Vegetable Love
Discussion
No, not of the "Err, I just tripped over this courgette, Doctor" but those - dare I say it - vegetable dishes that are genuinely worth shouting about.
Had one this evening: baby artichokes. So simple, but soooo good.
Baby artichokes
Trim at the base, peel off the toughest outer leaves and soak in salted water for an hour or so to get rid of any 'stowaways'.
Simmer in 1/3 white wine, water and olive oil until artichokes are tender.
Remove artichokes and reduce what's in the pan on a fast boil until just oil remains.
Add grated lemon zest, salt, black pepper and pour over artichokes.
Chill, covered, or eat right away. (Difficult not to in the society of a slow-cooked lamb shank.)
Oh my.
Had one this evening: baby artichokes. So simple, but soooo good.
Baby artichokes
Trim at the base, peel off the toughest outer leaves and soak in salted water for an hour or so to get rid of any 'stowaways'.
Simmer in 1/3 white wine, water and olive oil until artichokes are tender.
Remove artichokes and reduce what's in the pan on a fast boil until just oil remains.
Add grated lemon zest, salt, black pepper and pour over artichokes.
Chill, covered, or eat right away. (Difficult not to in the society of a slow-cooked lamb shank.)
Oh my.
And another:
Piedmontese peppers
Halve red peppers from the stalk downwards and remove the white membrane and seeds.
Lay the pepper halves uppermost in a shallow ovenproof dish and stick a crushed (de-shooted) garlic clove in each one, followed by an anchovy, a halved skinned tomato, and a good glug of olive oil.
Roast on a moderate heat until the peppers are soft and slightly blackened around the edges.
Yummmmm.
Makes a good lunch dish with warm bread and chilled rosé.
Piedmontese peppers
Halve red peppers from the stalk downwards and remove the white membrane and seeds.
Lay the pepper halves uppermost in a shallow ovenproof dish and stick a crushed (de-shooted) garlic clove in each one, followed by an anchovy, a halved skinned tomato, and a good glug of olive oil.
Roast on a moderate heat until the peppers are soft and slightly blackened around the edges.
Yummmmm.
Makes a good lunch dish with warm bread and chilled rosé.
The entire contents of this book:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Plenty-Yotam-Ottolenghi/dp...
And a fair proportion of this one:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ottolenghi-Cookbook-Yotam/...
The bloke who wrote them isn't a vegeterian by any measure, but he loves vegetables. Some utterly amazing dishes in both books.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Plenty-Yotam-Ottolenghi/dp...
And a fair proportion of this one:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ottolenghi-Cookbook-Yotam/...
The bloke who wrote them isn't a vegeterian by any measure, but he loves vegetables. Some utterly amazing dishes in both books.
shirt said:
no idea what its called, but there was an aubergine dish I kept getting served in israel as a side. I could eat that all day, and had some boxed up for the plane home.
the ex was veggie, had fun creating dishes for her I wouldn't have had bothered with otherwise.
Is it moutabal? the ex was veggie, had fun creating dishes for her I wouldn't have had bothered with otherwise.
I'm intrigued by this, however the raw garlic does put me off a bit.
uncinqsix said:
Ordered. What a find 
no, though it does sound interesting.
hard to describe 8mths on, but it was served cold and seen more often in the kebab/falafel places (after beers at £5 a pint, you deserve fast food and the shwarma was irresistibly good).
it tasted like it'd been cooked then left to cool blocks of aubergine were obvious and there must have been tomato in their. it hit everwhere on your tongue at once, quite rich with a garlic/citrus aftertaste, coriander and a healthy chilli kick.
just thinking about it is making me salivate it was that good. why do I have to live somewhere with no lebanese/middle eastern restaurants?
hard to describe 8mths on, but it was served cold and seen more often in the kebab/falafel places (after beers at £5 a pint, you deserve fast food and the shwarma was irresistibly good).
it tasted like it'd been cooked then left to cool blocks of aubergine were obvious and there must have been tomato in their. it hit everwhere on your tongue at once, quite rich with a garlic/citrus aftertaste, coriander and a healthy chilli kick.
just thinking about it is making me salivate it was that good. why do I have to live somewhere with no lebanese/middle eastern restaurants?
shirt said:
no, though it does sound interesting.
hard to describe 8mths on, but it was served cold and seen more often in the kebab/falafel places (after beers at £5 a pint, you deserve fast food and the shwarma was irresistibly good).
it tasted like it'd been cooked then left to cool blocks of aubergine were obvious and there must have been tomato in their. it hit everwhere on your tongue at once, quite rich with a garlic/citrus aftertaste, coriander and a healthy chilli kick.
just thinking about it is making me salivate it was that good. why do I have to live somewhere with no lebanese/middle eastern restaurants?
Surrey's not exactly bristling with them either. Shame since North African / Middle-Eastern cuisine is probably my favourite.hard to describe 8mths on, but it was served cold and seen more often in the kebab/falafel places (after beers at £5 a pint, you deserve fast food and the shwarma was irresistibly good).
it tasted like it'd been cooked then left to cool blocks of aubergine were obvious and there must have been tomato in their. it hit everwhere on your tongue at once, quite rich with a garlic/citrus aftertaste, coriander and a healthy chilli kick.
just thinking about it is making me salivate it was that good. why do I have to live somewhere with no lebanese/middle eastern restaurants?
That dish sounds very good and worth a post to see if anyone can identify it. I think I had something very similar at one of the 'Tas' Anatolian restaurants as a vegetable meze (and now can't find on the menu).
mine too, beating thai & japanese (i LOVE both) into second by some margin.
have you ever been to an ethiopian restaurant? highly recommended. stumbled upon one in tel aviv. from the reception we got on walking in I'm not sure they were used to non-black customers, but the lack of menus wasn't a problem. there were 2 guys eating a lovely smelling meat dish out of a huge whicker bowl. no cutlery, just strips of what I can only describe as pancake sized cold, thin pikelets. we ordered that for 6 plus 2 veggie options. one of the best dining experiences ive had.
have you ever been to an ethiopian restaurant? highly recommended. stumbled upon one in tel aviv. from the reception we got on walking in I'm not sure they were used to non-black customers, but the lack of menus wasn't a problem. there were 2 guys eating a lovely smelling meat dish out of a huge whicker bowl. no cutlery, just strips of what I can only describe as pancake sized cold, thin pikelets. we ordered that for 6 plus 2 veggie options. one of the best dining experiences ive had.
injera is the bread yes? the meat was 2 types of tibs. tibs firfir was one iirc.
one was a spiced beef stew, the other a distinctly aquired taste - raw beef that somehow managed to taste of haribo.
on topic, there were 3 veg dishes - a sweet potato thing akin to mashed bombay potato, a great spinach dish, and one that may have been pumpkin.
as mentioned, great food and a great experience. by far the cheapest meal we had in israel too - about ten quid per head with beers.
one was a spiced beef stew, the other a distinctly aquired taste - raw beef that somehow managed to taste of haribo.
on topic, there were 3 veg dishes - a sweet potato thing akin to mashed bombay potato, a great spinach dish, and one that may have been pumpkin.
as mentioned, great food and a great experience. by far the cheapest meal we had in israel too - about ten quid per head with beers.
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