Vegan Khoresh Bademjan - Iranian Aubergine & Tomato Stew

Aubergines are usually reserved for Babaganoush in this house, but having watched Nigel Slater’s Middle East last week, and googled Iranian recipes I thought I’d try to make a vegetarian and vegan version of Khoresh Bademjan.  The traditional recipe contains lamb.

170g yellow split peas, soaked overnight
2 aubergines, cubed
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, peeled, quartered and finely sliced.
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp turmeric
1 carton passata
2 cartons split pea cooking water

Drain the soaking split peas, cover with plenty of fresh water and bring to the boil.  Boil rapidly for 10 minutes, then cover and simmer whilst you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Fry the aubergines in 1 tbsp olive oil until they brown. Add 1 clove if chopped garlic and fry for a few minutes then remove the mixture to a plate.

Add the other tbsp olive oil and fry the onion until it begins to brown. Add the turmeric and cinnamon, stir around then add all the other ingredients, including the drained split peas and two cartons of the cooking water, and the aubergines back to the pan. Bring to the boil then turn down a simmer, cover and leave to cook for 1 hour stirring from time to time to ensure nothing catches on the bottom and the split peas are tender.  Add more boiling water if if it starts to get too thick.  I mashed mine with a potato masher to give it a dhal like consistency, and hide a new vegetable from wary children.

Season to taste.  Serve with Rice or crusty bread.

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Dizi - Iranian Lamb & Bean Stew

Binge watching Nigel Slater's Middle East, I just had to try some of the dishes.  Searching for a recipe for 'Dizi' as one wasn't detailed on the programme, I stumbled across the blog 'Turmeric & Saffron' containing a wealth of Persian cuisine, recipes, and stories.

Preparing traditional Dizi is a long drawn out process; soaking and cooking dried beans, long slow cooking, then straining off the broth, and mashing the stew.  So I've made it simpler...

Serves 4-6

1kg cubed lamb
1 can cannellini or haricot beans
2 large onions, peeled, quartered, and thinly sliced
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 lemon
1/2 tablespoon turmeric
A pinch of cinnamon
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 lamb or chicken stock cube
Salt and pepper to taste
Water

Fry the onions in the oil until they start to brown.  Add the lamb and fry with the onions for 5-10 minutes.  Zest the lemon into the pan, juice it and add this to the pan together with the squeezed lemon halves.  Add the rest of the ingredients and enough water to cover.  Bring to the boil then turn down to a simmer and cover for an hour, or place in a slow cooker for 6-8 hours on High.

The original recipe contained potatoes, so you could serve this with boiled or mashed potatoes.  We served it with brown rice to save the potatoes for Tandoori Sunday Roast Chicken the next day.

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Simple Plum Chutney

Plum Chutney is probably one of my best selling chutney's at Alresford Country Market.  Problem is I can never remember which recipe I based it on.  Finally, after a lot of googling I found it on Tesco's website (Spiced Plum & Ginger Chutney) and am posting my variation of it on my blog for posterity.

Makes 4x 450g jars

750g plums
2 tsp ground ginger (optional)
2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
125g sultanas
400g sugar
450ml pickling vinegar

Remove the stones from the plums and chop into 1 cm cubes, particularly if firm.  Put everything in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 40 minutes. Stir frequently and the mixture will become thick and glossy.

Transfer to sterilised jars and seal with new or sterilised lids immediately

Sterilising jars and lids - Use clean, dry jars.  Either wash in the dishwasher or place clean jam jars in cold oven and heat to 150C, then leave in the hot oven for 10 minutes.  If re-using lids, put through the dishwasher and place in a bowl of boiling water as you start to bottle the chutney.

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Cauliflower Cheese Soup

Been meaning to make this soup for ages but one child has announced an avowed hatred of cauliflower, and of food being "too cheesy".  So made this Friday with all children safe at school, for two adults working from home.

Serves a greedy 4

250g cauliflower, cauliflower stalk, or cauliflower leaves, roughly chopped
250g potato, skin left on and roughly chopped
1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1 small carrot, roughly chopped

1 stick of celery, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
500ml milk
500ml recently boiled water
2 vegetable or chicken stock cube
50g mature cheddar cheese

In a large saucepan, fry the onion in the olive oil over a medium heat until it starts to colour.  Add the rest of the vegetables including garlic and toss around in the hot oil and onions.

Heat the milk in the microwave for 2 minutes whilst the kettle is boiling.  Add the warm milk, boiled water, and stock cubes.  Bring to the boil, cover, and simmer.

After 20 minutes add the cheese and liquidise.  Serve with crusty warm bread, and maybe a drizzle of chilli oil.

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Pork Lasagne

Having used pork one day because it turned out I had no minced beef, pork lasagne is now middle daughter's (Sprout) preferred lasagne.  There is just something about pork. It is light and aromatic...

Serves a greedy 4

Ragú
500g pork mince
1 large onion, peeled and finely diced
1 large carrot, peeled and finely diced
1 large stick of celery, finely diced
1 large garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 glass of white wine
1 carton of passata or chopped tomatoes
Pepper & salt

White Sauce
750ml milk
2 heated tbsp plain flour
Large knob of butter  or 1 tbsp olive oil
1 large bay leaf
A pinch of nutmeg
Pepper & salt

Large handful of mature cheddar
12-16 lasagne sheets

Start by making the the ragu.  Soften the onion, carrot, & celery in the olive oil for about 5 minutes over a medium heat.  Add the rest of the ingredients, breaking up the lumps of mince.  Cover and bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer with the lid on whilst you make the white sauce.

In a separate saucepan add all the sauce ingredients over a medium heat. Incorporate everything by whisking gently every minute or so.  As soon as you feel the sauce thickening on the bottom of the pan, change from the whisk to a wooden spoon and dislodge all the thickening sauce from the bottom of the pan.  Turn the heat down to low and stir pretty constantly still you have a smooth sauce.  Season to taste then turn off the heat.  Season the ragú to taste and turn the heat off that too, taking the pan lid off to let some of heat out.

In my experience, layering the lasagne takes a degree of skill/experience.  We like quite a lot of pasta so I aim for 3 layers of 4 sheets, but it is still guesswork trying to divide a pan's worth of ragú and white sauce into 4/5.

Start with a layer of ragú in your lasagne dish,  I've worked out that 2 small ladles is roughly 1/4 of sauce.  Then 2 ladles of white sauce, and a layer of pasta sheets.  Repeat two more times.  Ideally finish with a layer of pasta sheets covered in a thick layer white sauce, but often don't have enough white sauce left so just pile more white sauce on top of your last meat layer, topped with the cheese.

Bake at 180C for 30-40 minutes until lightly browned on top and bubbling.  Serve with a green salad.  Garlic bread should not be needed with all the extra pasta.

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Thai Noodle Soup

The kids are all the scampi & oven chips between them that I bought for a treat for last night's tea.  So, as Dad was out, I rummaged through the fridge and freezer and ended up making myself a very filling Thai Noodle Soup.

Serves 1

1/2 can coconut milk
1 rice noodle nest or a large handful of cooked rice
1/2 tsp green Thai curry paste
1 tbsp Fish Sauce
1 tsp sugar
2 handfuls frozen soya beans or peas
1 kaffir lime leaf, shredded or zest of half a lemon
1 handful cooked chicken (optional)

Cook the noodles according to the packet's instructions. If using cooked rice skip this stage and just put everything in a pan together, bring to the boil then simmer for 5 minutes until the peas/beans are cooked (Thai Curry Soup with Leftover Rice)

In a separate pan heat the coconut milk with the curry paste, fish sauce, sugar, beans/peas, kaffir lime leaves/lemon zest, and chicken.

When the noodles are cooked, fish them out of the water with a slotted spoon and add to the pan with the coconut milk.  Add a little of the noodle cooking water (about a mugful) to make more soup to fill your bowl.

Tuck in.

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Squid, Prawn & Chorizo Pasta

My kids don't know how lucky they are.  After an afternoon's ice skating,  Dad decided to stop off at a supermarket on the way home to make a fishy pasta sauce.  They hate the idea of fish, but to their delight he bought squid and prawns.  Only the preteen had a slight grumble, "oh, why didn't you get octopus?".  He also made fresh pasta, but that is an art only known to him and his little helpers, so I won't detail that here.


500g cleaned squid
300g prawns
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
200g chorizo
400g dry pasta
2 tbsp olive oil
Small bunch of parsley, finely chopped (optional)
1 lemon, zest and juice

Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet.

Cut the squid bodies into rounds about ½cm thick, and cut the tentacles in half (check there is not a hard plasticy beak right in the middle where all the legs join - cut this out and discard if there is). Slice the chorizo into thin half-moon slices.

5 minutes before the end of the cooking time, heat the 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a frying pan.  Add the garlic and chorizo and gently fry for about 2-3 minutes.  Add the squid and stir around for another minute.  Add the prawns, lemon zest, and parsley and stir through.  Fry for a minute or so until the prawns are cooked, or warmed through if using pre-cooked.

Drain the pasta when ready.  Return to the pan and stir through the remaining olive oil, some freshly ground black pepper, then the cooked seafood.

Serve piping hot with lemon wedges.

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Kimchi Style Carrot & Celery Salad

Knocked a quick salad together for lunch today.  Probably will be making another one later as it was so damn tasty.

Serves 1

1 medium carrot
1 large stick of celery
1 small clove of garlic
1/8th tsp hot chilli flakes
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp maple syrup, honey, or sugar

Grate the carrot, thinly slice the celery, and crush the garlic.  Mix everything together.  Wait as long as you can tolerate.

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Turkey Rogan Josh Curry

Another curry made with leftover turkey.  In this case it was a pack of minced turkey as we didn't buy a turkey this year.  It could be made with leftover roasts, mince or cubed meat. And I padded this out with a small butternut squash to feed a family of five.

I made a Rogan Josh curry paste off Jamie Oliver's website but was a little disappointed with the strength of flavour.  So if you can't be bothered to make a curry paste, just buy a commercial ready made one.

Serves 4-5

500g turkey mince
500g butternut squash, blitzed in a food processor to the size of the mince
1 onion, finely diced
1 carton of tomato puree
1/2 a carton of recently boiled water
1 tbsp sunflower oil

Jamie's Rogan Josh Paste 
2 cloves garlic
1 thumb-sized piece fresh root ginger
75 g jarred roasted peppers
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons groundnut oil
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 fresh red chilli
1 small bunch fresh coriander
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns

Start by making the curry paste.  I cut a few corners in Jamie's recipe, not roasting spices, using a fresh pepper rather than roasted peppers, and not using fresh coriander, and just whizzed it all up in a mini food processor.

Gently fry the onion in the sunflower oil until it starts to look clear, then add half the curry paste, stir and fry until it sizzles.  Add the meat, breaking up the mince if using.  Add the butternut squash and the rest of the ingredients and bring to the boil.  Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the butternut squash is soft.  Season to taste and serve with basmati rice.

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Curried Stir Fry Noodles

Tonight I experimented with Curried Noodles.  It was inspired by Jamie Oliver's Ham & Egg Curried Noodles in his new book 5 Ingredients, and Singapore Noodles. It was also a chance to use up some leftover Brussel sprouts, carrots, and turkey.  But this dish could easily be done with just carrot and cabbage, the meat could be left out, replaced with egg, and vegans could leave out both egg and meat.

Serves 4
4 nests of medium egg noodles
1 large handful leftover roast turkey, chicken, beef or pork
1 large carrot, grated
1 handful of Brussel sprouts, cabbage or leafy greens
1 small onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 cm root ginger
1 tbsp curry powder
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sunflower oil

Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet.  Once cooked, rinse in cold water and leave in a pan on cold water.

Thinly slice the Brussels, onion, garlic, grate the carrot, finely dice the ginger, and cube the meat if using.

Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan over a high heat.  Add the garlic and ginger, stir, then add the onion, stir again, then add the rest of the vegetables.  Keep stirring and then add the meat when the vegetables look like they have started to wilt a little.

Add the noodles to the wok straight from the pan, reserving the cooking water, and the curry powder. Add half a mug of cooking water and the soy sauce.  Mix thoroughly and heat through.  Serve immediately.

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Vegan Macaroni Cheese

Tried out this Vegan Mac n Cheese on the kids yesterday.  It wasn't a huge hit with them as they couldn't get past the word 'cheese' and the lack of cheese in it as they know it.  But Dad and I liked it. It's a heavy dish, just like Mac n Cheese.

Serves 6

500g macaroni
500g potato
1 large carrot
1 onion
2 large cloves of garlic
1 tbsp English Mustard
1 tsp sweet paprika
50ml olive oil
1 tbsp wine vinegar
Handful of breadcrumbs
1tsp dried sage or rosemary (optional)
150g cashews

The night before soak the cashews with just enough water to cover them.  If you forget this like I did, cover them in boiling water as soon as you remember.

Chop the vegetables into large chunks, counting how many pieces of each...

Boil the pasta according to the packet's instructions together with the chopped vegetables and garlic in it's skin. When the pasta is cooked fish out the garlic and leave to cool, whilst you count out all the vegetables into a food processor.  Drain the pasta, reserving a mug of the cooking water.  Return the pasta to the pan and stir through a tablespoon of olive oil.

Peel the garlic and add to the vegetables in the food processor, together with the cashews, soaking liquid, mustard, paprika, olive oil, vinegar, and some seasoning.  Blend until you have a loose porridge consistency, adding a little of the reserved water if you need it.

Stir the blended sauce through the pasta in the pan.  Pour out into a high sided baking dish.  Sprinkle over the breadcrumbs and herbs if using, drizzle over some olive oil and bake at 180C for 20-25 minutes until browned and bubbling.  If the breadcrumbs are not suitably crisped, place under a grill for a few minutes watching it carefully!

Serve with a green salad.

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Turmeric Chai Latte Cappuccino

I'm not ready to give up coffee (ever!).

So made myself a 'healthy' turmeric masala chai style latte cappuccino.

Warm half a mug of milk in the microwave for 1 minute, add a pinch of turmeric, cinnamon, cardamon + honey to sweeten. Top up with an espresso made from fresh ground coffee.

Can also be made with soya milk, and decaff coffee grounds.  But what's the point.

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Moroccan Squash & Lentil Soup or Stew

I’m in a bit of a Moroccan mood this week.

Following my tagine on Monday, I looked up more Moroccan recipes and made myself this Pumpkin & Lentil soup.  It could easily be made with butternut squash, or sweet potato. And, using less liquid it could also be a stew served over couscous or Bulgar wheat.

Serves 4

1 small pumpkin, half a butternut squash or 1 large sweet potato
100g red lentils
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 stick celery
1 small carrot
1 onion
1 large clove of garlic
1tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/8th tsp hot chilli flakes
1 tsp red wine vinegar
2 vegetable stock cube
1 litre just boiled water

Finely dice all the vegetables.

Fry the onion, celery, carrot, and pumpkin gently until the onion begins to soften slightly.  Add the tomato paste, garlic, and cumin seeds and fry for a minute more before adding the rest of the ingredients.

Bring to the boil then cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes, stirring from time to time making sure nothing is catching on the bottom of the pan.  The soup is ready when the vegetables and lentils are soft.

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