Chervil Pancakes with Aubergine Caviar and Pomegranate

From Vegetarian, Alice Hart, Murdoch Books, 2011.

The chervil in the backyard garden was growing well so it was time to use some up.

Firstly I needed to make the aubergine caviar. A garlic clove was mashed in a mortar and pestle with some salt. A teaspoon of cumin seeds was added and this was crushed in to make a paste. An eggplant (aubergine) was sliced in half lengthwise. The garlic mash was spread on both of the cut sides and they were then pressed together. The eggplant was wrapped in foil and placed in a 200ºC oven for an hour, after which it was taken out and left to cool.

When the eggplant had cooled the flesh was scraped out with a spoon and placed in a saucepan with a little olive oil. It was simmered for about 5 minutes then left to cool. Now a teaspoon of pomegranate molasses, a tablespoon of yoghurt and salt and pepper were stirred in. This was the caviar ready.

The pancakes were made by beating together 225g self-raising flour and a teaspoon of baking powder with 2 beaten eggs, 250ml buttermilk and a tablespoon of chopped chervil. When the mixture was smooth it was cooked on a griddle about a heaped teaspoon at a time. The pancakes were flipped over as soon as bubbles appeared to cook the other side.

To serve a teaspoon of the caviar was placed on each pancake with another teaspoon of pomegranate seed mixed with a little yoghurt. Some more pomegranate seeds were added on top with a sprig of chervil.

These made an appealing appetiser and proved to be suitably tasty.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔ 

Warm Spinach, Caramelised Onion, Feta and Pecan Salad

From Vegetarian, Pippa Cuthbert & Lindsay Cameron Wilson, New Holland, 2010.

Just the name of this salad was enough to make me want to have it.

I put 30g butter in a pan and when it was melted added a sliced red onion. I let it cook on a low heat for about 30 minutes when it was soft and gaining a golden colour. I now added 30g roughly chopped pecans and 50g crumbled feta. These were mixed with the onion and then 100g baby spinach leaves were added and stirred around so that they were well mixed and warm but not wilted. A sprinkle of salt and freshly ground black pepper and the salad was ready. It was served with a slice of parsnip flan.

This was such a delicious salad, one that is worth repeating. The butter in which the onion was cooked now served as the dressing so there was no need to add any other. And the feta had just slightly begun to melt adding to the rich buttery dressing. The onions were savoury and sweet, the feta salty and tangy, the pecans crunchy all melding well with the warmed spinach leaves.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔✔

Sautéed Mixed Greens

From Vegetarian, Pippa Cuthbert & Lindsay Cameron Wilson, New Holland Publishers, 2010.

I had made rissoles from the night before’s risotto that had firmed sufficiently for me to just squeeze a handful together and form it into a patty shape. I wanted greens to go with them. I had English spinach and watercress in the refrigerator and needed a simple recipe to use them.

I cut the leaves from the spinach bunch and picked the leaves from the watercress. I chopped a red chilli and a garlic clove. I took a handful of sesame seeds and quickly roasted them in a frying pan. I put on a saucepan of salted water and, when it was boiling, tossed in the greens for a minute or two and then drained them.

I heated a little olive oil in a frying pan and threw in the garlic and chilli for a few seconds, then added the greens. I seasoned them while they were heating up in the oil. After a couple of minutes sautéing I sprinkled them with sesame seeds and they were ready to serve.

These greens were delicious done this way, so much so that it could become my standard method for serving greens.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔✔

Camembert, Watercress and Marinated Figs with Walnut Dressing

From Vegetarian, Alice Hart, Murdoch Books, 2010.

Camembert, watercress, figs and walnuts—a perfect match of flavours. This looked as though it would be an excellent salad but after the rather disastrous fig recipe I had made recently I was a little unsure.

Firstly a marinade had to be made for the figs. A hundred grams of balsamic was placed in a saucepan with 50g caster sugar, a peeled garlic clove, a couple of sprigs of thyme and 50ml of water. This was brought to the boil and simmered for a couple of minutes, then left to cool.

Three figs were halved and placed in the marinade and left for a couple of hours.

When it was time to make the salad the figs were removed from the marinade and placed cut side down in a hot frying pan until they had caramelised. The pan was turned off and the figs turned over and left to cool.

Meanwhile the marinade was turned into a dressing. Three tablespoons of the mixture was measured into a small bowl. To it were added the leaves from a spring of thyme, two tablespoons walnut oil, salt and freshly ground black pepper. This was beaten until combined well.

A good handful of watercress leaves were tossed with a little of the dressing. This was placed on the serving plate, chopped walnuts were sprinkled over, the figs were added and 125g camembert cut into pieces. The remainder of the dressing was drizzled over.

A delicious salad. I loved every bite of it.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔