Zucchini, Broccoli and Lemon Tagine

From The Slow Cook Book, Heather Whinney, Dorling Kindersley, 2011.

One of the good elements about this slow cook book is that every recipe has instruction for two different methods of making the dish: using the slow cooker or using traditional methods. I chose to use the traditional method for this dish.

A red onion was chopped and added to a tagine with a couple of tablespoons olive oil. It was cooked on a low heat until softened. The heat was now turned up to medium and I added a little salt, 3 chopped garlic cloves, a pinch of ground cinnamon and a pinch of fennel seeds. I stirred in 2 teaspoons harissa paste. I took 3 preserved lemon quarters, sliced out the flesh and chopped the skin and added it to the mix.

After 2 or 3 minutes I added a can of chopped tomatoes. The mixture was brought to the boil, the lid went on and it was turned down to a simmer. This was left to simmer for about half an hour with an occasional addition of some water to ensure that it did not become too dry.

Meanwhile broccoli was boiled in salted water for about 3 minutes. It was drained and placed in cold water, then drained again and placed aside.

Three zucchini were sliced and, though they were required to be sautéed first before adding to the tagine, I dispensed with this step and added them directly to the sauce. I gave them about 10 minutes more to cook and then added the broccoli with a good couple of tablespoons chopped parsley and stirred it in until it was heated through.

It was served with a little couscous and another teaspoon harissa on the side.

Tasty and a little hot with the preserved lemon flavour riding beneath. I would add a little more fennel and cinnamon next time for these were a little lost.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔ 

Vegetable Casserole with Dumplings

From The Slow Cook Book, Heather Whinney, Dorling Kindersley, 2011.

This was supposed to be made in the slow cooker but after looking at the instructions wherein most of the initial stages were to be done before the ingredients went into the cooker, I decided to cook it in a casserole in the oven. The cookery book is very generous in that it presents the recipes in two forms: slow cooker or traditional.

I turned on the oven to preheat to 160ºC and then commenced preparing the casserole. I chopped an onion and added it to the casserole with a little oil to sautee for a few minutes while the other vegetables were prepared. A leek, a carrot and a stick of celery were cut into suitable-sized pieces. A garlic clove was chopped and added to the onions with a pinch of chilli flakes and salt and pepper. After a quick stir the vegetables were added, stirred in and let cook for about 10 more minutes. I now added a zucchini cut into pieces though this was not in the recipe but I had one to spare.

Into the casserole now went a dessertspoon plain flour. This was stirred in, then 450ml stock was added. A can of cannelloni beans was drained and added with a small piece of fresh rosemary. The casserole was now brought to the boil, the lid was placed on top and it went into the oven for an hour.

After about 45 minutes I added the dumplings. They were made by mixing together 100g self-raising flour, 50g Copha (a vegetable lard) and 2 tablespoons chopped parsley with plenty of salt and pepper. Water was added until a soft dough was formed. This was rolled into 6 balls and added to the casserole. It was cooked for about 20 minutes and the lid was removed for another 10 minutes to let the dumplings brown a little. All in all the casserole had cooked for a total of 1¼ hours.

This was a comforting pleasing casserole for a cold night. It was juicy with a strongly savoury flavour from the leek and onion while the dumplings satisfactorily soaked up the liquid. The dumplings lacked a little flavour which I think was due to using Copha which is tasteless. I think in future I would use something like margarine.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔

Gnocchi di Patate con Salsa di Spinaci (Potato Gnocchi with Spinach Sauce)

From Pasta, Julia della Croce, Dorling Kindersley, 2000.

There was some gnocchi left over from the weekend so I hunted for a different sauce to use with it than that already used. This one looked as though it should suit nicely.

I placed a bunch of washed English spinach leaves in a saucepan and put on the lid giving it a few minutes to steam down. The leaves were left to cool and then squeezed of all their liquid. They were then cut fine.

I chopped an onion and placed it in a frying pan and sautéed it until it had softened. I also put on a pot of salted water to heat up for the gnocchi. When the water was boiling I placed in the gnocchi. At the same time the chopped spinach went into the frying pan. It was quickly stirred around and then about 150ml of cream was added and a grating of nutmeg. The sauce was seasoned with a touch of salt. As it heated up grated Parmesan cheese was also added to the simmering sauce.  By now the gnocchi had floated to the top of the boiling water so it was scooped out and added to the sauce. Once stirred around to be coated, it was served with a little more grated cheese on top.

I had expected this to be better than it was. It seemed as though it would make a really tasty sauce for the gnocchi but there was an odd after taste to it that was reminiscent of fish that I didn’t enjoy.

Taste: ✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

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: ✔✔✔

Brazilian Black Bean and Pumpkin Stew

From The Slow Cook Book, Heather Whinney, Dorling Kindersley, 2011.

In readiness for this recipe I soaked 160ml black beans in some water overnight. In the morning I drained the beans and then put them in a saucepan with some water, brought them to the boil and then drained them again. They then went into the slow cooker to wait for the other ingredients.

While the beans were being brought to the boil I chopped an onion and placed it in a pan with a little hot oil to cook for about 3 minutes. Next 2 chopped garlic cloves went in for a minute and then half a butternut pumpkin cut into bite-sized pieces for another minute. These all now went in the slow cooker with a chopped red capsicum, a can of tomatoes, a small red chilli (chopped) and 300ml water with a vegetarian stock cube.

The cooker was turned on low and left to cook for 8 hours. About half way through the cooking time I checked the stew for seasoning and added a little salt and lots of black pepper.

At serving time a mango was diced and added with chopped coriander.

Served with rice this was a flavoursome meal. It had thickened and was rich with a mixture of savoury tastes occasionally enlivened with the sweet pieces of mango. It was so easy to make that it is a recipe that must be remembered for cold winter nights.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔