Farmersgirl Kitchen

Friday, 24 July 2015

Garlic Bread and Tomato Bake

You know how it is on a Saturday when you haven't really planned what to eat for lunch? Then suddenly you find that everyone is at home and looking expectantly for you to come up with something tasty for them to enjoy.

Well that's what happened to me last Saturday. What could I make? What did I have in the larder and fridge?

Garlic Bread and Tomato Bake
Serves 4

A single garlic baguette
6 tomatoes
4 eggs
100 ml milk
2 tbsp red pesto
75g grated cheddar
freshly ground pepper
A few basil leaves (optional)

Pre - heat the oven to 180C
Slice up the garlic bread and place in a buttered oven proof dish.
Thickly slice the tomatoes and layer over the bread.
Cover with 2 tablespoons of pesto.
Beat the eggs and add the milk, pour it over the bread and tomatoes.
Season with freshly ground pepper and cover with the grated cheese.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until risen and golden.
Tear up a few basil leaves and scatter over the top.
Serve with salad.

This is the ideal dish for the No Waste Food Challenge run by Elizabeth's Kitchen.

And of course Credit Crunch Munch as this is a thrifty dish which will fill up the family at very little cost. Credit Crunch Munch is run by Helen at Fuss Free Flavours and Camilla at Fab Food 4 All

Labels: Bake, basil, bread and butter pudding, cheese, Credit Crunch Munch, garlic bread, No Waste Food Challenge, tomato

Saturday, 7 September 2013

Aubergine Parmigiana - Mac N Cheese Book Review and Recipe

Macaroni and Cheese is very popular and seen as a real comfort food. Until I was about 7 years old I refused to eat cooked cheese and wouldn't touch mac n cheese or cauliflower and cheese, much to my Mum's frustration. She used to sneak grated cheese into some dishes like scrambled egg to get me to eat it, but the turning point came when I went for tea at my friend, Anne's, house. There it was on the plate in front of me...macaroni and cheese, now back then you NEVER refused anything placed in front of you when out visiting, so I had to eat it. I was surprised to find that I actually enjoyed it, and learnt always to try everything before deciding that I don't like it. However, I can still remember sitting at that table looking at the mac n cheese and wondering how I would get through the meal.

Laura Washburn's book "Mac 'n' Cheese" is a celebration of this store cupboard staple. You don't have to use macaroni, you can make the dishes with other pasta shapes, but as it is the ideal shape for holding cheese sauce, I went out and bought some Marshall's Macaroni, the brand that I grew up with.

About the Author

Laura Washburn was born in Los Angeles but studied at university in Paris. She went on to train at the prestigious Paris cooking school Ecole de Cuisine La Varenne and work with Patricia Wells, best selling author of a Food Lover's Guide to Paris. She is now based in London, where she works as a cookery teacher and food writer.

The Contents

Introduction: contains information about the pasta, the sauce, the cheese and some cooking tips. Most important it features the Classic Macaroni and Cheese which forms the basis for the other recipes in the book.

Vegetables: recipes include Roasted Asparagus and Pecorino, Butternut Squash and Sage, caramelised Onions and Smoked Cheese, Jalapeno, Tomato and Monterey Jack, the gourmet Truffle and Cheese and Aubergine Parmigiana.

Fish: recipes include Crab Gratin, Tuna and Mushroom, luxurious Lobster Thermidor, and Smoked Haddock and Spinach

Meat: recipes include Spicy Beef, Greek Lamb, Chorizo, Sweet Pepper and Manchego, Ham Hock and Mozzarella, BBQ Chicken and Two Cheeses and Serrano Ham, Smoked Paprika and Spanish Blue.

Aubergine Parmigiana Serves 6-8

A handful of coarse sea salt (I didn't use this much)

500g/1lb macaroni

4-5 tbsp vegetable oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

1tsp dried thyme

1tsp oregano

1tsp dried rosemary

3 garlic cloves

1x 400g/14oz can chopped tomato

1 medium Aubergine/eggplant, sliced

125g/1 cup shredded mozzarella

leaves from 2-3 sprigs fresh basil, coarsely torn

50g/1 cup breadcrumbs

fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Bechamel sauce

50g/3 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter

60g/6 tbsp plain/all purpose flour

625ml/2 1/2 cups milk

1tsp fine sea salt

100g/ 3/4 cup Fontina cheese

100g/1 and 1/4 cups grated Parmesan

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add the coarse sea salt, then let the water return to a rolling boil. Add the macaroni stir well and cook according to the package instructions until very tender. Stir periodically to prevent the macaroni from sticking together. When cooked, drain, rinse well under running water and let drip dry in a colander.

2. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6

3. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large saute pan with a lid. Add the onion and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes until just golden. Stir in the herbs and garlic and cook gently for 1 minute, taking care not to let the garlic burn. Add the tomatoes and 1 teaspoon of fine sea salt and simmer very gently for 20-30 minutes until very thick.

4. Arrange the aubergine/eggplant slices in a single layer on a baking sheet and sprinkle over the remaining oil Roast for 15-20 minutes until tender and just charred. Remove, season lightly with salt and add to the tomatoes. Simmer gently while you prepare the bechamel sauce.

5. Preheat the grill/broiler to medium.

6. Prepare the bechamel sauce: Melt the butter in a a saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minutes. Pour in the milk in a steady stream, whisking constantly, and continue to whisk for 3-5 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken. Season with fine sea salt. Remove from the heat and add the cheeses, mixing well with a spoon to incorporate. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

7. Put the cooked macaroni in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the aubergine/eggplant mixture. Pour over the hot bechamel sauce and mix well. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Transfer the macaroni mixture to a baking dish and spread evenly. Top with the mozzarella, the basil leaves and a good grinding of black pepper and sprinkle the breadcrumbs evenly over the top.

8. Grill/broil for 5-10 minutes until the top is crunchy and golden brown. Serve immediately

Who is it for: It would be a great gift for someone who loves Mac n Cheese or for those who cook for hungry hordes of starvng teenagers and want to ring the changes.

Pros: as the book concentrates on one type of dish, it's a book that you can turn to for inspiration when you want to jazz up your Mac 'n' Cheese or if you are simply looking for a tasty supper dish. There is a full colour photograph for every recipe and the recipes are easy to follow, with ingredients listed in both US and European measurements. Each recipe also has a short intro with serving suggestions or other tips.

Cons: this is not a low fat, low cal book, so these recipes are special comfort treats.

Ease of Use: Although there are quite a few steps, none of them were particularly difficult

The Verdict: The Aubergine Parmigiana was delicous, creamy and tasty. The recipe made two large dishes which served about 8 generous portions and the book is full of great ideas for variations on Mac n Cheese. My only concern would be the fat content and it would have been nice to have some lighter versions that could be made and eaten more frequently.

Mac 'N' Cheese by Laura Washburn
Photography by Steve Painter
Published by Ryland Peters & Small
RRP £9.99

Many thanks to RPS for providing me with a copy of Mac N Cheese to review. I was not paid to write this review and all opinions are my own.

Posted with Blogsy

Labels: Aubergine, basil, Bechamel, Cook book review, Eggplant, Fontina, Laura Washburn, Mac n Cheese, macaroni, parmesan, Ryland Peters and Small, tomatoes

Tuesday, 10 July 2012

Roasted Courgette, Tomato, Feta and Basil Tart

There was a bit of joking on Twitter the other night about how we should make one recipe that covered all the blog challenges, then we could have the rest of the month off! I haven't managed to cover quite all the blog challenges with this post but it ticked off quite a few.

My courgette/zucchini plant has sucked up all the rain and produced some huge fruits, so although I had planned to make the Pea, bean and bacon tart from the July issue of BBC Good Food, I decided to adapt it to use the courgettes, hmmm maybe I could use some tomatoes too, oh and that half block of Feta cheese, so no need for the bacon and I'll make my own pasty instead of using frozen shortcrust like in the recipe...not much of the recipe left to be honest!

Roasted Courgette Tomato, Feta and Basil Tart

1 quantity of butter shortcrust pastry blind baked in a flan case (click through to the link for full recipe)

For the roasted vegetables
2 large or three medium courgettes/zucchini
8 small tomatoes, halved
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

Heat the oven to 200C, slice or dice the courgettes into even sized chunks, halve the tomatoes. Place the vegetables in a roasting dish and coat with the oil. Sprinkle with salt and roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes until starting to blacken round the edges. Remove from oven and drain the juices into a bowl.

For the filling
100g Feta cheese, cubed
300ml double cream
4 large eggs
juices from the roasted vegetables
6-8 basil leaves
freshly ground pepper

Place the roasted vegetables into the baked tart case, top with the cubed feta and torn basil leaves. Season with freshly ground pepper.
Beat the cream and eggs together and stir in the saved juices from the roasted vegetables. Pour over the vegetables and cheese and bake at 160C for 35 minutes until set and golden.

Roasting the veg means that the pastry doesn't go soggy and it makes a nice firm filling, very tasty indeed.

I'm entering this tart for One Ingredient, the July ingredient is 'The Tomato' and it is being hosted this month by Jacqueline at How to Cook Good Food who shares this challenge with Working London Mummy

And..Veggie/Fruit a Month which is featuring the Zucchini for July and is being hosted this month by Cook's Joy

It is also Simple and in Season another challenge run by Jacqueline at How to Cook Good Food in patnership with Ren at Fabulicious Food

Okay, so far three challenges busted with one dish, now to the salad I served with the tart

Giant Couscous, Butternut and Walnut Salad

I've been reading about Giant Couscous, so when I saw a bag at the farm shop last week, I popped it in my basket. Also in GoodFood July issue was this recipe which was perfect to try out the giant couscous. This time I stuck to the recipe!

I hope the recipe will go onto the website soon and I can link back, but it is basically roasted dice of butternut squash which have been sprinkled with chilli powder (I roasted them in a separate dish but at the same time as the courgettes and tomatoes). You cook the couscous for five minutes, then mix through the roasted squash and the oil it has been roasted in and add walnut pieces, the seeds and juice of half a pomegranate and juice of half a lemon with a handful of chopped mint.

What a lovely salad it was, the squash pieces were quite hot as I probably used more chilli than I should and used chilli flakes rather than powder! However, as the couscous is bland if you ate it altogether, the heat was about right. I loved the fresh juiciness of the pomegranate seeds, the green bite of the mint and earthy crunch of the walnuts. I would definitely make this again.

And this recipe is for Bookmarked Recipes one of the challenges run by Jac at Tinned Tomatoes from an idea by Ruth from Ruth's Kitchen Experiments founder of the challenge.

Labels: basil, Bookmarked Recipes, butternut squash, courgettes, feta cheese, flan, Giant couscous, One Ingredient, pomegranate, quiche, roasted vegetables, salad, Simple and in Season, tart, tomatoes, vegetarian

Thursday, 11 August 2011

Salmon Steaks with Basil and Balsamic Vinegar

Farmed salmon is something we eat regularly, it can be a little bland, so it's nice to dress it up with some punchy flavours. This recipe exceeded both our expectations and is definitely going on my summer favourites list!

Salmon Steaks with Basil and Balsamic Vinegar

from Good Housekeeping Cookery Book (The Cook's Classic Companion)

Serves 4

4 salmon fillets

30ml (2tbsp) balsamic vinegar

10ml (2tsp) soy sauce

90ml (6tbsp) extra virgin olive oil

40g (1 1/2 oz) fresh basil, stalks removed

8 ripe plum tomatoes (or other flavourful tomatoes) diced

30ml (2tbsp) chopped fresh chives

salt and pepper

basil sprigs to garnish

1. Place the salmon steaks in a shallow non-metallic dish. Mix the balsamic vinegar and soy sauce together and pour over the salmon, turning to coat. Cover and leave to marinate in a cool place for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, put the olive oil and basil in a food processor or blender and work until smooth. Pour into a bowl, cover and leave to infuse. (do not make this too far in advance)

3. In a bowl, mix the tomatoes with the chives and season well with salt and pepper. Cover and set aside

4. Lift the salmon out of the marinade and place skin side down in a hot pan with a little olive oil. Cook for 4 minutes each side, once cooked add the rest of the marinade to the pan and reduce to a syrupy sauce.

5. Whisk the basil oil briefly at this stage to re-combine.

6. Spoon the tomato mixture onto the warmed serving plates and place a salmon fillet on top. Drizzle with the basil oil and spoon on the reduced marinade. Serve immediately, garnished with basil.

The eagle-eyed amongst you will notice that there are also some courgettes on the plate. They came straight from the garden, chopped into small dice and cooked in a little olive oil in a pan with lemon zest and a teaspoon of lemon juice, seasoned with rosemary salt and pepper.

And finally some boiled new potatoes to soak up the juices.

Labels: balsamic vinegar, basil, courgettes, Good Housekeeping, lemon, salmon, soy sauce, Tinned Tomatoes

This Page