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Parsnip potato cakes
This is one of my favourite aubergine recipes for it’s simplicity of taste and making. We enjoy it as a light lunch with salad or a more hearty dinner with vegetables. Cutting the aubergine strips thinly will ensure you get 8 slices out of one aubergine and makes it easier to fold the strips over. There’s a fine line though – too thin a slice will break up when you fold it so have some cocktail sticks to hand to pin the parcel together.The original recipe is from ‘200 make ahead dishes‘ which recommends boiling the aubergine slices in salt water for 2 minutes and then grilling the finished parcels for 5 minutes on both sides. If I didn’t skip the ‘chill for 30 minutes‘ step then I might well find that the parcels hold together better: as it is I always need to cook them straight away and have never dared try flipping them over as the cocktail sticks are holding the top closed. So instead I tend to lightly brown the slices before assembling the parcels as below (although the pictures show the boiled, then grilled version). I didn’t have fresh basil leaves so used dried herbs and the pine nuts were shaken directly from the packet having forgotten to toast them. Well when you’ve spent a morning digging and want lunch from fridge to table in 30 minutes you don’t worry about the small details do you!
making aubergine parcels – serves 2 for lunch or 4 as a starter 1 long, large aubergine, cut into strips lengthways 125g (4oz) mozzarella cheese cut into 4 slices 1 large or 2 small tomatoes cut into slices 8 large basil leaves 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp pine nuts, dry-fried in a hot pan until golden salt and pepper
Posted in allotment Tagged: aubergine, dinners