Fricken’ fabulous veggie stacks
I am still on holiday! We have now spent time in Knysna, Kleinemonde, Hogsback and been up the wild coast. But alas, as with all good things we are winding our way back home now and have just arrived in the Tsitsikama forest for the final stretch of our trip.
On New Year’s Eve Adam and I cooked a very spontaneous dinner for the family which had unanimously been decided would be light and easy. We had all been eating non-stop and were feeling a touch overwhelmed at the prospect of another rich meal.
We did end up with four courses but each was small and light and well spaced out to leave space for chatter and chilled bubbles. The one course which Adam prepared (under my guidance) was a dish very much influenced by my mother’s cooking. I remembered her telling me about a meal she made last year, while visiting my brother in France, which was very similar. So I gave her a call yesterday and asked her if she could send me a guideline for her recipe and some pictures, which I knew my step dad had taken. The below is what she sent me.
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Pictures take by Walter Köppe |
The two interesting tweeks to this recipe are: 1) the aubergines are dry-fried, so not fatty at all and; 2) one can replace the crème fraîche topping with a slightly thinned hummus which can make this a vegan option as well as low-fat.
4 medium sized fresh beetroots
4 medium sized courgettes
1 Tbsp of olive oil
Roast the trimmed and washed beets for one hour at 175˚C until cooked through. Peel and slice into rounds of about ½ a centimetre.
Slice the aubergine width wise into 4 thick round slices and dry fry on medium high heat in a thick-bottomed non stick pan or griddle until scorched on both sides.
Looks sublime, and so healthy! Love how the light picks up all the colors on this last shot!