Italian style aubergine stew (Caponata)

• 
  I absolutely adore Italian flavours and Italian cuisine. They've managed to craft a cuisine so universally loved that, especially here in the UK and with our US cousins, we've taken to producing absolutely tonnes of pasta and pizza each and every day. It's with this output that I've grown to know and love the rich, vibrant flavours and visuals Italian cuisine has to offer with traditional dishes like Lasagne, Spaghetti, Gnocchi and Ristto. 
• However, southern Italian cuisine has something a little different to offer than the traditional expectations, still with the same vibrancy and sense of tradition, which speaks to the newfound vegetarian in me. One of those such offerings is Caponata, a beautiful Sicilian dish which can be worked perfectly as a side dish with some aromatic and homely ciabatta or, in the case of this recipe, served up in a big portion with creamy polenta.

I encourage you each and all to have a look at what southern Italian cuisine, and Sicilian cuisine, is all about as I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the richness of the meals and the cheapness of the ingredients used to make them as well as the simplicity of the dishes themselves to make.

This meal is out and ready to go in around fifteen minutes if you're prepared and ain't too bad a cook. It's still exceptionally swift to put together even if you're still learning the ropes and the flavours don't fail to pack a punch.

Caponata

• 1/2 large aubergine , cut into medium-large chunks
• 2 large cloves garlic , finely minced (add a sprinkle of salt to assist)
• 1 small shallot, quartered
• 2 tbsp salted capers (around 10-15 capers)
• 1 handful black olives (around 5-7 olives) , stones removed (obviously)
• 2 large ripe tomatoes , roughly chopped
• 1/2 red pepper, chopped into four slices
• 5 sprigs fresh oregano, leaves stripped and finely chopped
• 1 small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves stripped and finely chopped
• 2tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 50ml tomato stock or 2tbsp tomato puree and 50ml water
• 1tsp plain flour
• Ground black pepper
• Salt
• Method
• Add some oil (any cooking oil you like but it is Italian so olive wouldn't go amiss) to a large pan and turn up to a medium-high heat. Add your aubergine and shallot and season well with salt and pepper and toss regularly to ensure good coverage of heat and seasoning. Reduce your heat to medium after 5 minutes and your veg is starting to soften and char at which point you should add your tomatoes and red pepper and cook for a further 3-5 minutes.
  
  Once the tomatoes have softened up sprinkle with flour, add your stock and capers and cook for only a few minutes more, finally tossing in the oregano and parsley.
  
  Serve with smooth and creamy polenta and add a little oregano or parsley on top for garnish and a little sprinkling of chilli flakes for that extra hit.

Vegetarian "Chicken" and veg pie

In continuing my mission to better eliminate meat from diet I have asked you lovely people what you would like to see made in a vegetarian stylee and what you would like to see is pie.

It is entirely possible and workable to make vegetarian meals the staple part of your diet, with fish and meat only making a small part of your diet. Choosing to start with pies is pretty simplistic as you've some excellent meat substitutes to elect as you draw yourself away from those meaty needs (yes I said meaty needs).

For this recipe I have elected to use quorn chicken as, when it cooked in sauce, it makes for a rather appetising addition to meals. It has to be cooked in a little stock or sauce to make it work best I find so a rich creamy sauce really does the trick. It is also accompanied, as is the theme here afterall, by a plethora of vegetables to really ramp up the health benefits you may feel you're being slightly robbed of with the fact that my recipes lend themselves to large portions.

This recipe is for two pies because you must always cook for others, I insist!

Pie filling

1/4 white onion (sliced thinly)
2 large flat cup mushrooms sliced quartered and roughly chopped
200g quorn chicken
3 florets of brocolli (sliced vertically)
70g sweetcorn
70g peas/broad beans/soy beans

150ml veg stock
50ml milk
Handful of sage, chives and 1/2 handful dill all chopped finely
1 tbsp plain flour

Potato Topping

5 medium white potatoes diced
100g polenta
1/4 white onion chopped finely
Large handful parsley
30-50ml water
Salt and pepper to season

Method

Begin by making your potato topping so you can set aside ready to place upon your filling. Do so by adding your dry ingredients into a food processor or hand operated slicer and pulse or crank to create quite a fine mix which is very coarse. At this point add in your water, bit by bit, and pulse once more until your mix takes on more moisture. The mix should not be in any way sodden, it should have just enough moisture to slightly stick to a spoon.

Once made set aside at room temperature.

Next, cook your white onion in either a small amount of butter or oil (I prefer butter for sweeter onions) on a low to medium heat until the onions begin to caramelise and add your mushrooms and chicken. Add in with this your sage and 50ml of your stock and cook on a low to medium heat to allow the mushrooms and chicken to absorb the flavours so that most of the moisture has cooked out for around 10 minutes.

The next step is merely preference so I will provide two options. You can in a seperate pan add your flour, the stock and milk to cook your sauce or add your flour to your already cooking ingredients and then add the stock and milk. To cook separately add your flour to a pan on a medium heat and slowly add your stock and whisk continuously until the stock thickens greatly. Continue like this until you've added all stock and milk continuing to whisky until there are lumps of flour left. Be sure to season generously with salt and pepper and taste to suit and then stir in your dill and chives. To cook with your ingredients simply sprinkle the flour over your onion, chicken and mushrooms and cook on a medium heat for 1-2 minutes and then add, at once your stock and milk, cooking out as per above and adding once cooked through your herbs.

Once your sauce has been cooked through or added to your ingredients then add your brocolli, sweetcorn and peas and cook for only 2-3 minutes.

Now that your filling has been cooked add it evenly to two small to medium sized pie dishes and cover with the potato topping. Be sure to get a nice large and even covering over you filling to conceal it completely.

To cook your topping through and complete your dish please on a medium placing in your oven at 180c for 20-25 minutes until the potatoes have browned and grill for 2-3 mins on a very high heat to crisp up your top.

Be sure to wear some slack clothing for this one folks, it's a big pie!