Dinner in a dash...

Things have been pretty hectic lately, and as a result, there isn’t a lot of time to think about my next culinary master piece. When this happens, it’s nice to know there are still delicious, easy meals that can easily fit into your schedule.

I love food from the Mediterranean- the tomato, the pasta, the feta. And I love visiting the Mediterranean Food Company here in Christchurch. It’s so easy to pick up a few staples for the coming weeks. This first recipe incorporates all that I love, without the hassle.

Eggplant, tomato, chilli and feta pasta

Serves 2

Olive oil, for frying

2 small eggplants, sliced (these ones are from the Christchurch Farmers Market)

1 small onion, diced

1 small red chilli, finely chopped

2 tomatoes, diced

Spaghetti, one small fist full (depending on how hungry you are)

Half jar of Passata

100g feta cheese, cut in bite-sized pieces

Parmesan cheese, grated for serving

 

Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add eggplant and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 7-8 minutes or until eggplant is golden and tender.

Add chilli and tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in a saucepan of boiling water following packet directions or until al dente. Drain well.

Add Passata to eggplant mix. Simmer for 5 minutes then add the drained pasta. Stir to combine. Remove from heat and stir through feta. Add in your favourite herbs, if desired. I added some Italian dried herbs for extra flavour.

This next recipe is one of my favourites. And if you’re making it for two there is usually excess left for lunch the next day. The pearl barley adds a different texture to usual risotto, and is a relatively cheap ingredient.

Pearl barley, mushroom & chorizo risotto

Serves 4ish

Olive oil, for frying

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

3-4 chorizo, thinly sliced

1¾ cups pearl barley

4 cups chicken stock

250g button mushrooms, sliced

Parsley

Parmesan, grated for serving

Heat olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the onion, garlic and chorizo until chorizo are brown.

Stir in barley and stock. Bring to the boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Remove lid and cook for another 10 minutes, until barley is tender and the liquid absorbed.

Sauté mushrooms in olive oil for 5 minutes.

Fold mushrooms, parsley and parmesan through barley and season.

Foods that stain your fingers ...

For this post I decided it might be nice to do a double up of recipes containing foods with a mutual characteristic. Maybe it’s a defence mechanism but this specific one can be slightly off putting for some. However, you will soon forget about your discoloured digits after eating these delicious dishes.

Cherry sorbert

As you drive around the city, various stalls have popped up selling cherries, plums, apricots, nectarines and other juicy delights marking summer. This time of year means special one off dishes that are difficult to come by during the winter months. Perhaps the much colder weather makes us appreciate these fruits more; I say this as I try to hide my enthusiasm for them. I actually picked these cherries up from the Christchurch Farmers market. They are older, and as a result a bit of a bargain, but they still produce a fine sorbet.

Cherry sorbet

4 cups cherries, pitted

½ cup white sugar

1 tablespoon kirsh (you can add more to suit your taste, but this amount produced a deliciously sweet flavour rather than, in my opinion, an over powering alcoholic taste)

Process all together and put into a freezable 1 litre container.

Stir every few hours.

I must say this resulted in an amazing sorbet so it comes highly, highly recommended. I tried a black forest sorbet by mixing in some bits of dark chocolate but really the flavour spoke for itself without it.

Roasted beetroot and rocket salad

I have recently started a bit of gardening, which for those that know me really well will probably come as a surprise. I planted rocket, strawberries, beetroot, rhubarb, lettuce and some herbs. The beetroots have easily increased in size; they were purchased already half grown from the supermarket (I’m still claiming it!). So here I am proud to present my own beetroot and rocket straight from the garden. This recipe has been adapted from Annabel Langbein’s book The Free Range Cook.

 

Roasted beetroot and rocket salad

8 beetroot

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Salt and black pepper

A handful of rocket leaves

A handful of beetroot leaves

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

½ cup roasted almonds

100g feta cheese, crumbled

Preheat oven to 180°C. Boil the beetroot for ten minutes, then peel and chop into wedges. Mix together the first measure of oil, sugar, vinegar and salt and pepper in roasting tray. Toss through beetroot and spread out into a single layer.

Roast for 40 minutes until just starting to shrivel. Allow to cool in the roasting tray. While the beetroot is cooking, roast the almonds in the oven for around 20 minutes stirring every now and again.

Evenly coat the rocket and beetroot leaves with lemon juice and second measure of oil. Toss together with the beetroot, almonds and feta.

This is a simple and tasty side dish that incorporates the whole beetroot plant- how resourceful. And it still tastes good.

Spring tomato and grilled asparagus pasta- Spring Recipe Competition entry

This recipe is one of the main inspirations behind my blog. My good friend Zo organised the Spring Recipe Competition through her amazing blog Two Spoons. After entering, and consequently winning, I woke up to the potential of food blogs and the audience you can reach. I hope that others will be encouraged to share their recipes, experiences or comments.

This simple and delicious recipe is perfect for those with limited time and cooking abilities. It incorporates local produce that can be easily purchased on a sunny Spring Saturday morning from the Christchurch Farmers Market.

Spring tomato and grilled asparagus pasta

Serves 3-4

1 bunch of baby asparagus (from Christchurch Farmers Market) – Broadfield
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
250g Penne pasta
5 medium tomatoes (from Christchurch Farmers Market) – Milly Satchel
5 tsp extra virgin olive oil + 2 tsp balsamic vinegar, whisked
3 cloves smoked garlic, sliced (from Christchurch Farmers Market) – The Original Smoke and Spice Co
2 pinches chilli flakes or more- depending on how much spice you like!
Italian parsley, finely chopped

Parboil asparagus for 5 minutes
Heat 1tsp oil in a griddle pan (or similar) and grill asparagus on high for approx. 5 minutes.
Bring salted water to the boil, add pasta and cook for 12 minutes, then drain.
Cut tomatoes into 1/8ths
Fry sliced smoked garlic in a dash of extra virgin olive oil until lightly browned
Place all ingredients in a bowl and toss until lightly coated
Top with shavings of parmesan cheese if desired
Easy as that!