests who aren't devotees of the eggplant. I try to cook them on the same day they are picked from our garden, or if you don't grow them, they will probably be available at a Farmer's Market and should have been harvested that same morning. 

Italian Mince Rissoles with Grilled Eggplant, Tomato, and Parmesan

Chicken Parmigiana is a perennial favourite of most people, and when I spotted this recipe on Mindfood, I thought it would be an interesting variation of the Parmigiana, using pork mince.  I also have plenty of eggplants at present so this is another very tasty and economical dish. The original recipe uses beef mince, but I substituted pork mince and used more herbs for flavour. Pork mince is a softer meat than beef, so greater care is needed when cooking the rissoles. What's that saying? Get some pork on your fork!

800g of mince serves 4 and makes 12 rissoles. Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 35-40 minutes

Ingredients:

500g lean pork or beef mince (quantities can be increased to 800 g depending on how much eggplant you use.)
1 tblsp oregano, chopped
1 tblsp tarragon, chopped
1 cup grated carrot (optional)
1 cup fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs
2 garlic cloves
3 tblsp olive oil
1 very large or 2 smaller eggplants cut into 1 cm slices
500g jar tomato pasta sauce (or use your own)
50g Parmesan cheese,  freshly grated
Steamed greens, asparagus, baby carrots to serve or roasted vegetables

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180degC. Combine the mince with oregano, tarragon, and garlic. Form into 8-12  rissoles, depending on meat quantities, then chill for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat a char grill  or the BBQ to high. Brush the eggplant slices with 2 tbsp of the oil and cook, turning regularly for 2-3 minutes or until well coloured. Line the base of a large roasting dish with the grilled eggplant slices.
3. Brush the rissoles with the remaining oil and char grill for 2 minutes on each side until well coloured. (I found it easier to cook the pork rissoles in a non-stick pan over a high heat.) Assemble the rissoles in the roasting dish on top of the grilled eggplant slices, cover with tomato pasta sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake for 20 minutes or until the rissoles are cooked through and the cheese and sauce are bubbling. Serve with vegetables.

They taste even better the following day when eaten as leftovers, with a crusty Italian bread roll.

Best wishes

Pauline