Who said you can't?

By late summer, many gardeners run screaming at the sight of yet another zucchini lurking in the garden. The delightful finger long babies guiltily picked at Christmas are long forgotten as more sneak their way into the chook bucket. Every year I seem to come across a new zucchini tip and here I have one new one that dispels the myth about freezing zucs, a dehydrator recipe and a Kofta recipe that is a beauty.


ZUCCHINI SPAGHETTI

grated and blanched

Spiralise your zucchini.
Blanch by pouring over boiling water then refresh with cold water.
Allow to drain.
Pack into a box or sealed bag and freeze.
Defrost in a sieve or colander to allow excess moisture to drain.
Use in your favourite recipe.
It does not need cooking, warm through if you like.
I cooked some mushrooms, melted in a block of frozen pesto and stirred through the zucchini with some pitted olives...divine!
It has a certain chewiness of texture reminiscent of al dente pasta.
One 20cm zuc will feed two people.


This is an old favourite that I am happy to repeat:

ZUCCHINI CHIPS

Slice evenly, sprinkle with salt and allow to degorge.
Pat dry, sprinkle with pepper and salt.
Dehydrate till leathery.
Flip slices and continue to dry till crispy.

Store in an airtight container.
Serve as a snack or with dips.
Use as a gluten free 'pasta' layer in lasagne
NO fat and virtually no calories!
One 20cm zucchini makes two trays/one coffee jar.




ZUCCHINI KOFTA
A recipe for the cook who shared the spaghetti secret with me!
Serves 4 with rice and is gluten free. For a vegan option replace dairy with coconut milk

Koftas

500g grated zucchini, salted and squeezed, save liquid.

1 green chilli, chopped fine
1 large onion, chopped fine
1/2tsp grated ginger
2Tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
2Tbsp chickpea flour

Mix all well and form into 16 balls.
Fry quickly till brown or brush with oil and bake at 180 degrees.

Sauce
2 onions, chopped fine
rice bran oil
Heat oil and fry till transparent

1/2 tsp turmeric
pinch cayenne pepper
2 tsp ground coriander
Add and cook for a minute or so, till fragrant

225g canned or fresh tomatoes, chopped
zuc water from above
Add to onions and spice, simmer until reduced in volume by half.

250ml cream or yoghurt
1/2 tsp garam masala
Gently warm through, pour over koftas and sprinkle with whole roasted cumin seed or fresh coriander.

I hope you all enjoy the last of the season - in the middle of winter!

Five Minute Lasagne

We have only had baby tomatoes ripen so far this year but we have millions of them. So when I spotted a bargain box of BIG juicy ripe tomatoes on a visit to the Sunday markets, I couldn’t resist.  A week later, I have fused my trusty food dryer, made  barbecue sauce, hands off chutney, raw tomato sauce, ratatouille and ratatouille flan, smoked and dried tomatoes and there are still some of them  awaiting my attention.

There is nothing like a glut to bring out some creative cooking. I have a very strong memory of the first time my Italian friend Luana, cooked lasagne for me many years. I have never asked her for the recipe - we always have so much else to talk about – but here is my version of what I remember.

It will take you less than five minutes to assemble and about forty minutes to cook. There are no amounts for ingredients, decide what size dish you want to make and keep on layering.

Deceptively simple, this is a light, fresh, elegant way to serve lasagne. The juices in the bottom had me sucking at the baking dish (á la Nigella!) before I did the dishes... Luscious!

Lasagne sheets

Large fresh tomatoes, sliced thickly

Fresh basil, whole leaves or torn

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

White wine

Begin by putting a very thin layer of white wine into the bottom of a dish.

Add lasagne sheets to cover.

Layer by covering with fresh tomato slices sprinkled with basil, drizzled with a little olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. Only use a couple of leaves for each layer or the taste will be overpowering.

Continue for at least three layers of pasta, more of you like, ending with a layer of tomatoes.

Cover with foil, making sure that the foil does not touch the tomatoes as it will dissolve the aluminium. (Yuk!)

Bake 180C for 40 minutes. Remove foil and check pasta for doneness by piercing with a skewer. Allow to rest for ten minutes before cutting.

If desired, grill for a couple of minutes to brown the top.

Serve with freshly grated parmesan.

All by myself

Tempeh is a mystery to most people. Until Amita fell in love with it and the processes of making it, it was to me too. Last winter I spent a lot of time researching, experimenting, testing and writing.
Tempeh is a special food product, especially for vegans and vegetarians. It is an easily assimilated low fat protein that can help with weight loss and other health issues.
What I discovered was that it adapted to all sorts of recipes familiar to everyone. The texture of tempeh is meaty, chewy and satisfying and acts as a sponge to absorb any flavour and can be added as invisible protein boost for people wishing to gain weight or requiring high levels of nutrition during illness.
It's been another marathon battle with the computer with learning curves off the graph but I am happy to announce that my tempeh recipe book has wiggled its way into a pdf and is now available as an e book with full colour photographs.
For book information visit: http://www.nirala-naturally.com/.
For more on tempeh visit http://www.mrtempeh.com.au/.
Go on, have a look,
nirala