Winter Skies, Kitchen Aglow

Sincere apologies for the stretch of time between posts. It is not that I have neither cooked nor thought of this food blog recently; it is just that my angelheart Eric and I have been setting up our new home in central Auckland, and we've been planning the details of our civil union partnership reception.

Moussaka (various spellings) is a dish associated with southern Europe, for it is of Balkan and Middle Eastern provenance, often said to be an Ottoman dish. It has been transported throughout the world and, consequently, has been subject to variations. The most typical version is the Greek moussakas, a three-layer offering of aubergine, lamb and tomatoes, topped with bechamel. In Arab cookery, moussaka does not have bechamel topping, and while layered, it is treated more as a cooked salad, which is to say it is very kind to whatever vegetables you have on hand.

This, here, is a simple vegetarian offering, which is to say we dispensed of the normal inclusion of lamb. One should not do away with the aubergines and tomotoes, which are the quintessential elements of moussaka. If you have potatoes, courgettes, and carrots, slice them thinly, saute or gently roast them, and layer them into the dish.

Traditionally, eggs are used as a binding ingredient for lamb and onions; we merely kept them in for oomph. Essential are herbs and spices. Use whatever suitable green herbs you have on the day (we used flat-leaf parley and lemon thyme, but feel free to use mint, tarragon and rosemary). As for spices, allspice and good black pepper work particularly well. But if allspice is not to hand, go for toasted cumin,

Moussaka
(Closely following a variation of Elizabeth David's recipe for Musaka in
Spices, Salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen)

500g aubergine (2-4 aubergines, depending on size)
1 onion, thinly sliced
750g tomatoes, chopped (you can skin them, if you please)
1 clove of garlic, crushed
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon hondashi
1 teaspoon allspice, freshly ground
2 eggs, beaten
salt
pepper
4-5 tablespoons vegetable stock or water, divided use
breadcrumbs (homemade: toast slices of good day-old bread, then grind them)

1) Preheat oven to 180 C/350 F (grill setting).
2) Thinly slice aubergines lengthwise, brush both sides with olive oil and grill in the oven (or on a barbecue grill) until soft but not mushy. Remove from grill.
3) In a saute pan, gently fry slices of onion in a bit of olive oil until pale yellow.
4) Add seasonings and herbs. Off the heat, stir in eggs.
5) In a separate pan, cook tomatoes and garlic in olive oil until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper and hondashi.
6) Pre-heat oven to 170 C/330 F.
7) Lightly oil an oven-safe baking dish, and layer in the ingredients: aubergines, then tomatoes, until all have been used.
8) Top with a layer of breadcrumbs.
9) Lightly soften with 3 tablespoons of vegetable stock. Cover with alumiunium foil, then bake for thirty minutes.
10) Remove foil. If the moussaka seems dry, add a little more stock. Bake for a further thirty minutes.

The specimen on the left is ultimately quite shallow, perfect as a side dish, but the number of layers you end up with depends entirely upon the amount of vegetables and size of baking dish you use.

This is a hearty, flavoursome and savoury dish that is best served hot but it perfectly tasty at room temperature, making it an ideal offering for any course during the day. If you have a small household, there will be leftovers for the following day, and like many dishes with herbs and spices, the dish improves overnight.

Moussaka is a perfectly simple dish to prepare, making good use of the bounty of summer and early autumn.

Labels: Eggplant, Elizabeth David, Vegetarian

I know it is such a cliché to consume copious amounts of coffee, but what can I say? While it is not necessarily good for one's blood pressure, coffee is mood-enhancing; I, for one, am relaxed in pose and steely-eyed in my concentration after drinking a cupful, and these effects are absolutely necessary when one is hunched over a desk all day at the computer or scribbling on one piece of coffee-ringed paper after another. Truth be known, I don't usually have but two cups per day, but they are loaded by the strength of the coffee - utterly dependent on the type of roast and quality of roasted beans - and the coffee machine itself.

My angelheart Eric is enjoying sole custody of our faithful espresso machine. Since moving back to New Zealand, I have purchased a moka pot, which is the closest fake-espresso one can have at home because it is also functions by creating steam to activate the water that funnels upwards towards to beans, extracting a very strong brew (not to be confused with percolators, in which boiled water seeps downwards through coffee grounds). I am happy with it; in fact, I am in love with it. If it wasn't for this invention, I would probably not be able to work from home but would have to work in the city, where good cafés abound. This is an important consideration for most students, I venture.

One of the main reasons I have not posted of late is because my diet has not greatly varied these past couple of weeks. Lunches consist of a sandwich of some description and fruit; dinner is whatever my parents put on. Occasionally I make linguine with garlic oil and peperoncino. Although I seriously miss taking my time in the kitchen to explore, it is time I cannot afford. On the days that my tastebuds get depressed at the notion of yet another sandwich (no matter how delicious I make them with fresh bread), I turn to my protein superfood: eggs.

From the days of 5th form and 7th form year-end examinations in high school, I make sure to have eggs when I need to be mentally alert. The effects this has seems to wear off if I follow it for too many consecutive days; however, I have learned to harness the power of the mighty egg and ensure that I consume them for lunch at least twice a week. The mental clarity gained is impressive.

Elizabeth David's French Provincial Cooking is my book to go to for recipes on eggs. There is a so much variation in the provinces of France on ways to prepare fried eggs, poached eggs, hard boiled eggs, omelettes, soufflés, tarts...I find never-ending satisfaction from these pages. Ms. David does remark that in most cases, people are very particular about how they prepare their eggs. I clarify that this is not because people are always picky and difficult but that, in most cases, egg dishes feature eggs as the star and if they are not prepared to one's liking, then the entire dish is ruined.

I confess that I generally prefer poached eggs to fried eggs, but every now and then I do crave the combination of nutty butter and tart vinegar, a combination that defines Oeufs Frits au Beurre Noir. I do not prefer my yolks to be set too hard, but this is a call that you can make. Ms. David doesn't specify the vinegar to be used for this quick dish. I have tried the following vinegars for this recipe: tarragon, white wine, and red wine. The latter is my favourite on rainy days, providing both a savoury fruit and tart bite; tarragon vinegar is better on other days. I have yet to try it with champagne vinegar. This very simple recipe provides enough for one in a hurry.

Oeufs Frits au Beurre Noir
(from Elizabeth David's French Provincial Cooking)

1 3/4 tablespoons butter, divided use
2 eggs
salt
pepper
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (see note above)

1) Set oven to low and place inside a heat-safe serving dish.
2) Melt one tablespoon butter (or light, frying oil) over medium heat.
3) Into a plate with sloping sides, crack one egg.
4) Sprinkle egg with salt and pepper.
5) When butter has melted, gently slide in the egg so that the yolk does not break.
6) Tilt the frying pan so that the butter completely surrounds the egg.
7) Cover and fry gently until just before done to your preference. They should cook a little further while hanging out in the oven.
8) In the meantime, crack the other egg into the plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
9) Transfer done egg to the waiting warm serving dish and get on with frying the other egg.
10) When both eggs are done, clean the frying pan, then add remaining 3/4-tablespoon of butter. When it is foaming and gently transforming colour, pour over the fried eggs, which are staying warm in the oven.
11) Pour the vinegar into the frying pan and let it boil. Pour over the eggs and pool of nutty butter. Serve immediately.


Of course, when it all gets a bit much and a break is needed instead of food, there is another sort of food: that contained in the pages of my cookery book collection. Currently at my side are the latest offerings by Diana Henry, Cook Simple: Effortless Cooking Every Day, and Simon Hopkinson, Week In Week Out: 52 Seasonal Stories, the first by Australian chef Skye Gyngell, A Year in My Kitchen, and the Elizabeth David stalwart French Provincial Cooking. Each one is uniquely comforting, but full of insight and imagination.


Bear with me. There are only two more weeks to go, and then I will be free of the ball and chain that is my beloved thesis.

Labels: Eggs, Elizabeth David