Savoury Tomato Cobbler with Basil and Manchego

It’s been so long since I posted a recipe I’m sorry. I have so many recipes to catch up with but no time, which is a good thing I suppose. Fresh To Go is really busy which is more than we could have hoped for. Thank you customers!

It is still summery here but I realise that in other parts of the world it can’t make up its mind and is sometimes raining and cold. This recipe is perfect because it makes the transition from a light summery dish to cosy comfort food very easily indeed. Just serve it with a nice rocket salad if the sun is out or some yoghurt & herb mashed potatoes if the weather and/or you are miserable. Mashed potato is a well known antidote to misery.

Tomatoes are cheap & plentiful here and also full of flavour. This recipes uses 3 different types of tomato, plum tomatoes, beef tomatoes and cherry tomatoes but you don’t have to. Cooking the tomatoes encourages flavour even out of the most out of season, cold  & dull specimens.

Savoury Tomato Cobbler with Basil & Manchego Recipe

Serves 6-8, vegetarian. 

• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, white core removed
• 1 kilo beef (Castellano) tomatoes, chopped (or any tomatoes)
• 500 g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp sherry vinegar
• a pinch of dried chilli flakes
• 1 tsp dried or fresh thyme
• a squeeze of honey
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (vegetarian)
• about 10 fresh basil leaves, rolled up & julienned (you will need more for the dough mix too)
• 1 Tbsp cornflour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups (225 g) wholemeal spelt flour (or other flour)
• 1/2 cup (75 g) cornmeal/fine polenta/masa harina 
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup (110 ml) olive oil
• 3/4 cup (100 g) finely grated Manchego (or Parmesan) cheese
• a good handful of basil leaves, rolled & julienned
• 1 1/4 cups (275 ml) goats (or Greek) yoghurt or buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Cook the onion in 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat with a pinch of salt until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, chilli flakes & thyme and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the chopped tomatoes, cook for 5 minutes then add the vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, cornflour, salt, pepper and honey. Cook for 5 minutes more. Taste and adjust salt & honey as required.

Place the halved plum tomatoes, cut side up in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish (or 1 half in each individual dish if you have them), then spoon the cooked tomato, onion mixture over them. Top with the halved cherry tomatoes. Bake for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile mix together the flours, baking powder & baking soda in a large bowl and season with salt & black pepper. Drizzle over the olive oil and then crush it into the flour using a fork until it is evenly distributed and resembles crumble mix. Put it in the fridge for 10 minutes.

Stir the grated cheese & basil into the flour mix, then add the yoghurt and stir until just combined. Do not overmix or it will be tough. Dollop small roundish handfuls of the mix on top of the tomatoes, leaving gaps in between, do not spread to cover.

Bake for 30 – 35 minutes until golden brown. Leave to cool for 10 minutes or longer before serving with either a green salad and/or yoghurt & herb mashed potatoes.

I am off to Rome to meet up with my Dad this weekend. For research purposes only you understand. Very excited about the food, I have a long list of restaurants I want to try. I’ve heard there’s some sights to see too. Only if there’s time between lunch & dinner though…

Romanesco Rigatoni Cheese Bake with Crunchy Nut Topping

Romanesco is a fabulously freaky looking thing that tastes like a cross between cauliflower and broccoli. If broccoli florets look like little oak trees then romanesco florets are definitely mini Christmas trees.

This is basically a fusion of two iconic dishes. Macaroni Cheese (Mac & Cheese) and Cauliflower Cheese, which is cauliflower coated in a cheesy white sauce if you didn’t already know. Sometimes gratinated sometimes not. I think it’s a British thing. It’s good to get some extra vegetables in with all that cheeesy carbness so I added some spinach too. Good for the guilt I find.

This dish is great for using up all the little bits of different cheeses that you might have leftover especially at this time of year. I used some feta, goat’s cheese and grated Manchego. Clear out the fridge food is always satisfying.

The topping is actually the Hazelnut & Chestnut Dukkah that I made to go on my Moroccan Spiced Cauliflower Soup. The spicy Egyptian nutty crumble give this an extra kick of flavour but you could use breadcrumbs mixed with grated cheese and some spices if you like. The nuts give a nice crunch though. Worth the extra effort definitely.

Romanesco Rigatoni Cheese Bake with Dukkah Topping

Serves 3-4, vegetarian

You can substitute the cheeses for whatever bits you have around; Stilton, Gruyère, gorgonzola, mozzarella….

• 1/2 large romanesco (or cauliflower/broccoli), chopped into small florets
• 300 g wholemeal rigatoni
• 2 Tbsp flour (I used wholemeal spelt)
• 2 Tbsp dairy free spread or butter
• about 300 ml oat milk (or other milk)
• a good handful of grated manchego (or cheddar/parmesan..)
• 1/2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)
• salt & black pepper
• a big handful of fresh spinach leaves, chopped (about 100 g)
• 75 – 100 g Greek feta
• 75 – 100 g goats cheese
• about 50 g hazelnut dukkah (recipe here) or use breadcrumbs and grated cheese
• olive oil and breadcrumbs/flour

Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet in a large pan with lots of boiling salted water. About 4 or 5 minutes before it is cooked throw in the florets too. Cauliflower takes longer to cook than broccoli and romanesco so adjust accordingly. When the pasta is cooked and romanesco tender, drain the whole lot in a colander.

While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter/spread in a small pan over a medium heat. When it has melted add the flour, all in one go, and stir for a minute or so. It will form a thick paste, you need to cook the rawness out of the flour.

Add in the milk, stirring continuously, until incorporated, then continue stirring until the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes depending. When thickened, remove from the heat and stir in the grated cheese, rosemary, nutmeg, chilli flakes and season well with salt & black pepper. Set aside.

Pour the drained pasta and florets back into the large pan over a gentle heat and pour over the cheese sauce, stirring to combine.  Add in the chopped spinach, stirring to wilt in the warm pasta then crumble (or grate) in the rest of the cheeses (I saved some feta for the top). Taste and adjust seasoning as required. Preheat oven to 200C.

Prepare one large or 3-4 individual ovenproof gratin dishes by rubbing the insides with oil and then dusting with flour or breadcrumbs. Pour the mixture into the dish(es), top with the reserved feta, a generous sprinkling of the dukkah (or grated cheese & breadcrumbs), drizzle with olive oil and bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and crispy.

You can serve this on its own or with a bitter leaf salad to cut through the richness of the cheese. A mix of raddichio and rocket is nice with some olive oil and sweet balsamic vinegar.

Enjoy!!

Wild Fig and Mandarin Muffins

Tomorrow morning we are going to help pick olives at a friends finca and Margarita, the hostess, is making lunch for everyone, so I thought I would make something sweet to keep the sugar levels up mid morning. We picked some figs yesterday on our walk and the restaurant has orange and mandarin trees in the garden so that was the inspiration. I’ve made orange & cranberry muffins before so it was just a matter of replacing the cranberries with figs…

Wild Fig & Mandarin. Sounds like a Jo Malone fragrance doesn’t it, and if it isn’t it should be. They smell really good..

Wild Fig & Mandarin Muffins Recipe

Makes about 10 vegetarian

• 200 gr self raising flour (I used wholemeal)
• 125 gr caster sugar
• 100 gr brown sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 large mandarins
• 200 gr fresh figs roughly chopped
• 250 ml greek yoghurt
• 50 gr butter, softened
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl then stir in the sugars and cinnamon. Grate the zest of the mandarins into another bowl then beat in the greek yoghurt, butter and egg until smooth. Add to the dry ingredients and fold in gently. Peel the mandarins, remove as much of the white pith as you have the patience for, then cut the segments in half longways. Add the figs and mandarin segments to the mixture and fold in gently using as few strokes as possible. Do not over beat, the mix should be slightly streaky. Line a 12 hole muffin tin with 10 paper muffin cases and spoon the mixture into the cases to about 3/4 full. Bake for 35 minutes until golden and firm.

Eat warm, straight from the oven, or if you can wait for them to cool, make a mandarin icing glaze to drizzle over them. This increases the mandarin flavour and makes them even more moist and scrumptious….

Orange Icing Glaze Recipe

• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• about 3 or 4 tsp freshly squeezed mandarin juice

Put the icing sugar in a bowl and slowly whisk in the mandarin juice a teaspoon at a time until you have a thick drizzling consistency. When the muffins have cooled completely take a teaspoon of the icing, hold it over the muffin and drizzle it artistically over the top. Leave it to soak in a bit if you can wait, if not just enjoy straight away with the icing all over your fingers..

Perfect for afternoon tea or a mid morning snack, to keep you going until lunch, maybe!………