MORE courgettes!!!

They just don't stop coming do they? I've got three grow sacks with courgette plants in my garden. I must admit, my seeds went in a little late (I had to to do a second sowing after the mice ate the first ones). So I've still got courgette flowers as well as lots of courgettes of varying sizes. Then my brother-in-law sent me some super-sized ones (basically their neighbour gave them some plants, and they just forgot about them!) so I guess they're marrows. 

The last time I was this swamped in courgettes, I posted a blog of some of my favourite courgette recipes. I think it's time to add to this list.

Courgette & spilt channa dal

Since the shift in the weather and feeling a bit chillier, I needed to eat something warming. I made a big batch of this at the start of the week, so it's fed us well on several occasions. The dish is only gently spiced, and has more of a fragrant cumin hit than chilli, so very child friendly dish. Serve with a soft flat bread such as chapati or roti, or steamed basmati rice. I had a dollop of hot pickle on the side with mine too.

2 cups of split channa dal (soak in cold water for one hour prior)
3 courgettes, chopped 1" pieces
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp black cumin seeds
couple of pinches of asafoetida
2 fresh or dried large red chillies, finely chopped
2 onions finely chopped
3 tsp of sambhar masala powder (use garam masala as alternative)
2 large tomatoes, chopped
handful of fresh coriander
pomace oil
3 pts water

1. Put half of the prepped onion into a heavy bottomed pan with a little oil. Saute until softened, then add courgettes, turmeric, salt and drained channa. Cover with water and bring to boil. Simmer for 1-2 hours until channa is soft (but not mushy and falling apart). Add more water as dal cooks to maintain a soup like consistency.
2. In a small pan, add oil with cumin and asafoetida. Fry until seeds splutter, then add fresh or dried chillies, diced onions, tomatoes and sambhar masala powder, and cook until onions and tomatoes and completely soft, and oil has separated.
3. Pour tempering mixture over the cooked dal and stir well. Serve scattered with fresh coriander.

Bean & courgette soup

A little variation on a French pistou soup.

2 large courgettes, chopped, bite size pieces
1 med onion, finely chopped
250g green beans, fine sliced
1 tin of haricot beans, washed and drained
1 tin of black eye beans, washed and drained
3 cloves of garlic
1 bunch of fresh basil
3 medium tomatoes
salt & black pepper
1 tbsp parmesan cheese (or similar) grated
olive oil
2 pts water

1. Gently soften the onion in 1-2 tbsp of olive oil. Add the green beans, haricot, black eye and courgette and then cover with water and bring to simmer, for about 15 minutes.
2. Put the rest of the ingredients in a blender, and add about 1-2 tbsp olive oil to make the pistou.
3. Just before serving, pour the pistou into the soup and stir well. Serve with a few fresh basil leaves and grated parmesan on the top.

Courgette & feta frittata

This is one of my favourite frittata combinations. A protein packed meal for a vegetarian, which I like to eat with a big tomato salad. And makes a great alternative to sandwiches for a packed lunch, as it will keep for a few days in the fridge.

150g new potatoes, quartered & boil until tender
1 red onion, fine sliced
80g feta cheese
2 courgettes, fine sliced
1-2 tbsp olive oil
large sprig of fresh thyme
salt & white pepper
6 free range eggs

1. Saute the onions in the olive oil until they start to soften, then add the sliced courgettes and the thyme leaves, and cook for three minutes. Add the cooked potato quarters and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
2. Beat four of the eggs together. Separate the whites of two eggs and set aside. Beat the remaining four eggs with the egg yolks from the other two. Then whip the egg whites until fluffy and meringue like, and gently fold into the main egg mixture. This is what will  make your frittata light and airy.
3. Crumble the feta over the vegetables, then pour over the egg mixture and cook on a very low heat about six to eight minutes. Then place pan under grill and cook until eggs are fully set.

From one friend to another... Lisa's Lentil Quiche

Lisa is one of my oldest friends.  We met back in college, where we bonded over our shared passion for animal rights, environmentalism and confusion over physics.  We've shared many family days together as our children have grown from bouncing on the trampoline to tracking down our teens at parties they're not supposed to be at.  This quiche has appeared at many of our get togethers and the kids all love it.  Her addition of brown lentils adds some real substance to this recipe, and is a little healthy twist on a tea time favourite.  I said to my daughter the other day 'I'm going to make a quiche' and she immediately piped up "Lisa's lentil quiche?"  So here you go, from one friend to another...   

Lisa's Deep Dish Lentil Quiche

Shortcrust pastry:
340g plain flour
120g cold butter, roughly chop
1 free range egg
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp cold milk
Or you can use ready made pastry

Filling:
250g cooked brown lentils
1 red onion
Balsamic vinegar
Brown sugar
1 small head of broccoli, cut into small florets
3 medium vine tomatoes
6 free range eggs
400g cream cheese
150g grated mature cheddar cheese
2 tbsp fresh or dried thyme
salt & pepper

1. Put all the pastry ingredients in a food processor and pulse gently until mixture comes together. Wrap in cling film and leave in fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
2. Fine slice one large red onion and fry in pan with a little oil and pinch of salt. Cook for 6-7 mins until softened, then add 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar and 1 tbsp of brown sugar. Cook gently until onions are fully softened and caramelised.
3. Place broccoli florets in boiling water and cook for 3-4 mins, then drain and plunge in cold water. Set aside.
4. Whisk eggs, cream cheese, thyme, 1/2 tsp each of salt & pepper.  Remove cores of tomatoes and slice each half into 3-4 pieces.
5. If using dried lentils, boil for about 20 mins until soft but not falling apart. Rinse and set aside.
6. Grease a 25cm deep flan tin, and line the bottom with a disc of greaseproof paper.  Roll out pastry to 4-5mm thickness and line tin, leaving edges overhanging. Line the pastry with sheet of greaseproof and fill with baking beans. Bake in oven for 20 mins at 190 C.  Remove paper and beans and bake for another 5 mins. Remove from oven and turn down temperature to 165 C.
7. Spread red onion marmalade across bottom of flan dish, then sprinkle layer of cooked brown lentils, then add a layer of the broccoli florets and another layer of lentils. Pour over cheese mixture, and agitate to ensure liquid is evenly dispersed across veg. Layer top with pieces of tomato, then pour over remaining liquid. Sprinkle grated cheese across the top and bake for 30-35 mins in oven at 170 C.  
8. Remove from oven and using sharp serrated knife, shave off excess pastry around edge of tin.  Scatter remaining fresh thyme over top.  Serve warm with a big salad.

Love your leftovers!

When you like to cook, it can sometimes seem like the fridge is permanently full of leftovers.  Come christmas, and everyone is in the same boat.  I have a few favourite leftover recipes, and after facing the fridge still half full of leftovers this morning, I decided to share some on my blog. I've included easy recipes for nasi goreng, Cornish style pasties with leftovers, leftover Christmas cheese pie and biryani rice with leftover curry.

First up, it has to be nasi goreng (or maybe mee goreng if you're more noodle inclined).  I love this dish for lots of reasons.  It's the first street food dish in Indonesia I fell in love with.  I think it takes the universally popular egg fried rice and gives it kick and substance, turning it into a proper supper.  It can be served with egg scrambled through the rice, or an omelette (you can make fancy strips and layer them on the top), but the favourite in our house (and most traditional) is a perfectly cooked gooey fried egg.  You can pretty much use any leftovers, veg or otherwise, just chop them up into bite sized pieces.  The key to great nasi is left over rice that has been cooked and fully cooled, preferably after a night in the fridge

One of my favourite Christmas leftover recipes is leftover cheese pie.  We always have excessive amounts of cheese over the festive season, and we end up with odds and ends of all kinds of cheese from different places.  One year I made a pie from the leftovers, and so the tradition was born, leftover cheese pie.  This year, inspired by Cornish blue and yarg from my new Cornish brother in law, I also made some Cornish style pasties.  The recipe below uses a traditional dough recipe for Cornish pasties, with the requisite knob of butter and black pepper seasoning.  But the rest of the filling is a hotch potch of what was kicking around the fridge.  I made them with leek & potato dauphinoise (WINNER!), rocket mash & stilton (kind of ended up a bit hollow, but scored big on the taste board), and leftover xmas veg with carrot & swede mash, roast potatoes, red cabbage and veggie roast (which was really yummy with cranberry compote).  I'm making the leftover cheese pie for NYE, so recipe below reflects this years particular cheese fest, but you could use pretty much any cheese I reckon.

The last recipe is just a few tips on making biryani rice from leftover curry.  Again, this is totally adaptable to whatever curry you've been cooking and have leftover, whether vegetable, meat, seafood or chickpeas (I make this with Sunil's dal and it's delicious).  You could also use any leftover vegetables or whatever you have, and knock up a masala sauce to layer with the leftovers and rice.

Nasi Goreng

Ingredients - serves 2-3
2 cups of basmati (or long grain) rice, steamed or boiled, al dente

4 free range eggs

Leftover veg, such as carrots, peas, onions, green beans, I've even used roast potatoes before

2 tbsp garlic paste
3 tbsp finely chopped onions or shallots
1 large red chilli
1-2 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp of chilli sambal (I use sriracha)

1 tbsp of fish free worcester sauce (or fish sauce)

1 tbsp soy sauce

sesame oil for frying
sliced spring onions, fresh coriander and few red chilli slices to garnish (all optional)

1. If making omelette, beat eggs together with little salt, and ¼ of the mixture in small pan to make thin omelette. Repeat until have 4.  Them roll up together and slices into long strips. Set aside.
2. If having fried eggs, start cooking them at step 5.

3. Mix together sugar, soy, chilli sauce and set aside.

4. Heat sesame oil in wok, add onions and soften, then add garlic and vegetables. Cook for 2 mins then add chilli and cook for further minute.

5. Add cooked rice, mix well and cook until fully heated.

6. Turn off heat and add sauce mixture.  Mix well.  Mix through half egg strips, if using.

7. Serve portions with remaining egg strips or fried eggs over top of rice, and scatter with fresh spring onions, coriander and fresh chillies (if using).

 Cornish Style Pasties with Leftovers

Ingredients - makes 4 large or 6 medium sized pasties
Dough: 500g strong plain flour

120g vegetable suet

25g butter or margarine

1/2 tsp salt

175ml cold water

Fillings:

Leftovers 

Butter & black pepper for seasoning

Free range egg & 1 tsp salt, for glazing
Veg oil for frying

1. Mix all dough ingredients together, except water, to make a breadcrumb texture.  Then add water and knead well until dough is soft and pliable. Leave to rest in fridge for at least an hour.
2. Chop any leftovers into 1-2cm pieces.
3. Divide dough into 4 or 6 equal sized pieces, on floured surface roll out into circle. Egg wash edges.

4. Fill half of the circle with filling, add a knob of butter & pinch of black pepper over top, then fold over dough. Then crimp edges (you can check out the technique here, step 11. It takes a bit of practice).
5. Brush generously with salted egg wash.
6. Bake at 170 for 30-40 mins until golden brown.

Leftover Christmas Cheese Pie

Ingredients - serves 6
Pastry:
225g plain flour
100g butter
salt
1 free range egg
80g pecans, crushed (optional)

Filling:
400g assorted cheese ( I'll be using odds & sods of cornish blue, stilton, red leicester, mature cheddar, wensleydale, lancashire & brie)
400g potatoes, cut into slices and boiled until just soft
1 red onion, chopped
salt & black pepper
1 free range egg, beaten, for glazing

1. Heat oven to 190C
2. Place all ingredients for pastry in food processor, pulse until combined. Wrap in cling film and chill in fridge for at least an hour.
3. Roughly chop up the leftover cheeses, and mix together with red onion.
4. Grease pie dish with butter, and layer with sliced potatoes and cheese mixture, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go.  Pour a little milk or cream over top of filling to ensure it stays moist, especially if not using any soft cheeses in the mixture.
5. Roll out pastry on floured surface, to cover top of pie dish with nice thick pastry top.
6. Brush pastry top with egg wash & bake pie in oven for 30-40 mins until pastry is golden brown and crisp.
7. Serve with fresh green salad leaves and a heap of cranberry compote of pickles.

Biryani Rice with Leftover Curry

Ingredients - serves 4
3 cups leftover curry
3-4 cups of cooked basmati rice (al dente)
1 large onions sliced
Fresh coriander & saffron (optional)
Toasted cashews, chopped

1. Grease the bottom of deep ovenproof dish, preferably with a lid, but you could use foil.
2. Place a good pinch of saffron in jug of hot water. Leave to soak for 5 mins.
3. Fry onion with a little salt and butter, until well caramelised and brown (not burnt). Set aside.
4. Cover bottom of dish with layer of leftover curry (or masala sauce and leftovers). then cover with approx 4-5cm of cooked rice. Scatter 1/3 onion mixture across top and drizzle with saffron water.  Repeat at least one more time. Finish with layer of rice, onions and remaining saffron.
5. Cover dish and bake at 190 for 40-50 mins.
6. Scatter with fresh coriander and chopped cashews before serving.