Courgette, Mozzarella and Basil Fritters

I know, I KNOW, yet ANOTHER recipe for courgette fritters.  But, in my defence, they are so quick and easy to make, tasty and are a solution to the courgette mountain at this time of year.  And, although I don't own any, I imagine kids would love them.  Tonight's variation, which made plenty for 4 people, is as follows.  Grate 2 medium courgettes, sprinkle with salt and leave to drain in a colander.  After 20 minutes or so, scoop up handfuls and squeeze the moisture out.  In the meantime, crack 2 eggs into a bowl, add about 60mls of milk and 2 heaped tablespoons of self-raising flour.  Whisk into a thick batter.  Season with a little salt (not too much, we've salted the courgettes, remember), lots of black pepper and half a teaspoon of dried chilli flakes.  Finely chop a couple of spring onions and add to the batter.  Now drain a ball of mozzarella and chop into little dice.  Add to the batter along with the courgettes, 3 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese and a handful of basil leaves, rolled and cut into shreds.  Mix well, and then drop tablespoons of the batter into a non-stick frying pan with half a centimetre of sunflower or rapeseed oil in.  Fry on each side over a medium heat for a couple of minutes until golden brown and lay out on a parchment lined baking sheet.  You can do this well in advance and reheat in a hot oven for 10 minutes until golden, puffy and sizzling.  Lovely served with tomato sauce or sweet chilli dipping sauce.  Definitely under a fiver.

Chorizo, Potato and Courgette 'Frittilla'

So, tonight's effort was a cross-cultural blend of Spain and Italy - was I making an egg tortilla or frittata?  It was a combination of both, really, so lo!  The Frittilla is born!  I sauteed some sliced chorizo, thinly sliced potatoes and a red onion in a couple of tablespoons of oil until the potato is soft and the sausage has given up its oil.  At this point, throw in a couple of diced courgettes and cook for a few minutes more to soften.  Meanwhile, beat 6 eggs with a couple of tablespoons of milk, some salt and pepper and a handful of chopped chives if you have any - don't worry if you don't.  Stir in a ball of chopped Mozzarella.  If your pan fits in the oven, simply pour the egg and cheese over the contents of the pan, shake to settle and distribute well, and cook in the oven at 170C for 25 minutes  until brown and just set.  Alternatively, line a roasting tin with baking parchment and tip the contents of the pan in follwed by the egg and cheese.  Again, shake to distribute and then bake in the oven as above until just set.  This quantity serves 4 people generously and, using maybe a third of a 'horseshoe' of chorizo and a ball of bog standard 'essentials' mozzarella from Waitrose, this comes in at around the fiver mark - a filling, hearty meal, served with salad and leftover guacamole from last night (I had planned on courgette fritters but really couldn't be arsed).  And we have a delicious filling for some wraps for lunch tomorrow.

Aubergine Parmigiana - the skinny version!

I first had Melanzane Parmigiana in a little cafe in a tiny side street in Ravello, high on the Amalfi coast, many years ago.  Perfect town, and perfect food, served just tepid - rich, melting, and unctuous with LOTS of olive oil.  Aubergine, as we all know, is like a sponge, and soaks up as much oil as you can throw at it, so making this 'skinny' is a challenge, especially when you throw in the Mozzarella and grated parmesan, so essential to the texture and flavour of the finished dish.  The answer lies in gently grilling the aubergine slices, which you lay out on a baking tray and spray with just a little oil from a pump-dispenser.  Keep the heat moderate, turn a couple of times, and after 15 minutes or so, you should end up with golden, tender slices of aubergine that will reach full melting softness after being bathed in a rich tomato and basil sauce, layered with sliced mozzarella (NOT the grated stuff please, and you really don't need the 'di Buffola' good stuff which is best eaten cool with a perfectly-ripe tom and fresh basil) and generous sprinklings of grated parmesan, and baked for half-an-hour.  Okay, so this will never be REALLY low fat, but it is much lower than traditional recipes, and tasted bloomin' gorgeous, just warm, with lots of spinach, green beans and sugarsnap peas on the side.

Tomato Mozzarella Tarts with Mushroom and Thyme

I was so busy last night, baking for a charity cake sale, that I wanted something super-quick and easy.  I know a take-away would have been many people's choice but I resent the cost.  So, a sheet of puff pastry was halved, and each piece spread with some tomato puree and pesto.  Next came a layer of sauteed mushrooms, then some sliced cherry tomatoes from the Riverford box, and then half a ball of mozzarella from a meal earlier in the week.  A couple of sprigs of thyme, and a grating of parmesan, and the lot went into the oven for about 20 minutes - the oven was on anyway for baking.  Result - light, crisp, savoury pastry 'pizzas', on the table before a take-away would have turned up, and more yummy, to boot.

Retro Chilli con Carne [#227]

Alastair Hendy's Chilli is fairly similar to my own 'house' chilli, but he intrigued me by mixing the paprika powder with a tablespoon of vinegar. He also used LOTS of tomato puree as well as tinned tomatoes, which I decided not to do! The end result was a good, trad chilli con carne with an intriguing back note from the vinegar. I also added the grated mozzarella touch that he suggested, which made a nice change. Not sure whether I would forego my own recipe in the future, though. I used kosher minced beef steak, which I mistakenly ordered from Ocado, and the taste was similar to lamb - I wonder why?

Mozzarella with Grilled Fennel [#153]

Hmmm......how to describe this dish? "Meh", might the sound I'd make, followed by a yawn? The chargrilled fennel itself was very nice and I would have preferred this on its own with perhaps a balsamic vinaigrette to moisten it. The addition of mozzarella did nothing to the dish other than add protein, otherwise sitting like a lump of flaccid, tepid rubber atop the cooked veg. It doesn't matter how buffola your Mozzarella is, serving it slightly warm does nothing to flatter it. To be honest, we much preferred the Mushrooms with Tarragon and Mustard that we made again, and my own version of baked beans (a tin of cannellini beans baked in the oven with fresh tomato, oregano, chilli and garlic with a touch of sugar to sweeten). Still, you can't have everything, and this is one of just a small handful of Nigel's recipes that haven't worked for me.

A Refreshing Salad for a Hot Day [#130]

.......just a pity we didn't have the hot day to go with the salad. I scaled down the recipe to make it a starter. This was essentially a blend of ripe charentais melon, Italian prosciutto cotto, good buffalo mozzarella and watercress, with a lemony dressing with chopped parsley. Very nice and refreshing. No online recipe, sadly, but I'm sure you get the picture.