This is my definition of late summer, turns out. I don't want baked squash or celeriac or even a jacket spud. But a roast courgette? Yes! A roast aubergine? Gimme? A roast, stuffed tomato? Yummmmmm.
I've had melitzanosalata for lunches lately, which is a solidly good aubergine dip thing, that contains no oil, bless it. I do love an oily sticky aubergine that goes well, but I also love not losing half a bottle of oil into a burnt offering. You roast these aubergines whole, peel off the skin when you can just about hold them, and mix in a load of garlic, parsley and seasoning. Let it cool and percolate together, serve. As part of a mezze spread, or just with a little bit of feta, or on bread. Which you can add oil to, if you feel like this is just too virtuous. Oops.
Feta notwithstanding, it's vegan week, and I wasn't feeling very inspired, till a passing reference reminded me of the Best Tomato Recipe in the world. It's this Guardian one by Rachel Roddy, and it is perfect, so long as you're not in a rush. You need to mix the filling for the tomatoes well ahead, so the rice can soak and swell (I only remembered that about 4.15 this afternoon, on account of many, many meetings today, but luckily I managed to sneak in a tomato-draining interval.
Lovely big summer tomatoes, lashings of garlic. All that. Vegan week, so no cheese in these ones - I almost never bother, because the flavours don't need it, but that's mainly because I salt this lavishly instead. YMMV.
It always looks quite perky on going into the oven, surrounded by its non-incidental chips. Double carbs! This is a very useful way of using up annoying risotto packet leftovers, if you have such things. Though today it was paella rice which I've had kicking around for yonks (I never make paella, no idea why I bought such a thing).
They come out of the oven rather less neat.
But! Don't despair. For one thing, the tomatoes' filling holds together relatively well so you don't just get a heap of tomato mush and stodge. For another, you *don't serve them at once*. Give it 10-15 minutes till they have calmed down and settled a bit, and the potatoes have soaked up lots more tomatoey oily cooking liquid. This is definitely a dish that's best warm, or even just room temp.
I may possibly have overcatered for two meals but it is joyful stuff. Essentially, risotto inna tom with chips. Perfect.
You can never go wrong stuffing something with rice. That looks yum and extra potato soaking time is always a good thing.
ReplyDeleteThey are *so* good. It's a very reliable source of joy in the kitchen!
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