Soba, aubergine and mango salad

Just incredible. Courtesy of Yotam Ottolenghi's book, Plenty:

120 ml rice vinegar
40 g sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 fresh chilli, minced
1 tsp sesame oil
zest and juice of 1 lime, plus extra juice to taste
sunflower or rapeseed oil for cooking
2 medium aubergines
250 g soba noodles (made from buckwheat flour)
1 ripe mango (or 2, depending on how much mango you want)
handful each of coriander and basil, roughly chopped
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly

For the dressing, bring the vinegar, sugar and salt to the boil and cook for a minute. Take off the heat, add in the garlic, chilli and sesame oil, and leave to cool. Once cooled, add the lime juice and zest.

Dice the aubergine into 2cm pieces. Fry until golden brown. Once cooked, sprinkle salt over the aubergine and place in a colander to drain.

Cook the soba noodles for around 5-8 minutes depending on the pack instructions. Once cooked, drain in a colander, rinse with cold water, and leave to drip dry. Original instructions say to squeeze out the excess water - not sure if this is entirely necessary, but you do you.

Dice the mango into chunks similar in size to the aubergine. Roughly chop the herbs. Throw the noodles, aubergine, mango, herbs, onion and dressing into a big bowl, mix everything together, then leave to marinade for an hour or two. Serve with bread.

Can serve as a main meal or a side, depending on how hungry you are. Add whatever you want to the salad - tofu and mushrooms spring to mind.

Maghmour (Lebanese aubergine stew)

Just, like, the greatest dish ever. Honestly, this is one of the best things I have tasted. It's very simple, very quick, and tastes amazing. I cannot recommend this enough.

It's basically this recipe with a few small changes.

1 kg brinjal/aubergine, cut into cubes of ca. 5x5x5 cm
1/2 cup olive oil
2 x 400g tins chickpeas, well rinsed
1-2 onions, diced
Garlic to taste (original recipe calls for 5 cloves)
thumb-sized piece of ginger, minced
2 x 400g tins tomatoes (or equivalent fresh diced tomatoes. I've used both, and both work well)
1 tbsp tomato paste
1-2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried mint or mixed herbs (I also used fresh mint the first time, which worked quite well)
1 - 2 cups water (depending on preferences)

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Arrange the aubergine on a baking sheet, cover with 1/4 cup of olive oil and bake for 20-30 minutes until brown. While you're doing that, add the rest of the olive to a pot and brown the onions, then add the garlic and ginger and cook for a few more minutes on a medium heat. Finally, add the chickpeas, tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs, and aubergine, mix together, and cook for about 20 minutes. If it gets too dry, add some water to maintain a stewish consistency (to be fair, I've never needed to add any).

Serve with couscous and enjoy. It is lovely. 

Aubergine/melanzana parmagiana

A vegetarian sort-of-lasagne Italian dish which worked out quite nicely. Very happy with the results. It did not take as long as I thought it would, either, so there's that, although it does take a bit of time. Make sure you have plenty of crusty bread, like a baguette or something similar, with you, so that you can mop up the sauce.

I adapted this from the Guardian's version of this recipe, with some changes. NB: I used quite a large baking tray which explains the quantities. I also layered the aubergine quite thinly, so if you increase the density of the aubergine, you can cut down on the tomato sauce. Still, tomato is nice, so it's up to you.

1.5 kg aubergine/brinjal/"egg"plant, cut lengthwise into 1 cm-thick slices
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 red onions, thinly diced
4 x 400 g tins tomatoes
1-2 glasses of red wine, or 4 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp oregano or Provencal spice
250 g grated parmesan cheese (or grana padano - meaning that the name is somewhat badly chosen. Oh well...)
250-500 g mozzarella (depending on your cheesy preferences)
50 g breadcrumbs
handful of basil leaves

Cut up the aubergine, salt it (I laid it in layers in a colander, sprinkled some salt over it, and then repeated until I'd done the whole batch), and leave for about half an hour. While you're waiting, fry the onions and garlic for a couple of minutes, add in the wine/wine vinegar, and then tip in the tomatoes and simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring frequently. Crush any big bits that might cause trouble later on.

Rinse the aubergines very well and then fry at least half, but preferably all, of the aubergine slices on a griddle pan for a couple of minutes on either side. I cooked half the slices and left the other half raw when assembling the dish, which seemed to work quite well, but I'd recommend cooking all the aubergine before assembling the dish.

When you've cooked everything, heat your oven to 180 degrees, and then start putting together the dish. Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce in your oven dish, then a layer of aubergine (packed tightly), then mozzarella, parmesan, and seasoning. Repeat in this order until you have used up all the aubergine. Top with a final layer of tomato sauce, then sprinkle breadcrumbs and a little bit of parmesan on the top.

Shove in the oven and cook for about 30 minutes or so, then take out when ready and leave for a couple of minutes before serving. Top with some of the basil, and serve bread on the side. 

Mumbai vegan curry

This was a recipe we picked up after a mass cycle through Tallinn a few years ago. It is very tasty and quite simple to make. And, of course, offers a bunch of your five a day.

Should serve 2

Ingredients:
Half a medium aubergine/brinjal/eggplant
Mustard seeds
Lime leaves
1 Onion
Curry leaves (if available, not essential though)
Dried coriander
Chillies, to taste
100ml coconut milk
1 medium tomato
Vegetable stock, as needed (probably good to make half a litre and then play it by ear, but you probably won't need more than about 200ml)
100g chickpeas

Slice the aubergine up, season it, and roast in the oven. In a medium-sized pot, roast the mustard seeds and lime leaves for a minute or so, and then fry with the onion. Add the chilli and remaining spices. Add in the coconut milk, tomato, and stock, then bring to the boil and simmer. Once the sauce has thickened somewhat, add in the chickpeas and aubergine. Cook until ready and then serve with rice and fresh coriander on top.

Jungle Curry

This stuff is all a matter of personal taste - as hot or mild as you want. The first time I had it, I was caught short in the middle of a class the next day. Not the most pleasant experience of my life. The meal was fantastic though. Here's my take on the subject. Not quite as good as the original, but it does the trick.

Should serve 3-4 people, depending on quantities

200g of chicken or pork (original recipe stated that it should be wild meat. If you can get some boar or metsasealiha, then all the better. Otherwise, chicken on the bone works nicely)
Vegetables, primarily brinjals, cherry tomatoes, bamboo shoots, and mushrooms
Coriander, Thai basil, and chillies

Curry paste:

1/2 an onion or equivalent in shallots
1 1/2 inches or so of galangal or ginger (about 3-4 tbsp, fresher is obviously better. If you use dried stuff, soak it then mash it up using a pestle and mortar)
1 tbsp green peppercorns (not blue ones)
2 tbsp lemongrass (fresher is better, and if dried, see above)
a lot of garlic, to taste basically
Lime leaves, again, to taste
Lime zest
Lime juice (just, use lime. Somewhere. Anywhere)
Coriander root
2 1/2 to 3 tbsp fish sauce (although you might want to add this to the pan, not the sauce. Up to you. Try either way)
1/2-1 tsp of shrimp paste
A few chillies, dried or otherwise (to taste)
A 400ml tin of coconut milk

Blend all the stuff for the paste in a food processor. Brown the chicken in a wok, add the vegetables and cook for a bit, then add the paste. Close to the end, add the coriander et al, and serve over rice.

There is obviously more than one way to skin a cat. This recipe is something I've pieced together, and it is quite tasty, although not overly spicy. Try using extra coconut milk or coconut butter if you are so inclined, for something thicker and creamier. Or add extra ginger to the meat, not the sauce (try strips of ginger). Any way you work it, it works out well.

Enjoy.

Ratatouille

On a bit of a French kick at the moment. Ah well.

Yes, this is the ratatouille from the film. Again, easy, fun to make, and you get to say the word ratatouille. I mean, how cool is that?

This should serve 3-4 people, depending on quantities.

Ratatouille

2 large aubergines, cubed
3-4 large courgettes, cubed
2 peppers, bite-sized chunks
3 or 4 tomatoes (you can put more in, but it's quite good with less of a tomato-ey taste). Pierce the skin, submerge in boiling water for about 20 seconds, then take them out and skin and de-seed them. Or don't. Either way, cut them into quarters.
Thyme (or Provencal spice)
1 or 2 onions, sliced (but not diced)
Garlic to taste (3 or 4 should generally do the trick)
About 2 tablespoons of red wine (or wine vinegar)
1 teaspoon sugar

For those of you with a bit of adventure in your souls, add some olives, a chilli or two, and some anchovies (but don't overdo the anchovies). A big cast-iron pot is also quite useful.

Cook the aubergines for about 5 minutes until soft, then remove from the heat. Don't overcook just yet. Repeat with the courgettes (until brown) and peppers (browning and then taking them out). Then cook the onions until soft and stuff. Add the garlic, fry for a bit, then add the wine/vinegar and sugar. Stir in, add the tomatoes and the thyme or Provencal spice, stir in again, and add the courgettes, aubergines, and peppers (and olives and anchovies if you're using them). Add salt and pepper to taste, then cook for about 5-10 more minutes.

I'd recommend serving this with couscous. And wine. It'll make you think of your childhood. And then overlook gross violations of public health and sanitation.