As some of you might know, I've gone vegetarian for Lent. With the possible exception a few of the times I had to eat out (I'm not sure I ever want to see another sweet potato/goat's cheese combo again in my life), it's been easy, fun and has prompted me to cook a lot more inventively than I would do usually.
I'm afraid that all kind of ended in the last couple of days; a boredom with beans culminated in a microwaved mushroom pasta for dinner tonight. This was the last thing I managed to think up before my brain collapsed into a bacon-deprived haze.
Purple Sprouting Broccoli Stir-fry
1 onion
Groundnut or other non-olive oil
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
100g purple sprouting broccoli
handful cashew nuts
2 tbs rice wine or dry sherry
2 tbs water
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs toasted sesame oil
Thinly slice the onion; thinly slice the garlic clove; chop the PSB into roughly three bite-size portions, depending on the size of your broccoli and the size of your bite; and roughly chop the cashews.
Heat a tbs or so of oil in a wok, and, once hot, throw in the onion; stir-fry over a high heat until well browned. Lower the heat slightly, then add the garlic, chilli, PSB, and cashews. Stir-fry again for a couple of minutes, until the garlic and PSB are slightly browned.
Tip in the wine, water, and soy, and bubble for a minute or two until reduced to a slightly sticky sauce. Add the sesame oil, then serve.
I had this as it was, but if you wanted to bulk it up with some rice or noodles, I'd suggest adding about twice the amount of all the liquids, so that there's enough sauce for that too.
Tuesday 29 March 2011
Thursday 24 March 2011
Aubergine, Mozzarella
The food I eat on my own often falls more in to the category of "snack" than meal; even when it's a meal-sized plate of food, it's likely to be just protein, or just veg, or just carbs, rather than a well constructed mixture of the three. A lot of the time I'd be happy just munching on a chunk of cheese and perhaps a pickle or two, though I usually manage to construct something a little more nutritious than that. This falls somewhere between the two camps: very few elements, all simple tasty things on their own, very little cooking time, but all the same a sensible, proper meal.
An aubergine and mozzarella supper for one
1 aubergine
Jar of harissa paste
1 ball (c. 125g) mozzarella (use the best/most expensive stuff you can buy without feeling guilty about it)
Garlic bread/crusty bread to serve
Top and tail your aubergine, then slice into rounds roughly 5mm in thickness. No need for tape measures, but if they're too thick they'll burn without cooking through, and if they're too thin they'll just burn plain and simple. Spread them out on a grill pan; I find mine is generally just the right size for an aubergine's worth of slices, but do yours in two batches if not.
Mix a tbs of oil into the harissa paste to loosen the thickness, then brush a very thin layer of the flavoured oil and paste over both side of each slice of aubergine. Keep the amount of paste to an absolute minimum - it's spicy stuff - unless you are normally the kind of person who eats a vindaloo for breakfast.
Stick under the grill and grill until well browned (almost until they start catching and burning), then turn over and repeat on the other side. On my grill, this takes about 3-4 minutes per side, but grills vary so much in strength that you're just going to have to watch over them like a hawk so that you can whip them out at the right moment.
Stick on a plate with the ball of mozzarella and the bread. Eat.
Then, of course, I want those same flavours when I'm cooking for two, but putting a few slices of grilled veg on a plate with a ball of cheese and a slice of bread feels slightly underwhelming when there's more than one of you. So this is how to turn it into a "proper" meal:
And a bigger aubergine and mozzarella salad for two
In addition to the above...
1 other vegetable, perhaps a red onion or a courgette
100g or so of cherry tomatoes
bag salad leaves (I'd suggest rocket or spinach)
juice 1/2 a lemon
...and you'll need to up your quantity of whatever bread you've chosen, too
Repeat the harissa-grilling method with your chosen other vegetable; you'll probably need to add another tbs or so of oil to the jar of harissa to get enough for this.
Chuck the grilled veg into a bowl with the cherry tomatoes (which you've halved or quartered according to how big they are and how little you like them), salad leaves, the lemon juice, and a drop more oil from the harissa jar if it all looks a bit dry at this stage.
Rip your mozzarella roughly into half (taking care to reserve the larger half for yourself), then place on plates. Serve the salad and the bread on the table separately, helping yourselves according to likes and appetites.
An aubergine and mozzarella supper for one
1 aubergine
Jar of harissa paste
1 ball (c. 125g) mozzarella (use the best/most expensive stuff you can buy without feeling guilty about it)
Garlic bread/crusty bread to serve
Top and tail your aubergine, then slice into rounds roughly 5mm in thickness. No need for tape measures, but if they're too thick they'll burn without cooking through, and if they're too thin they'll just burn plain and simple. Spread them out on a grill pan; I find mine is generally just the right size for an aubergine's worth of slices, but do yours in two batches if not.
Mix a tbs of oil into the harissa paste to loosen the thickness, then brush a very thin layer of the flavoured oil and paste over both side of each slice of aubergine. Keep the amount of paste to an absolute minimum - it's spicy stuff - unless you are normally the kind of person who eats a vindaloo for breakfast.
Stick under the grill and grill until well browned (almost until they start catching and burning), then turn over and repeat on the other side. On my grill, this takes about 3-4 minutes per side, but grills vary so much in strength that you're just going to have to watch over them like a hawk so that you can whip them out at the right moment.
Stick on a plate with the ball of mozzarella and the bread. Eat.
Then, of course, I want those same flavours when I'm cooking for two, but putting a few slices of grilled veg on a plate with a ball of cheese and a slice of bread feels slightly underwhelming when there's more than one of you. So this is how to turn it into a "proper" meal:
And a bigger aubergine and mozzarella salad for two
In addition to the above...
1 other vegetable, perhaps a red onion or a courgette
100g or so of cherry tomatoes
bag salad leaves (I'd suggest rocket or spinach)
juice 1/2 a lemon
...and you'll need to up your quantity of whatever bread you've chosen, too
Repeat the harissa-grilling method with your chosen other vegetable; you'll probably need to add another tbs or so of oil to the jar of harissa to get enough for this.
Chuck the grilled veg into a bowl with the cherry tomatoes (which you've halved or quartered according to how big they are and how little you like them), salad leaves, the lemon juice, and a drop more oil from the harissa jar if it all looks a bit dry at this stage.
Rip your mozzarella roughly into half (taking care to reserve the larger half for yourself), then place on plates. Serve the salad and the bread on the table separately, helping yourselves according to likes and appetites.
Monday 7 March 2011
Mushroom and Goat's Cheese Tagliatelle
This is a rich, luxurious pasta dish. It's not a speedy one, and will demand a good half hour of your attention; but that half hour is one of gentle chopping and stirring which should slowly stroke away the stresses of your Monday.
Mushroom and Goat's Cheese Tagliatelle
1/2 onion
1 large clove garlic
4 large chestnut mushrooms
10g dried porcini
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
200ml boiling water
100ml white wine
75g tagliatelle
100g goats' cheese
1/2 tsp truffle oil
Finely chop the onion and garlic. Chop and slice the mushrooms so you have a variety of different shapes and thicknesses. Soak the dried porcini and dried tarragon in the boiling water (they will probably want around 15 minutes).
Heat a teaspoon of butter in a small saucepan, over a low heat, and gently saute the onion for 10 minutes or so, until it is soft and slightly yellow, but without browning it. Add the garlic, and saute for another minute or two, until it loses its sharp white colour. Add the fresh mushrooms, a decent pinch of salt, and saute for a couple of minutes until they start giving up their juices.
Around the same time, get the pasta water on to boil, and tip in the pasta.
Turn up the heat slightly on the mushroom pan. Remove the dried porcini from their soaking liquid (keeping the liquid itself), and chop them roughly, then add to the mushroom pan and stir in to the rest of the mixture. Tip in the wine and boil until you stop smelling the strong alcohol evaporating off: around a minute. Then add the soaking liquid from the dried porcini, stopping before you get to any gritty bits at the bottom. Bring to a gentle boil and reduce until you just have a little liquid left in the pan.
Chop the goats' cheese into 1 cm chunks. Drain the pasta and tip into the mushroom sauce pan; stir well until coated. Tip in the goats' cheese and truffle oil, stir briefly, then serve.
Mushroom and Goat's Cheese Tagliatelle
1/2 onion
1 large clove garlic
4 large chestnut mushrooms
10g dried porcini
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
200ml boiling water
100ml white wine
75g tagliatelle
100g goats' cheese
1/2 tsp truffle oil
Finely chop the onion and garlic. Chop and slice the mushrooms so you have a variety of different shapes and thicknesses. Soak the dried porcini and dried tarragon in the boiling water (they will probably want around 15 minutes).
Heat a teaspoon of butter in a small saucepan, over a low heat, and gently saute the onion for 10 minutes or so, until it is soft and slightly yellow, but without browning it. Add the garlic, and saute for another minute or two, until it loses its sharp white colour. Add the fresh mushrooms, a decent pinch of salt, and saute for a couple of minutes until they start giving up their juices.
Around the same time, get the pasta water on to boil, and tip in the pasta.
Turn up the heat slightly on the mushroom pan. Remove the dried porcini from their soaking liquid (keeping the liquid itself), and chop them roughly, then add to the mushroom pan and stir in to the rest of the mixture. Tip in the wine and boil until you stop smelling the strong alcohol evaporating off: around a minute. Then add the soaking liquid from the dried porcini, stopping before you get to any gritty bits at the bottom. Bring to a gentle boil and reduce until you just have a little liquid left in the pan.
Chop the goats' cheese into 1 cm chunks. Drain the pasta and tip into the mushroom sauce pan; stir well until coated. Tip in the goats' cheese and truffle oil, stir briefly, then serve.
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