Simple Suppers 2

More to try from

Grilled prawns with yoghurt and mint - try the paste with chicken too

Fried tomatoes (halves) and goats cheese (on top of the tomatoes) with a little garlic. Serve with bread.

Butter bean tomatoes

Large tomatoes the size of a baked potato are what I use, but a few smaller ones can be used instead. In that case I would swap the butter beans for a smaller pulse, such as haricot beans. If you have some mixture left over then put it around the base of the tomatoes in the dish, then scoop it up and serve it alongside the tomatoes. Serves 4 as a main dish.

olive oil
onion 1 medium-sized
garlic 3 cloves
bay leaf 1
beefsteak tomatoes 4
chopped tomatoes 400g can
butter beans 400g can
red-wine vinegar 1 tbsp
basil leaves 8 large

Warm a couple of glugs of olive oil in a medium-sized saucepan. Peel and finely chop the onion and let it cook in the olive oil for 10 minutes or so, until soft and pale. Peel and finely slice the garlic, then add to the onion with the bay leaf and continue cooking for 5 minutes, until all is fragrant.

Slice the tops off the beef tomatoes and reserve. Loosen the inside of each tomato with a small knife, then, using a teaspoon, scoop the seeds and flesh out without tearing the skins. Put the empty tomato shells on a baking sheet. Chop the insides of 4 of the tomatoes and add to the onion mixture together with the canned tomatoes. (You can use the insides of all the tomatoes, but you may find yourself with too much stuffing.) Season generously with salt and pepper then leave to simmer for 10-15 minutes. Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4.

Stir the butter beans, drained of their liquid, into the mixture. Add the vinegar and basil leaves, torn or shredded. Continue cooking for a couple of minutes. Spoon the mixture into the tomatoes. Top with their lids. You will have too much mixture, so spoon it around the tomatoes. Bake for 40 minutes, until they are on the verge of collapse.

Recipe by Nigel Slater in the Guardian.

Moroccan Lamb Tagine

• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1½ tbsp paprika
• 1½ tbsp ground ginger
• 1 tbsp turmeric
• 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 x shoulder of lamb, trimmed and cut into 5cm/2in chunks (about 1.1kg/2½lb meat in total)
• 2 large onions, grated
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp argan oil
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 570ml/1 pint tomato juice
• 2 x 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
• 115g/4oz dried apricots, cut in half
• 55g/2oz dates, cut in half
• 55g/2oz sultanas or raisins
• 85g/3oz flaked almonds
• 1 tsp saffron stamens, soaked in cold water
• 600ml/1 pint lamb stock
• 1 tbsp clear honey
• 2 tbsp coriander, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
  
  
  1. Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas2.
  
  
  2. Place the cayenne, black pepper, paprika, ginger, turmeric and cinnamon into a small bowl and mix to combine. Place the lamb in a large bowl and toss together with half of the spice mix. Cover and leave overnight in the fridge.
  
  
  3. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp of argan oil in a large casserole dish. Add the grated onion and the remaining spice mix and cook over a gentle heat for 10 minutes so that the onions are soft but not coloured. Add the crushed garlic for the final 3 minutes
  
  
  4. In a separate frying pan, heat the remaining oil and brown the cubes of lamb on all sides then add the browned meat to the casserole dish. De-glaze the frying pan with ¼ pint of tomato juice and add these juices to the pan.
  
  
  5. Add the remaining tomato juice, chopped tomatoes, apricots, dates, raisins or sultanas, flaked almonds, saffron, lamb stock and honey to the casserole dish. Bring to the boil, cover with a fitted lid, place in the oven and cook for 2-2½ hours or until the meat is meltingly tender
  
  
  6. Place the lamb in a tagine or large serving dish and sprinkle over the chopped herbs. Serve.

Very tasty tagine. Tomatoey but very good.

Recipe by Anthony Worrall Thompson from BBC.

Sicilian Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes and Aubergines

Delia Online recipe. Serves 2. Without the olive oil this recipe is 11.5 WW points per servings. With the olive oil it is 16.5 WW points!!

Aubergines, tomatoes and Mozzarella are the classic ingredients of any classic Sicilian sauce for pasta, and roasting the tomatoes and aubergines to get them slightly charred adds an extra flavour dimension.

Ingredients

8 oz (225 g) spaghetti

12 large tomatoes (roughly 2 lb/900 g)

1 large aubergine, cut into 1 inch (2.5 cm) cubes

2 large cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

about 4 tablespoons olive oil

12 large basil leaves, torn in half, plus a few extra for garnish

5 oz (150 g) Mozzarella, cut into ½ inch (1 cm) cubes

salt and freshly milled black pepper

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6, 400°F (200°C).

Method

First of all place the aubergine cubes in a colander, sprinkle them with salt and leave them to stand for half an hour, weighed down with something heavy to squeeze out the excess juices.

Meanwhile, skin the tomatoes by pouring boiling water over them and leaving them for 1 minute, then drain off the water and, as soon as they are cool enough to handle, slip off the skins. Cut each tomato in half and place the halves on one of the baking trays (cut side uppermost), then season with salt and freshly milled black pepper. Sprinkle over the chopped garlic, distributing it evenly between the tomatoes, and follow this with a few drops of olive oil in each one. Top each tomato half with half a basil leaf, turning each piece of leaf over to give it a good coating of oil. Now place the baking tray on the middle shelf of the oven and roast the tomatoes for 50-60 minutes or until the edges are slightly blackened.

Meanwhile, drain the aubergines and squeeze out as much excess juice as possible, then dry them thoroughly with a clean cloth and place them in the other baking tray. Then drizzle 1 tablespoon of the olive oil all over them and place them on the top shelf of the oven, above the tomatoes, giving them half an hour.

Towards the end of the cooking time, cook the pasta. When the tomatoes and aubergines are ready, scrape them, along with all their lovely cooking juices, into a saucepan and place it over a low heat, then add the cubed Mozzarella and stir gently. Now drain the pasta, pile it into a warm bowl, spoon the tomato and aubergine mixture over the top and scatter over a few basil leaves.

Tomato, Aubergine and Courgette Gratin

Recipezaar recipe. I didn't do this exactly as stated- I merged it with the aubergine parmegianna recipe. It was very tasty indeed! The onion improved the flavour of the tomato sauce and the courgettes varied it. I put a fine layer of parmesan after each layer of veg and tomato sauce from the parmegianna recipe.

Ingredients

15 ml olive oil

1 sliced onion

225 g mushrooms, sliced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

4 medium tomatoes, chopped

2 1/2 ml dried marjoram

1 1/4 ml dried thyme

salt and pepper

2 courgettes

2 small aubergines

55 g fresh breadcrumbs

75 ml parmesan cheese, grated

Directions

In a non-stick frying pan, heat 1 tsp of the oil over medium-high heat; cook onion, mushrooms, garlic and 2 tbsp water, stirring, for 3 minutes or until softened.

Add tomatoes, marjoram, thyme and salt and pepper to taste; cook for 20 minutes or until thickened, stirring often.

Slice courgettes and aubergines diagonally into 5 mm thick slices. Toss aubergine with remaining oil.

Spread 125 ml of the tomato sauce in a glass baking dish. Layer with half of the courgette, aubergine and sauce, repeat layers.

Mix breadcrumbs with cheese; sprinkle over top. Bake, uncovered at 200 C for 35 minutes or until bubbling.

Aubergine, Tomato and Parmesan Bake (Melanzane alla Parmigiana)

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/10033/aubergine-tomato-and-parmesan-bake-melanzane-alla-

This was very, very tasty, I added a two layers of mushrooms to the recipe.

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 garlic cloves, crushed

6 tbsp olive oil

2x 400g cans chopped tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato puree

4 aubergines, cut into long 5mm thick slices

85g parmesan. freshly grated

20g pack basil, leaves torn

1 egg, beaten

Method

1. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. In a shallow pan, mix together the garlic and 4 tbsp of the olive oil. Cook over a high heat for 3 mins, tip in the tomatoes, then simmer for 8 mins, stirring every now and then. Stir in the tomato purée.
2. Meanwhile, heat a griddle pan until very hot. Brush a few of the aubergines with a little oil, then add to the pan. Cook over a high heat until well browned and cooked through, about 5-7 mins. Turn them halfway through cooking. Lift onto kitchen paper and do the next batch.
3. When all the aubergines are cooked, lay a few of them in the bottom of an ovenproof dish, then spoon over some sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan and basil leaves. Add seasoning, then repeat this process with the remaining ingredients. Finally, pour the egg over the top, sprinkle over a little more Parmesan, then bake for 20 mins or until the topping is golden