Grilled Polenta Crostinis with Aubergines and Pepper

I've been holding on to a packet of polenta for a while now because I was wary of trying something new with the limited spare time I had the last few months. But I decided I shall finally inaugurate the packet and to my relief, found it the simplest thing to make. It's healthy and tastes delicious.

For the polenta:
1 cup polenta
5 cups water
1 tbsp salt
Few sprigs of rosemary
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1-2 tbsp Oil to grill

In a large saucepan, bring water to a boil with the salt and stir in the polenta. Keep stirring till it's thoroughly mixed to prevent lumps. Add in the rosemary and garlic.

Turn the heat down to medium to low and let it cook for about 5 minutes. (The packets have their own cooking times and directions, but even though mine said cook for 30 minutes, it was done in 5)

Check to see if it's cooked - it should not be gritty. Remove from heat.

Add the cheese and spread it on to a 14-inch oiled/Teflon-coated baking tray. The thickness should be about 3/4 of an inch. Let it cool. It sets at room temperature in about 30-40 minutes. You could put it in the fridge to speed it up.

Once cool and set, cut into cubes (or any other shape you prefer). It makes about 20 squares and can be kept in the fridge for a few days to be used later.

Before serving, grill it on both sides with the oil till it turns slightly brown. Serve with toppings.

For the topping:
Red Pepper cut in rings
1 tsp oil
1 red onion diced
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup of chopped aubergine or mushroom or zucchini
Seasoning
A few leaves of basil or coriander/parsley chopped finely

Grill the red pepper rings with the oil and set aside.

In a saucepan on medium heat, put in the butter and once it starts to melt, add the onions. Cook till soft.

Add the garlic and chilli flakes and cook for another 2 minutes making sure the onion browns but doesn't burn.

Add the vegetable of choice with the salt and pepper and keep on medium heat till it's cooked and the juices absorbed.

To assemble, place the polenta crostinis on a plate, put a single ring of red pepper on each. Fill the centre of the ring with the vegetables, and top it up with the chopped greens.

Pasta with Pesto Sauce and Grilled Veggies

I finally found a place that gives a good bunch of sweet basil leaves for a reasonable price to make pesto at home. Once that was taken care of, rest was easy.

For the grilled veggies:
2 tomatoes sliced 
1/2 of a large aubergine, sliced
Olive oil
Sea Salt (or regular would do as well) to taste

Line them up in a baking tray (separately) and drizzle some olive oil on top. Sprinkle some salt. Don't over-season as your final dish will also have salt. Put this in an oven and bake for about 40 minutes at 200 deg C. They'll come out nice and toasted.

For the pesto sauce:
1 large cup of basil leaves
1/2 cup cashew nuts
2-3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or any other hard cheese like Gouda or Cheddar)
4-5 tbsp Olive oil
Seasoning

Add all the ingredients in a blender and mix till it is a semi-smooth paste. Add/subtract oil as per consistency.

TIP: Add an ice cube when blending to retain a fresh green colour.

To make the pasta:
2 cups cooked pasta of your choice
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil to cook
2 tbsp olive oil to serve
1 onion, chopped

Heat oil in a pan on medium-high heat. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds, then add the onion. Stir till onions are golden brown. Then add the pasta and pesto sauce. Coat the pasta in the sauce evenly. Add the the grilled tomatoes and aubergines. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil.

For the cheese-crazy, serve with some grated cheese.

Homemade Pizzas

I made cheesy heart-shaped pizzas for Valentine's Day this year. Turned out quite good.
The dough didn't rise much for some reason, but it still was good - like thin crust, and not dry.

Base (makes three 10-12 inch bases):

Dissolve 1 tbsp of active dry yeast in a cup of warm water for 5 minutes.


Sift together:
500 gms of flour (for this, I used a mix of self-raising and whole wheat)
Pinch of salt

Add the yeast to the flour along with some more warm water to knead the flour.
Knead till soft.
Coat the ball of dough with some olive oil - just so it doesn't stick to the bowl and leave to prove for 2 hours.
(You could work on the toppings meanwhile).
After 2 hours, knead it again to remove the air bubbles.
Divide into 3-4 large parts, or 6 smaller ones.
You could roll it out on a floured surface or just stretch it to get the shape you want.
Place it on the floured baking tray and add the toppings.

Toppings:
Tomato sauce (I used store-bought pasta sauce. You could also use homemade sauce)
Veggies (mushrooms, par-boiled spinach, bell peppers, grilled aubergines)
Garnish (capers, olives)
Cooked meats/sausages are optional 
Herbs (chilli flakes, oregano, chives)
Cheese

Bake in the oven at 180 deg C on the lower rack or 25 minutes: the last 7-8 minutes with the heat on just the base.

Aubergine and Cheese Toast

A great healthy snack or even a main.

You'll need:
1 Large aubergine sliced thinly
1 loaf of bread, sliced in half vertically
2 tomatoes, sliced
Cheddar or Parmesan cheese to sprinkle
5-6 fresh basil leaves
Salt/pepper to taste
4-5 tbsp olive oil to grill

Grill the sliced aubergine on a pan with some oil and season it with salt and pepper.

Layer the aubergines and tomatoes on the bread. Add the basil and cheese on top. Sprinkle lightly with some more salt and pepper. Bake in oven at 180 deg Celsius for 20 minutes and serve!

Cous cous with Aubergine and Blue Cheese

Cous cous is a great form of pasta...mainly because it cooks in 5 minutes flat. Moreover, I am always looking for recipes that include some mint since I have a mint plant and I need to use it often, else it will wither. This is a nice light meal in itself, or a good side dish for some grill.

About half a cup of cous cous (pour some boiling water in it, and after 5 minutes...Voila!)

1 large Aubergine cut in thin slices

1 Onion, chopped

Handful of mint

Some Blue Cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

Oil (preferably olive)

Juice of 1 lemon

Firstly, grill the aubergine slices and season with salt/pepper. This is the most time consuming part, but make sure it is cooked evenly on both sides. The cut the pieces in quarters.

The cous cous is cooked by just the boiling water. Use a fork to fluff it and separate the grains as much as possible.

Then comes the best part...you simply put in all the ingredients (including a dash of olive oil) together and mix. Add and subtract the quantity of the ingredients as you prefer. I like more of veggies than cous cous.