Cooking with aubergines

Even though we are sisters, we have a very different approach to food and photography. Each fortnight we are going to choose the same ingredient or theme and post the result. These are results of our first food fight.

Beautiful Thai round aubergines, so easy to cook and cute to display in a bowl on the table.

Aubergines
Aubergines or eggplants, love or hate? These underused and under rated vegetables are the food for our first food fight. The common aubergine in NZ is the large purple oval shaped one (See Ingrid's dish) but if you check out the Asian fruit and vege markets you will find the thin small purple ones and the round, green Thai ones above. 

Food facts 

The Italians call it "melanzane," which means "crazy apple."

China is the top aubergine producer in the world.

An aubergine is almost 95% water.       

Aubergines may worsen the symptoms of arthritis.

An aubergine is actually a fruit.

Thai green chicken curry with aubergines and button mushrooms

Vanessa's dish

Aubergines are often synonymous with Italy (as Ingrid mentions in her blog  below) however I opted for one of my favs "Thai Green Chicken Curry". It actually started when I saw the cutest aubergines at the Asian fruit shop, then found large bags of the smallest button mushrooms - I was in heaven!  Many people I know don't use the Asian fruit and veg shops because they feel a bit out of their comfort zone with all the weird (yes some stuff is) but mostly wonderful products. They really are fantastic, better and more authentic, and even cheaper than the supermarkets. Take a chance and give something new ago.  

Thai green curry with aubergine, chicken and mushrooms

You will need...

Splash of vegetable oil

1 Tbsp Thai  green chicken paste

2 Tbsp Thai fish sauce (it might not smell great but trust me, its delicious and worth using - it gives the salt taste)

2 onions (I used red) 

1 tin coconut milk

water to thin if desired

500grams Chicken Thais oops mean thighs (actually any boneless bits will do, I just prefer the moistness of the thighs) 

Aubergines - one large purple or 8 small green Thai

Mushrooms - a couple of handfuls 

A bunch or two of chopped coriander

How to make

In a deep pan or wok heat the oil and fry the onions, add the green curry paste and fry for a minute or so to release the flavours. ( this bit might make your eyes water so open windows and shut door if kids around).

Add the fish sauce and fry for a minute longer. 

Add the coconut cream, aubergines and mushrooms, simmer gently.

After about 5 minutes add the thinly sliced or chopped chicken. The aim is that the chicken is white rather than golden and that it's really tender hence not over cooking. (its a bit of a juggle getting the cooking time right for the three ingredients but there is leeway and just taste along the way). 

If its thickening up too much, just add water. I used to prefer the thicker creamer curry but now like it better watered down. 

The main tip is not to add too much curry paste at the beginning - its pretty potent and if you are using a low fat option instead of coconut cream there is the potential to split/curdle. I have used evaporated milk and curry paste and it does a pretty good job but heed the advice above and cook on a lower heat. 

To assemble      

Serve with hot jasmine rice and garnished with lots of coriander. 

Small bowls work well as does an icy cold Thai beers such as Tiger or Singa.   

Enjoy!   Vanessa   

These button mushrooms were too cute to leave out of the blog, I didn't even cut all of them and just left them whole.

Ingrid's dish

 

A great way to use up tomatoes, aubergines and basil, all in abundance in your gardens or at supermarkets right now.

I'm always a little bit embarrassed when people find out that I'm half Italian, and then find out I can't speak a word of it. I'm convinced people think that its compulsory if you grow up with a Papa Guerrino you should speak the lingo. But, you see, my papa was trying to do the 'right thing'. He was immersing himself in New Zealand culture with his kiwi bride, and apart from the Ciao's and the Bella's we all spoke English.

That’s not to say, Vanessa and I completely missed out on the Italian side of things. We were brought up by an accomplished cook who learnt from his mama how to make things the traditional way. We grew up with freshly rolled pasta, handmade gnocchi and lightly dusted crostili.

So for our first food fight challenge, I decided to stick with what I know, Although I changed the Mozzarella (creamy cheese that melts), and went for ricotta. Why? well because it was cheaper (and lower in fat, not that I much care for that) It might not have photographed as well, white blogs instead of sticky cheesy swirls but who wants to add another $10 to a dish. Enjoy…Ingrid

Aubergines are very filling, and have virtually no fat, which makes it a perfect main dish.

Baked aubergine with tomatoes, ricotta and Parmesan

You will need
Serves 6
3 Eggplants
salt/ pepper
flour
3 eggs, beaten
Oil

1 onion
1 garlic clove
2 cans, diced tomatoes, or if like me, you have tomatoes growing out of your ears, 12 red tomatoes, chopped
2 Tbsp tomato paste
bunch of basil
ricotta (this dish traditionally uses bocconcini, or mozzarella, but have you checked out the prices!!!, so I opted for ricotta, it worked well)
Parmesan


How to make
Slice eggplant into 1cm slices, and sprinkle salt. Leave covered in a colander for around an hour. This will draw the liquid out. Pat dry with paper towel. Dip in Flour, then beaten egg and shallow fry each side until golden. Drain on paper towel.

Sauce
In a pan, add chopped onion and garlic. Add tomatoes, tomato paste and bring to boil. Season. When it starts to thicken, reduce heat and add chopped basil.

To assemble
In a ovenproof dish, coat bottom of dish with sauce and first layer of eggplant on top. Add dots of ricotta and grated Parmesan. Repeat layers and finish with sauce and grated Parmesan on top. Bake at 180C for 30mins. Let it cool for 5-10 mins before serving.

Slow many tomatoes

In season: Red and yellow tomatoes

Vanessa and I are always discussing the merits of 'growing your own', we both agree that our fruit and vegetables taste better, but for all the hard slog of maintaining our gardens, does it actually save any money? I think not. All the vege we actually harvest are also in abundance in the supermarkets, even the organic produce seems cheap in season.


That's not to say, I'm about to give up on my patch, even if it looks like a bloody graveyard at the moment. The tomatoes that survive the birds, suffer an even worse fate, when Rhys rips them off their branches and squashes them through his wee fingers. 

I like that it's teaching my young boy where his food comes from?! I would love for him to go to daycare, and mention that his mum is green fingered. I do kind of enjoy being self sufficient even if it is for show, but at the end of summer when your garden starts looking neglected and sad, I start to wonder why on earth I bother.

I always end up with a huge excess of the same vegetable that excited me at the beginning but irritates me towards the end of its cycle, why oh why can't I have a garden that sprouts a few of this a few of that and repeats the cycle all year round. If anyone knows how I can achieve this let me know.

However, I have already planned my next crop, so I'm not about to give up anytime soon. I am, after all, a creature of habit. So what do you do with red and yellow tomatoes, You slow roast them, and enjoy them in a salad, on cous cous, on toast, add it to eggs and toast for breakfast, or serve them as a side for dinner.

Slow roasted tomatoes with garlic and thyme

Slow roasted tomatoes
You will need

tomatoes - as many as you got

balsamic vinegar

brown sugar

olive oil

salt/ pepper

garlic

thyme

How to make
Line a baking tray with baking paper. Cut tomatoes in half, sideways, leave the stalks on. Lay them out on baking tray, with pip side showing up. Drizzle olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle over brown sugar. Throw in some garlic cloves, and thyme.

Bake at 160C for around 90mins or until tomatoes start to shrivel. Added bonus, this dish will make your house smell like your in Italy.

I can't believe the French stay so slim...

I have been on a journey from green tomatoes to croque monsieur - this is the how I got there...

This year I have been growing tomatoes however unlike my sisters, mine are still green. I vaguely remembered the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes" and thought "there must be something you can do with the greenies". My trusty friend Google gave me lots of ideas but I settled on a chutney. Apparently mixing red with green and adding sugar does the trick to add back some of the sweetness of rich red sun ripened tomatoes. Now, as usual I looked at a few recipes for inspiration but true to course, ended up just experimenting and creating.

This is what I came up with...Fiery red and green chutney

You will need

Approximately 2kg - red and green tomatoes

2 onions

250grams brown sugar

10 jalapeno peppers

250mls vinegar - I used a mixture of what I had - balsamic, red wine and white vinegar

Salt

Mustard seeds - optional

Raisins - optional

Roughly chop up the onions and tomatoes, add everything to a pan and simmer until it has reduced by about half. I ended up putting it in the food processor to make it less chunky and actually returned it to the pan and reduced it a wee bit more.

If preserving - put into sterilized jars and seal.

Enjoy hot or cold.

Now I wondered what to use it for and how to make an interesting post and picture. I also had to contemplate what was actually in my fridge on a Sunday evening - not much! 

I was thinking about cheese and crackers topped with chutney and voila - croque monsieur jumped out at me. I have eaten this delicious snack a few times and never actually contemplated how decadent it actually is. 

Here is my version, equally decadent with a fiery twist. 

Bon Appetite 

You will need

2 slices of bread

Butter

2 tablespoons flour

About 1 cup milk

About 1 cup cheese (what ever you have but tasty or nutty works well) 

1 teaspoon mustard - either wholegrain or Dijon 

About 2-4 ham slices 

Melt about 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan, add the flour and cook a minute or so. 

Gradually add the milk to make a smooth sauce (you may need to take it off the heat) 

Add mustard and grated cheese

(Aim to make the sauce thicker than a regular cheese sauce)

Butter the bread and place one slice butter side down in a pan or toasted sandwich maker.

Add the ham and a good dollop of the cheese sauce.

Place the other slice of bread on top (butter side up) and either put the lid on the toasted sandwich maker or turn over in the frying pan. 

The final touch to the top of the sandwich is yet more cheese sauce mixed with a spoonful of tangy and spicy chutney. Grill this until brown and bubbly.

Enjoy hot with more chutney to compliment the cheesy sauce. 

How the French stay thin, I have no idea! 

   

     

Gain kid, lose weekend brunch

I haven't been out for brunch in such a long time, it used to be a regular thing before Rhys was born, how times have changed. 

The full English used to be the staple for breakfast on a Saturday even if we stayed at home. The bloke used to do some mean poached eggs, with the softest centres on five grain toast, and it would set me up for the rest of the day, not to mention get me over the hangover.

Well hangovers (fortunately) seem to be a rare occurrence these days, but still I kept thinking, its all too hard, with a little one running around. . . well I was determined to find a way to bring it back, my aim was to use one dish (ok and a small pan for the spinach) but create a simple yet impressive dish, that required minimal dishes, and this is what I came up with.

Also perfect if you have guests for brunch. (Do people do that these days?)

Baked eggs on spinach

for 2

You will need

4 cubes of spinach (frozen, you know the type you get with the spinach cubes)

4 eggs

4 tbsp cream

salt/ pepper to taste

1 tsp butter

2 tsp Parmesan

Method

Defrost spinach, and place in a pan with butter. Add salt and pepper and saute. Place spinach in ramekins. Crack two eggs on top of each ramekin. Add 2 tbsp of cream to each ramekin. Sprinkle one tsp of Parmesan on each and bake for 15mins at 180C or until golden. Crack pepper on top and serve with five grain bread.

what do you do with a giant zucchini?

The adventures of Rhys and the giancchini

We left for our camping holiday, after giving the garden a full soak, thinking what a nice surprise it will be to come back eight days later to a plant full of zucchini's. But we never expected the prize winning door stop that confronted us.  So what do you do with a giant zucchini, courgette or is it now a marrow?

Well my son thought whoooheeee, tackle, drop and roll, and had so much fun weight lifting it around the garden. How do you explain to a 15 month old, that his new favourite toy is soon to be lunch.

The word marrow, conjures up images of, well, bone marrow, so I'm calling this bad boy, giancchini and I thought to make full use of the whole thing, I grated it and turned it into fritters for lunch with the neighbour and her three kids. Result!

Perfect for an unplanned lunch and got the thumbs up from the kids, but sadly, Rhys keeps looking for his friend.

Gianchini fritters
made around 16
1 extra large zucchini (4 medium or 6 small) grated
1 red onion
1tsp garlic (diced finely)
3 eggs
10 tbsp flour (plain) approx enough to make it into a batter
salt/pepper (to taste)
coriander or parsley (chopped)
lemons/ limes (for garnish/ squeezing on top)
Oil for frying

Method
Grate the zucchini, and leave to sit in a colander, squeezing out the extra liquid (there will be lots!) add salt. In a bowl, add onion, garlic, eggs, pepper. Mix. Add grated courguette and freshly chopped herbs. Add flour to make a batter. Spoon into medium hot pan, 3 - 4 mins each side or until golden. Add more herbs for garnish and serve with sliced lemons or limes.

Smoked Fish and Greens Pie

A change from the usual fish pie with mash and chock a block filled with healthy green veges, its a pie using half the amount of pastry. It also requires NO milk or cream. Its great to keep the tins of smoked fish fillets in the cupboard for a tasty and economical lunch or dinner. The little one (3 years) loved it!

Important - if using smoked fish, the liquid is quite salty so you DON'T need any salt. 


Changes you could make...
Use milk instead of stock
Use smoked chicken instead of fish
Add curry powder or wholegrain mustard


Ingredients
1 onion
1 courgette
Olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
400ml - 500mls chicken stock
450g tin of smoked fish fillets (NZ - Sealord chunky style )
Splash of white wine (optional)
Greens - I used frozen spinach, broccoli and peas
Store bought frozen puff pastry


Method
Pre heat the oven at 200 degrees
Saute the chopped onion and courgette until soft in the olive oil
Add the butter and melt
Take off the heat and add the flour and mix into a paste (roux)
Add the liquid from the smoked fish fillets - stir until smooth
When thickening add the wine and or the stock. Keep adding and stirring until you get a thick but smooth consistency.
Add the vegetables and fish and cook for a few minutes.
At any time you can add more liquid to keep the consistency thick and smooth


Put the pie filling into an oven proof dish
Roll out the de-frosted pastry and place over the top, pierce holes or take out a small circle from the center. (I used a wine lid to do this and it worked a treat!)
Seal the edges with a fork and bake until golden (about 20 minutes)


Enjoy with a fresh green salad, a dollop of tomato sauce and a nice cold beer.