TASTY WAYS WITH AUBERGINES

Give me an aubergine and I'll probably either BBQ it or make the Mallorcan vegetable dish tumbet (which is delicious), but Jane Hagan had some more creative ideas when she joined us on the programme on Sunday, September 7.


“These are my favourite vegetable! I could eat them just about every day,” says Jane.

Arabic Stuffed Aubergines

(“I learned this from the cooks on an Arab-owned boat and it's divine!)

Ingredients:

6 aubergines
Virgin olive oil
3 cloves of chopped garlic
¼ teaspoon of ground cumin
500 grams of lamb mince
2 small or 1 large can of sweetcorn
2 large cans of tomatoes, blended with electric blender
1 cup tahina
1 cup plain yogurt
1 chicken stock cube
3 tomatoes sliced

Cut the tops off good firm aubergines. With a peeler, peel off half the skin in a striped pattern.

Halve aubergines and fry in plenty of olive oil. Cook at a medium heat until they are softening but not cooked through. Place in an ovenproof dish skin side down and set aside.

Drain excess oil from pan and add the garlic and fry until softened. Add good pinch of ground cumin and then add minced lamb. Cook through and add the sweetcorn.

Spoon mince onto the aubergines, keeping mince on the aubergines and press it on a little to form
individual units.

In the same pan in which you cooked the mince, put the canned tomato purée and stock cube and bring to the boil, then reduce by about 25 per cent until it thickens. Then add the tahini and yogurt and pour into the dish with the aubergine mince. Try not to pour it over the aubergines but rather around them, so they are “floating” in the sauce. *

Cover the mince with the sliced tomatoes and put into the oven. Cook at 180 degrees for about 20 mins until the aubergines are cooked through. Make sure there are no hard parts in the aubergines as al dente aubergine is not nice!

* This is great for dinner parties as it can all be made even a day before and popped into the oven to finish cooking, or even re-heated just before serving. Do take care not to overcook though as the aubergines seem to shrink and disappear somehow!



Roast aubergine hummusIngredients:

2 aubergines – cut into large chunks
4 cloves of garlic in their skins
2 tomatoes – cut in half
Good splash of olive oil +
½ cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 jar chick peas
½ cup tahini
Juice of a lemon
Salt and pepper
Pinch of cumin
Fresh coriander – a good handful

In an oven roast the vegetables with a good splash of olive oil until nicely cooked through. Allow to cool a little.

In a blender or in a bowl and using a hand blender, add all the ingredients and blend thoroughly. If too thick to blend properly then add a little bottled water. At this point check for flavour as this is not an exact recipe. I always end up adding bits of this and that! I can get carried away with the oil as I love good oil in this, but add according to your taste.

We spread hummus on crusty bread and make salad rolls – brilliant with loads of rocket leaves and roast veggies from last night's dinner!

Recipes courtesy of Jane Hagan of Santanyí


Jan Edwards

ANYONE FOR AUBERGINES?

I'm probably not as adventurous with aubergines as I could be, but that might change after my programme on Sunday, September 7, because Jane Hagan – our foodie and south-west correspondent – will be sharing some of her recipes for her favourite vegetable with us.

Join us from 10am and you could be serving up something different for Sunday lunch!
And if you missed hearing her delicious fig recipes (or couldn't write them down quickly enough!), here they are:

The Most Excellent Fig Salad
Ingredients:
Black figs, halved
Extra virgin olive oil
Garlic, roughly chopped
Zest of an orange, or grated peel
Oregano, fresh or dried
Pine nuts (piñones)
Flake chillies
Balsamic vinegar
Rocket leaves (arugula)
Parmesan cheese, shaved
Black pepper, freshly milled.

Dress rocket leaves in a shallow bowl with a little extra virgin olive oil and a splash of Balsamic.
In a large open pan or wok, sautée the garlic in good hot oil until it colours a little and then add the figs, oregano, chilli flakes, pine nuts and orange zest. Allow the figs to cook a little and soften, moving them a bit but not too much or they can lose their shape.*

At this point, make sure the pan is good and hot and add a little more olive oil and a generous amount of Balsamic vingegar (keep face away from the pan, as the vinegar fumes are most invasive!)

Once the vinegar has lost that sharp smell, turn fig mixture onto the bed of rocket and serve with a topping of shaved Parmesan. Enjoy with crusty bread as a delicious starter or accompanying BBQ'd lamb.

* Note: All this can be done in advance and left at this point to be finished off quickly for a dinner party.

Figs in Syrup
Ingredients:
¾ kilo of fresh whole white figs
1 kilo white sugar
pinch of cinnamon

Place all the ingredients in a large stainless steel pot. Add a couple of tablespoons of water and bring ingredients to the boil. Keep in boiling (to form a syrup) for 25 mins, being careful not to let the sugar burn.

Leave to cool overnight in the pot. Next day, bring to boil again for a further 25 mins.

Bottle in sterilised jars and eat within 3 months. Delicious with the wonder Bellver Hazelnut or Almond ice cream!

Note: To sterilise jars, I wash them in hot soapy water (do not dry with tea towels) and put into a cold oven. Heat it up to 100 degrees and when the jars are cool enough to handle, fill and seal as soon as possible.

Fig Relish (works best with black figs, but white ones can be used as well)

Ingredients:
Fresh figs, quartered
Red onion, chopped
Garlic, roughly chopped
Chilli powder – to taste
Soy sauce – a dash
Balsamic vinegar
Port – in equal measure with Balsamic vinegar
Black pepper, freshly milled

Place all ingredients into stainless steel saucepan or pot and bring to boil. Let mixture
bubble fairly vigorously to reduce the liquid to a thick consistency (this can take up to about half an hour). When it reaches that point as it can burn very quickly and spoil the flavour, so this isn't something to leave on the stove and ignore!

You can enjoy this immediately but I find the flavour improves if left a couple of days in a glass jar in the fridge. Eat within a month or freeze. The relish is delicious eaten with cold cuts and cheeses.

Figs baked with soft goat's cheese

Ingredients:
Black figs halved (white figs would probably work as well)Soft goat's cheese (found in supermarkets in small pyramid-shaped plastic containers)
Extra virgin oil

In a caserola or ovenproof ceramic bowl with lid, place the figs in first and plonk the goat's cheese on top. It doesn't have to be neat – this is easy food! Drizzle a generous amount of olive oil over the top and put lid on. Place in a good hot oven (190 degrees) for about 20 minutes.

Serve with good bread and jamon serrano.

Recipes courtesy of Jane Hagan of Santanyí

Jan Edwards