Eggplant and Tomato Risotto with Pine Nuts & Basil

Here in the south of France summer is officially pushing spring out the door. It is one of my favorite times of year. Shorts and tee-shirts have replaced their winter counterparts. It is still cool in the mornings and evenings but glorious during the day without being too hot. The welcomed arrival of warm weather is particularly exciting for me this year as I have finally planted my own vegetable garden.  I spent 12 years cooking on yachts, peering out of portholes to the surrounding sea, not a vegetable patch in sight. I had an abundance of fresh produce at my fingertips but they all came delivered to my galley in cardboard crates and with exorbitant price tags. I longed for the day when I could just pick a tomato from my own garden. The time has come.

This morning I was admiring my eggplant (aubergine) and tomato plants and thinking - it won't be long until I can make my all-time favorite risotto with my very own vegetables! I know many of my friends in the area have started tending to their gardens too so I decided to share this recipe now so that the first ripe eggplants, tomatoes and basil that they harvest can be put to excellent use - in less than 45 minutes. 

Some people are intimidated by the idea of preparing risotto. Don't be. Practice makes perfect. Aim to make one risotto per week and in a month you'll be a master. It is a wonderful way to eat vegetarian. I can't think of many vegetables that don't go well in a risotto so it is a good way of cramming in some nutrition. So let this recipe serve as a template and get creative! If you are limiting your dairy intake then simply cut back on the cheese and omit the butter. Finish it off with some nice herbs and it is heaven on a plate. 

Eggplant, Tomato and Basil Risotto with Toasted Pine Nuts 

Serves 4

1 medium eggplant, diced

3 Tablespoons (45ml) olive oil

6 ripe plum tomatoes, diced

4 cups vegetable broth or water mixed with vegetable bouillon*

1 large onion, fine dice

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 cups (320g) risotto rice

1/2 cup white wine

1-2 pats of butter (optional)

1 1/2 cups (155g) grated parmesan

1 large handful toasted pine nuts

1 large handful basil leaves, coarsely chopped 

*This is an estimate. When I make risotto I rarely measure the liquid. I place a pot of seasoned water or broth on the stove to simmer and use what I need, sometimes more, sometimes less

Place the diced eggplant in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Place the colander in the sink or over a bowl and allow the salt to draw the bitter juices out of the eggplant for 10-15 minutes. Rinse to remove salt and pat dry. 

Heat two tablespoons of oil in a medium sauté pan until hot. Add the eggplant and sauté until golden. Add the tomatoes and sauté until they are soft and releasing their juice.

 Heat the stock in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and keep the broth on the heat, just barely simmering. 

Meanwhile, in a deep skillet or a wide saucepan, heat the remaining olive oil and sauté the onions until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté another 30 seconds. Add the rice to the pan and stir, coating it in the oil until you start to see it take on more of a translucent color. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and stir until it has been absorbed by the rice.

Start adding the stock to the risotto. I usually do this with a large soup ladle. You want to make sure that you have enough heat under the pan to ensure that the broth maintains a gentle simmer but not so much heat that the broth evaporates before having a chance to be absorbed by the rice. This is the part that will get easier with time. Gradually add more stock as it is being absorbed by the rice, being careful not to let the pan get too dry. Stir throughout but feel free to do other things too! You are not chained to the stove for 20 minutes but you can't go sit and watch television. Start preparing a salad and keep a constant eye on the risotto, stirring frequently and adding stock. When the rice tastes almost done but there is a tiny bit of resistance still in the center of the grain remove the pot from the heat. Add one more 1/2 ladle of stock, a pat or two of butter and the tomato, eggplant mixture and stir to combine. Cover the pan and let sit 3-4 minutes.

Remove the lid. Stir in the cheese, pine nuts and basil and serve.

Voila!

Asian Grilled Salmon with Zuchinni Ribbons - A 20-Minute Meal

 It's 6 o'clock. You've just walked through the door from work or after-school activities or maybe you've been home with the kids all day (all of which warrant a medal and a glass of wine.) The kids are driving you bonkers, the house is a mess, laundry needs to be done, the dog needs to be fed and on top of all that you are required to prepare the family something to eat - preferably something that does not come out of a cardboard box.  Ahhhhh!!!!!

I have just started my own business where I prepare healthy meals for local families. It's exciting. However, I am also a part-time student and, like most moms out there, I am a permanent contestant in that imaginary race that might, one day, earn me the title Mom of the Year. Needless to say, I'm a bit busy.  But, if you have been reading this blog from Day 1 you already know that processed food and quick-fixes are no longer an option in our house. I need to rely only on fresh produce, healthy proteins and good, fast recipes. This is one.

The other night a friend was telling me how she always tries, unsuccessfully, to get her daughter to eat salmon. I told her I'd share this recipe. My husband does not like salmon. Even if I'm preparing it in the dead of winter he has to open doors and windows to let the "salmon smell" out of the house. However, once the weather warms up and the grill makes its long-awaited return to the terrace salmon comes back on the menu. Not even James can say no to this super fast, super yummy marinade. 

The courgette (zuchinni) ribbons might be the fastest way you can cook a vegetable. They are a nice change to the salad that sits on most of our tables mid-week when we can't be bothered to think of a vegetable side. The total cook time for this meal is about 15 minutes but ideally you want to marinate the salmon at least 30 minutes - perfect time to throw in a load of laundry and tidy up the house!  

Asian Grilled Salmon

4 Salmon Filets

1/4 Cup (60 ml) Soy Sauce

1/4 cup (60 ml) Maple Syrup*

1 1/2 Tablespoons (22 ml) Toasted Sesame Oil

3/4 teaspoon grated ginger 

*I used to use brown baking sugar but now use maple syrup as a healthier alternative

Combine all the ingredients in a shallow dish or bowl and add the salmon. Toss to coat and marinate, flesh side down, for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Grill the salmon to your liking or until you just start to see white juices escape from the side of the filet.

Courgette (Zuchinni) Ribbons

2 large zuchinni

Swig of olive oil

1 large garlic clove, minced

a small squeeze of lemon

salt and pepper

Grate the zuchinni on a box grater like you would do cheese. Heat the oil in a medium sauté pan until hot. Add the garlic and cook for 10-30 seconds until just fragrant. Add the zuchinni. Remove the pan from the heat and toss the zuchinni with tongs around in the pan. The residual heat from the pan should be enough to just wilt and cook the zuchinni. If you need to you can return the pan to the heat for 30 seconds. Squeeze over the lemon juice, salt and pepper . 

I made the Green Goodness Quinoa Salad (see previous post) with this last week because I had the time to make it but you can serve brown rice or quinoa as a healthy starch.  

Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins

Every mother's saving grace is the snack cupboard. It comes to our rescue morning, noon and night. The problem is that the contents of our snack cupboards have taken such a turn for the worse in the last fifty years that now the quick fix that is meant to rescue us from cranky children is having negative effects on their health and well-being. A quote from the documentary Hungry for Change has stayed with me everyday since seeing the film "We are no longer eating food. We are eating food-like products." Open up your cupboard and look at the side of the boxes and bags that reside there. Are the ingredients things you can buy at your local market? If not, why are we feeding our children these foods??

The answer is easy - because they are quick and readily available. But the good news is that making your children healthy snacks does not have to take hours. You can have these muffins in the oven in less than 20 minutes and they are made up of ingredients that most people have in their pantry. If you don't yet have whole wheat flour in your pantry - get it! There's nothing that you can make with white flour that you can't make with wheat flour. White flour has been stripped of its nutrients in an effort to make it more easily digestible. That means that it is processed into blood sugar more quickly and has hardly any nutritional value. Get rid of it and buy whole wheat. It's how nature intended it. 

The added benefit of these muffins is that they contain a vegetable! Woo hoo! Score one for mum. They are lovely fresh from the oven but can also be used the next day for breakfast, after-school snacks and dessert. If you want to be a bit more indulgent you can mix some cream cheese (Philadelphia or Smoret) with maple syrup and drizzle it over the tops of the muffins to really make them carrot-cakey but I think they are perfect on their own. Trust me - they won't stay in that snack cupboard for long! 

Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins

1 1/2 cups (195g) Whole Wheat Flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup (176g) honey

1 egg, beaten

1 cup (340g) organic applesauce (apple compote)*

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 (75g) cup shredded carrots

1/4 cup (27g) chopped walnuts

1/4 cup (40g) raisins

*If you buy organic the only ingredient on the package will be APPLES - imagine that!!

Preheat oven to 180C/350F. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt. In a large bowl combine the oil, honey, egg, apple sauce, vanilla. Gradually whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Stir in the carrots, walnuts and raisins. Spoon or pour the mixture into pre-greased muffin tins or muffin tins lined with paper muffin cups. This recipe makes 10 muffins. If you have a 12 muffin tin then pour a little water in the 2 extra cups to distribute the heat evenly when baking. Bake the muffins 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Voila!