My recipe for ‘caponata’ - the classic Sicilian vegetable dish starring aubergine and tomato and flavoured with olives and capers

Here in London, summer has arrived with a sudden burst. The days are long and sunshiney, the lawns and trees dazzle with emerald green, and there are roses blooming everywhere. As I sit here at 9.30pm, I can hear the birds singing outside, a cool breeze is blowing in through the window and the twilight sky is turning a soft peach and mauve colour. England can be glorious in June, though it pays to make the most of it because the summers are often so brief and the next rainy spell can be just around the corner.

It’s time too for summer food. The queen of the spring foods, asparagus, is still in season but not for much longer, now that English strawberries and raspberries are making an appearance. There are also plenty of aubergines (eggplants) around. This is one of my favourite vegetables and should be bought firm and a glossy dark purple.

To me, caponata is a dish that screams summer. It’s great on pasta or toasted Italian bread, or as a side dish. It’s good when it’s first made but it’s even better after a day or two in the fridge and can be eaten cold or room temperature. It’s great for using up a glut of tomatoes from the garden or bought in bulk at a street market, but it works perfectly well with tinned tomatoes. There are endless variations on caponata - you can use peppers (capsicum) for example - and it’s really a matter of using what’s available and in season.

This is my version of a very simple caponata. I really love the flavours of the meaty aubergine and tomato, the earthy celery and the zing of olives and capers. Some caponatas are very oily - in this version the aubergine cooks mostly in the liquids of the tomato so it’s very low fat and really ridiculously healthy. But good.

Ingredients

2 aubergines
2 celery sticks
600g crushed tomatoes (1.5 tins)
1 onion
2-3 garlic cloves
1-2 tbs olive oil
Dried Italian herbs including 1 bayleaf
24 kalamata olives
1 tbs capers
Salt and pepper

To serve: 5 leaves fresh basil

Method

1. Chop the onions finely and crush or finely slice the garlic. Dice the aubergine into 1cm chunks and slice the celery. Pit and slice the olives (a cherry deseeder is useful or you can simply cut around the seed with a knife).

2. Fry the onion and garlic gently in a heavy pot with a little oil until it is translucent and soft. Add the celery and then the aubergine. Add a little more oil if needed. Cook until the ingredients start to brown slightly.

3. Add tomatoes, dried herbs, olives and capers. Leave to simmer with the lid on. The dish is not ready until the aubergine is extremely tender. It is essential that you don’t get impatient - rubbery aubergine is horrible!

4. Season with salt and pepper. If you have fresh basil, then chiffanade it by rolling the leaves up and slicing it finely. Scatter the basil over the dish to serve. If you have some wonderful ripe tomatoes, you could chop or slice them and add them to the dish as well (but don’t bother unless the tomatoes are especially good). Serve hot or cold.

Another aubergine idea: Simon Hopkinson’s Asian-style fried aubergine with chilli and salad onions. Not quite as healthy but very tasty!

This is my version of pasta primavera - food to celebrate spring. You could make this at another time of year using good quality frozen peas and broad beans, or you could vary the recipe by using other spring vegetables such as leeks, spring onions, asparagus, snap peas.

This is vegetarian but if you prefer, you could make it with bacon and omit the feta. I prefer it this way as it tastes fresh and wholesome.

Ingredients

Penne, 2 cups
Olive oil, 1 tbs
Onion, 1/2
Garlic, 2 cloves
Peas, 1/2 cup
Broad beans (fava beans), 1/2 cup
Zucchini (courgette), 2 medium
Feta cheese, 70g
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Fresh mint, 2-3 tbs
Salt and pepper

Method

Cook the penne in boiling salted water until al dente, then drain. Transfer the penne to a bowl, stir in the lemon juice and set aside.

Meanwhile, chop the onion finely and crush the garlic. Top and tail the zucchini, then slice lengthways into thin, flat strips.

Heat the oil in a frypan, add the onion and garlic and cook on a low heat until translucent. Add the zucchini and keep frying on a low heat, stirring occasionally until it softens and browns. Add the peas and broad beans and cook for a few further minutes, until everything is warm and cooked. Mix the vegetables with the penne.

Chop the feta into cubes and chiffanade the mint (by rolling the leaves and then slicing to make long thin strips). Mix the cheese and mint into the pasta mix, season with salt and pepper and serve.

Serves 2-3 people.

I am keen to try out more healthy and diet-friendly recipes and also expand my knowledge of vegetarian cookery. I also love lasagne and believe that a good vegetarian lasagne is an essential dish in any cook’s repertoire. This recipe for lentil, mushroom and ricotta lasagne comes from The Low GI Vegetarian Cookbook by Dr Jennie Brand-Miller, Kaye Foster-Powell, Kate Marsh and Philippa Sandall. As the title of the book suggests, it’s both low GI and vegetarian. It serves six and the nutrition details per serve are: 1797 kilojoules (429 calories); 14g fat (saturated fat 6g); 7g fibre; 24g protein; 50g carbohydrate.

Lentil, mushroom and ricotta lasagne
Serves 6 * Preparation time: 20 minutes * Cooking time: 1 hour * Cooling time: 5 minutes

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled, finely chopped
1 stick celery, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme leaves
1 tablespoon tomato paste
400g (14 oz) can chopped tomatoes
400g (14 oz) can brown lentils, rinsed
400g (14 oz) button mushrooms, sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
500g (1 lb 2 oz) low fat ricotta
1 egg
125ml (4 fl oz / 1/2 cup) skim milk
pinch nutmeg
4 (30 x 16cm / 12 x 6 1/2 inch) fresh lasagne sheets
25g (1 oz / 1/4 cup) finely grated parmesan

1. Heat half the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6-8 minutes, or until the vegetables soften. Add the garlic and thyme and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and lentils and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until sauce thickens. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. Heat the remaining oil in a large pan, add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes, or until slightly soft. Season and remove from heat.

3. Preheat oven to 180C (350F / Gas 4). Lightly oil a 2 litre (2 quart / 8 cup) ovenproof dish. Combine the ricotta, egg, milk and nutmeg in a bowl.

4. To assemble the lasagne, place a sheet of lasagne in the base of the prepared dish. Top with a third of the lentil mixture, scatter over a third of the mushrooms and smooth over a third of the ricotta mixture. Repeat these steps. Then top with a third lasagne sheet, the remaining lentils and mushrooms, then a fourth lasagne sheet, and finally the remaining ricotta. Sprinkle over the parmesan.

5. Bake for 30 minutes, or until top is golden and bubbling. Set aside to rest for 5 minutes before cutting.

Road test
A note on ingredients: I used vegetable oil instead of olive oil and substituted dried Italian herbs in place of fresh thyme. I also used full-fat ricotta and semi-skimmed milk rather than the low-fat ricotta and skimmed milk specified, so my calorie and fat count would be slightly higher than indicated on the recipe. I cooked French brown lentils from scratch instead of using canned lentils, omitted the tomato paste and added a teaspoon of miso paste to enhance the tomato vegetable sauce. My fresh lasagne sheets were small, so I had to use two sheets per layer instead of one.

Method: The recipe was very easy to follow and it didn’t take too long, even allowing for an extra 20 minutes to cook my dried lentils. Most of the cooking time is in the oven and doesn’t require close attention. I followed the metric measurements.

Result: This is a satisfying and tasty dish - it’s hard to believe it’s diet food. The portions were more than adequate, especially when served with a garden salad, and the leftovers were great for lunch or a quick supper throughout the week.

Verdict
It’s great to find vegetarian recipes that don’t rely on fake meat for protein but still taste really good. I have tried vegetarian lasagne recipes before and this is definitely my favourite so far. What a bonus that it’s also so healthy! I would definitely make this again. Next time I would probably still add the miso to give it a very full flavour but maybe only half a teaspoon as I found it quite strong (though my partner couldn’t taste it).

Our champion for England is Julia from the A Slice of Cherry Pie food blog. She has made the Full English Breakfast and has even gone the whole hog (literally) with the inclusion of black pudding.

I was delighted when Caitlin asked me if I would represent England in her Global Breakfast Tournament and immediately I knew the dish I would have to enter would be the Full English Breakfast, or ‘the fry up’ as it’s also known. We’re very lucky in Britain to enjoy a wide range of breakfasts from around the world, whether a croissant and latte grabbed on the way to the office, a bowl of muesli or even kedgeree. Toast and a cup of tea features heavily in British homes at breakfast time, as does cereal, but ask most Brits what the ultimate breakfast is here in the UK and the answer will be a resounding ‘the fry up!’. Now I know what you’re thinking; “Greasy, artery-blocking, heavy fried breakfasts served in greasy spoon cafes, well they may be classically British but what’s so great about them?”. Well, read on!

The great British fry up has regional variances across the country; in Ireland you may find white pudding or soda bread, in Scotland haggis or potato scones are often included and in Wales lava bread may feature. But regardless of where you are in the UK, at the heart of this fantastic breakfast you’ll pretty much always find bacon, eggs and sausages. Being from England, I’ve cooked the Full English Breakfast for my entry. After the bacon, eggs and sausages, generally any combination of mushrooms, eggs, tomatoes, hash browns, baked beans, fried bread and black pudding are added, sometimes with toast on the side for the very hungry. Eggs are sometimes scrambled, but more commonly fried and served runny, and you can’t beat the delight of that first burst of the egg as you dip in a piece of sausage or toast into that gloriously yellow yolk. In my research for this entry I’ve found that black pudding is something of a contentious issue. Many people insist that a full English breakfast must include it but quite a few people really dislike it and many don’t even get as far as trying it, being repulsed by the idea of a sausage made from blood. I have to say I don’t usually include it in my breakfast, but as I continued my research and spoke to various people it soon became very apparent that I would be committing blasphemy of the gravest kind if I didn’t include it for this post. So I made an exception and there it is, right next to the bacon, tomatoes and beans!

As always, the best ingredients will give the best dish. If you use poor quality ingredients you’ll get a poor quality breakfast, simple. So choose large free-range eggs, preferably organic, fresh ripe tomatoes, flavoursome mushrooms, thickly cut bacon and good quality black sausage from your butcher. And now for a few rules, meant light-heartedly but taken seriously by many; baked beans must be Heinz baked beans, sausages must be British, fat and juicy, and whether you prefer brown sauce or tomato sauce the choice can only be between Heinz ketchup and HP sauce.

Let’s talk about fat content for a minute. Now I do concede that the Full English isn’t the healthiest of breakfasts, not by a long shot, and if you eat it every day you’re going to pile on the pounds and give your arteries a challenge. But it really isn’t eaten every day by your average Brit. It’s something to be enjoyed in moderation, a real treat, generally eaten on an occasional weekend when there is more time to potter in the kitchen and really enjoy this hearty breakfast, or when staying in a hotel or bed and breakfast somewhere across the country. Those very concerned about the fat content could grill instead of fry, and many people do, but if you’re looking for true authenticity only the frying pan will do. You don’t need much fat for frying at all; some will come out of the bacon and sausages, and olive oil is a good choice, being healthier than most fats. After frying place the bacon and sausages on kitchen paper to soak up the excess fat before serving it.

So just what is it about this part of the British institution that makes it so special and dear to the hearts of so many Brits? Well let me see, could it be the gentle sound of the sizzling in the pan, the smell of the bacon and sausages making your tummy ache or the oozing yellow egg yolk? Maybe it’s the taste of the mushrooms or the sweet, warm tomatoes that burst in your mouth, or the taste combinations, different with each mouthful. Could it be the way this hearty breakfast fills your tummy, warms you up and puts a contented smile on your face as you read the Sunday papers? Or perhaps it’s the fact that this breakfast reminds us so much of home and makes us proud to be British; after all, whilst there are many fantastic breakfasts all around the world, no one can do a fried breakfast like the British. Whatever it is, I really don’t think that there’s a better way to start the day.

Forced rhubarb is available in England at this time of year. It’s notable mainly for the stunning colour, which ranges from pale pink to fuschia. The main crop rhubarb, which comes later in spring, is a darker, cherry red.

This month’s In the Bag event, which focuses on seasonal eating, has forced rhubarb as the star ingredient, along with orange and sugar. (Last month, the theme was pears, almonds and lemon and you can see my effort here and all the other recipes over on the A Slice of Cherry Pie blog, which hosts the event).

There is a debate among cooks about the best way to cook rhubarb and what the desired consistency is. Some cooks go to great lengths to ensure that rhubarb holds its shape. Recently I had a rhubarb trifle at Alastair Little’s in London, which featured small, defined chunks of rhubarb. Angela on A Spoonful of Sugar recommends oven poaching rhubarb to ensure this effect.

“This is the only way to cook rhubarb in my opinion. It preserves the gorgeous colour of the rhubarb and also keeps the shape of each piece intact - I suspect that many a child has been put off rhubarb by being served stewed rhubarb which is generally a rather dubiously coloured puree with stringy bits in it.”

I don’t subscribe to this school of thought. There’s certainly an aesthetic difference and some people think it is prettier with the rhubarb intact. However, I think that it compromises the flavour. Rhubarb is very tart and requires sweetening. I believe the rhubarb needs to fall apart in order to blend properly with the sugar - otherwise you end up with chunks of tart rhubarb sitting in syrup.

To my mind, the best and simplest way to cook rhubarb is to slice it into small chunks about 2cm long. This counteracts the stringiness, which usually comes from the cook trying to stew huge long chunks of rhubarb. Then put it in a pot with the juice of half an orange, stirring occasionally to prevent it sticking to the bottom. Do not add any water as the rhubarb will release water when cooking. If you are not using the orange juice, you could add a couple of tablespoons of water but that’s all. When the rhubarb is soft and starting to lose its shape, add sugar. How much sugar depends on your personal taste and the flavour of the rhubarb, but I used about 50g (half a metric cup) for 400g rhubarb and that seemed about right. Adding the sugar at the end, rather than during cooking, helps preserve the colour (as you can see in the picture).

The cooked rhubarb is lovely served hot with vanilla ice cream or cooled and mixed with custard or whipped cream (or yogurt if you’re trying to be healthy!) to make a rhubarb fool. The blend of tartness and sweetness is sublime, and fruit and cream is a classic that is hard to beat.

Rhubarb & Orange Cream Pudding

The whole point of these events is challenge and innovation, so I decided to try something new. (It also requires the rhubarb to be puréed, thus side-stepping the whole texture debate). I based this dessert on my aunt’s orange flummerie but I had to alter the recipe to accommodate the stewed rhubarb, which is not pure liquid. I also decided to made this with agar agar rather than gelatine. Agar agar is a flavourless Japanese gelling agent made from seaweed and it’s a vegetarian substitute for gelatine.

This recipe is also surprisingly low in calories and fat. There is sugar and cream but the recipe serves 4, so each person is getting 12.5g sugar (50 calories) and 12.5g double cream (55.6 calories; 5.9g fat).

Ingredients

Forced rhubarb, 400g

One orange, juiced and half zested

Caster sugar, 50g (adjust quantity to taste)

Agar agar, 2 tablespoons

Water

Greek yogurt, 50g

Double cream, 50g

Blanched almonds or hazelnuts to serve (optional)

Method

1. Wash and chop rhubarb into 2cm chunks. Cook with half the orange juice, according to the instructions above, then stir in the sugar. Leave to cool. (This step can be done in advance).
2. Blend the rhubarb in a food processor.
3. Pour 1 cup (250ml) water into a small saucepan and sprinkle with agar agar flakes without stirring. Heat and then simmer for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add the rest of the orange juice and one teaspoon of orange zest to the rhubarb and top up with a little water to make 1 cup (250ml)
5. Pour the hot water and agar agar into the rhubarb and orange mix and stir thoroughly. Leave to cool.
6. Once it is tepid to cool, spoon in the yogurt and cream, and fold it into the jelly mix, which will be starting to set.
7. Transfer to 4 serving bowls or glasses, and cover with plastic food wrap before transferring to the fridge.
8. Serve with a garnish of blanched almonds or hazelnuts.

Notes

This was my first time using agar agar and it worked very well but it sets a lot more quickly than gelatine. You can’t fold in the dairy until it’s cool (or the dairy will curdle), but leave it too long and the jelly will already be solid. Check after about 20 minutes.

If you prefer to use gelatine, then you will need to read the instructions as the ratio of liquid to gelatine may be different. You will need to add enough gelatine based on the rhubarb being liquid, but dissolve the crystals in boiling water. You could also use packet jelly if you prefer but would suggest lemon flavour is best as it is not too sweet.

Results

The pudding was a pretty pale pink and tasted sweet and tangy. The texture was creamy and mostly smooth, with the occasional fleck of orange zest or titbit of rhubarb. It reminded me a little of the mango puddings you get in Chinese restaurant, though not quite as sweet (I believe they use sweetened condensed milk).

This is my entry for the monthly Waiter There’s Something in My… event. This month it is hosted by Andrew at Spittoon Extra and the theme is salad. He’s called for the salad to be seasonal if possible and for me in England that means a winter salad.

I eat a lot of salad at any time of year and I don’t generally follow too much of a recipe. The joy of a salad, as with a soup, is that I can use whatever is to hand. I recently made a fabulous salad with roast beetroot (following the Sophie Grigson method), clementine (small, sweet citrus fruit similar to mandarins), roast red pepper, pine nuts, lettuce, shallots and salad cress in a lemon and olive oil dressing. I have also been eating bufalo mozzarella with avocado, sweet green tomato, basil and a drizzle of olive oil on crisp bread, for lunch.

This week I bought some delectably creamy and sharp Devon Blue cheese from the deli and I wanted to base a salad around that. My mind leapt immediately to the ripe pears we had at home. My favourite variety is the conference pear, because it has the best flavour and it seems to stay in an optimal state - ripe but firm - for days, while other varieties seem to move from crunchy to slushy or brown too quickly.

What else would go with the blue cheese and the pears? Walnuts, of course, and the nice green lettuce with the wavy leaves in the fridge at home. Then, at the last minute, the addition of the roast parsnip and celeriac chips leftover from last night’s dinner. (I had  parboiled handcut wedges of parsnip and celeriac and then roasted them with vegetable oil, salt and pepper). The salad was lightly coated with dressing of balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Balsamic vinegar is an attention seeker and should be used in moderation. Most people, restaurants included, use too much of it and end up overpowering the other ingredients. You need just a hint of it to add to the bouquet of flavours - I mixed equal parts of olive oil and balsamic vinegar in a jar and then used just two teaspoons of the mix for the salad. You need enough to coat the leaves, but if you end up with liquid at the bottom of the bowl, then you’ve used too much.

The salad was a wonderful mix of flavours and texture. The star ingredients were the blue cheese and the sweet, firm pear, which made a glorious combination. The walnuts, which I crumbled with my hands, were creamy and sweet, and the substance of the root vegetables was a nice counterpoint to the light, crunchy leaves.

The lettuce, parsnip and celeriac were organic from my weekly vegetable box. The pears were British grown from Waitrose, though not organic. The blue cheese is from Devon and bought from a small shop in my local area. The only imported ingredients were the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, both from Italy, though the olive oil was organic, and the walnuts, organically grown in India.

For more winter salad inspiration, I like the look of this beet salad on Sugar Plum.

• * Get cheesy! My friend Jessica who blogs over at Ripe London has written a lovely piece for Times Online on the art of constructing a good cheese platter. Or you could do as the Americans do (or some of them at least) and carve your cheese rather than eat it - Word of Mouth has the details. And Lee at The Unbearable Lightness of being Hungry has blogged about how cheese healed the britpop rift between Blur and Oasis. (Woo hoo!).

• * I have been posting a lot about pancakes recently, but who can resist these poppyseed darlings on 101 Cookbooks? They look delicious! There are instructions for both dessert or savoury versions.

• * Attention coffee drinkers! Science blog Developing Intelligence tells you how to optimise your caffeine hit - small, regular doses are key. (Link via LifeHacker).

• * Travel blog The Window Seat has a guide on how to eat like a local, wherever you are in the world. Not surprisingly, it talks a lot about farmers’ markets - and here is Ivy at Kopiaste’s description of her local farmers’ market in Athens.

• * Apple & Spice celebrates its first birthday with, what else, a spiced apple cake. Mmm… looks delicious! Happy birthday! By the way, you can see a recipe for my namesake here.

• * I gave my recipe for spinach pie earlier in the week. Here’s Rose’s recipe at You Say Tomahto, I Say Tomayto - she has used puff pastry, only 100g of spinach, and ricotta, while I used filo, a whole bunch of chard, and both feta and cottage cheese, so the result would be very different, but I’m sure no less delicious. Rose, who is part Maltese, calls her version “Maltese spinach pie”. I’ve called mine “Greek” (though I’m not Greek), but really variations on this recipe can be found all over the eastern Mediterranean - my friend Tamara from Sydney makes the same dish and calls it “Bosnian pie”.

• * I’m loving the increased coverage of food and drink in Time Out London. This week the mag takes lessons on how to make macaroons from the pastry chef at Soho tearoom Yauatcha and shares the recipe.

My mother sent me off to university with a folder full of her recipes, including this one for spinach pie. It’s one of my very favourite meals and always a hit in my household. I love the combination of sweet spinach with rich, salty feta, wrapped in delicious flaky pastry.

You can use the same filling for cheese and spinach triangles, which make great party food. I usually make a pie, which is less fiddly and makes a good vegetarian main course. It’s actually incredibly easy - about 20 minutes prep and then it bakes in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour.

Spinach and friends

The pie is named after Popeye’s favourite food but you can actually use a variety of leaves, not just spinach. The term “spinach” has different meanings in different countries anyway.

In Australia, there is a vegetable with white stems and shiny, rippled, dark green leaves that tastes very similar to spinach. Australians often call this “spinach” or, when they are being precise, they call it “silverbeet”. True spinach is usually called “English spinach”.

In the UK, “English spinach” is just called “spinach”. It’s fine to use this, though I would recommend you get the adult leaves if you can. The baby spinach leaves used for salad are expensive and the flavour is not as strong, which is great for eating them raw but not so suitable for cooking. I have also tried frozen spinach and this works fine but the flavour is not as good.

You can also get “silverbeet” in the UK except here it’s called “Swiss chard”. There is also a variant called “rainbow chard”, which has a bright red stem and some red colouring on the mostly green leaves. You can use either type and the taste will be similar, but obviously the rainbow version will add pretty red streaks to the white and green of the pie filling.

Last year I did a food writing course at the Arvon Foundation with Sophie Grigson and Alastair Hendy. With eight budding food writers on the course, plus our tutors and the Arvon staff, we ate fabulous meals almost every night. Since we had vegetarians on the course, I contributed this pie to one of the meals. We had a bit of a shortage of either chard or spinach but Sophie taught me that you can use the stems and leaves of beetroot. Meanwhile, John who works at Arvon, taught me that you can use the tender new leaves of stinging nettle, and we actually went out the back of the farmhouse in Devon where the Arvon courses are taught and collected nettle to add to the pie.

Sophie suggested it should really be called “green pie”, but I persist in calling it “spinach pie” since that’s what I grew up calling it, and I think it’s more meaningful to most people.

My personal preference is to use silverbeet/chard, which has a sweeter flavour than English spinach, and I use the stems as well, finely sliced to give it extra texture and flavour. Some spinach pie recipes use ricotta but I prefer my version, with feta and cottage cheese.

Pastry and friends

A friend in Austria told me that he makes his filo from scratch. This impresses me enormously but it’s a highly specialist skill so I do recommend you buy filo - this is what most professionals do anyway. Filo is generally for sale in both the refrigerated section and frozen aisle of the supermarket. I prefer the refrigerated kind as it’s ready to work with immediately. If you can only find the frozen kind, you will need to let it thaw as it is very brittle when frozen. Don’t try microwaving it as the pastry will stick together and turn into glue! It sometimes comes in two sizes - buy the bigger one if possible, but you can get pretty good results by layering smaller sheets if necessary.

It is essential to brush oil or melted butter between each sheet of pastry as this is what gives it the lovely flaky layered effect. Otherwise the pastry sticks together in clumps and is quite dull. My mother always used melted butter but I generally use oil as it’s healthier and also easier since you don’t have to melt it first. I’ve been told that egg whites are a substitute but this didn’t work for me - I just wound up with all the pastry sticking together in one ultra crunchy sheet. I’ve also been told that a mix of whole eggs and milk beaten together can also work - this worked better but was not wholly satisfactory either. I would say stick to oil and if you are trying to reduce fat, you could probably get away with only brushing every second sheet.

Recipe

Ingredients

Filo pastry, 12 sheets

Oil (olive oil is nice but any plain cooking oil is fine) or melted butter, 100g

Spinach or silverbeet/chard or other green leaves, 2 bunches or 1 generous bunch

Plain cottage cheese, 200g

Feta cheese, 200g (chopped into small cubes)

Eggs, 3 (it doesn’t really matter if they are medium or large but do buy free range or organic if you can!)

Garlic, 1 clove (crushed or finely chopped)

Salt and pepper

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
2. Rinse the spinach well. Plunge it into boiling water for a minute or two and then drain. Leave to cool and then ring the leaves out by hand to remove as much liquid as possible.
3. Mix the eggs, feta, cottage cheese, garlic, and salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix in the leaves.
4. Take a rectangular baking dish and layer six sheets of pastry, brushing oil or melted butter between each sheet.
5. Spoon the spinach and cheese on top of the pastry and spread evenly.
6. Add another six layers of pastry, brushing oil between each layer and on the top sheet (this will make it brown).
7. Bake in the oven until golden brown. This will take at least 45 minutes and may take up to an hour and 15 minutes depending on your oven. You can turn up the oven a little but not too much as you want the filling to cook through without burning the pastry.
8. Serves four to six people. It’s nice with a green salad or some roast pumpkin/squash.

I hope you enjoy it! This is definitely something that I would recommend trying and you can make adjustments to suit your own taste and lifestyle.

When I grew up in Australia in 1980s, beetroot was something that came on a hamburger and it was always canned. Even now, I think fresh beets are quite rare in Australia.

I’ve always loved beetroot but it wasn’t until I came to the UK that I realised quite how good it can be. When I first came I was quite impressed with the vacuum packs of beets because of the freshness and sweetness of the taste, compared with the canned product, which is generally boiled in malt vinegar. This is because vinegar is a preserving agent but food writer Sophie Grigson calls this “abuse” and she has a point as the vinegar seriously affects the flavour of the beets, which are naturally sweet.
However, if you really want to know how good beets can be, you need to make your own - the results are far superior. I get a weekly box of organic fruit and vegetables from Abel & Cole and beetroots make a regular appearance. I have also discovered other varieties of beetroot on my forays to Borough Market (one of my favourite places in London). As well as the deep red-purple variety we all know, there are also golden beetroots and candy beetroots with an exquisite pattern of white and pink cocentric circles (pictured). The other cool thing about beetroot is that the stems and leaves are also edible and make a nice substitute for spinach or chard (silverbeet) in most recipes.

One of my favourite things to do with beetroot is to make a salad. All you do is chop the ends of the beet and peel it and then grate the beet. You also grate a carrot. Then you toss the grated beet and carrot together with a lemon and olive oil dressing and two teaspoons of sunflower seeds. You get the deeper flavour of the beet combined with the sweetness of the carrot, the nuttiness of the seeds, the acidity of the lemon, all coated in a light layer of extra virgin olive oil. Delicious and healthy too.

I also often roast beetroot. Usually I peel the beet and cut into chunks, then toss with oil, salt and pepper and perhaps some rosemary, before roasting it in the oven. Half a beetroot takes about an hour to cook using this method and smaller chunks closer to half an hour. It’s far quicker than roasting potatoes or most other root vegetables.

I did try boiling beetroot in salted water once and it worked fine but was nothing special.

Tonight I had a bit of time on my hands so I thought I would try Sophie Grigson’s method of oven roasting whole beets wrapped in foil and then peeling them afterwards. I’ve wanted to try this for a while but it does take quite a bit longer than other methods, so this was the first time. This is from her 2006 book Vegetables, which is an excellent accompaniment to any kitchen but particularly useful for households who participate in a vegetable box scheme. This is from the general introductory section to the chapter on beetroots.

Beetroot - Cooking

“Although it is not the only way to cook beetroot, by far the best general method is to roast them, guarding all their juiciness and flavour. For most purposes, the process is as follows: wash the beetroots well (but don’t scrub brutally, which will rupture the skin) and trim off the leaves, leaving about 2cm (3/4 inch) of stalk in place to minimise bleeding. Do not trim off the root. Wrap each beetroot individually in foil, place in a roasting tin or ovenproof dish and slide into a preheated oven. For the finest results the temperature should be fairly low - say around 150C/300F/Gas 2. You should allow 2-3 hours for the beetroots to cook. They will still turn out well at a higher temperature if you want to speed matters up a little, or have something else cooking in the oven - anything up to 200C/400F/Gas 6 will do nicely. To test, unwrap one of the larger beetroot and scrape gently at the skin near the root. When it comes away easily, the beetroots are done. Take them out and cool slightly, then unwrap and skin each one…”

Beetroot - Partners

“Despite, or perhaps even because of, its distinctive presence, beetroot has an affinity with a remarkable number of other ingredients. In eastern Europe, where it is used most famously to create borscht - beetroot soup in several different forms - beetroot is often combined with aniseed flavours (fennel seed, aniseed, dill and so on) and with soured cream. Try serving cubes of hot cooked beetroot tossed with fresh dilland butter, or fry it briefly with cubes of eating apple and bruised fennel seeds, then serve topped with a spoonful of soured cream (or stir creme fraiche, not soured cream, which will split, into the pan to make a light sauce). Cooked beetroot (puréed or finely diced) is also a brilliant addition to mashed potato, turning it a startling bright pink, which will wow children as much as it amuses parents…”

Road test

Of course, Sophie has far more to say on the subject of beetroot but I thought that was a good starting point. I followed her instructions on roasting the beetroot to the letter and then I interpreted her suggestions for how to serve it, according to the ingredients I had to hand. I went with the suggestion of fennel as a good flavour partner and used mayonnaise rather than creme fraiche or sour cream. There’s no point doing this with cheap mayonnaise as that would ruin the flavour - you need to either make your own or buy the most expensive, unadulterated product you can find.

Ingredients
3 beetroots, including one candy beetroot
1 head of fennel
1 shallot
Tablepoon of mayonnaise (I used Delouis Fils brand of French mayonnaise)
Salt and pepper

Method
Sophie’s instructions were very easy to follow. I had the temperature at 160C for one hour and then moved it up to 200C for the second hour. They peeled easily though I should have waited a few more minutes before I did this, as it was very hot.

Meanwhile, I chopped the fennel and shallot finely, mixed it with a tablespoon of mayonnaise and added salt and pepper.

I sliced the beetroots and served it with the mayonnaise and fennel as a condiment.

Results
The beetroots cooked beautifully using this method. Roasting them in foil and with the skins on preserves the flavour and colour but, unlike boiling, does not add an element of wateriness or acidity. They were good with the mayonnaise and fennel, though I think creme fraiche or sour cream would be even better.

I served this with a frittata, a green salad, and oven-roasted celeriac and parsnip chips. Look how pretty it is with the two varieties of beetroot - almost like a dessert!

Verdict

I would do this again when I have the time. It’s not a method that is practical for making dinner after work since it takes at least two hours to make it. But for weekends, it’s fine - the actual preparation time is minimal and the beauty is that you can put them in the oven and then more or less forget about them - perfect for pottering about the house on the weekend.

I had never considered fennel as an accompaniment but will definitely try that again. Overall it contributed to a delicious meal and was a hit with everyone in the house.

Wild Blueberry Pancakes

Our champion representing Canada in the Global Breakfast Tournament is Tamara from Muskoka in Ontario.

Over time, I’ve altered my mom’s original pancake recipe to make a version that’s a little healthier and lighter.

The trick of beating the egg white separately is something I picked up from my husband’s favourite waffle recipe. It adds “puff” to the pancakes, which helps counteract the heaviness you can encounter when you introduce whole wheat flour into a recipe.

Blueberries can be folded directly into the batter, but you often end up with purplish pancakes (tastes the same, just different aesthetic.) By dotting blueberries into the pancakes while they’re in the pan, you can preserve batter colour - and also ensure that
you end up with lots of berries in your pancake!

We love to make these pancakes during summers at the lake, when Muskoka wild blueberries are prevalent at roadside stands. The wild berries are small, but pack a lot of flavour! For authentic Canadian taste, serve drizzled with REAL maple syrup (please, not that fake substitute!), Canadian back bacon, and some fresh hot coffee.

Ingredients

1.25 cups unbleached all purpose flour
0.75 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon sugar
0.5 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
2 cups buttermilk
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 cups blueberries, sorted and rinsed
NB Measurements are imperial: 1 cup = 8 fluid ounces.

Method

1. In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.
2. Separate the eggs, placing the egg whites in a clean, dry bowl. Whisk whites until soft peaks form. Set aside.
3. In another bowl, combine yolk, buttermilk, and canola until blended. Add all at once to the flour mixture, stirring gently until just combined. There will be lumps in the batter. Then carefully fold egg whites into the batter until just combined.
4. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot enough to make a drop of water sizzle. Gently brush on a little canola oil. Carefully ladle batter into the pan - I use about a quarter cup of batter for each pancake, although sometimes the kids ask for Tinkerbell (tiny) or giant pancakes. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Get a handful of blueberries, and dot them over each pancake in the pan, gently poking the berries down a bit into the batter. Cook until bubble start to form on the tops of the pancakes, and the edges are setting. (It’s crucial to watch the temperature - if the pan is too hot, the bottoms will burn before the pancake cooks through; if the pan is too cool, the pancakes just won’t cook.) Carefully flip the pancakes and
   cook until golden on the other side.
5. Repeat with remaining batter. You may wish to quickly wipe off the skillet with a soft cloth between batches. If bits of berry are stuck to the skillet, the sugar in the fruit will start to burn and spoil your next batch. If you wish to make up all the pancakes at once before serving, cover a cookie sheet with a dishcloth, and spread out the pancakes in a single layer before putting them in a low oven to keep warm. (Stacking them will cause the pancakes to become soggy).