The Knobbly Plate

A veggie, foodie, photography site

Main Course

BAKED RIGATONI with AUBERGINE & MOZZARELLA

by

Well what happend to summer? The jet stream seems to have moved and it’s now positively autumnal at times. So what better way to warm up than with my baked rigatoni with aubergine and mozzarella.

Iv’e been wondering where the sun has gone for a few weeks now as it is needed to ripen all the wonderful blackberries, blueberries and raspberries that grow wild around here and I am looking forward to foraging a few of them to make this seasons blackberry vodka. Then I have plans for some fresh raspberry jam which is just one of my favorite flavor’s of all time. It always reminds me of my childhood in Scotland and eating as many raspberries as I put in the pot from days out foraging. They were so juicy and tart, delicious.

 

 

Save Print
BAKED RIGATONI with AUBERGINE & MOZZARELLA
Author: 
Recipe type: main course
Cuisine: Italian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6 Persons
 
Ingredients
  • 1¼kg small vine or small plum tomato
  • a sprinkling of golden caster sugar
  • 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
  • 1 large aubergine(about 450g/1lb)
  • 500g rigatoni
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 85g black olive, stoned and chopped
  • 2 good handfuls of basil leaves, plus extra for serving
  • 450g buffalo mozzarella
  • 50g parmesan, freshly grated, plus extra for serving
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to fan 140C/conventional 160C/gas 3. Halve the tomatoes through their equator, rather than their core. Stand them cut-side up on a shallow baking tray (I use a nonstick Swiss roll tin). Scatter a little salt, pepper and sugar over the cut surfaces and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Roast for 45 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, slice the aubergine into rounds, brush both sides with oil and spread out in one layer on another tray. After the tomatoes have been roasting for 45 minutes, put the aubergines in with them and roast for another 45 minutes.
  3. Towards the end of the time, cook the pasta in plenty of gently boiling well-salted water until nearly al dente – it should be undercooked because it finishes off in the oven. Drain well and tip into a large bowl. Have ready 4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil mixed with the crushed garlic and chopped olives. Toss the oil mixture through the pasta and turn half of it into a 2-21⁄2 litre ovenproof dish.
  4. Remove the tomatoes and aubergines from the oven. (You can prepare them up to 24 hours ahead.)
  5. Turn up the oven to fan 180C/conventional 200C/gas 6. Scatter half the tomatoes and their juices over the pasta in the dish. Roughly tear the basil leaves and scatter on top. Drain the mozzarella, pat dry with kitchen paper, then slice very thinly. Lay two-thirds of the slices over the tomatoes. Grind black pepper over, and scatter over the aubergine. Add the rest of the pasta, top with the remaining tomatoes and mozzarella and then the parmesan. (Can be made up to here 3-4 hours in advance). Bake for 20-25 minutes, until piping hot and the top is extra crusty. Serve hot with a sprinkle of basil and extra parmesan.

 

ROMESCO & CAULIFLOWER CHEESE

by

Following on from my post about this glorious vegetable romesco. Here is a funky alternative to plain old cauliflower cheese. My Romesco & Cauliflower Cheese.

Well the weather has taken a turn for the worst today with nought but torrential rain and a cold wind. Not really summer weather so here is a comfort dish to keep you warm and cosy on these abnormal summer days. I must say though the ground does need the rain as it has been so dry for so long now. I love the vibrant green that the romesco brings to the dish and if you are wondering what it tastes like well it’s a cross between broccoli and cauliflower.


Save Print
ROMESCO & CAULIFLOWER CHEESE
Author: 
Recipe type: main course
Cuisine: British
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4 Persons
 
Ingredients
  • 1 romanesco cauliflower
  • 1 cauliflower
  • 2 tbsp butter, at room temperature
  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • 500ml whole milk
  • A 100g chunk of Cheddar
  • 2 stale slices of bread
  • A pinch of mixed spice or chilli powder
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
  • ½ tbsp olive oil
  • 2 large handfuls of watercress
Instructions
  1. Pull the leaves off both the cauliflowers. Chop them into florets. Pop the cauliflower florets in a steamer basket or colander.
  2. Pour boiling water into a steamer or pan. Pop the basket or colander above the hot water. Cover. Steam for 15-20 mins till the cauliflower is tender. Drain and tip into an ovenproof dish. Heat your oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4.
  3. Mash the butter and flour together with a fork. Pour 500ml milk into a pan. Bring to the boil. Stir the milk now and then to stop it burning. Take off the heat. Slowly whisk in the flour mixture, a little at a time, till it’s all combined and smooth.
  4. Put the pan back on the heat. Bring to the boil. Whisk and simmer for 2 mins till the sauce is thick. Take off the heat.
  5. Coarsely grate the Cheddar. Stir two-thirds of it into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over the cauliflowers.
  6. Blitz or grate the stale bread till you have a 25g batch of breadcrumbs. Mix the breadcrumbs with a pinch of mixed spice or cayenne pepper and the remaining cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the cauliflower. Bake for 20 mins till golden and bubbling.
  7. While the cauliflower cheese bakes, whisk the balsamic vinegar with ½ tbsp olive oil and a little salt and pepper.
  8. Rinse the watercress. Pat dry with kitchen paper. Pop into a bowl. Add the balsamic dressing. Toss to mix. Serve the salad with the cauliflower cheese.

 

QUICK ROASTED CAULIFLOWER CHEESE

by

In the second of my articles on “Everyday & Sunday” I am going to look at that perennial favourite, cauliflower cheese. For some reason since time began there always seems to be a version of cauliflower cheese in every vegetarian based cookbook. I should point out though that Everyday and Sunday is not strictly a veggie cookbook but it does contain mostly vegetarian dishes.


So what did we here at Knobbly Plate like about this recipe. Well first of all it definitely fits in with the affordable bit. The whole dish cost just £6.32 to make and there was easily enough for 4 people. That’s just £1.58 a portion for this classic comfort food. The most expensive ingredient was the gruyere cheese at £2.87 so it’s possible to make the dish even cheaper by substituting that for a mild cheddar which would probably halve the cost of the cheese.

The dish was simple enough to prepare but we found that the roasting part of ths cauliflower took double the amount of time it said on the recipe. Next and this is a personal preference I like my mustard so I doubled the amount to give it a bit more zing.
Taking all this into account it was a passable version of cauliflower cheese. I think however the one big change I would make in future would be to par boil the cauliflower first as we found the roasted version just a tad chewy. I would however say that if you have had a long day at work and can’t really face cooking then this version is definitely quick and easy to get from cupboard to plate.

Save Print
QUICK ROASTED CAULIFLOWER CHEESE
Author: 
Recipe type: Main Course
Cuisine: british
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4 Persons
 
Ingredients
  • 1 Cauliflower, Cut Into Florets
  • 1 tbs Olive Oil
  • 1 tsp Caster Sugar
  • 250g Creme Fraiche
  • 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
  • 100g Gruyere Cheese
Instructions
  1. Toss the cauliflower in the oil and sugar and roast for 20 mins at gas mark 6
  2. Mix all the other ingredients into a bowl with the grated gruyere.
  3. Toss the roasted cauliflower in the mixture.
  4. Place in an oven proof dish and scatter some grated gruyere over the top and roast in a hot oven until golden and bubbling.

 

ASPARAGUS, SAMPHIRE, MUSHROOM & ROASTED GARLIC TART

by

Yesterday was a good day. I got lots of cooking done from making bread to soup for lunch which I told you about yesterday and last night following inspiration from Malibu Kitchen’s recipe for a similar tart I decided to make a tart from ingredients in the fridge that were starting to get towards the end of their shelf life. There are quite a few ingredients in my tart which could make it a bit on the expensive side if you were to buy all the ingredients fresh. I think the point of this tart is to start with a basic pastry base a few eggs some cream and milk and then look at what you have in the fridge or in your veg basket and design your own tart from there.


I pretty much followed Malibu Kitchen’s recipe because I had most of what she has in her recipe in the fridge. I just had less of it. I did however have the remains of some wonderful samphire that I had bought form Julies Hut, my local crab and fresh fish shack here in Selsey. Can I just say at this point I absolutely love the salty taste of fresh samphire!

I decided I was not going to buy in puff pastry that the recipe originally required but make my own wholemeal pastry. Pastry is not that healthy at the best of times so making it wholemeal at least makes me feel better and I think it has a better taste to it also. I also made my tart slightly smaller so that it meant I would need one less egg and considerably less cream. I have not in the end priced this recipe up as I feel it is irrelevant as like you it is made up of odds and ends that have all been used in previous recipes. I guess though as a rough estimate for a tart that would feed 6 people the basic recipe works out at around £0.82 then you add your fillings.


Save Print
ASPARAGUS, SAMPHIRE, MUSHROOM & ROASTED GARLIC TART
Author: 
Recipe type: Tart
Cuisine: British
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6 Persons
 
Ingredients
  • For the Pastry
  • 150g Wholemeal Flour
  • 150g Plain Flour
  • 125g Butter
  • 1 Egg
  • For the Tart
  • 6 Eggs
  • 100ml Double Cream
  • 50ml Milk
  • 8 Roasted Garlic Cloves
  • 6 Asparagus Spears
  • Handful of Chestnut Mushrooms
  • Handful of Samphire
  • Bunch Snipped Chives
  • 25g Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
  1. To make the pastry
  2. Rub the butter into the mixed flours until you reach that breadcrumb stage.
  3. Add the beaten egg to bind it together.
  4. Place in the fridge for 15 mins then roll out into your tart tin and chill for a further hour.
  5. Place a piece of greaseproof paper in the tart tin and fill with baking beans. Blind bake foe 12 mins at gas mark 5. Take the beans out and bake for a further 5 mins until the base is crisp and golden.
  6. To make the roasted garlic.
  7. Place a whole garlic bulb in a oven proof container.
  8. Drizzle with olive oil and roast in the oven at gas mark 4 for 1 hour.
  9. To assemble the tart
  10. Whisk the eggs with the cream and milk.
  11. Add the cheese and snipped chives.
  12. Burst the cooled garlic cloves and spread over the bottom of the tart.
  13. Add the chopped mushrooms, samphire and asparagus spears.
  14. Pour over the egg mixture and place in a pre heated oven at gas mark 6 for 40 mins until golden and set.
  15. Allow the tart to chill to room temperature before serving.

 

 

EVERYBODY LOVES PIZZA, DON’T THEY?

by

 

It says it all in the title really. But there are those out there who simply do not like pizza. I suspect it’s because they have never made their own pizza but have always bought those horrible massed produced frozen ones from the supermarket. Even when you are just buying the base to put your own topping on your not getting that real pizza taste. Here at Knobbly Plate we absolutely love our pizza’s. They are a brilliant way to use up leftover vegetables and so so simple to make as you will see. They can also be as affordable as you like from costing just a few pence to those of you who like to add those special ingredients such as fresh anchovies and capers where the cost goes up to maybe a whole £1 for a 12 inch pizza.

Some historical  facts for you now….. Here at Knobbly Plate we think facts 6 & 7 fit in with our philosophy perfectly.

  1. The word “Pizza” was first documented in the Italian city of Gaeta in 997 AD.
  2. The ancestors of modern-day pizzas were simple flat breads, known asfoccasia in Italy that were sprinkled with different toppings.
  3. Foods similar to pizza can be traced back to the New Stone Age Period.
  4. Early pizzas were often sweet dishes, not savoury!
  5. Many historical records show that people have been adding different ingredients to bread to make it more appetizing.
  6. Most would never guess it, but pizza originally started off as a dish for poor people, sold in the streets and not a food for upper class people.
  7. It was in the 18th century that the poor around the area of Naples got accustomed to adding tomatoes to their yeast-based flat bread, and that’s how the modern pizza began!
  8. Today’s pizzas are characterized by a soft flatbread base, tomatoes and cheese.
  9. Pizza was introduced to the United States with the arrival of Italian immigrants in the 19th century.
  10. The first pizzeria in the United States was opened by Vincent Bruno in Chicago, in the year 1903.


Save Print
EVERYBODY LOVES PIZZA, DON’T THEY?
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4 Persons
 
Ingredients
  • For the Base
  • 10g Instant Yeast
  • 10g Salt
  • 300g Strong White Flour
  • 200ml Warm Water
  • For the Topping
  • 400g Tinned Tomatoes
  • 2 Garlic Cloves
  • 1 Ball Mozzarella
  • Few courgette ribbons( I used 6 on a 12 inch pizza)
  • ½ Red Pepper
  • ½ Red Onion
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Handful Torn Basil Leaves
Instructions
  1. In a bowl mix together the flour salt and yeast.
  2. Add the water and mix into a dough. Knead the dough until silky smooth and it forms a ball.
  3. Cover and leave to prove in a warm place until doubles in size.
  4. Roll out to 12 inches on a floured surface and place on your pizza try.
  5. Whilst the dough is proving make your tomato sauce by heating the tomatoes and crushed garlic until the tomatoes have thickened.
  6. Spread on to the pizza base.
  7. Scatter your toppings on top and bake in a very hot oven Gas Mark 9 for around 10mins until the pizza has puffed up and is bubbling.