A bit of a pause in new programming here on R&R, but I really haven’t been cooking many “originals” lately. There’s been a first pop at popovers (following this thread) but they weren’t a huge success honestly, too dense and cakey for me (bread flour next time?). For new year’s a lovely chocolate cake (the Racines one) from David Lebovitz‘s Ready for Dessert book, but do you really need another chocolate cake in January? Some catering for house guests – but I never do my best work under pressure. I split the grapefruit curd, burnt the grapefruit curd muffins, didn’t make enough sauce for the lobster spaghetti and did some biscuit baking that reminded me why margarine has not entered my kitchen for many years. Thank god for emergency meatballs.
Yesterday, though, was one of those meals that felt right, finally. Light but nourishing. Calm and uplifting. A mix of four or five different recipes, so counts as an original in my book. And a success. We ate with this black bread alongside, a loaf with the bite of aniseed and the depth of coffee and chocolate. Then two fluffy baked apples stuffed with candied lemon peel, pecans and raisin, some cognac sloshed in for good measure.
(P.S. I have totally over edited the photos, I know, but for two very good reasons. One, I gifted myself one of those fancy plug-in editing things for my birthday (from NIK software, since you ask), and am now addicted. Two, it is the only way to make my granite countertop look vaguely appealing. How can a surface which simultaneously shows fingerprints, dust and smears but hides crumbs, dirt, ants and flies be a good idea in a kitchen? I honestly can’t believe people pay vast sums to put this in their homes. And it’s too sodding shiny. Deep breaths, Zoë, deep breaths.)
Aubergine, buttermilk and lemon soup
Serves two as a main course
Ingredients
- 1 large “normal” aubergine (but do 2 if you have them in the fridge, to up the smokiness factor)
- 1/2 a red onion
- 1 stick celery
- 2 small leeks
- 1/2 a glass of white wine
- a few strands of thyme, leaves picked
- 1/2 a floury potato
- 1/2 lemon
- vegetable stock (powder or a cube is fine), no more than 1/2 a litre I’d say
- buttermilk, about 300ml
Instructions
- Prick the whole aubergine all over with a fork before “smoking” it, either by putting on a baking tray under a hot grill for about an hour, turning with tongs occasionally, or holding over a gas hob, until the skin is crispy and blackened and the innards soft and collapsed.
- Meanwhile, chop the onion, slice the leeks and celery and sauté these with the thyme in a little olive oil in your favourite soup pot. If they start to stick, add a little water or white wine. Cook until well softened. Scrape out the smoky aubergine innards (leaving aside the blackened skin) and add this to the pot. Peel the potato, chop into small bits and add this in too. Cook for a few minutes before adding hot vegetable stock – enough to just cover the vegetables – and the juice of half a lemon. Aim for a quite thick texture at this point, remembering that you’ll add buttermilk to thin later. Simmer gently until the potato pieces are soft. Puree in a blender, and return to the pan, loosening the texture from a thick puree to spoonable soup with buttermilk (about a cupful, but go by feel). Heat through.
- To serve, toast a handful of pine nuts in a hot, dry pan until lightly browned (or blackened, depending on your absentmindedness). Chop some fresh coriander or parsley leaves. Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle over herbs and nuts. Swirl in some olive oil and eat with good, very good bread.
Preparation time: 1 hour(s)
Cooking time: 1 hour(s)
Diet type: Vegetarian
Number of servings (yield): 2
Meal type: dinner
Culinary tradition: Middle Eastern
