The ‘cartwheel’ that won me the first prize!- Ruote pasta and eggplant gratin

Ruote pasta is popularly known as Cartwheel pasta or Wagon wheel pasta owing to its shape. This Ruote pasta & Eggplant gratin is a scrumptious one pot meal which is sure to please everyone.

Yotam Ottolenghi’s Caponata recipe and a ‘Festive Giveaway’

The Monsoon is retreating (having a hail storm outside as I type this) but we are moving into another season of festivities. I am excited to host my first giveaway from CSN stores for the festive season.

CSN stores carries everything from Dining tables to cookware to shoes and bags .CSN stores has generously offered one lucky reader of My Foodcourt from USA and Canada a Gift certificate worth $60 to use on any of the CSN stores websites.

I would like all my readers to please leave a comment below this post letting me know what you like about this blog and what would you like to see more often on My Foodcourt. Please leave one comment per person along with your E-mail address. All you silent readers, now’s your chance to share your thoughts with me.:).

The Giveaway is restricted to USA and Canada readers and there may be international shipping charges in the case of Canadian addresses.

One lucky winner will be chosen randomly and the winner will be announced on 17^th October 2010.

Here are the Giveaway details:

Gift certificate: A one-time-use certificate worth $ 60 at any of the CSN stores

How to enter: Leave a comment  with Email ID below this post letting me know what do you like about this blog and what would you like to see more often on My Foodcourt.

Giveaway closes: 16^th October 2010, winner will be chosen on 17^th October 2010.

Giveaway Valid for: Readers from USA and Canada (there may be international shipping charges in the case of Canadian addresses.)

A Special Thanks to CSN stores team for generously sponsoring this giveaway

§§§§§§§ ♥♥♥ ♪♪♪♪ ♥♥♥§§§§§§§

After the exciting  Giveaway now for an exciting Caponata recipe…..
Over the past few years Food blogging has changed my perspective about different cuisines. Chinese is no longer restricted to Hakka noodles and Fried Rice; Mexican is no longer just Tacos and Salsa; Italian is not just pizza and pasta. Surfing the various blogs each day has made me explore many vegetarian recipes beyond these popular dishes of that particular region.

Alessio  challenged us to make a Sicilian speciality-Caponata for this month’s Velveteer’s Challenge.

‘The 4 Velveteers was started by Aparna, Asha, Alessio and Pam, who are passionate about different cuisines and food in general. Each month, we will attempt a new dish and share our experiences and the recipes we used. If you’re interested in joining the Velveteers, please feel free to drop by our Google group‘

I have never made a Caponata before, so was quite intrigued by it.

Wikipedia describes Caponata as a Sicilian aubergine dish, a cooked vegetable salad made from chopped fried eggplant and celery seasoned with sweetened vinegar, and capers in a sweet and sour sauce usually served as an Antipasto.

In my quest for a simple Caponata recipe I came across this recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi. I loved the use of Harissa paste- the ‘Ottolenghi  treatment’ as the recipe says- in the traditional Caponata recipe. I had some Harissa seasoning which my brother had gifted me some time back. Also the addition of raisins was quite interesting. I did not have capers neither did I have red-wine vinegar. I skipped the capers and substituted the red-wine vinegar with white-wine vinegar. I also substituted the canned tomatoes with fresh blanched tomatoes.

The loved the array of colors that the vegetables brought to the Caponata. I love eggplants in most of its form but here the humble eggplant/ aubergine was transformed into a flavorful salad with just a few ingredients. The fresh celery leant a refreshing flavor to the Caponata and the harissa added the much desired tang. The raisins were a welcome ‘sweet’ addition to the already ‘tart-spicy’ caponata.

I also added some fresh Basil leaves, which for a change are in abundance right now. I served this delicious Caponata on Bite sized- Chilly rusks.

As recommended in the original recipe, it also makes a great sauce for pasta or couscous. It’s also delicious with cheese: try spreading it over rustic bread and topping with mature vegetarian pecorino, much like the English cheese and pickle sandwich.

I could not save the Caponata to be savored the next day but you might want to make an extra batch since it tastes better the next day!

Here’s the recipe:

Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi ‘s Caponata recipe

Ingredients:

2 slender Eggplants/ Aubergines diced

2-3 tender celery stalks cut on an angle into slices

1 small red pepper diced

1 onion diced

~ 3 small tomatoes blanched, peeled and chopped

Few green olives sliced

3 tbsp chopped parsley

~ 2 tbsp Fresh Basil leaves chopped

2 tbsp Harissa Seasoning

1 ½ tbsp white wine vinegar

Handful of Raisins

½ tsp sugar

1 tsp Lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Red Chili flakes as required (optional)

2 tbsp Olive oil+2 tbsp sunflower oil

Method:

Heat both oils in a heavy-bottom pan or a non stick pan.

Add the diced aubergines and fry for 5-6 minutes till golden brown, stirring occasionally.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the aubergine to a colander and sprinkle with a bit of salt.

After a few minutes, transfer to soak on a paper towel.

Add the celery to the hot oil, fry for three minutes, add the pepper and cook for two minutes. Transfer to the colander, then to a paper towel.

Sauté the onion and harissa seasoning in the oil (add a little more to the pan, if needed) for seven minutes, until soft and golden.

Drain off any excess oil from the pan, add the tomatoes and vinegar, stir and bring to a simmer. Add the fried vegetables, olives and sugar, and season.

 If the mix is too dry, add a few tablespoons of water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat taste and adjust the seasoning.

Add the raisins.

Leave to come to room temperature, add the lemon juice and parsley,basil leaves and Red chilli flakes(if using)

Serve with sliced baguettesor garlic bread or some spicy rusks as I did.

Thanks Alessio for introducing me to the delicious Sicilian favorite, I am going to try several other versions in several different ways from now on.

Do Check out the various versions of the Caponata on the other Velveteer’s blogs:

 Aparna’s Eggplant and Fig Caponata

Asha’s Sicilian Caponata over Zatared lavash

Sarah’s Caponata- A Sicilian Relish

Veena’s Sicilian Caponata

Ken’s Caponata jam

                                      

No-Bake Cheesecake-this one’s with Wild Blueberries and Cranberries

June was a month of cakes and bakes for me and rightly so since, June is also the Birthday month for A-who is blessed with an eternal sweet tooth! It is surprising to see someone loving sweets to the extent that he does, especially for someone like me who is not at all fond of sweets except maybe chocolates or an occasional ice-cream. (Surprisingly A doesn’t like chocolates! Opposites attract I guess 🙂 )

After we got married I would be amazed to see him eat Kheer or similar Indian sweets for breakfast. I am someone who cannot have even jam on my bread to start the day with; Maybe later in the day but no sweets to start my day !
And I almost envy the fact that even after indulging in so many sweet treats every day he hardly puts on excess weight! I balance for that even without as much as smelling the sweets!

Ok so back to the No-bake Cheesecake. For his birthday I had to make something, as I mentioned earlier, without chocolate in it. With the 6+ hrs. random Power cuts it was only sensible to not bake a cake. I bought some Cream Cheese and dried Blueberries from Mumbai when I went there shopping for my son’s birthday.
A GSE guest from Maine  had gifted us a lovely bottle of Wild Maine Blueberry jam and I had secured it for a long time, to be used for a special occasion. A’s birthday was the perfect occasion and so I made this No-bake Blueberry-Cranberry cheesecake specially for him.

I loved this recipe for the crust where the base of the cheese cake was made using Pecans and Maple syrup, both of which I had.
For the cheese cake filling I adapted this recipe from Epicurious flavoring it with a Cranberry -Blueberry spread.
I made a dried Wild Blueberry – Cranberry compote of sorts, spiced with a little cinnamon for the topping once the cheesecake had set.
The end result was an incredibly zesty cheesecake. The tart cherries complimented the sweetness of the cheesecake fabulously.

Here’s the recipe:
For the Maple Pecan Crust:
~12-15 Digestive biscuits, crushed to crumbs (I used Britannia Nutrichoice)
¼ cup pecans ground
2tbsps Maple syrup
For the filling:
2-8 ounce packets Philadelphia Cream Cheese (I used Kraft’s)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
~1/2 cup sugar (or to taste)
3tbsps Cranberry with Blueberyy fruit spread
1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup water
For the Berry compote for topping:
½ cup dried Wild Blueberries
½ cup dried cranberries
~4-5 tbsps Wild Maine Blueberry Jam
A pinch of Cinnamon powder

Method:

For the Base/crust:
Mix the crumbs, Pecan powder and maple syrup.
Cover the bottom of a 9” spring form pan with silver foil (I found that the cheese cake could be removed easily from the base this way)
Press the crumb mixture evenly into the base of the spring-form pan
Refrigerate till you make the filling.
For the filling:
Sprinkle gelatine evenly over the water in a small pan to soften. Keep it for~8-10 minutes
Stir on low heat till the Gelatine dissolves completely. Keep aside.
Blend cream cheese, cream and sugar with a hand blender until smooth
Add the berry spread and blend.
Add the dissolved gelatine and blend well.
Pour the filling over the base crust.
Chill overnight till firm in the centre and sides.
For the berry topping:
Heat the jam in a small saucepan over low flame. Add the dried berries and Cinnamon powder and mix nicely to coat.
Cool and pour over the chilled Cheesecake.
Chill for 1-2 more hrs further.

Run a knife along the sides of the cheese cake. Unlock the spring and gently slide out the pan over the cake.
Slice and serve (optionally with whipped cream)

Vegetable Tagine with Harisa

This is a warm up to the 7-day recipe marathon initiated by Nupur, at One Hot Stove. Just making sure I haven’t forgotten writing posts!  Nupur has provided the much needed push for My Foodcourt and hope to reach the finish line, even though I shall be travelling.

Harisa Seasoning was not a very familiar spice to me till recently. My dear brother picked up some free samples for this from a trade fair in Berlin last month. Some Google research and I was tempted to use it immediately; Hit the bulls eye with this recipe for Vegetable Tagine with Harisa. Loved this recipe since I had all the ingredients that were required (a very rare coincidence!).

All the veggies used for this Tagine are in season now. I did not have the traditional ‘Tagine pot’ but slow cooked it on the stove top for the flavours to mingle and the result was a scrumptious spicy-sweet and tangy stew. Traditionally served with couscous, I served this with rice. As usual I tweaked the recipe a little bit to suit our taste.

Here’s the recipe:

Vegetable Tagine with Harisa

2 onions, sliced

½ tsp ginger-garlic paste

1 tsp sugar

3 tsp Harisa seasoning

a pinch of saffron (optional)

1 tsp cumin seeds (roasted and crushed)

1 cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

250ml vegetable stock or water

3 ripe tomatoes, skinned and chopped

2 large carrots, cut into chunks

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 red pepper, seeded and cubed

1 yellow pepper, seeded and cubed

2 brinjals, cubed

400g chickpeas soaked overnight and cooked

1 tsp dry red chilli powder or pepper (optional)

Salt

2 tsp Oil

Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Heat the oil and fry the onion, ginger-garlic and sugar over a low heat until onions begin to caramelise.

Add harissa powder and spices and cook until fragrant.

Add the veggies, season with salt, Cover and simmer for 40 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Garnish with chopped fresh parsley.

Serve hot with couscous or rice.