Someone was looking for a "soft aubergine/eggplant spread with tomatoes" and I knew exactly what they were talking about. There's a dish in Russia, our Eastern neighbour, which is called IKRA or fake caviar. I got this recipe from Russian friend Galina back in Edinburgh sometimes around 2000. Still makes a regular appearance in our kitchen. It's lovely on a slice of toast, or as a condiment or spread on a mezze-table. Russian aubergine spread IKRA 1 large aubergine/eggplant 1 large onion 2 garlic cloves 2 tomatoes 1 Tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar or lemon juice salt and freshly ground black pepper fresh parsley or dill Prick the aubergine with a fork here and there, then place into a preheated 200C/400F oven and bake for about 60 minutes, until fully cooked and slightly charred on the outside. Flip over once or twice during baking. Remove from the oven, let it cool. Then cul half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh. Place into a cutting b...
What's your favourite zucchini/courgette dish this year?
I'm still harvesting a good-sized zucchini or two every few days, and here's my favourite zucchini dish of 2012 (another recent favourite is this courgette/zucchini cake with lemon frosting, but as one is sweet and the other savoury, I believe I'm allowed to have two favourites :)). I spotted this idea in the May 2009 issue of the British food magazine Olive, but there was too little cheese and too much zucchini in the original recipe, so I've been playing around with it quite a lot. The tart has been a real hit with everybody who has tried it (just look at the number of comments on my Estonian site), and I can see why - the cheese, garlic and courgettes work together immensely well.
Use a slim and crisp zucchini for this - both for the looks and the texture.
Courgette and Parmesan Tart
(Parmesani-suvikõrvitsapirukas)
Serves about 8 to 10
500 g puff pastry
ca 500 g zucchini/courgette
2 large garlic cloves
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
fresh herbs of your choice (oregano, thyme - optional)
150 g cream cheese
75-100 g finely grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat the oven to 200 C/400 F. Line an oven sheet with a parchment paper.
Slice the courgette thinly (I use my Benriner Japanese kitchen mandoline for this), peel the garlic cloves and slice thinly as well. Place into a bowl, season generously with salt and pepper and herbs (if using), drizzle with olive oil. Toss gently to combine and leave to macerate for 10-15 minutes.
Roll out the puff pastry. Using a sharp knife, score a border about 1-1.5 cm from the edge of the pastry. Transfer the puff pastry onto the baking shet.
Mix the cream cheese with half of the grated Parmesan cheese, spread the cheese mixture onto the puff pastry (stay withing the cut you made).
Layer the zucchini slices neatly on top of the cheese mixture, overlapping them as you go.
Bake for 15 minutes at the pre-heated oven.
Take the tart out of the oven, sprinkle the rest of the Parmesan cheese on top, and return to the oven. Bake for another 15 minutes or until the tart is lovely golden brown on top.
Cool a little and cut into small squares.
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