What are you cooking now?

[Flosshilde]

Fantastic in curry..... will try to try your sliced longways version.

I've got a good recipe for aubergine, chick pea & spinach curry if you're interested.

[vinteuil]

I've got a good recipe for aubergine, chick pea & spinach curry if you're interested.

... yes, wd certainly be interested - can you go public on this, or is the information restricted?

[EdgeleyRob]

Fry up tonight and a curry tomorrow!

Proper nosebag.

[Flosshilde]

... yes, wd certainly be interested - can you go public on this, or is the information restricted?

Here you are -

1 kg/2.25 lb fresh spinach
4 tbsp olive oil
2 medium red onions, chopped (I've made it with ordinary onions, which are fine)
200g/7oz tinned chickpeas, drained & rinsed (I've used the whole 400g tin - what's one supposed to do with the 200g you don't use? & a few wxtra chickpeas don't do any harm)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 fresh hot green chillies, halved & thinly sliced, seeds included
1 tbsp coriander seeds, ground
1 tbsp cumin seeds
i large aubergine, approx 400g/14 oz, cut into 2cm/.75 in dice (I use small aubergines, cut into 2 cm slices)
400g/14oz tinned chopped tomatoes
salt

Wash the spinach & chop. Set asside.
Heat half the olive oiul in a large pan & cook the onion, chickpeas, garlic, chilli & spices for 5 minutes over a medium heat
Add the remaining olive oil and the aubergine. Cook for ten minutes, stirring often, until the aubergine is coloured.
Add the tomatoes and a pinch of salt, cover the pan, lower the heat & simmer for 15 minutes until the aubergine is soft.
Stir in the spinach and serve.

Very quick & easy. It's become something of a standby for a reasonably quick dinner.

[teamsaint]

Here you are -

1 kg/2.25 lb fresh spinach
4 tbsp olive oil
2 medium red onions, chopped (I've made it with ordinary onions, which are fine)
200g/7oz tinned chickpeas, drained & rinsed (I've used the whole 400g tin - what's one supposed to do with the 200g you don't use? & a few wxtra chickpeas don't do any harm)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 fresh hot green chillies, halved & thinly sliced, seeds included
1 tbsp coriander seeds, ground
1 tbsp cumin seeds
i large aubergine, approx 400g/14 oz, cut into 2cm/.75 in dice (I use small aubergines, cut into 2 cm slices)
400g/14oz tinned chopped tomatoes
salt

Wash the spinach & chop. Set asside.
Heat half the olive oiul in a large pan & cook the onion, chickpeas, garlic, chilli & spices for 5 minutes over a medium heat
Add the remaining olive oil and the aubergine. Cook for ten minutes, stirring often, until the aubergine is coloured.
Add the tomatoes and a pinch of salt, cover the pan, lower the heat & simmer for 15 minutes until the aubergine is soft.
Stir in the spinach and serve.

Very quick & easy. It's become something of a standby for a reasonably quick dinner.

Thanks Floss. I also do a very similar curry, can't remember the exact ingredients offhand, but the veggies make a good combo.
I'll try yours.

[Anna]

Chickpea and spinach curry is also a regular plat du jour here. Not tried adding aubergine, sometimes I add sweet potato, I find the texture and flavour work well (and unlike regular potatoes they don't break up), I also usually use fresh ginger in curries.

Tonight, Toad in the hole. Pork for the meat eaters, veggies sossige for the squeamish

Out of interest ts what veggie sossiges do you use? I don't generally buy veggie ones but I tried for the first time a couple of weeks ago Linda McCartney's onion and rosemary ones, which I thought were quite flavoursome, but do you ever use Quorn ones? I ask because I've never tried any products made from it - although Mo Farah seems to think it makes him run faster.

[teamsaint]

Chickpea and spinach curry is also a regular plat du jour here. Not tried adding aubergine, sometimes I add sweet potato, I find the texture and flavour work well (and unlike regular potatoes they doesn't break up), I also usually use fresh ginger in curries.

Out of interest ts what veggie sossiges do you use? I don't generally buy veggie ones but I tried for the first time a couple of weeks ago Linda McCartney's onion and rosemary ones, which I thought were quite flavoursome, but do you ever use Quorn ones? I ask because I've never tried any products made from it - although Mo Farah seems to think it makes him run faster.

I use a variety. None of them would win a taste competition against a good pork sausage ! My daughter is vegetarian, and she really likes the quorn sausages, and in fact quorn in all varieties !! I had the quorn toad in the hole last night , (and use quite a lot of quorn in general) and it was pretty decent to be fair. Aldi have them £1.50 for 8 ATM. My suggestion would be to try them with a recipe that will add plenty of flavour , and give them a whirl.


I haven't done any blind tests on quorn consumption against speed over the ground, but if it works for MO.......

[gurnemanz]

Thanks for the spinach/chickpea curry recipe which I've saved for future use.

My minor contribution to Christmas lunch was the gammon joint to go with our goose (Aldi). It was done in a stock containing molasses, orange peel and various herbs and tasted very good. A note was added about saving the stock to boil dried cannellini beans. I unearthed an out-of date-packet lurking at the back of a cupboard and then found a recipe using roasted tomatoes:

Place 6 halved tomatoes, cut side up, in a baking dish, drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil and top with a minced garlic clove and 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and roast in a 375-degree oven for 45 minutes. Using kitchen shears, immediately cut up tomatoes. Add cannellini beans to tomatoes and toss to combine. Top with breadcrumbs and drizzle with olive oil. Grill until bubbly and just charred in spots, about 4 minutes.

Cutting the softened tomatoes with scissors was a strangely enjoyable new experience. We had the beans as a starter and it went down very well

[Anna]

I use a variety. None of them would win a taste competition against a good pork sausage ! My daughter is vegetarian, and she really likes the quorn sausages, and in fact quorn in all varieties .... My suggestion would be to try them with a recipe that will add plenty of flavour, and give them a whirl.

Having looked on the Quorn website I see they also recommend cooking or serving them with a sauce/gravy (i.e. to give them a fuller flavour) No wonder you did Jamie Oliver's onion gravy!! I'm in two minds about meat substitutes, I eat a lot of veggie meals and they are usually so flavoursome it seems counter-intutitive to serve something that mimics meat in texture and looks but doesn't taste of meat - but I can fully see the necessity (especially with children) to get the protein input right. I wonder what a Quorn bacon sandwich tastes like.......

And as I haven't had good old bangers for ages I was inspired by you and tonight is Paul Rankin's outdoor pork and herb ones (they were on special offer) with sweet potato wedges and .... sprouts! (I love the little green things and would eat them everyday)

[BBMmk2]

Post Christmas NY overweight blues here! :( MrsBBM spoilt me this morning, with scrambled egg on toast, bacon, tomatoes and mushrooms. All done with Fry light!

[teamsaint]

Post Christmas NY overweight blues here! :( MrsBBM spoilt me this morning, with scrambled egg on toast, bacon, tomatoes and mushrooms. All done with Fry light!

That should help shift the extra xmas pounds, BBM !!

Incidentally, just to return to the "not much loved " quorn discussion, it is very low in calories, quite handy I would think if trying to drop a belt notch or two.

[Flosshilde]

I wonder what a Quorn bacon sandwich tastes like.......

Probably nothing like a pig bacon sandwich (think of smoky bacon flavour crisps). If you need gravy to give Quorn sausages flavour, you'd probably have to smother the 'bacon' with brown sauce - & then you might as well not bother about the bacon!

I agree with you about the point of meat substitutes - they possibly have a use to try & persuade children they're not missing out, and they presumably provide something quick to cook, but otherwise I don't see the point.

[BBMmk2]

That should help shift the extra xmas pounds, BBM !!

Incidentally, just to return to the "not much loved " quorn discussion, it is very low in calories, quite handy I would think if trying to drop a belt notch or two.

TS, Fry Light as it says, I only 1 cal per spray and no Pro-Points on Weightwatchers.

[teamsaint]

TS, Fry Light as it says, I only 1 cal per spray and no Pro-Points on Weightwatchers.

sounds great, BBM, might have to give it a go !

[hedgehog]

meat substitutes - they presumably provide something quick to cook, but otherwise I don't see the point.

That's about it - it's handy to have these on hand for a quick meal or when catering for a mixed carnivore/vegetarian group. I like quorn because it is low in calories and I'm not very tolerant to tofu and other soy bean products. In particular I use quorn pieces in a pumpkin & quorn risotto - replacing chicken in the original recipe. It works well there! ( I serve either a rucola salad or french beans with this.)