Eggplant Lasagne with Pistachio Pesto

Ingredients

3 medium eggplants (900 g), cut into 1 cm slices
1/4 cup olive oil
4 medium red capsicums (800 g)
750 g jar pasta sauce
250 g packet instant lasagne sheets
250 g mozzarella cheese, sliced thinly

Pistachio Pesto

1/2 cup shelled pistachios
1 cup firmly packed fresh basil
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

White Sauce

80 g butter
1/3 cup plain flour
2-1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Method

1. Make pistachio pesto. Blend or process ingredients until pureed. Set aside.
2. Make white sauce. Heat butter in medium saucepan, cook flour, stirring, until mixture thickens and bubbles. Gradually stir in milk. Stir until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat and stir in cheese. Set aside.
3. Oil 6 cm-deep rectangular 3.5 litre ovenproof dish.
4. Place eggplant in colander. Sprinkle with salt and stand 20 minutes. Rinse eggplant under cold running water. Drain on absorbent paper.
5. Brush eggplant with oil. Place in single layer on two oven trays. Bake, uncovered, in moderately hot oven about 40 minutes or until browned and tender.
6. Quarter capsicums, remove and discard seeds and membranes. Roast under grill or in very hot oven, skin-side up, until skin blisters and blackens. Cover capsicum pieces in plastic or paper 5 minutes. Peel away skin and cut capsicum pieces into thick strips.
7. Spread a third of the pasta sauce into prepared dish. Top with a third of the lasagne, another third of the sauce, half of the eggplant, half of the cheese, another third of the lasagne, then remaining sauce, capsicum, cheese, lasagne and eggplant. Spread pistachio pesto over eggplant; top with white sauce.
8. Cover lasagne with foil. Bake, in moderate oven 30 minutes. Remove foil, bake 30 minutes or until browned lightly. Stand 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 6 servings.

Source: Great Vegetarian Food

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Jumbo Shrimp Brochettes

Ingredients

12 large, raw jumbo shrimp in the shell (about 500 g)
6 garlic cloves, crushed
50 g chopped fresh parsley
50 g chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
40 g blanched almonds, sliced
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 metal skewers
fresh limes, sliced, to squeeze (optional)

Method

1. Make long slashes down the back of each shrimp. Remove and discard the long black vein (intestinal tract) from each one.
2. Combine the crushed garlic, parsley, coriander (cilantro), almonds and 1 tablespoonful of the oil in a mortar. Pound using a pestle to make a rough herb stuffing. Push a share of the stuffing into each slashed jumbo shrimp. Loop in rows of 3 onto each skewer.
3. Preheat a griddle or large non-stick frying pan. Griddle-cook the shrimp for 2 minutes on one side. Turn and cook for 1 minute on the second side, or until the flesh is pearly white and the shells turn rosy and smell aromatic. Turn off the heat. Leave to stand for a few minutes.
4. Serve, drizzled with the remaining oil, on folded flatbreads, rice, pasta ribbons or green leafy salad, with lime slices if you like.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: A Taste of Morocco

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Strawberry and Cream Layer Cakes

Ingredients

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon caster/granulated sugar
1 stick butter, softened
2 eggs
2/3 cup self-raising flour
1/3 cup ground almonds
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups double/heavy cream, whipped
1-1/2 cups strawberries, thinly sliced
3 generous tablespoons strawberry jam/jelly

To Decorate

30 g ready-to-roll fondant icing
red and green food colouring pastes
1-2/3 cups powdered fondant icing sugar
1 tablespoon rosewater

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease 10 (6 cm diameter) cake pans.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar and butter until light and creamy. Whisk in the eggs then sift in the flour. Fold in along with the almonds and vanilla extract. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake pans and bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, until the cakes spring back to the touch. Leave to cool in the pans, then slide a knife around the edge of each one to release the cakes.
3. Make the fondant strawberries. Colour three quarters of the ready-to-roll icing red with a small amount of red food colouring paste. Colour the remainder with the green food colouring paste. Make at least 40 tiny strawberry shapes with the red icing and use a clean pin to prick holes in them to look like the seeds. Top each with a tiny blob of green icing to represent the stalks. Set aside to dry.
4. Prepare the icing. Mix together the fondant icing sugar, rosewater and about 1 tablespoon cold water until you have a smooth, thick icing. Cut each cake into 3 layers and cover the top layer of each cake with icing. Allow the icing to set for about 5 minutes, then gently press 4 fondant strawberries on to the top of each one to decorate.
5. Once the icing has set completely, assemble the cakes. Spoon a little whipped cream and preserve between each layer, topping with strawberry slices. Finish each one with an iced and decorated top.
6. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator until needed.

Makes 10 mini-cakes.

Source: French Fancies

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Marinated Beet with Goat Cheese, Chard and Beet Dressing

Ingredients

3 large beet, peeled
2 tbsp butter
1 thyme sprig
sea salt and black pepper
7 oz ricotta, soft goat cheese, or fresh goat curd

Marinade

generous 1/3 cup olive oil
2 tbsp Chardonnay vinegar, or other white wine vinegar
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp superfine sugar
1 tsp thyme leaves

Dressing

1 tbsp Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar, or other red wine vinegar
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
few pieces of butter
1 tbsp toasted pine nuts, chopped

Method

1. Thinly slice two large beet using a mandolin. Stack a few larger slices on top of each other and use a 2-inch pastry cutter to stamp out small discs. Repeat until you have 36 neat discs. Save the trimmings and set aside.
2. Make the marinade. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Add the beet discs to the marinade, one at a time, to ensure that they are all well coated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill overnight.
3. Cut the remaining beet into tiny thin sticks (or cut them into fine dice), again saving the trimmings. Set aside.
4. Collect all the beet trimmings, place in a pan, and pour on enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Heat the butter in a pan and add the thyme. Season the beet sticks with salt and pepper, add to the pan, and fry for a few minutes, tossing occasionally until they are tender. Drain off the excess butter and let cool on a plate lined with paper towels. Chill until ready to serve.
6. Season the soft cheese with salt and pepper and beat with a fork until smooth. Spoon into a pastry bag fitted with a small plain tip and set aside.
7. Make the dressing. Strain off the juice from the pan of beet; discard the trimmings. Return the juice to the pan and boil vigorously until reduced to a thick, syrupy consistency. Cool slightly, then mix with the red wine vinegar and olive oil. Season to taste.
8. Heat the butter in a skillet and add the pine nuts. Toss for a few minutes until golden brown, then tip onto a plate lined with paper towels and let cool. Roughly chop the nuts and add to the beet dressing.
9. To serve, place 3 discs of marinated beet on each serving plate. Neatly pipe a mound of goat cheese on the middle of each beet disc. Spoon a few beet sticks on top of each mound, then cover with another marinated beet slice. Spoon over the dressing and garnish with baby salad leaves to serve.

Makes 6 servings.

Source: Gordon Ramsay’s Maze

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Smoked and Fresh Salmon Terrine

Ingredients

250 g skinless salmon fillet, cut into chunks
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
2 teaspoons orange juice
4 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or chervil
freshly ground white pepper
400 g smoked salmon
2 egg whites, chilled
150 ml whipping cream, chilled red salad leaves, to serve

Hazelnut Dressing

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon hazelnut oil
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped hazelnuts
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Put the chunks of fresh salmon into a food processor with the orange zest, orange juice, dill or chervil and plenty of pepper. Blend until smooth. Remove the bowl from the food processor, cover and chill.
2. Roughly chop half the smoked salmon. Put the bowl back on the processor. With the machine running, add the egg whites through the tube, then the cream. Blend until thick and smooth — do not overwork or it will curdle. Scrape into a bowl and stir in the smoked salmon.
3. Carefully fill the prepared terrine with the mixture, packing down well. Level the surface and cover the top with buttered greaseproof paper. Stand in a roasting tin and pour in hot water (bain marie) to come halfway up the sides.
4. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F) for 35-40 minutes until firm.
5. Remove from the oven, let cool completely, then chill in the refrigerator.
6. Loosen the edges with a thin knife and turn out onto a wooden board. Trim and tidy up the edges and pat dry. Wrap the terrine with the remaining smoked salmon, pressing down well, then transfer to a flat serving platter.
7. Put the salad leaves in a small bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients together, then pour over the leaves and toss gently. Slice the terrine with a very sharp knife and serve with the salad.

Makes 6 servings.

Source: Salmon

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