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

Stuffed Zucchini Boats with Pine Nut Salsa

 

Zucchinis, Zukes, or Courgettes, same thing, and at the moment they are in season here, so if you have lots of them in your vegetable crisper like I had, this could be the recipe for you. I wanted to do something a bit different with them this time, so why not stuff them? I really like stuffed vegetables, and they transform into a meal in themselves. Serve these as a meal on their own, or if  you are thinking of a banquet, they make a great side dish for hungry people. This recipe is inspired by chef Yotam Ottolenghi, yes I am a fan of his recipes, as you know, and this one has ingredients which you probably have on hand already, if not they are easy to find. I had a lot of fun making this recipe, and it's a cinch to make for Meatless Monday, a Sunday lunch, or just during the week, it's light and easy.

I was preparing the zucchinis, removing the flesh and hollowing them out, having fun and making little canoes, when Mr. HRK came up to me and said I think that might be going a bit far. Mr. HRK has a very quick wit at times, and when I said to him, I need to do this before I can stuff them, which I didn't think was anything too extreme, he said well the Canoe Slalom race is on the TV and Aussie Jessica Fox is racing shortly for a Gold Medal, and you are making canoes? That's really getting into it isn't it? I hadn't even though of that, but we had a good laugh, and then Jessica won the Gold Medal for the Canoe Slalom race which was amazing, she was incredible, and I had my canoes to play with as well:) So Jessica you had  lots of support back here in Australia, and we are so proud of you. So this recipe is an ode to the Slalom Canoe Gold Medal event, and a tribute to Jessica Fox. What a woman.

Cook's Notes:

• Don't be afraid of adding extra herbal flavour to this dish, it will shine through.
• If you love chilli, add a chopped capilano sweet chilli to the stuffing mix.
• Very fresh, organic produce is the key to successful vegetarian cooking. I bought these zucchinis and beautiful cherry tomatoes from a local Mackay farmer, called Sweet As Fresh As, who throughout the Winter sell sweetcorn, tomatoes, zucchinis, cucumbers and whatever else they have in season. Their strawberries are to die for. I rarely manage to cook with those though, as we eat them all too quickly. They set up a stall at the Wednesday City Markets, and sell from their truck which they drive to a North Mackay roadside spot up the road from Bunnings and opposite a S.D.A. school. They can be found there every Thursday and Sunday morning. They are a real Mackay farming success story.
• Keep a tightly sealed bottle of lightly toasted pine nuts in the frig, so that they are ready for dishes like these, saves a lot of time. 
• To save time, the stuffing can be made a day ahead so that the zucchinis are ready to be stuffed and baked.
• A mix of yellow and green zucchinis also looks very attractive on the plate.

Ingredients:

Serves two as a main course, or four as a side

2 large zucchinis, (500 g) halved lengthways

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 large beaten egg

40 g Parmesan cheese (or Pecorino) finely grated

40 g fresh sourdough breadcrumbs (about 1 slice, crusts are fine)

100 g cherry tomatoes, quartered

1 large lemon (finely grate the zest for 2 teaspoons, then juice to get 1 tablespoon)

4 tablespoons finely chopped oregano leaves (a good bunch), plus a few extra leaves for a garnish

A couple of sprigs of lemon thyme, optional ( I used it because I grow it, and love the flavour)

35 g pine nuts, lightly toasted

3 tablespoons olive oil 

salt

Method:

Preheat the oven to 230 deg. C fan forced.

Hollow out the zucchinis with a dessert spoon into the shape of canoes, leaving about 1 cm thickness around the edges. The zucchinis will still hold their shape if scooped out carefully.

Prepare the zucchinis and the tomatoes: 

Transfer the zucchini flesh to a sieve or colander and squeeze out as much moisture as you can. I sprinkled the flesh with a small amount of salt and left them for a little while to encourage the salt to drain off, but my zucchinis didn't release much moisture. You are aiming to be left with about 100 g of drained zucchini flesh. 

Meanwhile in another bowl continue the squeezing and crushing and crush the tomatoes well with your hands.

Put the drained zucchini flesh into a bowl, add the crushed tomatoes, and add the egg, garlic, breadcrumbs and Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and a grinding of black pepper. Give a stir and set aside.

Pine Nut Salsa

In a separate bowl mix the lemon zest, pine nuts, and oregano. Take half of this mixture, and mix into the zucchini mixture. Place the remaining half of the mixture to the side for later, to finish making the salsa.

Place the zucchini canoes on your baking tray, with the hollowed sides facing upwards. 

Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the zucchini halves and season them with 1/8 teaspoon of salt.

Fill the zucchinis with the zucchini filling mixture,and bake for 15 minutes, until they are beautifully golden-brown and set. Be careful to check after exactly 15 minutes.

Finish making the Pine Nut Salsa while the zucchinis are baking.

Add the lemon juice, the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and 1/8 teaspoon of salt to the bowl of oregano, zest, and pine nuts. 

When the zucchinis have cooled slightly, spread the salsa on each of them, and sprinkle with a garnish of oregano leaves for further flavour and presentation, and serve.

If the zucchinis are being served as a main, serve with a salad and whatever carbohydrate you might prefer. But that is your choice and optional.

We've had moderate success with growing zucchinis, and at the moment we have about 6 volunteer plants in our garden, self seeded from our compost heap, plants with large leaves, which could be zucchinis, could be pumpkins, could be another kind of squash, time will tell, and that's the fun of it. Meanwhile I'll keep shopping for this healthy produce at the markets.

Congratulations to all of the amazing athletes from all nations competing at the Tokyo Olympics. Some of the stories bring tears to our eyes, others fill us with joy and pride. They have all worked so hard to be there.

Warm wishes,  

Pauline