A favorite from Plenty, this falls into the category of things I could eat daily. Lentils, tomatoes, and oil-packed feta, instead of Gorgonzola , p. 222.

pairs4life wrote:A favorite from Plenty, this falls into the category of things I could eat daily. Lentils, tomatoes, and oil-packed feta, instead of Gorgonzola , p. 222.

Beautiful! I will put that on my list, thank you for sharing both of those dishes!
Cheers, Jen

When we ate this, all you heard was slurp, moan, "oh God", (repeat). This was the most elaborate broth, and the best tasting broth I ever had.

Plenty, p. 28 Parsnip dumplings in broth


The making of a vegan broth


The secret ingredient...dried prunes


Ricing



Dumplings!

This picture doesn't do justice to the deliciousness of these dishes. The dumplings in broth started my quest to taste as many dishes as possible from Plenty. I gathered some like-minded folks and we met last summer.

I thought I had more pics than this, Pie-Lady, do you have the other photos in an email?

From Plenty, Asparagus Vichyssoise, p.184 and Socca, p. 224



Oh here's the green couscous, p. 255 It is hot(as in spicy) and perfect for picnics, potlucks, and the like



I brought Saffron Cauliflower, p. 106 from Plenty, to last summer's picnic

Blooming Saffron



Cauliflower, golden raisins, & home-cured olives

Today's Ottolenghi, Chermoula eggplant with bulghur and yogurt, from Jerusalem, pg 58:



The eggplants are brushed with a mixture of spices and a lot of oil, then roasted. I roasted mine for a bit too long, as the garlic bits on top were overdone-- but the eggplant underneath was perfect. The roasted eggplant is topped with a bulghur salad with almonds, green olives, golden raisins, and herbs, then Greek yogurt over the top. Would be good picnic food, but I definitely needed a sharp knife to cut the eggplant skin.

More good stuff from Jerusalem...

Jen

Pie-love wrote:Today's Ottolenghi, Chermoula eggplant with bulghur and yogurt, from Jerusalem, pg 58:


The eggplants are brushed with a mixture of spices and a lot of oil, then roasted. I roasted mine for a bit too long, as the garlic bits on top were overdone-- but the eggplant underneath was perfect. The roasted eggplant is topped with a bulghur salad with almonds, green olives, golden raisins, and herbs, then Greek yogurt over the top. Would be good picnic food, but I definitely needed a sharp knife to cut the eggplant skin.

More good stuff from Jerusalem...

Jen

This one goes on my list to try.

Chermoula eggplant with bulghur and yogurt, from Jerusalem, pg 58:

Hi,

I made this dish, too, a while back. I thought the bulghur was a bit dry, though the yogurt on top compensated for this. Was your experience the same with the bulghur?

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:

Chermoula eggplant with bulghur and yogurt, from Jerusalem, pg 58:

I made this dish, too, a while back. I thought the bulghur was a bit dry, though the yogurt on top compensated for this. Was your experience the same with the bulghur?

Yes, I agree. I only had 1/3c of bulghur when the recipe called for a full cup, so I had difficulties measuring the right amount of water to properly hydrate the bulghur (2/9 cup?!?). I did find the bulghur dry-- I had to add a bit more hot water, which was soaked up well. Aside from that, itr was still a bit dry, but since it was dressed with the yogurt and a drizzle of olive oil, it came out well. A nice, juicy, ripe tomato might be a good addition... in a couple of months.

Jen

Pie-love wrote:Today's Ottolenghi, Chermoula eggplant with bulghur and yogurt, from Jerusalem, pg 58:

I could see doing this as canapes with baby eggplants sliced in half vertically. Sounds outstanding.

HI,

For this dish, you cut the eggplant in half, then make deep scores without piercing the flesh. It is then roasted at 450 degrees for 45 minutes or so. I roasted these as I baked bread.

I think this recipe would work well on a grill, too.

Regards,

JoelF wrote:

Pie-love wrote:Today's Ottolenghi, Chermoula eggplant with bulghur and yogurt, from Jerusalem, pg 58:

I could see doing this as canapes with baby eggplants sliced in half vertically. Sounds outstanding.

Baby eggplants do sound good-- or rounds of Japanese eggplant. The bulghur tends to fall off the top, which might make for messy finger food unless you bind it somehow. I was glad to have a knife, fork, and plate! Maybe the whole thing could be served on a lettuce leaf, which could then be wrapped around it for consumption.

I agree with Cathy2 that this would be great on the grill.

Jen

Hi,

There are few other recipes using scored, roasted eggplants where the toppings might grip better.

Once we really have warm temperatures, a lot of food from this book will be even more welcome.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote: Once we really have warm temperatures, a lot of food from this book will be even more welcome...

Ha, that would be today-- but tomorrow, it will be back to braises and soup. For today, I was thinking of doing breakfast-for-dinner and I remembered that I had all the ingredients for shakshuka. Jerusalem and Plenty both have shakshuka recipes-- this one is from Jerusalem, page 66.

Another winner-- spicy and light, perfect for hot weather. In the interest of not having egg white boogers, I cooked the yolks a little too long-- they were almost completely solid. In an un-Jerusalem-like twist, we served it with bacon and toasted cornmeal sourdough bread. Delicious.


Tastes better than it looks!

Jen

I also coincidentally made Jerusalem's shakshuka last night after getting some good, but small eggs at the farmer's market this week.

All in all, it was good, but again I doctored. Admittedly, i took liberties with the harissa recipe and ended up with a product a little too sweet. But I augmented with spicier harissa as well as red pepper flakes and paprika. I think I prefer recipes that start with actually sauteed chiles a la this one (ironic because it is based on Ottolenghi's but takes chiles) and this one.

I garnished with chives, parsley, and mint from the garden. Herbal garnish is important in this dish in my opinion.

I'd like to try the harissa recipe again (althoguh I don't really know which fresh, hot, red chiles he's referring to), but I think I'll be sticking with shakshuka preparations from elsewhere.

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

For this dish, you cut the eggplant in half, then make deep scores without piercing the flesh. It is then roasted at 450 degrees for 45 minutes or so. I roasted these as I baked bread.

I think this recipe would work well on a grill, too.

Regards,

In Jerusalem you would likely find the eggplants roasting directly on the coals rather than on the grill grate. Try it that way for a great smoky/charred taste.

gastro gnome wrote: (althoguh I don't really know which fresh, hot, red chiles he's referring to).

Since this book was written for a British audience, who may not have access to the wide range of chilies enjoyed here, though it was a mystery what was expected, too.


Steve - Directly on the coals, I will give that a shot, too. Thanks! In winter, I use the gas burner on my stove, after I wrapped as much as possible in aluminum foil to aid cleaning up.

Regards,

Soba noodles with eggplant and mango, from Plenty, p. 112-- superb! Light dressing with Vietnamese overtones (sweet, lime, garlic), and lots and lots of fresh herbs. We served it as a side dish to a simple roasted salmon. Yet another hit from these two cookbooks-- my exploration (or perhaps obsession) continues!

Jen

Pie-love wrote:Soba noodles with eggplant and mango, from Plenty, p. 112-- superb! Light dressing with Vietnamese overtones (sweet, lime, garlic), and lots and lots of fresh herbs. We served it as a side dish to a simple roasted salmon. Yet another hit from these two cookbooks-- my exploration (or perhaps obsession) continues!

Jen

I was thinking about trying this for a pre-theatre dinner next week. How easy was it? How generous was the portion? How far in advance can I make it?

Claudia Roden & Yotam Ottolenghi talking about their books, Roden's The Food of Spain and Ottolengh's The Cookbook & Plenty. Their conversation was part of the Proms at St Jude's Literary Weekend., 24 June 2012.

pairs4life wrote:

Pie-love wrote:Soba noodles with eggplant and mango, from Plenty, p. 112-- superb! Light dressing with Vietnamese overtones (sweet, lime, garlic), and lots and lots of fresh herbs. We served it as a side dish to a simple roasted salmon. Yet another hit from these two cookbooks-- my exploration (or perhaps obsession) continues!

Jen

I was thinking about trying this for a per-theatre dinner next week. How easy was it? How generous was the portion? How far in advance can I make it?

Ease of preparation: Frying the eggplant was a typical pain, but otherwise assembly was quite easy-- just chopping.
Portion: Typical for this book, the portions are big-- I made a half-recipe, which could easily serve 4-5 as a side. I recommend serving it with a protein-- perhaps cold, poached salmon?
Make in advance: Definitely. The recipe indicates that it can be assembled several hours in advance (minus the final herb garnish). You could also boil the noodles and fry the eggplant in advance, then toss all the ingredients together right before serving. I thought it tasted great the next day, but not quite company-worthy!

Enjoy the meal and the theater!

Cheers, Jen

I made the Chickpea and Chard Stew with Tamarind from Plenty for dinner tonight and it was not good. The fault may be mine though-- the CSA gave me only a little chard, so I used kale. Bleh-- the thin sauce was a bit sour from the tamarind, but otherwise lacked interesting flavor. The sour tamarind did not play well with the chickpeas either. Husband gave it a "C".

Jen

Pie-love wrote:I made the Chickpea and Chard Stew with Tamarind from Plenty for dinner tonight and it was not good. The fault may be mine though-- the CSA gave me only a little chard, so I used kale. Bleh-- the thin sauce was a bit sour from the tamarind, but otherwise lacked interesting flavor. The sour tamarind did not play well with the chickpeas either. Husband gave it a "C".

Jen

Chard is really different from kale. One of us should try this again. Glad to finally hear where I can move slowly back from the edge.

pairs4life wrote:Chard is really different from kale. One of us should try this again. Glad to finally hear where I can move slowly back from the edge.

So true! Yes, kale was probably part of the problem-- I wish Angelic Organics gave me more chard and less kale, but this week's batch included a huge bunch of kale and 3 leaves of chard.

Jen

Lots of kohlrabi in the CSA box, so I am making dueling Ottolenghi kohlrabi salads. Today, the creamy salad from Jerusalem-- diced kohlrabi in a dressing with yogurt, sour cream, garlic, lemon, and mint. Excellent! The tang of the lemon and yogurt was great with the crunchy kohlrabi. I skipped the watercress, as I'm not buying more greens when I'm buried by CSA produce. To my taste, it needed a bit more salt and some of the lemon zest would have been good. The sumac on top also added a nice tang.

Tomorrow, the cabbage and kohlrabi salad from Plenty. Hooray!

Cheers, Jen

P.S. Edited to add that the cabbage and kohlrabi salad from Plenty is delicious-- light and lemony, with a little sweetness from the dried fruit (recipe called for dried cherries, I used craisins). Plus it has plenty of fresh dill-- although I did get a little laugh out of "1 large bunch fresh dill, chopped (6 tablespoons)"-- holy cats, those London grocers must be stingy with the dill. If I chopped the whole bunch that I got at the A&G, I would probably have about 2 cups.

Votes were mixed on which salad was better, but we loved them both. The kid gave the edge to the creamy salad and I preferred the light and lemony salad with cabbage-- it would be great for a potluck or cookout.

P.P.S. Edited further to add that the cabbage and kohlrabi salad was even better the next day-- with all the dill and the acid from the lemons, it became like a pickle.

From the comments in this NY Times article, it seems that I am not the only one wild over this book:
http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/ ... /?src=dayp

Jen

One of the sexier-looking photos in that book, in my opinion, is the meatballs with favas and lemon (tho the open-faced kibbe beats that hands down). So I tried it last night. It's a bit fussy for a weeknight dinner, but not by much.

Changes from recipe: Used all lamb instead of 2 parts beef to 1 part lamb. Cut recipe in about half. Used limas instead of favas. Didn't have some of the fresh herbs (dill -- used a little dried, cilantro -- used some of the scant fronds left in my garden, mint -- used some basil, oregano and mexican tarragon). Served with brown jasmine rice instead of basmati with orzo. I did grind up my own baharat, though. From the look of the pic, some additional olive oil "gilds the lily" (to use Batali's phrase) at serving time, so I did so too.

I was concerned that the meatballs were a little bready: the original recipe has a cup of crumbs to 15oz meat, and they really got crusty when sauteed, but after braising in broth, they were soft and fluffy. I also wasn't sure whether the frozen limas should be cooked like the unpeeled (long-braised) or peeled favas (just blanched and thrown in at the end), but I should have gone with the peeled method: they'd have been more solid and green, but I like mushy limas too.

Overall, a very tasty dish, and one I'd do again. I'd probably hold back some limas for greenness and texture: I could probably throw them in frozen partway through the braise, rather than blanching and then braising, and it would reduce the level of effort by a couple of notches (no draining and refreshing while trying to saute meatballs, and one fewer pots).

pairs4life wrote:A favorite from Plenty, this falls into the category of things I could eat daily. Lentils, tomatoes, and oil-packed feta, instead of Gorgonzola , p. 222...

I made this for dinner on Sunday, with a random blue cheese from Caputo's. Had it with grilled garlic-wine sausage also from Caputo's (Cheese Market)-- delicious.

Has anyone tried the stuffed zucchini (Plenty, p. 69)? The zucchini are hollowed out, then filled with rice that has been sauteed with a little onion and wine, but is otherwise raw. The zucchini boats are then cooked in a shallow layer of water in a covered pan and the rice is basted with a little of the cooking liquid. I tried this with some pattypan squash and had trouble getting the rice to cook evenly-- it was nicely al dente in spots, but unpleasantly crunchy in other places. Blech!

Jen

I adapted "Fish & caper kebabs with burnt eggplant & lemon pickle" as Ocean Perch filets with caper-tarragon relish and burnt eggplant and tomato-cucumber tahini salad for tonight's Bachelor Chow.

The burnt eggplant technique produces fantastic smooth, creamy, smoky eggplant. The caper sauce I created with tarragon is somewhat different from a caper and dill fish cake, but still terrific (and lighter).

I thought I would make the mushrooms and polenta but I can't find all of the fresh herbs, chervil and tarragon were not available at Treasure Island and they have consistently had the best selection of fresh herbs I've run across outside of farmers markets.

Hi,

Several cookbooks, including those from Ottolenghi, mention fresh red chilies assuming a common knowledge to what they are referring to. I had occasion to interact with some UK food historians, whom I inquired what they have in their markets for "fresh red chiles."

I was advised, "Would say that normally, in UK supermarkets, there may be birds-eye [Thai] chillies available and sometimes Scotch bonnets but normally it's a generic "red" chilli - about 2 inches long, fatter at the stem end and tapering and varying in heat (as even chillies from the same plant can do). Usually, it's a bit of a lottery."

Note they spell chilli with two L not one.

Regards,