Courgette and Pepper Provençal

My vegetable plot has been taking up much of my spare time this summer which is why it's been a while since I posted a recipe! A bumper crop of vegetables have passed through my kitchen over the past few months, most of which have been eaten in their simplest form - freshly picked, steamed, baked or lightly fried and always savoured!

However, now I'm back with fresh enthusiasm, ready to share some more of my favourite recipes which I hope you'll enjoy as much as we do.   

This is a lovely versatile dish that I often make in late summer when there are plenty of courgettes and tomatoes to use up.  It goes well with pasta, couscous or potatoes, with grilled fish or vegetable burgers,  in a baked shortcrust pastry case or served with puff pastry triangles.  It's also just as good eaten cold. 

Ingredients        Serves 4

1 large onion
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
2 courgettes
About 450g fresh tomatoes
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 tbsp fresh basil leaves




First skin your tomatoes. Place them in a bowl and pour over enough boiling water to cover.

After about a minute, remove from the water with a slotted spoon and place on your chopping board.  The skins should slip off easily.  Roughly chop.

Peel and chop the onion.  Heat the olive oil in a wide saute pan and cook the onion gently without browning, stirring frequently for about five minutes until tender.  

Peel and crush the garlic and stir in.  

Cut the peppers in half and remove the stalks and seeds.  Cut into slices about 1cm wide and add to the pan. 

Cover with a lid and cook for about five minutes.  By covering with a lid at this point, I find it allows the peppers to start to soften in the hot steam.

Cut the courgettes in half lengthways, then into slices about 1cm thick and add to the pan together with the chopped tomatoes.  Stir well and season with salt and pepper.  

Bring to the boil, then turn the heat to low and cook gently without covering, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes,  by which time most of the juice from the tomatoes will have reduced and the vegetables are cooked. 

Crush the coriander seeds in a pestle and mortar.

Add to the pan with the chopped basil and simmer for a further ten minutes until you have a delicious mixture of cooked vegetables coated in a rich tomato sauce.

To serve, sprinkle a few fresh basil leaves sprinkled on top.

Vegetable Burger

Burgers don't have to contain meat!  In fact there are any number of vegetable-based alternatives to buy these days but it's also quick and easy to make your own.  They're far cheaper, much healthier for you and you can vary the flavour and ingredients to suit your own taste.

This is the recipe I use most often because, apart from the fact that we love them, in the summer when I'm picking courgettes in the garden daily, this is a handy way of using them up!   As well as being full of fresh vegetables, the burgers contain tinned chick peas and are gently spiced with cumin and coriander. 

I usually serve the burgers with a simple tomato sauce (made with an onion, garlic, basil and a tin of tomatoes),  with rice or potatoes and a side vegetable such as leeks and peas. 

Of course, they also go down well in a burger bun! 

Ingredients                        Makes about 10 burgers

1 medium onion
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp cumin seeds (or ground cumin)
2 tsp ground coriander
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 medium courgettes
225g carrots
85g wholemeal bread
400g can chick peas, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp fresh parsley or coriander
2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter

In a large frying pan or saute pan, fry the chopped onion in the olive oil for about five minutes until soft.  Pound the cumin seeds in a pestle and mortar and add to the pan with the ground coriander.  Stir fry over a medium heat for a few minutes.

Finely dice the courgettes and grate the carrot on a coarse grater. 

Add them to the pan with the crushed garlic and fry for about five minutes over a medium heat stirring often. If the mixture looks dry, just add a drizzle more olive oil. Once the vegetables are starting to soften, remove from the heat and leave for a few minutes to cool down.

Meanwhile, in a food processor,  blend the bread into breadcrumbs.   Place them in a large bowl with the peanut butter.   Next,  blend the parsley (or chop by hand) and add to the bowl.   Finally blend the drained chick peas until smooth.

Add them to the bowl together with the cooked vegetables.  Season with freshly ground salt and pepper and mix well.  
Then leave the mixture to cool down completely.

The mixture usually makes about 10 medium sized burgers.   You can either shape them by hand or spoon into rings or large pastry cutters.  I do this on some lining paper saved from a cereal packet to stop them sticking.

Cover and chill for a few hours.    I usually freeze some of the burgers at this point by laying them out on some lining paper on a tray in the freezer.  Once frozen, I transfer them to a large bag.

When required,  fry on both sides in a little olive oil.  

  

Roasted Vegetable Ratatouille with Chickpeas

I always think you can tell quite a lot about someone by noticing what they have in their shopping trolley!  Whether it's piled high with ready-made dishes, fast-food snacks or filled with a colourful selection of fresh raw ingredients, their choice of foods can reveal much about their attitude to health and well-being.

Because Eric and I don't eat any meat, eggs or dairy produce,  many of the products lining the supermarket shelves are simply "off limits" to me so I just pass them by.  I have spent years studying the contents labels on new products and generally know what I can and cannot eat. This is some of the shopping I brought home one day last week. It looked so colourful and appetising, I couldn't resist taking a photo! 

Other weekly basics include soya milk, dairy free margarine, multi grain bread, pasta and rice plus extras such as sun-dried tomatoes, olives and hummus, ready to eat apricots, dairy free yogurts and some dairy-free dark chocolate!

Living on a mostly plant-based diet, we do eat a lot of fresh vegetables and here's a lovely way to prepare them that's good either served hot with rice, pasta or potatoes or cold for lunch another day.  The chickpeas are an optional extra, the recipe works just as well without them.   In the summer and autumn, I use fresh tomatoes and courgettes from the garden but tinned tomatoes are a good substitute at other times.

Ingredients          Serves four

1 large onion
1 aubergine
2 red peppers
2 courgettes
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 cloves garlic
40g sundried tomatoes in oil
400g tin good quality tomatoes
 (or 500g fresh tomatoes, skinned)
400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Extra-virgin olive oil
A handful of fresh basil leaves


Method

Preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan/Gas Mark 7.  

Put the coriander seeds in a pestle and mortar and grind into pieces.

Wash and then cut the peppers, aubergine and courgettes into pieces approximately 2.5cm or 1” square.  Mix the peppers in a bowl with a tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. 

Transfer to a roasting tray and spread out neatly. Repeat with the courgettes and aubergine, using two trays if necessary rather than squashing all the vegetables on one tray.  Scatter the crushed coriander seeds over the vegetables.

Place the trays in the preheated oven and bake for about 30 - 35 minutes. Check the vegetables once or twice, turning them over so they become evenly cooked.

Meanwhile, chop the onion and crush the garlic cloves and place in a large pan with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.  Stir, then cover with a lid and cook gently for about 10 minutes until tender, without browning.  

Now cut up your tomatoes roughly in the tin with a sharp knife and add to the pan together with the chopped sundried tomatoes. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently for about 15 minutes stirring occasionally until the sauce has reduced and thickened.

When the roasted vegetables are ready, add them to your tomato sauce with the drained chickpeas.

Stir well and taste to check the seasoning.  Cover and continue to simmer on the hob for about 15 minutes. Alternatively place in the oven for 30 minutes at 180C.   

Garnish with fresh basil leaves. Serve with rice, pasta or potatoes and a green vegetable.

Olive Polenta with Roasted Mediterranean Vegetables

In this recipe, each of these lovely vegetables retain their individual identity yet combine to create the flavour of the Mediterranean.   The polenta is made in advance, then quickly fried to give a crispy outside and soft middle.

Serve with a tomato and olive sauce - I'll be posting that recipe next time!

Ingredients                                                                         
Serves 4 people

Polenta:

110g (4oz) maizemeal (polenta)

20 fl.oz (1 pt) boiling water

1 vegetable stock cube (Kallo Organic)

28g (1oz) dairyfree margarine

28g (1oz) black olives, stoned and chopped

Salt and Pepper

2 red onions

1 red pepper

1 orange or yellow pepper

1 aubergine

1 or 2 courgettes

Extra-virgin Olive Oil

Polenta is a traditional Italian ingredient made from ground maize and is a wonderful golden-yellow colour.  It’s so easy to cook in the microwave and can be made with water or vegetable stock for extra flavour.

First make your polenta.  Put the maizemeal into a bowl.

Dissolve the stock cube in a jug of boiling water and add to the maizemeal. Stir well to make a smooth liquid. 

Add the margarine and mix well.

Microwave for 10 minutes, removing the bowl every 2 or 3 minutes to give the mixture a really good stir as it thickens.

Finally add the chopped olives.

Now you need to spread out the polenta to set.  I either use a baking tin (approx 18cm x 28cm) or a large dinner plate,  greased with a little olive oil.  Pour in the polenta and level neatly with a knife.

.

Cool, then leave to set in the fridge.  This can be made well in advance and stored in the fridge until needed.


When you’re ready to eat, preheat the oven to 220C. 

Prepare the vegetables.  Cut the red onions into about eight segments and place in a bowl with a tablespoon of olive oil and some salt and pepper. Mix together then transfer to a large roasting tray.

Then cut the peppers, aubergine and courgettes into pieces about 1” square.  Mix in a bowl with a tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Transfer to the roasting tray and spread out neatly.

Place in your preheated oven and bake for about 30 - 35 minutes. Check the vegetables once or twice, turning them over so they become evenly browned.

Meanwhile cut the polenta into four oblong slices  (or 8 equal segments, if using a circular plate) 

Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and fry the polenta slices for about 5 minutes on each side until brown and crispy.

(Alternatively, brush the polenta slices with olive oil and grill on both sides until brown and crispy)

Transfer to the oven to keep warm whilst you fry the remaining slices.

Serve the polenta slices with the roasted vegetables and a
generous spoonful of homemade tomato and olive sauce.  

Sprinkle some chopped fresh basil leaves on top.