We are having Aubergine Tortino for lunch.

Grilled aubergine slices baked in a tomato sauce, parmesan cheese and egg base.

A savory cake.

A small salad would cut the richness–but alas, there is no lettuce in the fridge.

However there is an overload of parsley.

I bought a ridiculous amount last Saturday anticipating making lots of green sauce for the chicken at the Independence Day lunch party. It’s still fresh in the fridge. I have a eureka moment…!

Parsley Salad!

Check the Internet for hints–but the Internet is down–as it often is in rural France.

Check my cookbook library and–BINGO! Riverford Farm’s second cookbook delivers.

Here’s my version:

In a pretty bowl mix:

• 50gms flat leaf parsley–roughly chopped (i.e. left a bit leafy)
• 50gms red onion–chopped finely
• 6 anchovy fillets–roughly chopped
• 2 tbs capers–left whole
• 1 tomato–skinned, seeded and chopped

For the vinaigrette:

• 1 tbs red wine vinegar,
• 4tbs olive oil
• a pinch of black pepper
• (no salt–as I’m using the anchovies, which are already salty; try feta if you don’t like anchovies)

Just before you eat:

With two forks and a light hand mix the contents of the bowl together.

The aim is to keep the delicate salad from getting soggy.

At the last moment add three spoonfuls of the vinaigrette to the bowl and again lightly fluff up the contents of the salad.

(Should you need more dressing, you have extra to hand.)

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Planned this post for Monday–but have been so overwhelmed by workmen in the house this week, it got delayed….

I had forgotten how delicious this spicy cauliflower dish is–and how easy to do.

Perfect supper material–especially when one is feeling slightly invaded with the daily presence of decorators/painters.

Didier and Jordan could not be bettered as workers and both are delightful, but there’s nowhere left to hide–they are painting all the doors and windows.

Monday’s post

That cauliflower sitting comfortably in the crisper–so unpushy these whey faced fellows–gets its chance tonight.

Retrieving it from obscurity saves my bacon.

Mondays can be a challenge if I forget to plan for them.

There’s an option to shop of course but I like to maintain Mondays as a marketing free day–I go to four markets a week.

Inspired by a recipe of Madhur Jaffrey–the cookery writer and actress.

for 2--as a main course:

1 medium cauliflower–the head separated into small bite size florets

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

2 cloves of garlic–chopped fine

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon salt

• Soak the cauliflower in water for a half hour–then drain the florets.

• Heat the oil in a pan large enough to hold the florets in a single layer.
• Add the fennel and mustard seeds and sauté until they start popping.
• Add the turmeric and the cayenne.
• Add the garlic to the pan and let it colour lightly.
• Add the drained florets, salt and 3 tablespoons of water.

• Cover and cook for 10 minutes–or until the cauliflower is almost tender.

Brown basmati rice, red lentil dhal and yogurt sauce accompanied it.

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A bit fanciful to call these CHOPS, though the soft chunkiness gives a similar sensation in the mouth.

The taste is pure cauliflower, which I love.

The egg(s) on top are optional but add to the interest.

• 1 large cauliflower
• simple dressing–3tbs olive oil and 1 tbs of red wine vinegar, salt and pepper
• grated parmesan to sprinkle
• salt and pepper

Heat the oven to 200c.

Rest the cauliflower base on a chopping board–making sure it’s secure and won’t wobble.

You are cutting top to toe.

With a large knife carefully cut down through the head in roughly one inch wide slices.

Fascinating to see the thick filigree of this beautiful vegetable in cross section.

Cover a shallowing baking tray with foil and brush with oil; arrange the chops on the tray. (You may wish tidy the pieces with a sharp knife, but don’t cut through the little connecting stems.)

Generously brush each chop with the dressing and season with salt and pepper.

Slip the tray in the top of the oven for about 30 minutes.

After about half an hour turn them over–easing them gently off the foil.

Top with a generous sprinkling of grated parmesan.

Pop the tray back into the oven for about another 15 minutes.

Wise to check during both oven sessions–as the thickness of the slices will vary.

Serve with a poached or fried egg and green salad.

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I got the wobbles about lunch yesterday.

There were to be four of us and I chose two recipes from my newest book, Mediterranean Cooking for Diabetics.

It was a first visit for one of the guests and, of course, I felt “on show”.

My menu: Pork chops with orange juice on a bed of white beans–a well-tested, simple, one-pot dish–and cheery pumpkin soup to start.

Comfort food for a cold, frosty morning.

(I love seeing the whited fields when I get up).

Panic set in while doing my exercises–a half-hour of bleary-eyed stretching on rising.

Exercise releases not just tied up muscles; the mind involuntarily starts to whirr.

It’s all too heavy–needs a lighter touch!

Maybe I should go buy some quail and frisée lettuce and Roquefort cheese, the classic blue cheese–produced not far from here.

I’d bought the chops two days earlier and the beautiful orange/ red pumpkin .

I’d make the soup for lunch and there’d be plenty left over for the weekend.

It was well planned.

Whirr, whirr, whirr…

This is just silly last-minute panic–trust your instinct–it’s all you have!

Didn’t you buy the house on instinct–a whim almost?

Yes, I never had a moment’s doubt–the panic then was that the sale would not go through–the owner would have seller’s remorse.

Here we still are 27 years later.

The soup was welcomed and the pork and bean dish could have had more sauce–but was fine.

Footnote:

Meredith–as often happens–stole the show with her lemon soufflé.

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This is not really about the fishcakes–they’ve featured before and in fact are one of the most popular recipes on my blog.

It’s about how a single item found in the market/shop/fridge can lead to lunch.

Yesterday at the organic market in Castres a producer with whom I regularly shop had a little bunch of dill hiding modestly behind the parsley.

I picked it out and it was perky with that fresh, inimitable scent.

She told me it had grown back unexpectedly. Dill, like coriander, is tricky to grow.

Dill is delicious with thinly sliced cucumber and red onion in a simple salad–but this bunch shouts FISHCAKES in my ear.

Thus, it’s fishcakes in a little tomato coulis for lunch today.

The recipe appears in my first cookbook–Delicious Dishes for Diabetics and in the new cookbook, Mediterranean Cooking for Diabetics.  A variation using smoked haddock appears in my second cookbook, Healthy Eating for Life, also delicious.

They are served with a yogurt sauce in the books.

The key point is there is no potato filler–so it’s low carb.

If you keep them small and cook them quickly, they’ll be crisp and brown on the outside and still succulent inside–so

It’s vital to make the pan hot.

Salmon Fishcakes with dill and grainy mustard

• 400 g/1 lb salmon fillet – skinless and checked for bones
• white of an egg
• 1 tbsp chickpea flour – of course, plain flour works as well, but chickpea flour (also called gram) is non-gluten, high fiber and higher protein value
• 1 tsp grain mustard
• juice of ½ lemon
• bunch of dill – chopped fine
• salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Cut up the salmon fillets in roughly equal-size pieces.

Put these in a mixer and pulse three or four times.

Avoid working them too much!  You don’t want slush at the end.

You could just cut them by hand if this suits better.

Place the the salmon in a bowl and add the egg white and the flour, then the mustard, lemon juice and the dill.

Season with salt and pepper.

It’s a good idea to taste the mix for seasoning at this point–the dill and the salt should come through.

Using a dessertspoon, scoop out a dollop.

Arrange these on a plate and refrigerate, if not using immediately.

When you are ready to eat, heat the oil in a frying pan to HOT.

Cook on a medium-high flame, crisping and browning the outside while making sure the interior cooks through.

Depending on the thickness this takes about a minute each side.

I found more dill in today’s market–any suggestions?

“Encore FISHCAKES!” you’ll cry, after sampling these.

(The tomato coulis tasted good but I think the yogurt sauce is a better partner to these delicious cakes.)

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