Robin Ellis

Spaghettini marinara–part 2(!)

September 16, 2013 by Robin Ellis

Oh dear–I left out the cooking of the pasta, a rather crucial element of the dish!

(Reminds me of the time I was cooking the Lamb Tagine recipe in Delicious Dishes for Diabetics and couldn’t understand why the finished pot looked so depleted, until I found the flageolet beans hiding in their bowl on the counter top.)

Thanks to Tunnza for tipping me the wink in a comment.

This sauce is cooked very quickly to retain the freshness of the tomatoes, so it’s best to put the pasta in the boiling salted water just after starting to cook the sauce.

The timing should work but if the pasta is done before the sauce is ready, drain it and put it back in the hot saucepan with a swirl of olive oil.

When the sauce is ready add the pasta to it and turn it over thoroughly.

Posted in other sides to this life | 7 Comments »

Spaghettini marinara

September 16, 2013 by Robin Ellis

Fisherman’s pasta (marinara translated) from Naples–equally tasty for landlubbers.

Simple fare for summer supper.

Best done with ripe tomatoes–in our case catching the last of a disappointing season–and slices of new garlic.

for 4

16oz/400gms wholewheat spaghettini–(we prefer this unrefined version now.)

1.5lb/750gms fresh ripe tomatoes–peeled and chopped small

4 garlic cloves–peeled and sliced

4 tbsp olive oil

3 large basil leaves or more–snipped into pieces

salt

parmesan for grating

Heat the oil in a medium pan.

Add the garlic and cook for about a minute–it should start to soften.

An earlier version with a chili added–last night I left it out

Add the tomatoes, the salt and over a highish heat bring to a strong simmer.

Cook for about three minutes stirring often to further break up the tomatoes.

Snip some basil over the finished dish, turn it in and add a swirl of olive oil.

Serve with a piece of parmesan and a grater to hand.

One of the great tastes of summer for me–the juices from ripe tomatoes melding with good olive oil; so a soup spoon for scooping them up comes in handy too.

Posted in Food, Recipes | Tagged pasta marinara | 10 Comments »

Peperonata frittata

September 8, 2013 by Robin Ellis

A two-in-one recipe!

This pretty frittata (Italian omelette) requires a good dollop of peperonata turned into the egg mixture.

Frittatas are cooked SLOW SLOW (omelettes are cooked FAST).

Slow–to stop them drying out.

After a shy start, tomatoes are everywhere at the moment and local peppers are ripening, turning from green to red and yellow.

Time for one of my favourite CLASSICS of Italian summer vegetarian cooking!

Peperonata–a sauce made from fresh, ripe tomatoes, red and yellow sweet peppers, onion and garlic.

Serve it on a piece of toast as a snack with a teaspoon of tapinade on top; or as a vegetable accompaniment; or reheated with a poached egg in the middle.

If you pour a little olive oil over the surface of any left-over sauce (should you have any!) in a plastic storage box, it will stay fresh longer.

First the peperonata: (This recipe comes from my next cookbook, Healthy Eating for Life, coming out in January 2014).

750gms/1.5 lbs red and yellow peppers (or just red if you can’t find yellow)–seeded and sliced in strips

1 tbsp olive oil

350 gms/12 oz ripe tomatoes–peeled and chopped (peel by dropping them in a bowl of boiling water for a moment, then the skins comes off easily)

1 medium onion–sliced thinly

2 cloves of garlic–sliced

2 bay leaves

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a medium pan you can cover.
Add the onion and soften it for five minutes; then add the sliced garlic–turning it in the onion and oil and cook for a couple of more minutes.
Add the pepper slices and the bay leaves, turning these over in the mixture.

Cover the pan and cook for 15 minutes to soften the peppers, turning them a couple of times.
Add the tomatoes, some salt and pepper, mix them in and cover the pan again–let this cook gently for 20 minutes.

If the mix looks too liquid, cook it another 5 minutes or so uncovered.
Add the teaspoon of balsamic and mix in well.

Now the Frittata

6 eggs

4 tbsp peperonata sauce

salt and pepper

1 heaped tbsp parmesan cheese–grated

Break the eggs into large bowl.

Whisk them together.

Fold in the peperonata and the parmesan cheese.

Season with salt and pepper.

Turn everything over so the sauce is distributed evenly in the egg mix.

Heat the oil in a small frying pan (8.5″/22cm).

When it is hot pour in the frittata mix.

Turn the heat down to the lowest setting. A heat disperser (flame tamer) is a good idea.

It will take about 25 minutes–but keep a watch.

When only a small puddle of egg mix remains uncooked, slide the pan under a hot grill for a minute to finish off.

Using a spatula or fish slice…

ease the frittata carefully from the pan and slide it onto a serving plate.

Serves four as a starter…

…or two for lunch.

All that was left!

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes | Tagged frittata, Peperonata | 10 Comments »

Shakshouka

August 28, 2013 by Robin Ellis

A taster from my new cook book Healthy Eating for Life due to be published on January 8th 2014–my birthday!

We had it for lunch today–with some green beans, as suggested in the recipe–spiced up with a couple of ripe tomatoes and feta.

A traditional North African favourite, this version is adapted from a recent discovery in Ottolenghi’s sumptuous vegetable cookbook, Plenty.

The name means “mixture” in Tunisian–better to stick to Shakshouka I reckon!

It is often served in individual cast iron pans, which I imagine adds to the pleasure–one pan and ALL for ME!

It makes a pretty picture on the plate—a perfect light summer lunch.

for 2

1/2 tsp cumin seeds–dry roasted in a medium pan

1 large onion–red or yellow, sliced

60ml/1/4 cup olive oil

2 red peppers--washed, deseeded and sliced thin

1 bay leaf, thyme leaves from a few sprigs, 2 tablespoons of parsley

3 large fresh ripe tomatoes or tinned [canned]–roughly chopped with the juices

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper and a pinch–a few strands–of saffron (optional)

¼ cup/60 ml water

2 or 4 eggs

salt and pepper

Dry roast in a small frying pan the cumin seeds for a minute or two, taking care not to burn them.

Heat the oil in the pan over a medium-high flame and cook the onion for 5 minutes to soften it.

Add the peppers and three herbs (bay, thyme and parsley) and turn everything over thoroughly.

Cover the pan for 5 minutes to start the softening of the peppers.

Cook a further 5 minutes uncovered.

Add the tomatoes, the water, a little at a time to avoid diluting the sauce, the two spices (cayenne pepper and saffron) and season with salt and pepper.

Cook for 15 minutes on a low heat–covering for a short time if you think the peppers need further softening.

The result should be a lightly spicy sauce in which to poach the eggs.

Carefully break the eggs (2 or 4–your choice) into the sauce–leaving space between them.

Cover the pan and cook, over a lowish heat, until the eggs are cooked to your taste.

Reluctantly–I shared the pan’s contents with Meredith!

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes | Tagged Green bean, shakshouka, Yotam Ottolenghi | 22 Comments »

Aubergine Slices with a Walnut and Garlic Spread

August 26, 2013 by Robin Ellis

I bought these two beauties at the organic market on Thursday because–well–simply because they were so beautiful. How could you not!?

I published this photo on Facebook and asked people to guess what they are.

Great responses! Most plumped for aubergines [eggplants]–but Elaine Adams, with her tongue firmly in cheek, commented:

“It looks like my two favourite things–aubergines and tomatoes–had babies!”

Following the photo showing how they were transformed, several readers asked for the recipe.

This comes from page 24 of Delicious Dishes for Diabetics.

Serves 4

Can be prepared ahead of time and served warm or tepid.

2 large aubergines

olive oil for brushing the oven tray and the aubergines

salt

2–3 tbsp red/white wine vinegar

Sauce:

3–4 cloves of garlic – crushed with a little salt (the amount of garlic is a matter of taste–the younger/fresher the better though)

60g/2 oz walnuts – shelled (if you do this yourself, take care no pieces of shell get left with the nuts)

2 tbsp olive oil

handful of parsley–chopped

Wash and cut the aubergines into about 1.5 cm/1/2 inch slices.
Salt them and put them in a colander for an hour or more, to drain off their bitter juice. (wise move, if you have the time–this way they soak up less oil!)
Dry them thoroughly and brush generously with olive oil on both sides.
Heat the oven to 240°C/475°F/Gas Mark 9.
Put the aubergines on a well-oiled shallow oven tray.

Cook them on the top shelf of the oven for about 20 minutes until lightly browned–turning after about 10 minutes.

While the aubergines are in the oven, make the sauce.

Mix the crushed garlic with a tablespoon of olive oil.
Chop the walnuts in a processor or pound them in a pestle and mortar. (Not too fine!)
Combine the chopped walnuts and garlic with the parsley in a bowl and add another tablespoon or so of oil.
Mix well and check for salt.

When the aubergines are nicely browned on both sides, remove from the oven.

Transfer them to a serving platter, brush with vinegar, then spread the delicious sauce on top.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

It’s one of our favorite starters–meaty too…

Here’s an aubergine that thinks it’s an animal!

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes | Tagged aubergine slices with walnut and garlic spread | 17 Comments »

Easy Fish Stew with a tomato and white wine sauce

August 25, 2013 by Robin Ellis

This recipe comes from Delicious Dishes for Diabetics–post publication we’ve dined on it several times at friends’ houses!

It’s a boon for busy people.

It’s simple to prepare and good for company because you can prepare the sauce ahead of time. Then it’s just a matter of reheating the sauce fifteen minutes before you are ready to eat, slipping in the fish and minutes later–hey presto!

Serves 4

4 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion – chopped
2 cloves of garlic – chopped
2 tbsp chopped parsley
8 tbsp white wine
300 g/12 oz summer ripe tomatoes or good tinned tomatoes and their juice–broken up

800 g/1.8 lb white fish fillet–hake, haddock, cod are good choices–washed, patted dry

salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a pan large enough to take all the fish in a single layer.
Add the onion and garlic and cook gently until the onion is soft and the garlic begins to colour.
Add the parsley and stir in.
Turn up the heat and add the wine – let it bubble for a minute or so.
Add the tomatoes and fold them in.
Turn the heat down and, stirring occasionally, cook gently for 20 minutes.
Season for taste.
When you are ready to use the sauce, bring it to a simmer.
Add the fish and cook gently for about 5 minutes.

Turn the fish pieces over carefully and cook for a further 5 minutes. (Depending on the thickness of your fish, it might take longer.)

We had it with brown basmati rice and green beans for a simple supper at our friend Ann’s the other night, under a starry sky.

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes | Tagged simple fish stew | 6 Comments »

Green beans with an anchovy, caper and cherry tomato sauce

August 22, 2013 by Robin Ellis

Seasonal vegetables are at last piled high in the markets now–everything is late this year–and haricot verts [green beans] are perennial favorites here.

Alice, our generous French neighbour, delivered a bagful, freshly picked this morning from her pottage. We’ll eat them today unadorned, apart from a little salt and a swirl of the best olive oil we have.

This is a handy alternative.

Our friend, Jane, made these for us recently and reminded me that the recipe is based on one in the little vegetable book from the River Café collection.

The beans are lightly coated with an anchovy and caper sauce with sweet cherry tomato quarters and basil added. If you are not keen on anchovies, leave them out–it’s still worth doing.

We had them as a starter last night.

for 4

1lb/450gms green beans–the connecting top nipped off

8 anchovy fillets–snipped into bits with a pair of scissors

1 tbsp capers–fat ones are best

4 tblsp olive oil + extra if needed

juice of a lemon

handful nicoise olives–stoned

handful ripe cherry tomatoes–carefully quartered; watch out for your fingers!

basil leaves to scatter

Cook the beans in plenty of salted water to just tender.
Drain them, put them in a mixing bowl and coat them with two tablespoons of olive oil (best you have available).
In another bowl combine the lemon juice and the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil.
Snip in the anchovy fillets and add the capers and the stoned olives.
Season with black pepper and salt–bearing in mind the saltiness of the anchovies and olives.
Add another tablespoon of olive oil, if needed.
Spoon this sauce over the beans and mix.
Carefully transfer the beans to a favourite serving plate and scatter over the tomatoes and basil.

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes | Tagged green bean starter | 8 Comments »

Left-over chicken salad

August 20, 2013 by Robin Ellis

“The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found.”
― Calvin Trillin

One suspects–hopes even, that there were other remarkable things about Mr. Trillin’s mum!

Maybe you have some leftover chicken waiting patiently in the fridge for its turn at table. We had some from niece Alice’s birthday dinner (the original meal!) a couple of nights ago. (She just turned 15.)

This yogurt and Dijon mustard sauce bathes the bite-size pieces in a lightly piquant sauce flavored with tarragon vinegar.

Add other things you might have left in the fridge and you have an interestingly textured light salad for lunch–and an emptier fridge.

I used:

left-over chicken–off the bone

1 tbsp dijon mustard

2tbsp yogurt

2tbsp white wine tarragon vinegar

6tbsp olive oil

1 medium spring onion/scallion

half a ripe avocado–diced

salt and pepper

1tbsp chopped parsley and chives

pan roasted sunflower seeds

Whisk the mustard, yogurt and vinegar together.
Whisk in the oil tablespoon by tablespoon–taking care it doesn’t curdle.
Season to taste and add the herbs.
Fold in the onion, avocado and chicken.
Turn everything onto a favourite plate and sprinkle over the sunflower seeds.

Other possible additions: radishes and/or half a peeled, seeded, diced, salted and drained cucumber, diced celery, walnuts…

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes | Tagged calvin trillin's mother, dijon mustard, left-over chicken salad, tarragon vinegar | 5 Comments »

Spaghettini carrettiera

August 18, 2013 by Robin Ellis

Sicilian cart drivers pasta, apparently–in olden times.

Certainly brightens up a person’s day, after a long haul–see “post meal” image below!

Long haul–just arrived in town…

Summer fare often made with uncooked ingredients that are in season–new garlic, fresh basil and ripe tomatoes. In winter switch to tinned tomatoes–drained.

It is simple and quick.

Presumably there were as many versions as there were carts and horses–this time the sauce is cooked for a short time to let the hint of heat kick in and the garlic to meld.

for 4

6 tblsp olive oil
6 medium garlic cloves–chopped fine
a good handful of basil leaves–chopped
1 small red chili–chopped
700gms/1.5lbs fresh tomatoes–skinned and seeded then chopped.
salt and pepper
400 gms spaghettini

Heat the oil in a medium pan.

Add the next five ingredients and cook them for fifteen minutes at a simmer.

Turn off the heat.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the pasta.

Drain when done to your taste and add to the sauce.

Serve with grated parmesan if you wish (Meredith did); I was happy with the garlic and chili and a swirl of best olive oil.

my word that was tasty, let’s play some music!

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes | Tagged cart drivers' pasta, fresh garlic, fresh tomatoes, vegetarian pasta | 12 Comments »

Post from Edinburgh

August 13, 2013 by Robin Ellis

Time to “festival”!

Here for a week in Edinburgh.

First festival visit for nearly a quarter of a century–hard to believe how quickly the time flies.

We have achieved a modest total–for festival goers–of five plays, a variety show, a stand-up comedian, an art exhibit on the subject of witches and a talk by a lobby correspondent dishing the dirt on politicians, so far.

Meredith can count a visit to the book fair, a visit to the jazz club and ride on the bumper cars on top…