Fisherman's Eggplants

Fisherman's eggplant is one of my all time favourite dishes.
The way I make it is not at all authentic, but the flavour is pretty close to the delightful dish I first tried at "Ant's Bistro" on Little Bourke Street.

Here is my version

Ingredients

1 medium eggplant
1 medium red capsicum
4 cloves of garlic (finely sliced)
3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons of oil (I used olive)
2 tablespoons of light soy (I used a Thai soy which is very flavoursome and less salty)
1 tablespoon of maple syrup
1 cup of water
1 tsp of tapioca flour (cornflour will also work)
1 large red chilli (finely sliced) *optional

Method

1. Cut eggplants and capsicum in thin strips. (Should be slightly thinner than what I have in the picture below, otherwise they take too long to cook.
2. Heat up a large wok, and add oil.
3. Stir fry eggplants and capsicum together for a few minutes, until the eggplants caramelise slightly.
4. Add all other ingredients and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the eggplants are soft, and the sauce has thickened. Stir every few minutes to avoid sticking. If the sauce has dried considerably and your eggplants are still not soft enough, add a bit more water, and continue to simmer. 
5. Serve with steamed rice.

Fake Orecchiette & Stuffed Zucchni flowers

A few days ago, I saw this post on twitter. I love making homemade pasta, so I started to do some research on how to make Orecchiette, which translates into little ears, however look more like little shells to me :)

I thought, "Super easy!!!" after watching a parade of nonnas on youtube making these little gems with ease. Alas, when it came to it, mine would just NOT turn out. I tried a few different shapes, and when I was just about to give up and make spaghetti instead, I thought of cutting them with a circle



cutter and pinching the sides.

I made the dough with aqua faba as I thought it would be better than just water. I am not really sure. The dough was fabulous, but having never made it with water it is hard to make a comparison. I will try just water next time.

I went to the market this morning and hubby requested zucchini flowers. I have never made them before, actually I have never eaten them before either!
But I bought them, and thought of stuffing them with something and chickpeas. So with this meal I used a whole can of chickpeas including the brine (aqua faba).

I hope it is not too confusing. Let me know if it is, and I will separate the recipes :)



Ingredients
1 425gm can of chickpeas
1 red onion
250 gms of sweet potato
300gms semolina (coarse)
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 handfulls of green beans (Ends cut, and cut in half)
1 bunch of asparagus
1/2 a bunch of basil
1 tsp dry thyme
1 tsp dry oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3 cloves of garlic
salt to taste
10 zucchini flowers
3/4 cup of spelt flour
3/4 cup of water
1/4 cup of pine nuts
3 tablespoons vegan parmesan
5 shitake mushrooms
Olive oil for frying fritters

Method

1. Drain the chickpeas, and reserve the liquid(aqua faba). Set both aside.
2. Place the semolina in a bowl, and add 135gms (9 tablespoons) of aqua faba.
3. Knead to make a smooth dough. Wrap with glad wrap and set aside.
4. Cut sweet potato into small cubes and boil until soft. 
5. Cut the red onion in half. Cut half of it in slices, and set aside. Chop the other half finely, and place in a bowl with the sweet potato.
6. Add 100gms of the reserved chickpeas to the sweet potato mix and mash all of it with a fork.
7. Add thyme, oregano and one crushed clove of garlic. Add salt to taste. This will be the filling for the zucchini flowers.
8. Gently remove the stamen from the middle of the zucchini flowers, then wash the zucchini making sure that the two don't come apart.
9. Using your fingers, fill the zucchini flower with the sweet potato mix. Set aside.
10. Cut the dough into six pieces. Work with one piece at a time, covering the rest while you work. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin or a pasta machine. Cut with a round cutter. If you like you can press the dough on a gnocchi former to get some lines, then pinch one two sides to form a shell. Repeat until all the dough is used up. Leave the pasta on your bench to dry up whilst you finish with the zucchini flowers and the vegetables that go with the pasta.
11. Heat a large frying pan, and add one tablespoon of oil. 
12. Sautee onion and 2 cloves of garlic.
13. Add, sliced mushrooms, green beans & asparagus.
14. Chop basil and add to the frying pan. Season with a little salt, and set aside.
15. Cook pasta for about 10 minutes in boiling salted water, drain and mix with the vegetables in the frying pan. 
16. In the mean time, in a bowl, place the remaining AF. Whisk until frothy. Add garlic powder, salt, and flour. Add some of the water, until you get a batter thick enough to coat the zucchini flowers.
17. Fry in hot olive oil, turning over once. Drain on kitchen paper.
18. If you have any of the zucchini stuffing left over, add the reaming chickpeas, mix and form into balls. Dip into remaining batter and fry till golden.
19. Re-heat pasta, add pine nuts & vegan parmesan and serve.

Noodles with Stir Fried Veggies and Seared Tofu

Ingredients

250gms packet of spelt noodles

For the stir fry
280 gms spinach leaves (washed)
1 large carrot (peeled and cut into matchsticks)
1 onion sliced
1 small capsicum sliced
1 thumb piece size of ginger (grated)
1 clove of garlic (minced)
1 tbs tamari
1 tbs olive oil

For the tofu & marinade
500 gms firm tofu cut into thick slices
3 tablespoons Japanese style Worcester Sauce
1 tablespoon  light agave
1 tablespoon organic apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil



For the mushrooms
350 gms button mushrooms
1 tbs olive oil

Method

1. In a bowl mix the worcester sauce, agave, veinagar and sesame oil.
2. Place tofu in a tray large enough so that each piece has space around it.
3. Drizzle with marinade, and let it sit for a couple of hours, turning over every half hour.
4. Remove the stalks from the mushrooms, then in a bowl toss them (whole) with a tablespoon of olive oil. Set aside.
5. Heat your grill (I used an electric one), and place all the mushrooms on it. With the one I used, because it is also a sandwich press, there was no need to turn it over. Remove when nicely seared on both sides. Repeat with the tofu. Reserve tofu marinade.
6. Cook noodles as per packet instructions. Set aside.
7. Heat a medium sized wok, and place 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
8. Place onion, carrot, capsicum, garlic and ginger and stir fry for a few minutes. Add spinach and stir fry till wilted. Add tamari, stir well and remove from heat.
9. To serve, place the noodles on each plate, top with a mound of veggies, then two pieces of tofu, and a few mushrooms. Drizzle with a couple of tablespoons of reserved marinade. Can also sprinkle with dry chilli flakes.