Minted Eggplant Dip

1/3 cup whole almonds
1 large-ish eggplant (around 1-1 ½ pounds)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed through a garlic press
2 tablespoons each fresh mint and parsley, chopped
salt to taste

In a bowl, cover the almonds with hot water and leave them to soak.

Prick the eggplant a half dozen or so times with a fork. On a rimmed metal baking sheet, grill the eggplant 4 or 5 inches from the heat, flipping it over at the halfway point, for about 45 minutes. It will be completely collapsed and browning by this point.

Dump the eggplant into a colander, pull it apart with two forks, and allow it to drain, torn side down, until it’s cool enough to be handled. Now remove the pulp from the skin: this is most easily accomplished with a fork and fingers, and will involve some combination of peeling the skin and scraping the flesh; be sure to get at all the nice browned stuff right by the skin.

Drain the almonds and place in a food processor with all the remaining ingredients except the eggplant and process until as finely blended as possible, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Now add the eggplant and process again until smooth(ish). Taste it and add more salt, lemon, or oil as needed. Serve.

Source

Moroccan fishcakes with harissa yoghurt dip

FOR THE FISHCAKES
1 large pinch of saffron
500g (1lb 2oz) skinless MSC-certified white fish
35g (1¼oz) fresh white breadcrumbs
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1½tsp ground cumin
¼tsp ground cinnamon
Finely grated juice and zest of ½ lemon
1 small bunch of coriander, roughly chopped
1 egg
Sunflower oil for frying

FOR THE FISH DIP
150ml (5½oz) Greek yoghurt
1tbsp harissa paste
1 small bunch of mint leaves, finely chopped

To prepare the fishcakes, soak the saffron in 1tbsp of warm water for about 30 minutes. In the meantime, make the dip by just mixing everything together and transferring the mixture to a 18serving dish.

Cut the fish into chunks and place in a food processor with the saffron and its soaking water, breadcrumbs, garlic, cumin, ground cinnamon, lemon juice and zest, coriander, egg and a good helping of salt and pepper. Blitz until smooth.

Divide the mixture into about 18 portions and, using wet hands, roll each one into a ball and flatten in the palm of your hand.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan.

Fry the fishcakes in batches for a couple of minutes each side until golden.

Drain on kitchen paper while making the rest. Serve the fishcakes hot with a bowl of the harissa dip on the side.

Source

Oven-baked tomato risotto with summer herbs

800g ripe beefsteak tomatoes
25g unsalted butter
1 onion peeled and finely chopped
300g risotto rice
150ml white wine
900ml chicken or vegetable stock
sea salt and black pepper
50g mixture fresh herbs: flat leaf parsley, mint and basil (leaves only)
6 tbsp olive oil
100g freshly grated Parmesan plus extra to serve

Heat the oven to 190C/170 C fan/gas 5. Pierce the top of the tomatoes with the point of a knife, plunge them one by one into boiling water for 20 seconds, then into cold water, slip off the skins and coarsely chop the flesh, discarding the cores.

Melt the butter in a large cast-iron casserole over a medium heat and fry the onion for a few minutes until translucent. Add the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes longer, stirring frequently until they start to become mushy. Stir in the rice, add the wine and simmer for a couple of minutes, then add the stock and some seasoning.

Bring to the boil, cover and cook in the oven for 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, whiz the herbs with the olive oil to a puree in a food processor.

Remove the risotto from the oven and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Stir in the parmesan, leave to stand for 5 minutes more, then dollop over the herb puree and fold over a few times to streak it. Serve with extra parmesan scattered over.

Source

Lime & corriander fish

4 thick MSC-certiifed white fish fillets, about 200g (7oz) each, skinned
Fresh banana leaves to serve (from Asian grocers), or use lightly oiled squares of foil
2tsp ground cumin
2tsp ground coriander
1½tsp golden caster sugar
150g (5½oz) freshly grated coconut
2 fresh red chillies, deseeded and chopped
8-10tbsp chopped coriander leaves
4tbsp chopped mint leaves
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1tsp peeled and finely grated root ginger
3tbsp vegetable oil
Juice of 2 limes

Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas 6. Cut the banana leaves into four 24cm (9½in) squares, and soften them by dipping into a pan of very hot water for a few seconds, then dry with kitchen paper.

Grind into a paste the cumin, ground coriander, sugar, coconut, chillies, fresh coriander, mint, garlic, ginger and oil, with a pinch of salt.

Apply the paste liberally to both sides of the fish and drizzle with lime juice. Place a piece of fish on each leaf and wrap, securing with bamboo skewers or string.

Place on a baking sheet, and cook for 15 - 20 minutes.

Source

Couscous salad

Couscous
Quinoa (optional)
Spring onions or Spanish onions
Kalamata olives
Red capsicum
Feta cheese
Chick peas
Red chili (optional)
Mint
Olive oil
Cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar

For the quantities... well, as you like really. As a guide, I use about 1 can chickpeas, one large capsicum, one block feta, a couple of spring onions, and a handful of mint per 2 cups couscous.

Method
Prepare the couscous and quinoa according to instructions, chop up the onions, capsicum, olives, cheese, chili and mint, mix everything, add oil and vinegar to taste. Don't be shy with the vinegar - I'm always surprised at how much I need to add to get the taste right.

I've also made it without any oil - this is good too. We find it salty enough with the olives and feta, but you might like a bit more.

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What do the food critics say? YUM!
What does the cook say? My standard salad for BBQs, I even sometimes serve it as a complete meal. OK, I quite often serve it as a complete meal.

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Source: copied from something we had in Canada years ago, at the cafe in which the wife of T's fairy-godfather-to-be worked.