Dried beancurd with aubergine and greens in satay sauce

Back on the blog - finally! I haven’t stopped cooking, just been a bit stuck for time. Anyway this one was so popular at home that Anne, the love of my life, insisted it go on the blog, not least so that I could remember how to make it again. The main protagonist in this one is the funky and exciting long brown sticks of dried beancurd which I’ve not used before but which worked out really well. Total winner.

Ingredients:

Half pack dried bean curd (aka tofu skin!)
Half an aubergine, quartered and sliced
300g chinese or spring greens, sliced
Half an onion, sliced
Two tablespoons vegetable oil

And for the satay sauce:

3 cloves garlic
2 dried chillies
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon agave syrup or 2 tsp sugar
1 tablespoon mirin
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons peanut butter
3 tablespoons water

Method:

First of all the dried beancurd has to be soaked for 20 minutes or so in warm water. While the strange brown sticks were softening, I made the satay sauce. First of all crush and chop the garlic and the chillies and fry them in a small saucepan very briefly (45 seconds) in a tablespoon of vegetable oil. This is long enough to release the aromatics but also ensures you don’t get that slightly manky garlic aftertaste. Worth the effort. Next add the syrup or sugar, the mirin, the soy sauce and finally the peanut butter. Stir well until it thickens, then take it off the heat and add the water until you’ve got a lovely smooth sauce. Set to one side.

Drip dry the softened beancurd well and then chop into strips. Add to a large wok or frying pan and fry with half the remaining vegetable oil. When it’s browned and crispy, set to one side. Next add the remaining vegetable oil and the other vegetables to the wok and stir fry until they start to brown (takes around 15 minutes) then bring the beancurd back into play, stir through in the wok, and add the satay sauce. Cook for a further minute or two and then serve over rice. Lovely.

Polenta, aubergine and courgette layer

Am having stupendous fun with the new grill pan I got for Father's Day. This lunch I made yesterday was all about the grill pan - it took a while, but as long as you've got something good on the radio and no critically urgent deadline, it's quite nice to have a slow food lunch.

Ingredients:

1 litre boiling water
Sea salt
2-3 cups polenta flour
1 large aubergine, sliced lengthways
1 large courgette, sliced lengthways
4-5 stems wet garlic or spring onions, sliced
Olive oil
Black pepper

Method:

First of all make the polenta. You can of course buy polenta ready made but it is easy to do yourself and you can make tonnes and tonnes of it for a fraction of the price. Start off by bringing the water to a boil in a large saucepan. Slowly start to add the polenta flour in, as a steady trickle, while you stir. Keep adding the flour, and stirring, until the mixture is a bit like mashed potatoes. Try and keep this going for around 20 minutes or so, as the longer you cook the mixture for at this stage, the smoother the consistency of the final polenta. When you're done with this stage, smooth the mixture into a greased baking pan or loaf tin and put in the fridge to cool and set for around half an hour.

Like I said, this isn't a speedy recipe, so the next slow food action is to prepare the aubergine. Rub a little sea salt into one side of each of the slices, then stack the slices on top of each other, on a plate, in two stacks. Place another plate on top and then pop a couple of tins on top as a weight. Leave for 15 minutes or so to let the bitterness and some of the moisture out. Then drain.

Get the grill plan ready and then start grilling, starting with the courgette. Brush both sides with olive oil and a little sea salt and then grill until tender, with a few of the garlic/spring onion slices in the pan to give a bit more depth. Add a little fresh pepper if you like. Keep the courgette warm in the oven while you do the aubergine, again brushing with oil before grilling.

Finally get the polenta out of the fridge. Tip out onto a chopping board and slice into 1cm thick slices at a similar size to the aubergine and courgette slices. Grill in the grill plan for a good 6 or 7 minutes on each side. When you're done, stack up the polenta, aubergine and courgette into a gorgeous-looking tower and serve.

Satay tofu & aubergine skewers

The sun's out today and we've got a few folks over for little person's birthday... but have resisted the BBQ in favour of a buffet type-thing that's largely asian, including dumplings, rice buns and, as you can see, some satay skewers. Quite yummy these.

Ingredients:

500g firm tofu
1 medium sized aubergine
Tbsp light soy sauce
Tbsp sesame oil
Tbsp tomato ketchup
4 tbsp peanut butter
150 ml boiling water
3 tsp tamari or dark soy sauce
1 tsp rice wine vinegar

Method:

First of all make a marinade with the light soy sauce, sesame oil and ketchup. Slice the tofu into small cubes and then cover with the marinade and set aside for 30 minutes or so. Slice the aubergine into similar sized cubes and then salt (to reduce bitterness later) and leave to one side for 10 minutes or so, then cover with boiling water and leave for another 5 minutes, then drain. Toss the aubergine in a little sesame oil and then bake it, along with the tofu cubes, at 200 degrees C for around 30 minutes.

While the cubes are baking, crack on with the marinade. Put the peanut butter (crunchy or smooth, doesn't matter), boiling water, tamari and rice wine vinegar in a blender and blend down to a smooth sauce. I'm cooking for toddlers, so that's as far as I go with the sauce but if you're not worried about spiciness, add a little fresh chilli and ginger at this point too.

When the cubes are baked, pop them onto the skewers, smother with the satay, and serve! I did these on cocktail sticks today, to make them bite-sized, and you could even put them on a barbecue...

Aubergine & Mushrooms in Coconut Sauce

This piece of 'jazz cooking' worked out pretty well. The absolute key to aubergine my experience is to cook it for absolutely bloody ages... as long as you can, until it's falling to pieces; then it's delicious. Try to rush aubergine and it will taste like you've cut the uppers out of your oldest pair of shoes and attempted to serve them up as an appetiser. So, open a bottle of wine, turn on the radio, and take some time with this one...

Ingredients:

1 small onion, chopped
1 small aubergine, chopped
6 or 7 mushrooms, sliced
Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
200 ml coconut milk
100 ml of veg bouillon or stock
2 tsp tamari or dark soy sauce
Tsp corn flour

Method:

Prepare the chopped aubergine by sprinkling it with salt and leaving to stand for a few minutes and then immerse in boiled water for a few minutes. The salting is dead important as it reduces any bitterness, and also makes the aubergine less absorbent of any fats you're using.

Heat the oil in a wok, and over a over a moderate heat, start cooking the onions and aubergine together. Cook for a good while - 20 minutes or so - until they're well browned. Now add the mushroom and garlic and cook for a further 5-10 minutes, and then add the coriander, coconut milk, vegetable stock and soy sauce.

Bring to a very gentle simmer for another 5 minutes or so. At the same time mix the cornflour with a little cold water to produce a creamy mix. Pour into the wok, gradually, until the mixture thickens up to your preferred consistency.

Serve up over some super-fluffy rice. Sprinkle with some more fresh coriander and sesame seeds if you're feeling posh.

Making a bit of a meze

Here's tonight's dinner... Have managed to dodge the tofu tonight and go all 'club med' with a bit of a meze based around a nutty aubergine couscous and some dolmades (stuffed vine leaves). There's also some of the houmous I made yesterday and a green salad drizzled with olive oil, lemon and some balsamic syrup.

Now, aubergines. I've managed to win over my beloved to the joys of aubergine, principally by slooooooowwwwwww cooking. It's practically the only vegetable that likes to be overcooked. Take a while with it, and then take a little longer.

Anyway, here's how to make the couscous.

Ingredients:

Two medium sized aubergines
One courgette
One small onion
Three cloves garlic
70g mixed chopped nuts
Tbsp crushed, dried chives
250g couscous
4 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt
Boiling water

Plus, to serve:

Dolmades
Houmous
Fresh green salad

Method:

Chop the aubergine into chunky, quarter slices and then coat them in sea salt and let sit for ten minutes in a colander. This draws out some of their moisture and takes out any natural bitterness. After ten minutes rinse them with some boiling water then leave to dry.

Meanwhile, chop the courgette into similar chunky slices, crush the garlic and slice the onion. Heat oven to 200 degrees centigrade and prep a good sized roasting dish - NOT aluminium by the way, as that would mess up the flavour of the aubergines.

When oven's ready, roast the aubergines, courgette, onion and garlic in the olive oil for 20 minutes.

While the veg are roasting, Make the couscous. I do this by boiling some water in a small or medium pan, then add some sea salt and olive oil and then the couscous. Leave a couple of centimetres of water above the level of the couscous, cover and leave to stand for a good ten minutes or so.

After the veg have been roasting for 20 minutes remove from the oven, mix through and then toss in the chives and mixed nuts. Mix through again and then put back in oven for another 15 minutes or so. Mix through a couple times more. Basically it's done when the nuts and aubergine are nice and browned.

In a mixing bowl, fork the couscous out of the pan, this fluffs it up and separates it. Now add the vegetables from the roasting pan and mix through. If it needs it, add a little more olive oil.

To serve, arrange the couscous, salad, dolmades and houmous together, and dress with some lemon zest, drizzly bits of balsamic, and anything else you have to hand. Lovely!