Smoky Eggplants and Tomatoes

Adding a smoky flavour to vegetables and other foods – garlic, eggplant, tomatoes, beetroot, tofu etc – adds an additional flavour dimension to dishes. It is worth doing for a special occasion. Today’s recipe is a Greek-inspired dish. I have added the instructions for smoking the foods in the recipe, but if you are not inclined to go to this effort, chargrill your veg in your normal, favourite way.

Similar recipes include Smoky Aubergine with Tomatoes and Sweet Peppers, Smoky Aubergine and Asparagus Salad, Lebanese Roast Potatoes and Eggplants, Baked Eggplant and Zucchini with Chickpeas, and Roasted Aubergine with Garlic Sauce.

Browse all of our Eggplant recipes and Tomato dishes. Our Greek dishes are here. Or explore our Early Autumn dishes.

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Smoked Beetroot with Yoghurt and Caramelised Nuts

I have always been a little timid to try smoking food, although friends have given me the instructions for smoking tofu and also garlic. I had in the back of my mind that I might purchase one of those smoker trays for my Weber Q one day but, you know, never got around to it. And I have absolutely no desire to smoke out my kitchen and ruin my wok smoking food on the stove top, setting off all smoke alarms.

But my dear friend Ottolenghi has a recipe for smoked beetroot, and one cool Autumn morning, the Weber Q is lit, a smoker fashioned out of foil trays and tin foil. The tray is layered with rice and lemon rind and thyme, beetroot is placed on top, it is wrapped tightly, and my smoker is made.  The recipe is from Plenty More.

A timer is essential, as the flavour of the beetroot becomes too intense if smoked for too long. If you are smoking inside, a strong extractor fan is highly recommended.

This recipe is one with multiple steps, process and pots and pans. Smoke the beetroot. Bake the smoked beetroot. Make the salad. Toast the nuts. Make the caramel. Spread on a tray with nuts. Make the yoghurt sauce. Quite a few pots and pans along the way.

But it is a stunner of a salad – both in flavour and looks – and a fantastic way to open a fancy meal. The smokiness of the beetroot with the sweet-bitter caramel, both lightened with the curd. Heaven.

It is Ottolenghi day on the blog – one of two days per month where we publish all the latest posts of recipes we have tried in our project of cooking from Ottolenghi books – currently we are cooking from Plenty More, but not ignoring his other books completely. Note that I often slightly massage the recipes to suit what is available from our garden and pantry.

Similar recipes include Kohlrabi, Beetroot and Celery Leaf Salad, Beetroot and Yoghurt Salad, Beetroot with Yoghurt-Tahini Dressing, and Roast Beetroot with Sweetcorn.

Browse all of our Beetroot dishes. Our Ottolenghi dishes from Plenty More are here. We have written about our experiences cooking through this book. Or explore our Early Autumn dishes.

Marinated Roasted Mushrooms

This is a favourite recipe for mushrooms – shiitake, portabello, field mushrooms, brown mushrooms – and the mushrooms can be roasted in the oven, cooked in a covered BBQ, or grilled. Your choice. Today, they have been made in the oven, but BBQing them is a real favourite.

To BBQ them, they go into a foil pan that has been oiled lightly. They can even go straight on the grill for the BBQ. For the oven they perch on a baking paper lined tray.

Before cooking, the mushrooms are marinated in a mixture of garlic, ginger, chilli and coriander, with a touch of honey.

Similar recipes include Stuffed Mushrooms on the BBQ, Grill Mushroom and Red Onion Salad, Shiitake Mushroom Sauce, and Mushrooms for Toast.

Browse more recipes for the BBQ, and other Mushroom dishes. Or explore our Early Summer recipes.

Schiacciata with Cheese Topping

If Focaccia is half way between pizza and bread, then Schiacciata is half way between Focaccia and Pizza. It is flat and usually infused beautifully with olive oil.

Originally cooked in the ashes of the hearth, schiacciata, meaning squashed, is flat and 2 – 3 cm thick (but can be thinner). Variations of the bread are made throughout Italy. In Tuscany, it is simply brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt. Herbs such as rosemary can be added. A sweet version with grapes and sugar is also made.

This recipe with onion and cheese is great weekday lunch-at-home fare, even for Sunday night supper. It is great with a hearty soup. Maybe Onion Soup would be fabulous. In late Summer, pair it with ripe, bursting figs and celebrate the end of summer.

You might also liked our Focaccia recipes. Our pizza recipes are here. If you need pizza dough, the recipes are here. Feel free to browse other recipes from our Retro Recipes series. Or explore our Late Spring dishes.

Grilled Pecorino Wrapped in Vine Leaves

Do you have a grape vine, or access to grape vine leaves? Then this is for you. A great tea time snack, they are definitely delightful.

Pecorino is wrapped in vine leaves and then grilled until the cheese melts and the leaves crisp a little. You can even cook these on a BBQ.

Grape leaves are best picked from grape vines in the Spring and Early Summer, while they are still tender. Select young whole, medium leaves. Make sure  that the leaves haven’t been sprayed.

Similar recipes include Dolmades, Burghul Dolmas, Baked Yoghurt in Vine Leaves, Mushrooms Baked in Grape Vine Leaves and Grape Vine Leaf Powder.

Browse our grape vine leaf recipes, our Italian dishes and our French recipes. Or take some time to explore our collection of Late Spring recipes.

Sweet Pepper Salad | Roasted Red Capsicum Salad

The BBQ is lit to make a quick lunch, so afterwards I roast some red capsicums while we eat. These will make a super salad to go with dinner. There is definitely something about roasted capsicums, skin removed, flesh soft. It evokes summer nights with its colour and utter deliciousness.

This recipe is a quick version of the delicious Peperoni in Padella.

Similar recipes include Sweet Onions with Roasted Peppers, Roasted Red Pepper with Mozzarella and White Beans, and Sweet Red Pepper Salads.

Browse more of our salads and explore our Capsicum recipes. Or check out our BBQ recipes. Alternatively, explore our Mid Spring recipes.

Char Grilled Banana Chillies Stuffed with Tomatoes and Spices | Bharwan Mirch

While this dish can be cooked on the stove top or in the oven, it is the perfect dish for a weekend BBQ. Served with yoghurt and flatbread, it is a perfect light weekend lunch.

Use either hot or mild banana chillies. Hot Banana chillies contrast well with the more mild filling. Mild Banana chillies have a mild sweet flavour, despite their chilli-related name. They are not at all hot or spicy. And we temper the heat of the spices in the stuffing by using warming spices and only a little chilli, adjusted to your taste.

Bharwan means stuffed in Hindi. The stuffing is made from chickpea flour and spices, moistened with tomatoes. You can basically add any ingredient of your choice into the stuffing. The combination of the banana chillies and mild tangy stuffing is quite flavoursome and this dish makes a great light lunch or side dish. It is a recipe from Rajasthan in India.

Similar recipes include Stuffed Okra with Onions and Spices, Stuffed Mushrooms, and Tomatoes Stuffed with Rice.

Feel free to explore our Capsicum recipes, and our Indian recipes. Our Indian Essentials are here, and Late Spring recipes can be explored here.

Mushrooms Baked in Grape Vine Leaves

Grape vine leaves add a subtle flavour to dishes that are cooked on them – even wood-fired BBQs using grape vine “wood” adds a subtle taste and aroma to foods cooked over that fire.

It is a wonder that we don’t use vine leaves more for baking foods. As well as the flavour, the leaves themselves can be eaten if you have baked in a low heat (otherwise, they go a little crispy).

Elizabeth David in her beautiful book An Omelette and a Glass of Wine, gives a recipe for baking mushrooms with vine leaves. She first saw the recipe in Edmond Ridhardin’s 1913 book L’Art du Bien Manger. It is as good today as it was a century ago.

Similar recipes include Baked Yoghurt in Vine Leaves, Grilled Pecorino in Vine Leaves, Grilled Mushroom Salad, Grape Vine Leaf Powder, French Slow Cooked Mushrooms, and Shiitake Mushroom Sauce.

You might like to explore other Elizabeth David recipes, or browse Mushroom recipes. This dish could also be cooked in a covered BBQ – have a look at other BBQ dishes also. Or simply scroll through all of our Mid Spring recipes.

BBQ’d Spiced Asparagus

This recipe comes from the Asparagus Growers in Victoria, and it is quite a Summer hit. It is the recipe attached to the bunches of Asparagus we buy in the shop. With the BBQ (Grill) heated to roast some eggplant, it seemed perfect to throw the Asparagus on too. The asparagus spears are coated in a yummy dressing with cumin and coriander powder before being quickly grilled on the BBQ hotplate. Straight to the table from there, it is a quick and easy recipe.

AND we put the leftover oil-lemon juice-spice mixture to good use  in the Grilled Eggplant with Tahina (the reason the eggplants were being roasted). A perfectly timed coincidence.

Are you after other Asparagus Recipes? Try Asparagus Risotto, Asparagus Pesto, and Asparagus Soup.

Are you looking for BBQ’d Recipes? Try Grilled Pecorino in Vine Leaves, Stuffed Mushrooms, Spicy Potatoes, and Marinated Eggplant.

Feel free to browse all of our Asparagus recipes and all of our BBQ recipes. Or take some time to explore our Late Summer dishes.

Stuffed Mushrooms on the BBQ

On a sunny and beautiful day in Autumn or Spring it is tempting to fire up the BBQ on the balcony, and get the field mushrooms out of the fridge.

Mushrooms cook well on Aussie BBQs (I guess these are called grills in the US). Drizzled with oil, cooked over a medium heat until softening, topped with some fresh and beautiful ingredients, and served when bubbling and sizzling. Truly a taste worthy of an outdoor meal.

Similar recipes include Grilled Pecorino in Vine Leaves, Mushrooms Baked in Vine Leaves, Risotto with Mushrooms, and Slow Cooked Creamy Mushrooms.

Feel free to browse our Mushroom recipes and our BBQ recipes. Check out our easy Mid Autumn recipes.

Marinated Eggplant on the BBQ with Tomatoes and Asparagus

It is really nice to come home from work, turn the heater on, and light the BBQ. With a bit of forethought, I had remembered to marinate some eggplant in the morning and left it to sit for the day in the fridge. Eggplant has a wonderful ability to absorb flavours, and the smokiness that cooking it on a hot plate on the BBQ makes a surprisingly divine dish.

While the BBQ is hot, cook some side dishes too – tomatoes, onions, fennel, asparagus, capsicum – there are so many vegetables that are also BBQ-friendly. And the aromas that surround you while they are cooking! Aaah, life is good.

Are you looking for other Eggplant dishes? Try Eggplants in a Creamy Peanut Gravy, Baked Eggplant Stuffed with Cheese and Tomatoes, and Aubergines in Coconut Milk.

Or are you trying to find BBQ recipes? Try BBQ’d Spiced Asparagus, Stuffed Mushrooms on the BBQ, and Pizza on the BBQ.

Feel free to browse all of our Eggplant recipes. Or you might like to browse all of our BBQ recipes. Or explore our Early Autumn recipe collection.

Oven Baked Tomatoes

Tomatoes are very special fruits, very versatile ingredients that match well both with so many cooking methods and with a variety of other ingredients. Can you imagine a world without the humble tomato?

This recipe is very simple, paring it back to the basics. Yet the result, as so often is the case, is outstanding. Bake a double batch and use the left over tomatoes in salads, sauces and soups, using them whole, chopped or pureeing them for their intended use.

The tomatoes can be cooked in the oven or in or on a BBQ. It is a perfect vehicle for home grown organic tomatoes. In autumn, serve with grilled polenta and a salad.

Similar recipes include Confit Tomatoes, and Tomato Kurma.

Feel free to browse our Tomato recipes and BBQ recipes. Check out our easy Mid Autumn recipes too.

Tandoori Aloo | Spicy Marinated Potatoes Roasted, Fried or BBQ’d

Who doesn’t like tandoor-style dishes? Although we can’t normally have a tandoor oven at home, cooking tandoor dishes in the oven or on the stove top, even on the BBQ, is very possible. These Tandoor Potatoes are amazing – don’t expect them to last very long in your kitchen. A perfect snack, or a side dish for your meal.

Are you are looking for Potato recipes? Try Aloo Gobi, Potato Subzi, and Aloo Palak Subzi.

You might like to browse our other Potato recipes, and our Snack recipes. You will find all of our Indian recipes here. And explore our Early Autumn dishes.

Eggplants, Garlic, Lemon and Rosemary | Marinated Eggplants for the BBQ or Indoor Grill

As we launch into Autumn, every sunny day is precious. While the sun shines, marinate some eggplant and toss it on the grill for a smoky lunch with some BBQ’d onions, hot lentils and a salad.

You might also like to try other BBQ dishes, including Fennel on the BBQ, Baked Pears on the BBQ and Bananas on the BBQ. Browse our Eggplant recipes here and here.

Baked Garlicky Eggplant with Feta

Perfect eggplants are a glory to look at. Shimmering purple, with a promise of so much under that sometimes tough outer purple layer. Then ther are the Thai globular eggplants, gorgeous again in their sheer perfection. It is rare that a week goes by without us slice or dicing, baking or grilling eggplants. Japanese cuisine, Indian dishes and Middle Eastern food are just rife with the best of ways to use eggplants.

Nigel Slater though, is generally purely British in his approach to food, and unashamedly so. He doesn’t like to steam eggplant, for example (one of my favourite ways with this vegetable. However I love his books and his one-eyed approach. At the moment I am finding Nigel Slater’s Kitchen Diaries I and II very inspiring for evening supper-type meals. Quick to cook, open to adjustment, not too many steps or ingredients, his (vegetarian) food is my food at the moment. I am often home late-ish, so something quick and healthy is perfect for me.

And just to break the stereotype, this dish have overtones of, perhaps, a combination of Greek, Italian and Middle Eastern food.

Are you looking for other Eggplant dishes? Try Cheese and Eggplant Torte, Baked Eggplant Stuffed with Cheese and Tomatoes, and Roasted Eggplants with a Garlic Sauce, Pinenuts and Basil.

Our favourites are Brinjal Fry (Indian Deep Fried Eggplant) and a Persian Saffron and Rosewater Scented Eggplant.

You might like to browse all of our delicious eggplant recipes and other dishes from Nigel’s books. Or find inspiration in our Late Autumn recipes.