Zucchini Slice

Intro
Zucchini's grow very easily in Horowhenua so 1 plant keeps a family going perfectly well. The problem happens when slugs don't eat the 2nd and 3rd seedlings planted to ensure one will survive. Dealing with the glut is where this recipe comes into its own. Freezes really well for a few months and reheats perfectly well in the microwave. Nice cold or hot.

Recipe

• 375g grated zucchini
• 1 large onion
• 3 rashers bacon (optional)
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 cup self raising flour
• 1/2 cup oil
• 5 eggs
• salt, pepper.
  

Combine all ingredients together in a bowl. Pour into a well greased lamington tin 16cm x 26 (multiply this recipe up as far as you like) and cook 30 - 40 mins in a moderate oven or until browned and set.

Dress this up with herbs, cayenne pepper or varied veges ie grated carrot and flaked / tinned fish.

Kumara Curry

Intro.

This is a lovely recipe that I have made many times. It can be made with a firm pumpkin (butternut is lovely) but I prefer the sweetness of kumera (sweet potato). I sometimes tip in 500g or so of peeled prawns and this makes a fairly substantial - although no longer vegetarian - meal served with crusty bread or rice.

Recipe

1 kg kumara - 1 inch dice
8 tablespoons oil or ghee
2 large chopped onions
6 cloves garlic
6 cm root ginger
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
1/4 cup sultanas
8 teaspoons cumin
8 teaspoons coriander
2 teaspoons tumeric
1 - 1.5 tablespoons chilli sauce
2 x 400ml cans coconut cream
sliced green beans
salt
black pepper
*can substitute with potato or pumpkin

Saute onions, garlic and ginger in oil until soft. Add the mustard seeds and stir until they pop then add the other spices and cook gently for a few minutes before adding a few sultanas. Add kumera, and cook while stirring for a few minutes. Add the coconut cream and then simmer gently 30 minutes to cook the kumera. Add the beans (frozen are fine) and cook for 5 minutes or so.

Carrot and Chickpeas with Coriander

Intro

This recipe of really simple ingredients has a surprisingly complex flavour.

Recipe

• 3-4 tblsp olive oil
• 1 finely chopped onion
• 4 finely chopped garlic cloves
• 2 teasps ground tumeric
• 2 teasps cumin seeds
• 1 teasp cinnamon
• 1/2 teasp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teasp ground black pepper
• 1 tblsp dark, runny honey
• 3-4 medium carrots, sliced on the diagonal
• 2 x 410g tins of chickpeas
• sea salt
• 2 tblsp rose water
• bunch of fresh coriander, chopped roughly
• 1 lemon cut into wedges to serve

Heat the oil in the tagine and saute onion and garlic until soft. Add spices and cook for a minute, then add honey and carrot. Pour in enough water to cover the bottom of the tagine. Put the lid on and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes.

Pop in the drained, rinsed and skinned chickpeas. Make sure there is still enough water. Put the lid back on and simmer gently for 10 more minutes. Season with salt, sprinkle on rosewater and coriander. Serve with lemon wedges.

Tagine of Butter Beans with Tomatos and Black Olives.

Intro

A gorgeous vegetarian tagine recipe - and really fast to prepare using tinned beans. .

Recipe

• 2 x 410g tins of butter beans (large beans are best)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• knob of butter
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 red onions: chop cut in half lengthwise, then in slices with the the grain
• 1-2 red or green chillies - deseeded and sliced thinly
• 2 teaspoons coriander seeds - crushed
• 25g fresh ginger, peeled and finely shredded and chopped
• a pinch of saffron threads
• 16-20 cherry tomatoes
• 1-2 teaspoons sugar
• 1-2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 2-3 tblsp pitted black olives
• freshly squeezed juice of a lemon
• sea salt
• ground black pepper
• small bunch flat parsley coarsely chopped

Saute garlic, onions, chillies in oil and butter until soft. Add coriander seeds, ginger and saffron. Put the lid on and cook gently for 4-5 minutes. Toss in the tomatoes, sugar and thyme and simmer for 5 more minutes. Add beans and olives, pour on lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook gently for 5 more minutes. Sprinkle on flat leaf parsley and serve. Serve with yoghurt and crusty bread.

Mushroom Rolls

Intro

I seem doomed to be forever surrounded by bloody vegetarians. My kids bring them home now; my daughter has had 2 close friends who didn't eat meat and my son's gorgeous wife is a vego too. Fortunately Bloke #2 was a vegetarian and over the 7 years or so we were together I gathered a few good recipes up. He loved pastry and pies and these 'sausage rolls' are so tasty I stopped making meat-ones altogether. 

Recipe

• 500g mushrooms - finely chopped by hand or in a food processor,
• 2 large onions, finely chopped by hand - they bruise in a food processor,
• 4 tablespoons olive oil,
• 3 large garlic cloves - finely chopped,
• 2 teaspoons curry powder,
• 1 teaspoon tumeric,
• 40z fresh breadcrumbs (fresh bread slices in food processor),
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley,
• 2 eggs,
• salt, pepper,
• flaky pastry - prerolled sheets or a block rolled out 2-3mm thick.

Heat the oil in a frypan, add the spices and garlic and cook gently for a minute or so. Add the onions and saute for a few minutes then add the mushrooms and cook until soft. Add the parsley and breadcrumbs and stir through. Remove from heat, cool a little then add the eggs, allow to get cold. Assemble as for your favourite sausage rolls. 

Method

Lay out rectangles of pastry (cut pre rolled squares in half), place the mushroom filling in a long sausage shape down the middle. Fold pastry over sealing edges with water. Make a few slashes or decorative cuts in the top. Glaze with beaten egg, sprinkle on a few grindings of coarse sea salt, cracked pepper or dried herbs. Cut into pieces as big or small as you like. Place on a greased baking sheet spaced apart to allow for pastry to rise. Cook in a hot oven , about 210 degrees, until pastry is golden and well risen.

Parmigiana di Melanzane

Baked eggplant with Mozzarella

Intro

One Christmas Day my mate Dave rang me from some Balkan hell-hole, Pristina I think, and I started crying over some bloke who'd stood me up the night before (turns out his Mother had been rushed to hospital with a heart attack). Anyway one thing led to another and Dave, who was quite distressed that I was crying, suggested that what I needed was a nice week in Naples and why didn't I pop over and he'd meet me there. Lack of money was no problem - he would pay. 

So 8 days later I found myself in Rome, exploring on foot, feasting my eyes and soul on the glorious churches and galleries. I truly didn't have much money at all and I used to squirrel away a spare bread roll from the Youth Hostel breakfast buffet to get me through the day. On the last day I had to choose between visiting the Colosseum or buying a slice of pizza for tea. The Colosseum won - of course. 

That evening I hopped on a train to Naples, I'd bought the ticket when I'd arrived, and made my way to the prearranged 'hotel', a particularly seedy one with very dodgy stains on the wallpaper, run by a a pair of old ladies with hairy legs and men's socks. And then I got an email from Dave; he was stuck in Kosovo, snowed in and didn't know when he would be able to get over..... so I went for a walk. And you know what, sometimes the universe just provides because I found a large note in the gutter and had enough money for the few days until Dave managed to hitch a ride over with the Italian army. 

Dave is a kindred soul; we both love food and drink and it was a glorious week in Naples. I ordered this dish in a little trattoria across the street from our 'hotel' and it was breathtakingly, heartbreakingly, divine. 

PS I foolishly entered into an agreement that in exchange for the trip of a lifetime to Naples, which cost Dave an enormous amount of money because we both had a very good time and we drank a lot of laphroaig, I would provide him with a lifetime of wine.....

Recipe

• 1 kg aubergine (eggplant)
• salt
• oil for frying
• 300g mozzarella, thinly sliced
• quarter cup fresh basil leaves
• Italian tomato pasta sauce

Slice the aubergine into 1cm rounds. Sprinkle both sides with salt and place on a rack or sloping plate or sieve so the juices drains away. Leave for 1 - 2 hours (I often miss this step if I'm in a rush and it doesn't seem to matter much). Drain and pat dry. Shallow fry the slices on both sides in smoking hot oil until golden brown - don't crowd the pan. Drain on paper towels. Spread a layer of tomato sauce in the bottom of a small gratin dish, put a layer of aubergine slices in next, then a layer of mozzarella and a few basil leaves, then sauce and keep layering again until ingredients are used, finishing with a few basil leaves. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees (200 celcius) and serve hot with crusty bread to sop up the juices.