Layered Stracchi with Roasted Vegetables

From Vegetarian Cookbook, Paul Gayler, Dorllng Kindersley, 2000.

Still fascinated by my new pasta roller I looked for another recipe to try it out a little more. This one looked as though it might be interesting. It appeared to be a form of deconstructed lasagne.

I made the pasta, rolled it thinly and cut it into rectangles 10cm by 7.5cm and put it aside while the vegetables and the pesto were made.

I first put two peeled garlic cloves with olive oil into a moderate oven for 15 minutes while I put on some water to boil and dip in three plum tomatoes in order to make them easy to peel. I now placed them in the oven with the garlic and left them for another 15 minutes. These went into the blender with a few basil leaves, some grated parmesan cheese, pine nuts, and salt and pepper. I also added a chilli though the recipe did not call for one. Blended together, this made a flavoursome pesto with a little bit of heat.

Now I cut the vegetables into slices: an eggplant; a zucchini; a red, a green and a yellow capsicum; and two tomatoes. These were all brushed with oil and placed on a grill, bit by bit until they were all done. As they were cooked they were placed in the oven to keep them warm.

A pot of salted water was put on to boil and the pasta was placed in to cook. When done the dish was put together. A dollop of pesto went onto the plate followed by some vegetables, a little more pesto, then a piece of pasta, then vegetables, pesto, pasta, and again vegetables, pesto, pasta—it was done.

Should I make this again I think I would change the balance of vegetables with the pasta. I think it was a bit too heavy on the vegetables leaving the pasta almost like a decoration rather than a major element. It was, however, good to eat. The vegetables had a strong smoky flavour from the grilling and this Mediterranean mix always goes well together. The pesto had a little bit of a punch from the chilli and supplemented the vegetables well.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔

Early Summer Basil Soup

From Vegetarian Cookbook, Paul Gayler, Dorling Kindersley, 2000.

Well, third day of summer so thought I’d try this early summer soup.

A leek was chopped roughly as well as two celery stalks. They went into a saucepan with 50g of butter. The lid was put on and on a low heat they were steamed for about seven minutes. A litre of stock was now added with the zest and juice of half a lemon. The mixture was brought to the boil and simmered for 15 minutes.

The pot was taken off the heat and the leaves of a bunch of basil were added. The soup was now blended until it had become reasonably smooth. It was left to cool and then went into the refrigerator for an hour.

Before serving six tablespoons of cream were stirred in and it was tasted for seasoning.

This was a light, flavoursome soup. I had cut back slightly on the amount of basil but it still came through strongly. The lemon added just the right hint of additional flavour.

I’ve made several meals lately from Paul Gayler’s books and they have been proving to be very acceptable.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

Roasted Cherry Tomato Salsa

From Vegetarian Cookbook, Paul Gayler, Dorling Kindersley, 2000.

This was the nicest salsa and it was so easy to prepare.

A punnet (do they call them punnets when they’re not berries) of cherry tomatoes was prepared for roasting by cutting them in halves and placing them in a baking dish. They were seasoned, topped with chopped basil and garlic and a pinch of sugar. Olive oil was drizzled over and they were baked for roughly 5 minutes. They then went into a serving bowl and had a little lime juice added with some more olive oil.

This was a delicious salsa.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

Spinach, Basil & Pumpkin Rice Torte

From Vegetarian Cookbook, Paul Gayler, Dorling Kindersley, 2000.

Still on the pumpkin binge, I thought a pie might possibly be the next variation on the theme.

I needed to cook 200 g of rice before I began. This was set boiling.

While the rice was cooking the pumpkin was cut into slices and also boiled.

While the two saucepans were boiling away I was able to attend to the frying section of the dish. An onion was chopped and sautéed for about 5 minutes. Spinach, two bunches of English spinach, and about a handful of basil were now tossed into the pan to cook until wilted. I then tossed the pan contents into a colander and pressed them firmly against the side to drain out as much moisture as I could. This mix was then chopped.

The cooked rice was now split into two equal portions and the spinach mixed into one of the portions with a quantity of grated Parmesan cheese and one beaten egg.

The other portion of rice had Parmesan cheese and one beaten egg mixed into it.

A springform cake tin was greased and buttered filo pastry pressed around the bottom and sides to form a casing for the filling with a bit of an overhang. The spinach layer was added first followed by slices of pumpkin and, finally, the other rice. Left over pieces of filo were cut into strips and draped across the top as a decoration.

The pie went into the oven for about 45 minutes. It was then carefully taken out of the tin and put hack into the oven for a little longer to ensure that the torte sides were done.

It was served with a roasted cherry tomato salsa.

I’ve had this cookbook for some time now and not cooked over much from it but now that I’ve got back into it I think I should investigate it a little more.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔

Layered Mediterranean Gateau

From Vegetarian Cookbook, Paul Gayler, Dorling Kindersley, 1999.

Before doing anything much else you need to roast the capsicums for this: one red, one yellow and one green. When roasted they are peeled and all the seeds removed.

It was time then to cut an eggplant into slices and fry them on both sides until browned and soft.

In the blender I then pureed a handful of basil leaves, a clove of garlic and some olive oil to make a pesto.

The gateau was then formed in metal ring moulds. The vegetables were placed in one at a time with the pesto between them. The eggplant seemed best to begin with and also end with. On the top went some tomato slices. This went in the oven for about 10 minutes to heat through.

While it was in the oven a vinaigrette was made of some chopped basil, red wine vinegar, olive oil and a tomato that had been skinned, removed of its seeds and then chopped. Seasoning was added to taste.

When it was ready it was unmoulded on the plate, some yoghurt was placed alongside and vinaigrette spooned over.

This turned out to be a good accompaniment for some vegetarian burgers that had a mushroom base. Some rocket leaves were added to complete the meal.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔