Oven roasted aubergine/eggplant with saffron yogurt dressing

Tags

Aubergine, eggplant, middle eastern, saffron, salad

I have always loved middle eastern cuisine and ever since I went to an Ottolenghi restaurant in London, with my daughter, many years ago, I am a huge fan of his recipes. Recently, I invited our new neighbours over for dinner and decided on a middle eastern theme for the meal. I made assorted meze to start with pita then followed with a 5 hour lamb and several sides. One of the most popular, by far, was the aubergine with saffron yoghurt. It is such an easy recipe yet never fails to impress, in part, due to the amazing flavours but also, because it is visually a superb feast for the eyes with its jewel toned colours. Below is my adaptation of the recipe. The saffron sauce is great with just about anything, from fish to meat to veggies so do not hesitate to double the quantity. It will keep 3 days in the fridge – if you can resist eating it all at once.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 3 medium aubergines
• 1 Tsp olive oil
• 2 Tsp grilled pine nuts
• 4 Tsp fresh pomegranate seeds
• Fresh basil leaves, torn
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper
• Saffron yoghurt
• Pinch of saffron
• 1 Tsp hot water
• 200g / 3/4 cup Greek yoghurt
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 3 Tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tsp olive oil (optional)

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 220C / 430F
• Cut the aubergine into slices about 1 1/2 cm thick then cut each slice into 3 or 4 strips
• Place the aubergine in a large bowl, add the oil, salt and pepper and toss gently to ensure evenly coated
• Lay the pieces onto a baking sheet and roast for about 25 minutes until they are a nice golden colour
• Remove from the oven and leave to cool
• While the aubergine is cooking, make the sauce/dressing
• Allow the saffron to infuse in the hot water for a few minutes
• In a bowl, combine the saffron infusion with the yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil (if using) and add salt to taste (I did not add oil nor salt)
• Whisk the sauce by hand or ideally use a hand blender until it is smooth
• Keep the sauce in the fridge until ready to use
• Place the cooled aubergine strips in a serving dish, drizzle over the saffron sauce, sprinkle with the pine nuts and pomegranate seeds
• Add the fresh basil and serve immediately

Bon Appetit!

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Salade Thaï Végétarienne

Tags

french language, salad, salade, Thai, thaii, vegetarien

Yes, a French post! This recipe already appears as a post in English Link here, but to please my french readers and followers, I have decided to add a few more French posts. Obviously most will appear together in French and English in the same post in future. Recently, I started giving cooking lessons in French for members of our local AVF, (accueil de villes francaises), and I will include all of those in the next few weeks along with an English version.

Pour 6 personnes

Ingrédients

• 3 tasses de chou chinois
• 1 tasse de germes de haricot mungo
• 1 poivron rouge ou vert , coupé en julienne
• 1 tasse de roquette au jeunes pousses d’épinards
• 1 piment rouge finement tranché et épépiné
• 1 petit concombre coupé en deux dans le sens de la longueur et tranché finement
• 1 tasse de carottes râpées (facultatif)
• 1 tasse de pois mange-tout ou haricots edamame (facultatif)
• 2 oignons verts tranchés finement
• ½ botte de basilic, menthe et coriandre haché
  

Sauce Cacahuète

• ¼ tasse beurre de cacahuètes
• 2 CS vinaigre de riz
• 4 CS jus de citron verts frais
• 3 CS d’huile
• 2 CS d’huile de sésame
• 1 CS sauce soja
• 1 CS cassonade
• 1 gousse d’ail, hachée finement
• 1 CS gingembre frais, haché finement
• 1 piment rouge finement tranché ou ¼ cc piments concassés
• ½ botte de coriandre – basilic
• déco – ¼ tasse de cacahuètes grillées
  

Préparations

• Dans un bol, à l’aide du fouet, mélanger tous les ingrédients pour la sauce.  Réservez
• Placer tous les légumes et les herbes fraîches dans un grand bol et mélanger pour combiner
• Assaisonner la salade juste avant de servir
• Saupoudrer de cacahuètes

Bon appétit

Thai vegetable salad

Tags

Appetizers, bean sprouts, chinese cabbage, limes, lunch, napa cabbage, peanut butter, salad, starters, Thai, thai dressing, thai salad, vegetables, vegetarian

Crunchy, zingy, tasty and good for you too.  Now, how good is that?  Before lock-down, I had invited six friends over for a Thai style lunch.  I love Asian cooking but it is not something I often do.  A good friend of mine, Sally Sprinkle, had recently returned from a vacation in Thailand and had brought me back some spices and pastes and I was chomping at the bit to start experimenting with some new ideas. The main course was decided – that was the easy part- we would make a classic Shrimp Pad Thai and a Green Thai chicken curry with coconut rice.  But, what to serve as a starter?  I wanted something light and fresh and full of flavour and preferably vegetarian.  I tried out a few ideas and settled on a very simple vegetable salad which I tossed in a Thai dressing.  It hit the spot perfectly and was thoroughly enjoyed by all, so much so that there was not one peanut or bean sprout left on the serving platter.

If you wanted to serve this by itself you could simply add some cooked shrimp or chicken or even some chilled egg noodles.  If you do not want to add peanut butter to the dressing, simply leave it out and the tasty will still be as delicious, more citrusy but just as good.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

For the Salad

• 3 cups finely sliced Chinese or Savoy or Napa cabbage
• 1 cup sprouts
• 1 finely sliced green and/or red pepper
• 1 cup baby spinach leaves or arugula or both
• 1 finely sliced, seeded red chilli
• 1 small English cucumber, halved lengthwise, gutted and thinly sliced
• 1 cup shredded or finely sliced carrots (optional)
• 1 cup whole sugar snap peas or edamame beans (optional)
• 2 medium scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 cup loosely packed chopped fresh basil, mint and cilantro

• For the Thai Peanut Dressing

  • ¼ cup creamy peanut butter (use unsweetened)
    
  • 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons sesame seed oil
  • 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
    
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
    
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
  • 1 fresh red chilli, seeded and finely sliced or ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • Handful of fresh cilantro and basil, chopped

Handful of toasted cashew nuts and/or peanuts

Method:

Place all the fresh vegetables and herbs in a large bowl and toss to combine
In a small glass bowl, mix all the dressing ingredients and whisk well, this can be done using a sticker or immersion blender
Dress the salad with the dressing just before serving
Sprinkle on some toasted cashew nuts and/or peanuts
Bon Appetit!