Recipes

I think it helps a lot if the recipe you are referring to has lot of pictures in it not just when its ready and looking good but of different stages. I am planning to put as many pictures as I can starting with this recipe...

Ingredients:
1 large, ripe avocado
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp vegetable oil
50g sweetcorn
2 tomatoes peeled and seeded
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 leek, chopped
1 red chilli, chopped
425ml vegetable stock
150 ml milk
shredded leeks to garnish

1. Peel and mash the avocado with a fork. Stir in the lemon juice and reserve until required

2. Heat the oil in a pan and saute the sweetcorn, tomatoes, garlic, leek and chilli for 2-3 minutes until softened

3. Put half (I put 75%)of the vegetable mixture in a food processor or blender with the avocado and blend until smooth. Transfer to a clean saucepan.

4. Add the stock and milk and reserved vegetables and cook gently for 3-4 minutes until hot. Garnish with shredded leeks and serve.

1 large or 2 small eggplants
2 pounds tomatoes
1/2 garlic bulb, halved vertically, top trimmed but cloves left unseparated
2 red chiles
2 tablespoons honey
6 tablespoons honey
salt and pepper
1 cup dried cannelini beans, cooked or 1 can (14 ounces)
generours pinch saffron threads
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (I used balsamic vinegar)
1 heaped tablespoon minced fresh parsley

1. Preheat the over to 325 degree F. Cut the eggplant into 2 inch thick slices; quarter the slices, cut a cone from the top of each tomato to remove the core. Cut the tomatoes in half or quarter if large.

2. Arrange the eggplant pieces, tomatoes, garlic, and chiles in a roasting pan. Drizzle the honey and olive oil over, and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 1.5 hours, basting occasionally.

3. Remove and discard the chiles. Squeeze the garlic from skin back into the vegetables. Spoon the vegetables into a serving dish, leaving the juices in the pan. Plunge the cannellini beans into boiling water until hot; drain and pat dry. Add the beans to the vegetables and stir well.

4. Grind the saffron in a mortar, then blend with 2 tablespoons of boiling water. Add to the roasting pan with the vinegar and stir until blended. Season to taste. Pour over the vegetables and beans. Scatter the aprsley over and serve warm.

4 cups penne or rigatoni
salt and pepper
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 red chile, seeded and minced
1 pound ripe tomatoes, chopped
6 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces fresh buffalo mozzarella, chopped (I used cows'-milk substitute mozzarella)
handful fresh basil or mint leaves
1/2 cup black olives

1. Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water for 10 to 12 minutes until just al dente, stirring from time to time.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together the onion, chile and tomatoes. Season with plenty of salt and pepper, then stir in the oil.

3. Drain the pasta and add it to the tomato mixture, together with the mozzarella, basil and olives. Stir well and serve immediately.

3 large red peppers
2 tbsp olive oil
3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
14oz cans chopped tomatoes
2 bay leaves
6 cups vegetable stock
2 cups rice (preferrably arborio rice)
6 fresh basil leaves, snipped
salt and pepper

1. Preheat the grill. Put the peppers in a grill pan and grill until the skins are blackened and blistered all over. Puthe peppers in a bowl, cover with several layers of damp kitchen paper and leave for 10 minutes. Peel off the skins, then slice the peppers, discarding the cores and seeds.

2. Heat the oil in a wide, shallow pan. Add the garlic and tomatoes and cook over a gentle heat for 5 minutes, then add the pepper slices and bay leaves. Stir well and cook for 15 minutes more, still over a gentle heat.

3. Pour the stock into a large, heavy- based saucepan and heat it to simmering point. Stir the rice into the vegetable mixture and cook for about 2 minutes, then add two or three ladlefuls of the hot stock. Cook, stirring occasionally, until all the stock has been absorbed into the rice.

4. Continue to add stock in this way, making sure each addition has been absorbed before pouring in the next. When the rice is tender, season with salt and pepper. Remove the pan from the heat, cover and leave to stand for 10 minutes before stirring in the basil and serving.

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
4 ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 slices white bread (I used wheat bread); roughly torn
1 can (14 ouce) tomatoes pureed with their juices
4 tablespoons white wine vinegar (I used some other vinegar that was available)
1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce
1 1/4 cups vegetable stock
1 teaspoon sugar
salt and pepper
Handful basil leaves, to garnish

1. Pour 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil into an ice-cube tray and freeze

2. Put the onion, garlic, bell pepper, ripe tomatoes, and bread into a food processor and blend until finely chopped but not too smooth- you need to keep some of the crunchy texture.

3. Transfer to a large bowl with the pureed tomatoes. Add 5 tablespoons of the remaining oil, the vinegar, hot pepper sauce, stock, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste; remember, food to be served chilled needs to be strongly seasoned. Mix thoroughly, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight. You can prepare ahead up to this point.

4. Just before serving, pour the soup into serving bowls. Drop a couple of frozen olive-oil cubes into each, and drizzle with a little more oil. Tear some basil leaves over each bowl and serve

Ingredients:

a. 4 tablespoons olive oil
b. 1 onion sliced
c. 1 garlic clove, minced
d. 1 eggplant, cut into chunks
e. 2 zucchini, cut into chunks
f. 2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
g. salt and pepper
h. 6 eggs
i. 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
j. handful fresh basil leaves

1. Heat the oil in a skillet with a flameproof handle. (Don't buy a new one if you don't already have it... I have a workaround for this.) Add the onion and cook until soft. Add the garlic, eggplant and zucchini chunks, and cook for 5 to 8 minutes until soft and light brown. Add the tomato wedges and season with salt and pepper.

2. Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a bowl. Stir in the dried oregano and season. Preheat the broiler.

3. Pour the beaten eggs over the vegetables and cook for 5 to 8 minutes until the bottom starts to brown and the eggs look softly set.

4. Slide the omelet under the broiler and broil until the top looks puffed and golden. (If you haven't used the skillet with flameproof handle then cut the omelet into 4 pieces and put it on aluminim foil. Slide the foil under the broiler.)

5. Tear the basil leaves over. Cut into wedges and serve. (Putting it under broiler gives it a amazing flavor)

This recipe may look long and complicated, but it isn't. This is one of those curious dishes that are much more difficult to explain than they are actually to make.

Ingredients:
a. 1 eggplant
b. 3 zucchini
c. salt and papper
d. 3 tablespoons olive oil
e. 3 red or yellow bell peppers
f. 1/2 pound cooked lasagna noodles (cooking time is specified on the packets, special pasta cooker makes it easier to cook noodles, pasta and even vegetables)
g. 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
h. 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
i. 6 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

FOR THE TOMATO SAUCE:
You can use readymade pesto sauce, or:

a. 2 tablespoons olive oil
b. 1 onion minced
c. 2 garlic cloves, crushed
d. 1 carrot, grated
e. 2 (14 ounces) cans crushed tomatoes
f. salt and pepper
g. handful fresh basil leaves

FOR THE BECHAMEL SAUCE:

a. 4 tablespoons butter
b. 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
c. 2.5 cups 2% milk
d. Pinch grated nutmeg

1. First make the tomato sauce. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan. Add the onion and garlic and saute for 3 minutes, until soft. Stir in the carrot and cook for 2 minutes longer. Add the tomatoes and season to taste. Simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, until the sauce is thick and reduced. Stir in the basil; set aside.

2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Cut the eggplant and zucchini lengthwise into one-fourth inch slices. Brush with some olive oil, sprinkle with a little salt, and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until brown and soft. At the same time, bake the peppers whole for 15 to 20 minutes, until the skins are lightly charred and wrinkled. After removing them from the oven, place the peppers in a paper bag until completely cool. Halve them, remove skin and seeds, and cut the flesh into wide strips.

3. To make the bechamel sauce, first melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Then stir in the flour and cook, stirring, over low heat. Remove from the heat and gradually pour in the milk, stirring constantly with a balloon whisk or wooden spoon. Return to the heat and continue stirring for about 5 minutes until the sauce thickens. Stir in the nutmeg and season well. Remove from the heat; set aside.

4.To assemble the lasagna, spoon about half of the tomato sauce into the bottom of a 8 X 10 inch lasagna dish. Arrange about one-third of the lasagna noodles in a single layer on top.

5. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Cover the lasagna with half of the eggplant and sprinkle with a little parsley. Add half the peppers and zucchini. Spoon one-third of the bechamel sauce on top and sprinkle with one-third of the Parmesan and mozzarella cheese.

6. Repeat with another third of the pasta, the remaining tomato sauce and vegetables, and another third of the bechamel sauce and cheeses. Finally, top with the remaining pasta, bechamel sauce, and cheeses.

7. Cover with foil and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 10 minutes longer until golden brown and bubbling.