Imam Bayildi and Easy Homemade Flatbreads

I always have Imam Bayildi as a side dish when I go to Turkish Restaurants. Its a slowly baked whole stuffed aubergine (eggplant) in a rich tomato and garlic sauce. It was a staple for me back in the 'vegetarian years' as it was pretty easy to make after work and I'd make a few ready to be put in the oven.

It holds its own as a vegetarian main dish with a salad and flatbreads or can be a side dish to anything from steak to chicken kebabs. Here I have sprinkled on toasted breadcrumbs before serving as the crunchy texture goes so well with the creamy, soft aubergine underneath.

For those who are curious - Imam Bayildi means the 'Imam fainted' and the story goes that many years ago a Turkish Imam swooned when he tasted his wife dish of aubergine, tomatoes and olive oil. Another story is that he fainted because she couldn't make the dish for her husband as they had run out of olive oil. I have no idea why, or if, he fainted, but this is a lovely quick vegetarian dish that anyone would enjoy.

I also added the flatbread recipe as I think they are by far the easiest, cheapest, quickest flatbreads you could have. Two ingredients is all you need. And a dry frying pan.

Ingredients:    (Serves 2)

2 aubergines
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic, sliced
400g tinned tomatoes
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp paprika
juice of 1/2 lemon
handful breadcrumbs

Method:

Set the oven to 180 C. There is an on-going debate about whether to salt aubergines because they hold too much liquid and are bitter, but these days this is rarely needed, especially if the aubergines are small and fresh. Cut them in half lengthways and scoop out some of the seedy middle part. Chop this and leave to one side. In 1 tbsp. oil, fry the aubergines for a few minutes to slightly soften. Remove and leave to one side.

In another tablespoon of oil, gently fry the onion and garlic for 5 minutes, then adding the chopped aubergine centres. Add the tomatoes, sugar and paprika and cook for another 5 minutes. Put the aubergines snuggly into a small dish and fill the holes in the aubergines, pouring any sauce in and around them.

Cover with tin foil and bake for 45 minutes. Drizzle the last tablespoon of olive oil over the dish. Lightly toast the breadcrumbs and sprinkle over the top before serving.

For the flatbread:

Put 2 cups all purpose flour into a bowl. Add 1 cup plain low fat yoghurt and stir in until you get a soft dough. Separate in half, then half again and then again to get 8 pieces. Roll one into a ball and on a floured work surface roll out thinly into a circle. Heat a dry frying pan and add the dough circle. Cook for a few minutes on each side and leave to cool on a tea towel. Easy - no yeast needed! You can add a touch of salt if you like, though.

Chipotle in Adobo Sauce

Chipotles in Adobo is a staple in Mexican cooking. Most Mexicans buy them ready made in cans particularly because the quality is so good. You can actually buy Chipotle Paste in most London stores now, but they don't have the whole chillies in the sauce - which I think they should be because they are smoky, hot and frankly delicious!

Chipotles are dried, smoked jalapenos and many people (including myself) grow them so I thought I'd put up this recipe. I made it when having a friend visiting recently as I was doing a Mexican feast and I felt it was necessary to have it on the table. It was hot and smoky and lovely. And you can do so much with it. Yesterday I took a few spoonful's, chopped the whole chipotles and mixed it with mayonnaise and lime - and it was insanely good.

The best thing to do, is to blend the chipotles into the sauce to make a delicious chilli sauce. Its hot and bursts with flavour.

Dried chillies are sold in so many places now - I got these chipotle chillies in Brighton when visiting family a while ago as I have used up the dried ones we made from the home-grown batch. In the same store I also got the Ancho (Poblano) chilli that is also in this recipe. But both the chipotle and the ancho chillies are also sold in general supermarkets.

Ingredients:

About 20-25 small dried chipotle chillies
1 large dried Ancho (poblano) chilli
400g tinned chopped tomatoes
1 carrot, sliced thinly
1 onion, sliced thinly
5 cloves garlic, sliced thickly
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
150g light brown sugar
170ml white wine vinegar
170ml rice vinegar
salt & pepper

Method:

In a small pan, boil the large ancho chilli for 15 minutes until soft. Leave to cool in the water and drain. Put the chilli and the tinned tomatoes into a hand blender and blitz until combined. Set aside.

Boil the chipotle chillies in boiling water the same way until plumped up and softened. Leave in the water to further soak while you make a start on the sauce.

In a large pan, fry the carrot, onion and garlic in 1 tbsp. oil for a few minutes until tender. Add the tomato/chilli mix and stir through. Add the herbs, salt & sugar. Stir and cook on a medium heat to thicken. Now add the vinegars and continue cooking for a further 20 minutes on a simmer. Drain the chipotles and add to the sauce. Cook for a further 5-10 minutes and leave to cool in the pan.

Put the sauce into jars, cover and refrigerate until use. 

OR: use a hand blender to use as a regular chipotle sauce. Delicious!

The canned Mexican variety
 

Salmon & Leek Ravioli with a Basil Cream Sauce

A few weeks ago when I had salmon, this was a dish I considered making, but put it off because making pasta can be fiddly and you need a bit of patience, Its not difficult to make pasta, and the rolling machine now makes its as thin as you like. But I tend to make each one by hand - its how I've always done it, which takes time if you want it to look nice.

I do think its worth it though and you always get a little sense of pride in a dish that is so handmade. This is a good dish if you have guests over, as it can be prepared before they arrive and not only takes minutes to cook - but looks impressive.

So salmon ravioli it had to be. The basil cream sauce just adds a nice touch of richness and luxury (and its quick).

For the pasta:

Tip 1 & 3/4 cups of '00' pasta flour out onto the work surface and make a well in the centre. Crack in 3 medium eggs (ideally fresh from your friends chickens - thank you Shelly). Using a fork, whisk the eggs lightly, slowly incorporating the flour. Keep whisking and you end up with a dough. You don't want it too sticky, just soft. Wrap in cling film and leave on the counter while you make the filling.

For the filling:

2 salmon fillets (skinless, cubed, about 300g)
1/2 leek, white part, sliced thinly
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
3 tbsp. white wine
1 egg
2 tbsp. parmesan
2 tbsp. chopped parsley
zest of a lemon
salt & pepper

In  the oil, gently fry the leeks until soft. Add the salmon and cook until only just cooked. Add the white wine and turn up the heat to cook off the alcohol and tip into a food processor. Let cool for a few minutes and add the remaining ingredients. Place in the fridge until ready to assemble.

Using a pasta rolling machine - or roll by hand with a rolling pin - to as thin as you can. Flouring the counter, cut out 2 inch rounds from the pasta with a cookie cutter. Have a small bowl of water to one side pick up one pasta round. Put a teaspoon of filling into the middle - then wet the rim of another round and add it to the top. Press to seal, pushing out any air. Place on a clean tea towel and keep filling until pasta used up. Leave to dry out a little.


For the sauce:

150ml white wine
150ml veg stock
100ml double cream
2 tbsp. basil
salt & pepper

Put the wine in a small pan and cook on high to reduce by half. Add the vegetable stock and again cook on high to reduce by half. Turn down the heat and add the cream and basil. Leave to cook and slightly thicken on a low heat for 10 mins while you boil the pasta. Season to taste.

In a large pan of boiling water, put the ravioli in for approx. 10 minutes (depending on the thickness, taste to check). Drain well and serve with rocket and spoon the basil sauce over the pasta. Serve with freshly grated parmesan. Delicious!

Note: The way I cut the basil is called 'chiffonade'. You put the basil leaves on top of each other and roll up. Slice thinly. You can do it this way or just finely chop it.