Without really having any plan or knowing what I was doing, I created something that was so good I've had it for dinner the past three nights!
We had quite a lot of vegetables in the fridge that needed to be used up, and I had vague ideas of making a vegetable stew type dish. Why, then, I chose to add about half a litre of stock to it, is beyond me. I was obviously in my own personal dreamtime....but lucky for me, what was created was just great!
We had broccoli, pumpkin, capsicum, eggplant, an enormous young zucchini, carrot and a large, long, fat chili (I don't know what sort). So, I cut everything up and decided to saute them in some olive oil and a whole head of garlic, cut through its equator into two halves (I didn't bother peeling it...pah! Peeling...who can be bothered?). I didn't have room for the broccoli, so I dry fried that in another pan until it turned crispy and slightly browned, which gives it a great nutty taste.
So, with the vegetables partly cooked I added a tin of chopped tomatoes (they must be Italian - Australian tinned tomatoes are far too acidic) and about half a litre of turkey & ham stock I had frozen after Christmas, when I boiled up the carcass and bones of our Christmas leftovers...how vey thrify of me. My old Home Economics teacher would smile. I added a few large sprigs of fresh thyme put it into a hot oven for about 30-45 minutes. The smell was incredible; it made our house smell just like an Italian restaurant! At that point, I decided to fry up a few rashers of bacon, to complement the smoky flavour of the ham stock; this was an inspired decision as it made the end result even more flavoursome.
Of course, when it came out the vegetables were too soft to eat as a stew, and there was too much liquid anyway so I took to it with my hand held blender thing. I don't know the universal name for one of those; A always calls it a Stab mixer (pick the German influence) and turned it into a chunky vegetable soup.
Topped off with a dollop of pesto and a knob of fresh goats cheese, this made a superb dinner...good enough for three nights worth. It doesn't look too appetising in the fridge, to be honest, and I've been the only one eating it, so I'm just a leeetle bit over it now....!
Roasted Vegetables straight from the oven...too soft for stew
Just what I need in the cold here... Mmmmm, looks great Niki!
ReplyDeleteYes, I thought of all you Europeans in your snowstorms as I was making this. But despite the first day of Autumn here (last Tuesday) being 35 degrees, the weather has been getting cooler, and yesterday had a distinct chill of Autumn in the air; the heating came on and I needed my fluffy slippers. This is my FAVOURITE time of the year; warm sunny blue skies, crisp cool mornings and the slight chill of evening....wonderful!!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds wonderful, Niki...just the kind of thing I could eat for a few days straight, too!
ReplyDeleteMoira
This is almost like the winter minestrone I read about in a cookbook sometime back. Now, I forget which cookbook.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds and looks so filling! Heart and tummy warming? :-)
Very filling and warming; so it's been perfect for the cool, welcome-to-Autumn weather we've been having. In fact, I only finished my last bowl of it today. Mmmmm
ReplyDeleteHey! Perfect meal for snowy Paris weather! Looks yummy!
ReplyDeleteIs that a tajine you have roasted your veg in?
Melissa
Hi Melissa - it's a Le Creuset pot that I used. One of the type that has the matching frypan that doubles as a lid. I love it, but wish it was a little bigger.
ReplyDeleteWould you believe I got it for the price of a bottle of wine?? My old boss had it as an wedding gift from a marriage that had ended...she started getting rid of the gifts and asked me if I wanted it for the payment of a bottle of red wine! Done and DONE!!!