Recipes - Roast Vegetable Stack

This was the Entree of the Vegetarian Feast.  As a meal on its own, it is great for lunch or dinner and is an impressive meal for something so simple!

Ingredients - Serves 4

4 x large field mushrooms, peeled and stalks removed

1 x large red capsicum

1 x large yellow capsicum

2 x large zucchini

1 x small eggplant

200g ricotta

1 x packet baby truss tomatoes on the vine

20 kalamata olives

rocket 

Balsamic vinegar and balsamic glaze

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 180°C and line two baking trays with baking paper.  Place a wire rack in one tray.

Step 2 - Brush mushrooms with balsamic vinegar.  Place them on the rack, cup side up, and give each a good splash with balsamic vinegar.  

Step 3 - Cut thick slices of eggplant, cut sides off capsicums and cut zucchini on a diagonal into thick slices.  Distribute vegetables over baking dishes, in a single layer, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Roast in oven for 1 hour 15 minutes.  

Step 4 - Spray a 12 hole mini muffin tray with oil and line a small tray with baking paper.  Spoon ricotta into mini muffin tray.  Cut truss vine into 4 equal portions and place on tray with olives scattered around.  Bake both in top of oven for 15 minutes (last 15 mins of vegetable cooking time).

Step 5 - To serve, place a handful of rocket of each plate.  Put mushroom cup on rocket and layer capsicum, eggplant and zucchini.  Top with ricotta, sprinkle with olives and serve tomatoes on the side.  Drizzle generously with balsamic glaze.  

Recipes - King Prawn Puttanesca

This is one of my favourite pasta dishes as it contains some of my favourite things; olives, capers, anchovies, tomatoes, pasta, chili - need I say more?  It takes five minutes to throw together and can be left to simmer for a few hours.  I served this as the main of my Vegetarian Feast. 

Ingredients

300g Green Prawns, peeled

2 x 400g tin tomatoes

2 tbs tomato paste

1 tsp sugar

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 small red chilies, seeds & pith removed & finely sliced

1 cup kalamata olives, pitted

1/2 cup capers, drained & rinsed

12 anchovy fillets 

Step 1 - Heat oil in a large frying pan.  Add garlic, chili, olives, capers and anchovies.  Fry until garlic is cooked but do not allow to colour. 

Step 2 - Add prawns and fry for 1 minutes, then add tomato paste and sugar.  Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid burning.

Step 3 - Add tin tomatoes and 1 cup water and stir well. Season with freshly ground black pepper, put lid on pan and simmer slowly for 1-4 hours.

Step 4 - Serve on spaghetti with parmesan cheese on the side.

Notes:

If you like some heat to your chili, do not remove seeds and pith. 

The anchovies are really important in this dish and they 'melt' into the sauce so you won't be eating chunks of anchovy.  The flavour they provide adds a great depth of flavour.  As anchovies are salty, do not season with salt to start with.  Towards the end of the simmering time, taste sauce for seasoning and adjust as required.

For those who cannot eat prawns, omit them from the sauce.  To please everyone, prawns can be fried in a grill pan just before serving and placed on top of the dishes for those who can eat them.  

Recipes - Rhubarb Meringue Pots

This recipe is the dessert of the Vegetarian Feast.  I found the recipe on taste.com.au, one of my favourite websites for sourcing new recipes. 


Very easy to make, tastes amazing and perfect for winter when rhubarb is in season.  

Ingredients
2 x rhubarb bunches, cut into 4cm pieces
300g frozen raspberries
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup Armaretto liqueur 
3 x egg whites
1/2 cup sugar (meringue)
1/3 cup flaked almonds

Step 1 - Place rhubarb, raspberries sugar and Armaretto liqueur in a saucepan, stir while bringing to a simmer, then put lid on saucepan and simmer for 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Step 2 - Preheat oven to 180°C.  In a dry, clean bowl, whisk egg whites with an electric beater until soft peaks form.  Gradually add sugar (meringue) 1 tbs at a time, ensuring sugar is completely dissolved before adding more sugar.

Step 3 - Divide the Rhubarb mixture among six 180mL capacity oven proof dishes.  Spoon over meringue and sprinkle with almonds.  Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden.  

Notes:

Step 1 can be made up to three days ahead and stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

Armaretto is an almond flavoured liqueur. Frangelico, a hazelnut liqueur, can be used in its place with flaked almonds swapped for crushed hazelnuts.  

For an alcohol free version, use water in place of liqueur. 

Did you know?

Egypt produces 90% of the worlds oregano. 

Too much salt!

Have you ever gone to season a dish and had the lid fall off and spill salt everywhere, ultimately  ruining the meal you've work hard to create?  I did this once when cooking lasagna, after I'd had the tomato sauce simmering for over 3 hours!  I was just about to take the pan off the stove top and layer up my lasagna all ready to go in the oven and BANG, salt everywhere!

There is a way to fix this, even if you've just over seasoned and need to reduce the saltiness of the dish.  Peel a potato, chop it into quarters or eighths and chuck it in raw.  I don't know how it works, or why, but after further simmering, the sauce is usable and the potato can be discarded.