‘Mixed Grill’ with Parsley Oil

From Plenty, Yotam Ottolenghi, Ebury Press, 2010.

I was in need of a vegetable accompaniment to go with some potato cakes. I had a potato mixture left over from Potato and Cheddar Tortellini and thought they would readily and easily be turned into cakes by forming the mixture into patties and then dipping them in egg and breadcrumbs and frying them.

Ottolenghi’s mixed grill looked as though it would suit so I set to work to make the parsley oil. I took 25g parsley, leaves and stems, and put them in the blender with a garlic clove, juice of half a lemon, salt and pepper. I gave them a whiz and then added olive oil, sufficient to make a sauce. Another churn in the blender and it was ready.

The vegetables I was using were cut into thin slices: eggplant, kohlrabi and zucchini. They were placed in a bowl and given a dribble of olive oil. They then went onto a hot grill until they were well striped and sufficiently cooked. They went into the oven to be kept warm until all were ready. Once the last vegetable slice was done they went back into their bowl and the parsley oil was poured over them. They were then left to cool.

At serving time some haloumi was sliced and quickly fried until golden on both sides. This was mixed in with the vegetables.

I was pleased with my potato cakes. They were crunchy on the outside and creamy and cheesy on the inside. The vegetables grill went well with them. The parsley oil was tangy and enhanced the vegetables which had the added smokiness from the grill. My eggplant was cooked a little too long and began to disintegrate, though this added to the sauce on the plate.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔