For those who know me, you will already be familiar with two of my many passions...
1. Growing vegetables in my own backyard….and
2. Cooking, sharing and eating great food.
They really go hand in hand, since the vegetable garden supplies an ever-changing array of ingredients and plenty of inspiration for my forays into the kitchen!
Recently, as is often the case with growing your own food, it has been a case of plenty of (almost too many!) eggplants, chillies, tomatoes, beetroots, cucumbers, rainbow chard (the beautiful crinkly-leafed silverbeet with the brilliant pink, yellow and red stems and veins), zucchini, shallots and basil - wow, so much basil!
Apart from giving plenty away to friends, (and making jar upon jar of basil pesto!) one of my favourite things to do is just make dishes from whatever I have on hand. No recipes to follow, no fuss, just using fresh, ripe vegetables to create flavour-packed meals to enjoy.
Here are a just a few ideas from meals we’ve feasted on recently from an abundant summer garden, and which I have filed away in my mind for use again in another season of plenty! I hope you might get a little inspiration here to try a few ideas and maybe shape them to suit what you have on hand or the flavours you enjoy.
That’s the wonderful thing about cooking with what you have on hand – it’s such a good way to let go of the form and control of recipes or methods and just have a play! Create, taste, smell, change and add flavours and spices according to what you like or what you have plenty of and just loosen off the idea that what ends up on the plate should look a certain way. Try to enjoy the process and really appreciate the flavours you create using the produce of the season. To me, that’s a great recipe!
Happy creative cooking - enjoy!
Roasted Red Vegetable Pasta Sauce:
(A tried and true and much-loved pantry staple in our house. And, if you bottle it for pantry storage it makes the best gifts!)
I’ve not given quantities as I never measure anything with this sauce, but I have indicated how to judge amounts- less capsicum than tomatoes, less onions than capsicum, less garlic than onions, etc....just use your own judgement and see how it turns out! It’s never failed me yet and everyone always loves it!
Lots of ripe tomatoes (I use cherry tomatoes as they grow easily and abundantly)
A little less of red capsicum, sliced into big chunks
A little less again of red onions roughly chopped to chunks and broken up
A little less of whole garlic cloves, peeled (still plenty of garlic though)
All into a large roasting pan (or a few roasting pans - I usually fill the oven to make the most of having it on for the extended cooking time!)
Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar- a good slug of each all over the top. Add a decent amount of salt and ground black pepper and mix through. Then roast at 180degrees for a couple of hours, mixing every so often until everything is softened and perhaps a little charred on some edges.
Remove from oven and stir though lots of fresh basil leaves.
From here I put it through the blender and create a smooth sauce and then bottle it, but I have also enjoyed it served with pasta just as is, prior to blending. The blended, bottled sauce can be used with pasta, added to minestrone soup to help create richness, used as a sauce for steak or fish or chicken, used as a pizza sauce - whatever you like. It is divine!
Roasted Vegetable Salad with Basil and Ruby Chard:
Roughly chop sweet potatoes (skin on, scrubbed) into same sized chunks about 2 inches cubed (don’t be fussy though – home cooked food gains appeal when it’s rustic and not too uniformed . Well, that’s what I tell myself, anyways…)
Roughly chop fresh beets the same way - use whatever quantity you like of each
Toss them in olive oil mixed with cayenne pepper, chopped chillies, fresh minced garlic, salt (use your discretion with the flavours - it has to be what you enjoy!) and into a roasting pan and into an oven at 200degrees celsius.
Into any leftover oil mix from the first veg mix, add some more olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, chilli if you’d like to, and also ground cumin, ground coriander, sesame seeds, sumac, (really, whatever you’d like the flavours to be!) or perhaps some ready-mix zaatar spice mix...
Then roughly chop eggplants to a similar size to your hard veg, also red capsicum, zucchini, red onions. Toss them through the spice and oil mix and into another roasting pan and into the oven with the first lot.
Turn the veg throughout the cooking process and maybe adjust the heat to achieve softened veg with a little caramelisation .
Once cooked to your liking, let the cooked veg sit out of the oven for a while, uncovered, then stir though lots of basil leaves and ruby chard torn up and off the stems . You could also use rocket if you have it, or baby spinach leaves. Toss through a few chopped nuts if you like them - walnuts, macadamia, pecans, hazelnuts or pine nuts work well. Delicious as is, or drizzle over a little fresh lemon and/or balsamic glaze once served.
This is brilliant on its own but also works well with a little cooked quinoa or barley mixed through it, perhaps some good feta sprinkled over. Great as is, served with roasted meats, grilled fish meat or fried or grilled haloumi.
Awesome Breakfast, Lunch or Simple Dinner when you just want something easy....
Sliced mushrooms
Chopped ruby chard (quite a bit - it cools down to nothing!)
Sliced shallots (spring onions)
A little chopped chilli if you like the heat
Frozen baby peas
Pop all of these into a frying pan with a lid and just a little water and salt and pepper (I use a mix I make myself with salt, black pepper, ground fennel seeds and ground coriander seeds all mixed together and this works well, but use whatever you’d like)
Cook till hot (lots of liquid will release from the veg). And then crack an egg or two (or however many you need for the amount and number you are cooking for) on top and put the lid back on till the egg is cooked to your liking. Scatter over fresh fine chopped tomatoes and steam for just a minute before serving.
Great on its own or with a slice of good toasted bread (the “life changing loaf of bread” is a great choice, or a chewy, grainy sourdough would be yum too...)
Very Simple Cucumber & Tomato Salad
Chopped Lebanese cucumbers
Quartered cherry tomatoes (equal quantity to cucumber)
Torn basil leaves – however many you like, but I put quite a lot in!
Some rocket leaves if you have some
Finely sliced spring onions – to taste
A little cooked quinoa or barley…just a sprinkling really, just to give a little body
Good splash of balsamic vinegar and olive oil
Generous sprinkling of ground black pepper and also a little salt
Optional – some sliced olives, capsicum….really, add whatever takes your fancy, but I’m usually making this to use the many cucumbers and tomatoes from the garden, so I make them the feature!
Goes nicely with slow cooked spicy sweet potato wedges and grilled fish or chicken as a great summer dinner.
Zucchini Fritters
Grated zucchini is a wonderful carrier for so many ingredients – and these fritters are an easy and tasty way to not only use an over-supply of home grown zucchini, but also to create nutritious snacks and meals….
Feel free to swap and change flavour additions and vegetables and/or meats with anything you’d prefer. Remember – ‘no recipe’ recipes are the way to go! Think about how many fritters you are wanting to cook and just be your own judge of amounts, beginning with the grated zucchini as the base (and main) ingredient and then get creative with your own preferences of what to add in…
Grated zucchini (this is our main ingredient – the remainder are additions are for flavour and for binding, so keep that in mind as you add to this)
Finely diced onion or spring onions
Salt and pepper
Chopped fresh herbs – whatever you like – or perhaps some dried herbs and spices
Beaten eggs (just enough to create a thick, wet mixture with lots of veg)
Enough almond meal or buckwheat flour to create a mix similar to a thick muffin batter - a batter which looks like it will cook and hold together when fried....
Options: (these are some of the ones I’ve tried – really, it’s only limited by your tastes - just a little of one or two options is heaps, but go with your own preferences...)
Some fried mushrooms
Some leftover roasted meats chopped and tossed in
Some leftover roasted veg chopped and tossed in
Chopped olives
Finely sliced anchovies
Tinned sardines (drained of oil or brine)
Fresh grated garlic
Perhaps some grated cheese or chunks of leftover brie or blue cheeses (although go steady with this as it does tend to make the batter stick as it fries and cooks….)
Once you have your batter ready, heat a frying pan or skillet over a medium heat and add your choice of a good quality cooking fat….I use coconut oil but I’ll leave this up to you.
Spoon in your batter, forming up smallish pancake-style fritters and cook over medium heat till browned on the first side, then flip and cook till browned on the second side
These are great for any time of the day – hot or cold – for breakfast, lunch or dinner or just a snack.
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