Tuesday, 5 August 2025

Ratatouille

This recipe is from The Kitchn and turned out really nicely. Was great the next day when the flavors had mixed.

Ratatouille 

Ingredients

1 medium zucchini (about 8 ounces)

1 medium yellow summer squash (about 8 ounces)

2 medium Chinese or Japanese eggplant (about 8 ounces)

2 medium Roma tomatoes (about 8 ounces total)

1 small yellow onion

1 small red, orange, or yellow bell pepper

3 cloves garlic

1/2 small bunch fresh thyme

1/2 small bunch fresh basil

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup tomato purée

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar


Method 

Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 375ºF.

Trim and cut the following with a mandolin or sharp knife crosswise into 1/16-inch-thick rounds: 1 medium yellow summer squash (about 2 cups), 1 medium zucchini (about 2 cups), 2 medium Chinese or Japanese eggplants (about 2 3/4 cups), and 2 medium Roma tomatoes (about 1 1/4 cups).

Dice 1 small yellow onion (about 1 cup). Trim and dice 1 small bell pepper (about 1 cup). Mince 3 garlic cloves. Pick the leaves from 1/2 small bunch fresh thyme until you have 4 teaspoons. Pick the leaves from 1/2 small bunch fresh basil and finely chop until you have 1/4 cup.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a 10-inch oven-safe or cast iron skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion, bell pepper, 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 8 to 10 minutes.

Add the garlic, 2 teaspoons of the thyme, and basil, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add 1 cup tomato purée and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the flavors meld and the sauce is slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the heat. Add 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar and stir to combine. Spread the sauce into an even layer.

Arrange the zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, and Roma tomatoes on top of the sauce in a concentric circle: Start at the outer edge of the skillet and work inward, alternating the vegetables and overlapping the slices so that just a little bit of each slice is visible.

Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over the vegetables. Sprinkle the remaining 2 teaspoons thyme and remaining 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt over the top.

Cover with a tight-fitting lid or aluminum foil. Bake until the vegetables are softened and have released their liquid, but are not browned around the edges, 45 to 50 minutes. Uncover and let sit for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with torn basil leaves.






Friday, 1 August 2025

Vegan Salmon Crispy Rice

I saw this on an episode of Queer Eye and wondered how it would turn out so I found a non-vegan version on TikTok and tried to replicate it :)
It was actually very delicious!



Vegan Salmon Crispy Rice

Ingredients

2cups cooked sushi or short grain sticky rice

2Tbls rice vinegar

6oz faux salmon (I used store bought but you could use the watermelon salmon sashimi recipe!)

2Tbls vegan mayo (I used Veganaise)

2 tsp soy sauce (I used tamari)

1 tsp sriracha 

1 Tbls sesame oil

1 green onion chopped 

Sprinkle of sesame seeds

1x Avocado, sliced


Method

Cook sushi rice ahead of time, mix in rice vinegar. (You can prepare as you would sushi rice if you prefer, the aim is for it to not fall apart when you fry it.) Line a 8" x 8" pan/tray and add the rice smoothing it down flat with the rice spatula, covering the top with cling film. Refrigerate for at lest 2 hours.

Meanwhile get the vegan salmon ready by chopping into small cubes and adding in the vegan mayo, soy sauce, sriracha, sesame oil, green onions and sesame seeds.

Slice the avocado thinly and set aside.

Once rice is ready slice into squares and heat some oil in a non-stick pan on a med-high heat. 

Sear both sides of the rice squares until golden brown and place aside on some paper towels. You may need to do a couple of batches.

Once the fried rice squares are cool enough to touch arrange them on the serving plate, top them with a spoon of the vegan salmon mix following by the avocado slices.

This was so delicious! My first batch of rice fell apart because I forgot the vinegar so I turned it into a poke bowl.