Roasted Vegetable Spaghetti with Capers and Pine Nuts

So many of my favourite ingredients come together to form this thoroughly comforting dish. You can use leftover roast veggies of any kind in it as well, you may just need to cut them up smaller.

Keeping my foot in the door with one post a month at the moment and hoping to be able to increase it soon!

Roasted Vegetable Spaghetti with Capers and Pine Nuts

Ingredients
1/2 medium eggplant, diced into 1cm cubes
1 zucchini, diced into 1cm cubes
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 x 400ml cans of diced tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp capers
2 tbsp pine nuts
300g thin spaghetti

To Make
1. Spray a baking tray lightly with olive oil and spread the diced eggplant and zucchini out. Spray with additional olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Roast for 10-15 minutes at 180 degrees. 
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan and cook the onions and garlic until the onions are softened and translucent. Add the canned tomatoes and tomato paste and bring to a simmer.
3. Add the roasted veggies and simmer for up to 5 minutes, just to soften any that may have dried out in the roasting. Stir through the capers and leave on a very low heat to stay warm while you cook the pasta.
4. Cook the spaghetti to al dente according to the instructions on the packet, with thin spaghetti varieties this may only take a few minutes. Drain the spaghetti and stir the sauce gently through.
5. Toast the pine nuts in a dry frypan until golden and then remove from the heat immediately. 
6. Serve up the spaghetti and sprinkle generously with pine nuts. 

Makes 4 fairly modest serves or 2 very generous serves (or 3 just right?). 
Depends on how much you love pasta!

If you love pasta as much as I do, you might want to check out all my other pasta recipes too :)

African Kachumbari (Chadian Tomato & Onion Salad)

Kachumbari is a common salad eaten in various African countries including Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Congo and Chad. As part Chad Month (which was all the way back in February 2012!) I made this lovely fresh African salad (for other recipes see the links at the bottom of this post - but excuse the photos, it was right when the blog first started). I've remade it now because I really felt like eating it again, and because I thought it deserved some better photos! This time I've used a combination of red and yellow small roma tomatoes, because it just looks so pretty and these lovely yellow roma tomatoes are at my local supermarket at the moment. You can make it with a mixture of any heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes or just regular tomatoes (which would be most authentic). Given that tomatoes are the hero of the dish though, I'd encourage tasty vine-ripened ones, as if you buy tomatoes which taste like nothing then your salad won't taste like much!

The main elements of the dish are tomatoes, onion and citrus juice. There are lots of variations depending on region, this version includes cucumber and fresh chilli. If you like hot, add an extra chilli or just leave the hot bits in (the placenta -which is the white bit which the seeds are attached to - is the hot part of the chilli, not the seeds).  This salad is perfect paired with the Chadian Sweet Potato Fritters (see link below) and is a light and tasty addition to any gathering, potluck or group meal.

African Kachumbari

Ingredients

1 small red onion, thinly sliced (or diced)
4 tomatoes, sliced (or diced)
1 Lebanese cucumber, sliced (or diced)
1 chilli, seeds & placenta removed and sliced
Handful of fresh coriander, chopped
The juice of two limes

How to make:

1.Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and toss until well combined
2. Serve immediately.

Serves 3-4.

Check out our other Chadian recipes: 

Chadian Breakfast Bouille

Millet Balls with 3 dipping sauces

Chadian Sweet Potato Fritters

Chadian Irio 

African Loz 

Maharagwe 

Tomato Vodka Pasta Sauce Gift Packages

Edible gifts are always my favourite things to give at Xmas time, but over the last couple of year I've realised just how unhealthy all the traditional ones are! Mostly its chocolates, lollies, biscuits, jams and desserts in jars. So much sugar! I know a lot of people in my family and friends are trying to have less sugar in their lives which is a wonderful thing and the last thing I want to do is discourage them by piling them with sugary treats at Xmas. No matter how well intentioned, I know I'm not really doing them a favour.

Last year I shared with you gorgeous jars of bean soup mix, which has turned into one of my favourite healthy (and so easy!) gifts. I also shared 2 types of Cornbread in a Jar - Chilli Cornbread and  Za'atar Cornbread. I've started to realise since then just how many wonderful home made edible gift ideas there are which aren't piles of sugar.

This one is my new favourite, mostly because I'm a pasta fanatic. It's very adaptable - you can use any pasta sauce you like. If you've got a fabulous signature sauce use that, if not give this recipe a go. Then, go and buy the fanciest pasta you can find in the most fun and exotic shape you can. Sure, it'll cost you $6 instead of 99 cents, but that still works out as a pretty cheap present! It really won't be the same if you use cheap penne, as the exotic pasta in spectacular shapes will be a real treat.

 

Tomato Vodka Pasta Sauce

 

Ingredients

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 onions, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 kg ripe tomatoes, chopped roughly

1 carrot, diced

1 celery stick, chopped

1 cup vegetable stock

1 bay leaf

1 cup loose basil leaves, torn up

1 cup vodka

1/2 cup blanched almonds

Salt and pepper to taste

 

To Make

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan and sauté the onions until soft. Add the garlic, tomatoes, carrot, celery, vegetable stock and bay leaf and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are completely cooked through.

2. Remove from the heat and take out the bay leaf. Stir through the basil leaves, vodka and blanched almonds. Season with salt and pepper, if you like. Allow the sauce to cool a bit and then put in a blender and purée until completely smooth.

3. Transfer to washed large jars and put the lids on tightly.

 

Now - if you're giving these away straight away, you can give them just like this & tell your recipient to store in the fridge and use within  a few days. If you're not sure when they'll use it, or if you'd like to make them up in advance, then just quickly sterilise and seal the jars after you make them. Then they'll keep in the cupboard for months. To do this, line the bottom of a really big saucepan with a tea towel (so that the bottoms of the glass jars aren't touching the bottom of the hot pan) and place your jars in (make sure lids are on as tight as you can). Fill with enough cold water to completely cover the jars and turn on the heat. Bring to a boil and boil for about 20 minutes. Then turn off the heat and allow to cool.

 

Makes approximately 2 large jars.



 

To make up your gift packs, simply cut a piece of hessian or something suitably rustic and pie it on the top of your jar using black or brown twine. Label your jars and use twine to tie the jar to a packet of gourmet special pasta. You may also like to include a used by date on your label.

 



 

Burmese Tomato Salad

Growing up I was always a complete tomato fanatic, and I still find it pretty hard to go past a recipe for tomato salad! This Burmese one is one of the best I've ever made, definitely. It's flavoured by the quintessentially Burmese ingredients of sesame seeds, peanuts, chickpea flour and (vegan) fish sauce. One of my favourite things about tomatoes in salads is that they really soak up the dressing and take on all the wonderful flavours.

This makes a colourful and fresh addition to a family feast, potluck or gathering. The Burmese make it with fish sauce, but I've substituted my home made vegan fish sauce instead - you can, of course, use either.

Burmese Tomato Salad

Ingredients
1 tbsp. sesame seeds
1 tbsp. chickpea (besan) flour
4 tomatoes, roughly diced
1 small onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 green chilli, finely minced (remove the 'placenta' of the chilli if you want it mild)
2 tbsp. finely chopped coriander
2 tbsp. finely chopped peanuts
1 tbsp. lime juice
1 tbsp. vegan fish sauce

To Make
1. In a small frypan, dry toast the sesame seeds until just golden. Set aside cool. Then dry toast the chickpea flour unto just starting to go golden, tossing frequently to ensure even toasting. Set aside to cool. At this stage you can also toast the peanuts, if you are using peanuts that are not already roasted.
2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and gently mix with your fingers. Serve.

Serves 4 as a side salad.

This month I'm featuring vegan recipes from Myanmar (Burma).

Check out my other Burmese recipe posts:

Vegan Fish Sauce

Ohn No Khao Swe with Chickpea Tofu

Gin Thoke (Ginger Salad)

Burmese Sticky Rice Cake

Chakalaka (South African)

It's been quiet on the blog because lately a lot of life has been happening instead, I've got so many wonderful things on and some great things that I'm working towards at the moment. But I do have a file full of photos and recipes to share with you, and I'll do my best to get as many of them up as I can.

I'm going to be taking the next couple of months off my world food challenge, because I've got a bit too much else happening. But I have quite a few recipes left over from South Africa month (last month) which I didn't get a chance to share, so I'll post them and you'll still get your fix of world food on Gormandize.

Today I'll give you a fun but simple dish. The fun is really in saying the name - chakalaka! But also the dish is delicious. It would traditionally be packed full of capsicum, but as capsicum makes me sick I hope I'll be excused for making mine without. I've added a grated zucchini in their place, which was really delicious. If you'd like to try it with, add one green and one red at the same time you add the chillis.

South African Chakalaka

Ingredients
2 large onions, chopped
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 Serrano chillis
4 cloves garlic, crushed
3 carrots, grated
1 large zucchini, grated
2 tsp curry powder
5 tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 can baked beans
1 tsp. paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

To Make
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the onions. Cook until just starting to brown and then add the chillis, garlic and curry powder and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes or so.
2. Add the carrot and zucchini and cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Add the tomatoes and reduce the heat. Leave to simmer for about 10 minutes (if you tomatoes weren't very juicy, you may need to add a little water to stop it sticking).
4. Once the tomatoes are cooked down and the vegetables are cooked, add the tomato paste, baked beans, paprika and salt and pepper to taste and let simmer for a further 5 minutes. The end result should be thick and saucy, if it is watery, cook down for longer until it reduces.

Serve hot on toast, with rice or as a side dish. Or serve cold as a relish on burgers, wraps or anything you like.

I've entered this dish in the Vegan Virtual Linky Potluck.

This month I'm featuring recipes from South Africa.

Check out my other South African recipe posts:

Vegan Milk Tart

South African Tomato Chutney

Soetkoekies

South African Tomato Chutney

Making up sauces, pickles and chutneys is one of my favourite things to do when I'm exploring the cuisines of other countries. They're so satisfying and you end up with a nice big jar in the fridge to put on whatever you like. This South African  Tomato Chutney isn't my recipe, it comes out of my favourite cooking magazine, SBS Feast which did a lovely feature on South African Cuisine in it's January 2012 issue, which is still sitting around on my shelf. It was nice to get it out and thumb through it again looking for inspiration for my featured country this month.

It's more of a tomato sauce than a chutney really, beautifully simple and packed with flavour. It's very versatile, we spooned it all over our South Africa dishes and then used up the leftovers dolloped on salads and vegetarian sausages (it was GREAT with the sausages!).

South African Tomato Chutney
Adapted from Feast Magazine, January 2012

Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
4-5 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
1 1/2 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup (loosed packed) chopped fresh coriander

1. Heat oil in a pan and add the onions and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes, or until softened, and then add the tomatoes and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
2. Add the tomato paste, sugar and salt and simmer for 5 minutes. Once sauce has thickened, stir in the coriander and remove from the heat. Eat straight away dolloped on anything or put it in a jar and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Makes 1 large jar.

This month I'm featuring recipes from South Africa.

Check out my other South African recipe posts:

Vegan Milk Tart

Chakalaka

Soetkoekies

Creole Salsa

Home made salsa is worth every one of the few minute you spend chopping it. The fresh, tangy and vibrant colours and flavours of this great salsa are so far superior to the mushy pulp that comes out of a jar. This creole salsa is delicious with corn chips, on a salad, on a burger or a wrap, toss it through a pasta salad, pile it on a pizza or on toasted bread as bruschetta. You don't need me to tell you what to do with salsa -  you know how many wonderful and delicious opportunities it has. In Guadeloupe it is served on fresh grilled fish and seafood.

Creole salsa is similar to other types of salsa, but with a few added kicks of flavour. If you can't find a vegan Worcestershire sauce, you can leave it out or look online to see if you can make your own vegan version.

Ingredients
3 ripe tomatoes
1/2 Spanish onion
1 fresh jalapeño chilli
1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 cloves fresh garlic
1 tsp Worchestershire sauce
1 tsp hot chilli sauce (such as Tabasco, Sririacha etc.)
Juice of 2 limes
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
Cracked pepper, to taste

To Make
1. Chop all the ingredients very finely and place in a bowl together. Add the sauces, lime juice, olive oil and salt and pepper.
2. Mix well and refrigerate for an hour or two to let the flavours really meld.

This month I'm featuring lots of recipes from Guadeloupe!

Check out my other Guadeloupean recipe posts:

Mango Chilli Appetiser

Salsa Piquant

Choko Gratin

Hearts of Palm & Rocket Pizza

When I started to research Brazilian recipes for this month of amazing world food, I didn't anticipate coming up with so much pizza! Pizza isn't what immediately springs to mind when I think of Brazilian food, but apparently Sao Paolo is the second biggest city in the word in terms of pizza consumption (I think the first was New York). They even have several traditional dessert pizzas - yes, I definitely made one! In case you missed it, here is my chocolate, strawberry & cream cheese pizza :)

You might remember from a couple of posts back my friend Ruth had some fun helping me with styling. The result being one of the most colourful photo shoots appearing on the blog so far, which seems quite appropriate for Brazil month (did you see it? If not the photos are right here). When you do a lot of food photography, you can tend towards always using the same set ups and the same props so sometimes it's nice to get someone else's ideas, especially when they're slightly nutty (like Ruth). I set this pizza out on a rustic style chopping board with a big knife and a glass of red wine.

Then Ruth comes running out clutching a brightly coloured beach towel that she had found in our bathroom proclaiming in all seriousness that it would be great in the shot. I was not immediately sold on the idea, but I humoured her. In the end though, I really quite liked it, so I used the photos! The beach towel provides bright colour, a slightly unusual texture and puts me in mind of summer. Summer dinners of freshly made pizza with a glass of red wine, what a wonderful scene. So, thanks Ruth! It was great fun having you helping me cook and styling my shots. I'm looking forward to next time already :)

What do you think? :)

The dough recipe makes enough dough for 3 big pizzas, but the topping quantity is just for 1 pizza. So you can freeze the other 2/3 of the fresh dough, or use it to make a couple of other pizzas - or even a pizza for dessert.

Ingredients

Pizza Dough
2 tsp dried yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups room temperature water
1kg plain flour
1.5 tsp salt

Topping
5 tbsp tomato passata
2 tomatoes, sliced
1 can hearts of palm, drained
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 cups fresh rocket

To Make
1. Whisk the yeast with 1/2 cup of warm water and set it aside for 10 minutes until foamy on top.
2. Add the 2 cups water & olive oil and whisk to combine. Then add the salt and all the flour, mixing gently. Flour up your hands and start mixing the dough with your hands until it comes together. It should be dry enough not to stick to your fingers, wet enough to stay together in a ball. If you need to, add more flour or water to get it to the right consistency.
3. Flour a benchtop and turn the dough out. Knead for 10 minutes, at which point the dough should be smooth and springy to touch. Wash, dry and lightly oil the mixing bowl. Return the dough ball to the bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Leave in a warm spot to rise for 2 hours. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
4. After 2 hours, punch the dough down and cut into 3 pieces, if you're saving the other two then wrap them up in plastic wrap and freeze them. Roll one piece out into a big flat rectangular disc and place on an oiled baking tray.
5. Spread with a thin layer or tomato passata. Top with sliced tomatoes, sliced hearts of palm and a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and a little bit of extra tomato passata.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven, top with the fresh rocket and serve immediately.

Serves 4.
Also featured in the Vegan Virtual Linky Potluck.

This month I'm featuring lots of recipes from Brazil!

Check out my other Brazilian recipe posts:

Avocado Cream & Passion Fruit Mousse (Creme de Abacate & Mousse de Maracujá)

Bolinhos de Arroz (Brazillian Fried RiceBalls) with Orange, Olive & Brazil Nut Rice

Chocolate Coconut Kisses

Pizza de Brigadeiro (Chocolate Pizza) with Strawberries & Cream Cheese
Black Eyed Bean Acaraje
Hearts of Palm & Olive Empadinhas (Empadinhas de Palmito)

Nepalese Tomato Achar

I know it's been a bit quiet here for the past couple of weeks but after such a mammoth posting month last month for VeganMofo I just had to take a bit of a break..... and that break accidentally stretched out to 2 weeks. Oops!

I'd like to take a moment to thank all the awesome readers who have taken the time to suggest countries for me to feature in my World Food Challenge - you guys are awesome! I know have enough countries on my list to last me until this time next year (wow! So much deliciousness coming your way). Don't let that stop you if you want to suggest a country though! Especially if it's a country you don't know anything about. Just pull out a map - you may find countries you've never even heard of. If you'd like to suggest a country to be featured just jump on over to the world food challenge post and tell me about it!

But that is enough of that - what about the featured country for this month? Well, I may not have been posting much over the last 2 weeks but I have been doing a lot of COOKING! Which is the most important thing, right? :) This month's featured country is Nepal, and even though I'm a bit late starting the posts this month, don't fear - there are still a lot of Nepalese delights coming your way!

Nepalese or Nepali cuisine is a fun and interesting one. It's got influences from both Indian and Chinese/Tibetan cuisines, has some interesting dishes which combine elements of both (very different) cuisines. That means there is lots of curry and rice - but also spicy noodles and even dumplings. I think you'll enjoy this month!

I'm starting out with an easy and simple dish though - Tomato Achar. "Achar" is usually translated as "pickle", although the various "achar" dishes are not actually pickles. They're closer to spicy sauces or chutneys, and there are a lot of different types. You can make achar out of just about anything - tomato, onion, chilli, ginger, mango, mint, greens, - so many things really. I've chosen to do a tomato one because it seems to be a really popular one. Having said that, like any ubiquitous ethnic dish there are dozens of different ways to can make it! A quick search on the internet will reveal to you heaps of different methods and different things you can add to it.

Nepalese Tomato Achar

Ingredients
2 large tomatoes
3 red chillis
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1-2 tbsp fresh chopped coriander

To Make
1. Heat a non stick frypan or wok over a medium to low heat. Once the pan is hot add the whole tomatoes to the dry pan. Roast them in the dry pan over a medium to low heat, turning as necessary, until the skins are slightly wrinkled and split. Add the chillis to the dry pan and roast for a further few minutes.
2. Remove the tomatoes and chillis from the pan. Roughly chop the tomatoes and chop the chillis a bit more finely.
3. Heat the oil in the pan and add the fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, ginger and garlic. Fry until the fenugreek seeds are just browning. Add the cumin, coriander, tomatoes and chillis.
4. Cook over a medium to low heat until there is no liquid left, and the achar is like a thick paste. Stir through the fresh coriander and serve.

You can also add lemon juice if you want to make it tangy.
Serve with rotti, bread or dolloped on your curries. Also great spread on burgers and wraps.

This month I'm featuring lots of recipes from Nepal!

Check out my other Nepali/Nepalese recipe posts:

Aloo Roti (Potato Roti)

Semolina Halva

Vegetable Momo with Chilli Sesame Dipping Sauce

Chilli Grapefruit & Orange Salad

Saag Tarkari

Sesame Chilli Fried Potatoes

Mesa'a'ah (Egyptian Spicy Eggplant)

Had to take a couple of days break from Mofo blogging because I've been flat out at work, but I'm back to it now! My themes for this month are Egyptian food and 'My Spice Rack' and this delicious dish is part of both of those themes. This eggplant dish is called mesa'a'ah or sometimes spelled mesa'a'a or even just mesa'a - I don't know which one is most accurate because I'm just a chick with the internet. This dish uses allspice for flavour, a common ingredient in Egyptian and middle eastern dishes.

Allspice
Given it's confusing name, you would be forgiven for thinking that allspice was a spice blend. It is actually made from a dried unripe berry and is also sometimes referred to as 'Pimento' (which, confusingly, is the Spanish word for pepper). Allspice has a long history - the Aztecs added allspice and vanilla to their chocolate drinks and the Mayan Indians used it in embalming. It is also commonly used as an aid to preservation and even after the invention of refrigeration practices, it still appears in some preserved meats and in Scandinavian canned fish.It is also often used as a substitute for cloves, as it can achieve a much more subtle clove flavour. Allspice contains the same volatile oil (eugenol) as cloves and, surprisingly, as basil. Hence it is a spice which compliments tomatoes very well.

Reference: Hemphill, 2006

For my month of spices I'm using Spice Notes and Recipes by Ian Hemphill as my reference tool to learn about spices and for all the information above. Thanks Ian for writing such a great and informative book! 

Mesa'a'ah

Ingredients
3 large eggplants
2 tbsp olive oil (you will need more if your pan is not non stick)
2 onions, thinly sliced
3 jalapeños (fresh or preserved), chopped (you can use less if you don't like it too hot)
2 x 400g tins chopped or crushed tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup water
1 tsp allspice
Salt and pepper to taste

To Make
1. Preheat the oven to 180.
2. Slice the eggplant thickly. Heat the oil in a large frypan and fry the eggplant on both sides until just softened (doesn't need to be completely cooked). The eggplant soaks up the oil so you will have to replenish the oil between batches, if you use a non stick frypan you will use less oil.
3. Place about half the eggplant pieces in a layer along the bottom of a large lasagne dish. Top with the onions and jalapeños and then layer the remaining eggplant over the top.
4. Combine the tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, water, allspice and salt and pepper in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer gently for 5 minutes and then pour it all over the eggplant.
5. Cover the dish with foil and bake in the oven for about 45-50 minutes (or until the onion is cooked through).

Serves 4-6.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from Egypt.

Check out my other Egyptian recipe posts:

Preserved Lemons

Limoonada (Egyptian Lemonade)

Orange and Olive Salad with Cumin

'Ancient Egyptian Peasant' Beer Onions

Creamy Tahini Sauce

Ful Medames

Khoshaf

Roasted Tomato, Chickpea and Vodka Soup (Guest Post by The Kitchen Crusader)

Today I have the first of the delicious guest posts which my awesome blogging friends were kind enough to contribute! This one comes from Heather at The Capers of the Kitchen Crusader - if you haven't checked out her blog yet then you should jump over and have a browse, she comes up with some seriously awesome and inventive ideas! Thanks Heather for contributing this soup recipe!

Roasted Tomato, Chickpea and Vodka Soup

Yeah, that's right, it's a soup with vodka in it. Look, in case that freaks you out, it's not exactly compulsory vodka, but it does enhance the flavours of the dish. Vodka is often used with tomatoes in dishes, it marries well with the fresh zestiness and adds an interesting depth of “savoury-ness.” I first discovered the wonder that is vodkas and tomatoes not, as you may think, in a Bloody Mary, but rather in Rachel Grisewood's cookbook Manna from Heaven. That cookbook is full of the kinds of cooking I adore, unusual flavour combinations that teach a cook a lot about how flavours work and how to think about them differently. Grisewald's “Absolut Tomatoes” recipe is still one of my Summer dinner party favourites, it takes little effort and not much vodka, leaving plenty for cocktails with dinner.

During Summer tomatoes are abundant at my local farmer's market, so much so that I purchased a 10kg box of tomatoes for $10. This recipe is designed for tomato season, for when we can get tomatoes at great prices and in great quantities. It might seem a little mean, then, that I'm posting this recipe at the start of Winter, when tomato season is quite far off and soups are staple fare... but put this baby away in your memory banks. I promise come next tomato season, you'll be thanking me.

Serves 4 (depending on serving sizes, of course)

Ingredients

2 kg tomatoes, washed and halved (no need to remove the tops/core)

2 tbsp olive oil

4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 tbsp sugar

salt and pepper

2 tbsp vodka

1 small bunch of well washed and roughly chopped silverbeet or English spinach

1 400g can of chickpeas, drained (or 1 cup of dried chickpeas, rehydrated)

parsley or some “poor man's parmesan*” to serve

*poor man's parmesan is just bread, crumbed roughly, fried in a pan with some olive oil and salt until is crispy and crunchy and golden brown. If you have never tried this, you need to remedy the situation... plus it's the kind of vegan fare I love, the kind that ANYONE, vegan or not can enjoy and drool over. It's also great with pasta.

Method:

1)Preheat oven to 180C.

2)Place the halved tomatoes in a large baking dish, scatter with garlic. Drizzle the olive oil over the top, sprinkle with sugar and salt.

3)Toss to coat the tomatoes in oil.

4)Bake the tomatoes for 1 and a half to 2 hours, they should be cooked through and browning on the edges.

5)Blitz the tomatoes, their juices and the garlic in a blender or food processor with the vodka, silverbeet/spinach and half of the chickpeas. This will probably need to happen in batches. Blend until the soup reaches your desired consistency.

6)Reheat the soup in a pot on the stove and add the remaining chickpeas while this occurs.

7)Serve hot, topped with the parsley or poor man's parmesan (or both). Some toasted crusty garlic bread would also be lovely with it. 

Succotash (American Beans and Corn)

I'm actually finding it quite challenging to fit all my Southern USA posts and my Xmas posts in at the moment, especially because I'm also busy getting everything ready for Xmas itself! But I've managed to find a few minutes to share another recipe with you from Southern USA. It's a deceptively simple one. You might look at it and think it'll be a bit ordinary, but you have to believe me when I say it is quite special. Simple - yes. Easy - yes. Healthy - yes. But also full of flavour!

Succotash

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
4 tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
3 cobs fresh corn
2 x 400g cans lima or butter beans, drained and rinsed
1 jalapeño chilli (I used preserved ones from a jar, so they are slightly milder. If you use fresh, just use half)
1/2 cup vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste

To Make
1. Heat oil in a large pot over a medium heat. Add the onion and saute for about 5 minutes, or until transulcent. Add the garlic and cook for a further 1-2 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes (including any juices) and cumin and cook for 2-3 minutes.
3. Cut the corn kernels off the cob (reserve as much of the liquid that comes out if it as well). Add the corn (and any corn juices), beans, chopped jalapeño and vegetable stock.
4. Simmer, covered for about 10 minutes. Remove lid and simmer for a further 10-15 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced.
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve hot.

Serves 4

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from Southern USA.
Check out my other recipe posts:

Mint Julep

Peach and Bourbon Cobbler

Vegan Chili Pone (Chili Cornbread Casserole)

Pecan & Molasses Pie with Spiced Pumpkin Whipped Cream

Candied Sweet Potatoes

Mushroom and Bean Jambalaya

Vegan "Fried Chicken" and Waffles

Home Made Smoky BBQ Sauce

Vegan Chili Pone (Texas Chili Con Carne Casserole with Cornbread)

This month is Southern USA month, and I feel like it wouldn't be complete without a shoutout to the American phenomenon of "chili". Because I'm focusing on Southern USA, of course I'm talking this time about "Texas Chili". This is a dish which presents a challenge to non meat eaters. Why? Because Texans are adamant that Chili should not contain beans (more is the pity!). I'm also allergic to capsicum which means that is out for me as well. So if I remove the meat and capsicum from my Chili and I'm not allowed to put beans in - what am I left with?? Tomatoes, onions and chilli. Not really enough to work with.

So I decided to substitute the meat with bulghur, which has a similar chewy 'minced' sort of texture. It doesn't taste like beef of course, but I put in a bit of beef stock (no animal content) to try and beef it up a bit. Excuse the pun. Since it was a pretty simple Chili, I decided to make it into a 'Chili Pone' (I'm not sure how that is pronounced - is it pone to rhyme with cone?). I'd never heard of this before, but it was suggested to me by a reader when I started featuring Southern USA food. Chili Pone is a casserole of Chili topped with cornbread, which sounded right up my alley because I love cornbread!

I've made cornbread for this blog before, my Razlevjak (Bosnian Cornbread).But I'm always happy for an excuse to experiment with cornbread! A few things I should point out about it - firstly, American cornbread it made with cornmeal. Cornmeal is slightly finer ground than polenta and slightly coarser than maize flour (not to be confused with cornflour/cornstarch which is the white powder used for thickening). As far as I'm aware I've never seen this cornmeal as defined this way in stores in Australia. I have access to maize flour, corn starch and polenta. So, I used polenta because I didn't have any cornmeal and because I love the textured corny taste that polenta gives to cornbread.

Secondly, I was told adamantly by an American that Southern cornbread is unsweetened, so despite the fact that most of the Southern Cornbread recipes I found on the internet involved adding sugar, I left out the sugar.

The result? The cornbread casserole idea is genius and I'm going to make so many more casseroles with cornbread on top now! The Chili turned out delicious, although, I have to say would have been even better with some beans in it :)

Southern USA Chili Pone

Ingredients

Bulghur Chili
2 tbsp oil
1 large onion, peeled and diced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 jalapeño chilli, fresh or preserved
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp smoky paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup bulghur
6 tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
1 cup strong beef stock (use a vegetable based stock powder such as Massel)
1 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp tomato paste

Cornbread
1 cup soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp ground flaxseeds
1 cup flour
1 cup polenta
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup baking powder
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup water

To Make:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onion until soft. Add the garlic and jalapeño, and sauté a further 2 minutes.
3. Add the dry spices and cook for another 30 seconds then add the bulghur and stir to coat with the spice mix.
4. Add the tomatoes, oregano, beef stock, soy sauce and tomato paste. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook, covered, for 20 minutes.
5. To make the cornbread: combine the soy milk, apple cider vinegar and ground flaxseeds. Whisk together and set aside for about 5 minutes to curdle and thicken.
6. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and stir well. Make a small well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the soy milk. oil and water. Mix well until it forms a smooth batter.
7. Once the Chili is cooked, remove from heat and transfer to a medium sized casserole dish. Spoon the cornbread batter over the top of the Chili. It doesn't have to be too neat, as the cornbread will expand and rise to create an even covering as it cooks.
8. Bake, uncovered, in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the cornbread is crisp and golden. Serve.

This dish can also be made in advance and reheated in the oven. It is important, however, to always reheat the dish (and the leftovers) in the oven, otherwise the cornbread will go soggy!

Serves 4-6.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from Southern USA!

Check out my other recipe posts:

Mint Julep

Peach and Bourbon Cobbler

Succotash

Pecan & Molasses Pie with Spiced Pumpkin Whipped Cream

Candied Sweet Potatoes

Mushroom and Bean Jambalaya

Vegan "Fried Chicken" and Waffles

Home Made Smoky BBQ Sauce

Scottish Roasted Love Apple and Wine Soup

Now before you dismiss this as being some obscure ingredient which you'll never be find - don't worry! Love apple is a traditional name for tomato, although nobody seems sure why. There are a lot of theories on the internet but none of them have any credible source so I assume they're just people writing stuff. This gorgeous and rich love apple soup is roasted for extra rich heartiness, perfect with crusty bread for a warming Autumn meal.

May on Gormandize with A-dizzle and K-bobo is all about Scottish Food. I'm featuring the cuisine of a different country (in a vegan form!) every month. So far we've done Croatia, Chad, Bosnia and Iran. All were delicious and you should check out all the recipes in the archive. This month a reader has suggested that we do Scotland - which was posed as quite a challenge since Scottish cuisine is famed for its meatiness! I was pleasantly surprised to discover several non meat dishes (not a lot, but some!) and lots of delicious desserts! So it may be more a month of sweets than savouries this time!

This soup also rather neatly ties into the next Holiday Recipe Club. The theme ingredients for the Cince de Mayo hop (something which I know very little about) are dulce de leche, chorizos and tomato. That obviously doesn't leave me much choice- so tomatoes it is!

Ingredients

2 kg tomatoes

Olive oil

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 celery stick, diced

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 litre vegetable stock (or use a vegetable based beef stock for a richer flavour)

2 bay leaves

1/2 cup red wine

To Make

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

2. Cut the tomatoes in half and place on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and roast for 20 minutes.

3. Put the vegetable stock, onion, garlic, carrot, celery and tomato paste in a soup pot. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add the wine and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaves.

4. Add the roasted tomatoes and any juices left on the tray.

5. Blend the soup until very smooth and press through a strainer. Use a spoon to press all the liquid out of it and you should only be left with 1-2 tablespoons of thick paste at the end (mostly tomato skin and seeds), you can discard this.

6. Return to the pot and reheat gently. Serve with liberal cracked pepper and some crusty bread.

I'm featuring lots of recipes from the United Kingdom,

Check out my other recipe posts here:

Vegan Cauliflower Cheese

Summer Pudding

Mushroom & Guinness Pie

Treacle Tart

Vegan Bakewell Tart

Cranachan (Whiskey Cream with Raspberries and Oats)

Orange and Lemon Vegetables

Scottish Vegan Oat Scones

Swede & Parsnip Mini Cottage Pies

Salad-e Shirazi

It's classic of Middle Eastern feasts to have a beautiful fresh tomato and  herb salad and Iran is no exception. Iranian food is generally packed full of chopped herbs (sabzi) which make for incredible fresh and tangy salads. This recipe isn't the most unusual or remarkable salad you've ever come across, but it's one that you'll go back to and make again and again and again!

On another note - I've been nominated for the Best Australian Blogs 2012 People's Choice Award - you can vote for me by hitting up this link: http://www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au/bloggingcomp/peopleschoice.html

Ingredients

4 tomatoes

1 small onion

2 Lebanese cucumbers

Juice of 2 limes

1/2 bunch fresh mint

1/2 bunch fresh parsley

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp cracked black pepper

Salt to taste

To Make
1. Finely dice the tomatoes and then put in a strainer to strain out some of the juice while you prepare the rest of the ingredients (seems a shame to waste I know, but if you don't your salad will be very mushy!).
2. Peel the onion and dice very finely. Dice the cucumber.
3. Finely chop all the herbs.
4. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and allow to sit for about 20 minutes in the fridge. Serve.

Serves 2 (or 4 as a side salad).

This month I'm featuring lots of amazing Iranian recipes!

Check out my other Iranian recipe posts:

Persian Carrot and Rose Jam

Artichoke and Pine Nut Dolma

Vegan Yakh Dar Behesht (Ice in Heaven)

Iranian Sugar-pickled Garlic

Sholeh Zard (Rice & Rosewater Pudding)

Naaz Khatoon (Eggplant with Pomegranate Molasses)

Torshi-havij (Pickled Baby Carrots)

Mokhalafat (Traditional Accompaniments)