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Keeping it Simple ... Vegetables Become Heroes

There are times for fancy or complex flavored  food and other times when either under time pressure, or seasons changing, or the need to make the produce sing for its self, that simple is best. 

 When I cook for the students at Midreshet Zohar,in Bat Ayin this is one of the quickest, easiest, yet  delicious and most requested meals for their Wednesday evening class. 

 This simple vegan  menu of 
Oven roasted  Vegetables with Herbs,
Eggplant with Tahini 
Yellow Bay and Coconut Scented  Rice 
creates  a line  at the table, also there is never a scrap left how ever much is made. 

 It seams almost cheating to give out a recipe for this  but here we go.
  • Quantities for 10- 12 
  • Preparation time  15-20 minutes  
  • Cooking time  80 -90 minutes for vegetables 
  • 15 minutes for the rice  
  • 5 minutes the Tahini 
Roasted Vegetables  you can use any but these are the most popular 

 4-5 medium size zucchini
2- 3 Fennel
2 tomatoes
2 red onions
3 sweet potatoes
2 whole garlic
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh Rosemary
3 red peppers 
Good quality sea salt
Freshly ground  black pepper 
1 table spoon good quality extra virgin olive oil or other vegetable oil.

 Roasted Egg Plant and Tahini 

 3 Egg plants depending on size washed, sliced in wedges placed in a colander sprinkled with salt  leave   salted eggplant sit for at least 1/2 hour to 1 hour,    When you're ready to cook, rinse the eggplant under cold water to remove the excess salt and pat dry. this stage is important as it removes the bitter flavor from the eggplant.

 4-5 cloves Garlic

 Sea salt 
Extra virgin Olive Oil

 For the Tahini

 1 tub whole ground Tahini paste
1 lemon juiced 
1/2 cup fresh finely chopped parsley 
4 cloves  garlic
1-2 cups cold water 
1/2 teaspoon date syrup ( optional)
1 teaspoon good quality sea salt.
For Rice 

 1 onion finely chopped
2 cups Basmati rice ( you can use brown which is my preference, my ladies only like white !)
4 cups boiling water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoon coconut oil
2 bay leaves
Method

 Heat the oven to  Gas Mark 6 , 400 F 200 C.

 Main Vegetables 

 Place baking paper in the bottom of a large oven tray

 Peel and wash the  sweet potato  cut into disks. 

 Peel the read onion cut into 6

  Wash top and tail the zucchini, wash it and cut into wedges

Take the outer skin of the garlic off and leave the inner skin, wash under cold water
Wash the  red pepper, take out the center core stalk and seeds of the red pepper  and cut into 6-8 depending on the pepper size
Cut the fennel int 6, topping and tailing, wash thoroughly under cold water.

 Wash the tomatoes and slice them

 Place the vegetables in the baking dish  in rows, separate, I normally put the fennel near the zucchini but not the peppers. 
Place the sliced tomato over the fennel 
Sprinkle fresh thyme on the zucchini, rosemary on the sweet potatoes, and season with salt and pepper , drizzle oil over the vegetables place in the oven uncovered.
Check how they are cooking after an hour, then cover with silver foil and cook for a further  20-30 minutes  you can reduce the heat at this stage 

 Eggplant 

Place baking paper on bottom of a separate baking tray 
Take the washed and sliced eggplant and place in baking dish
add the garlic, randomly around the dish.
season with salt and pepper  drizzle on the oil.
Place in the oven uncovered,check how they are cooking after an hour, then cover with silver foil and cook for a further  20-30 minutes  you can reduce the heat at this stage 

  Tahini  

 Wash and place the parsley and garlic in to a food processor and chop till very fine.
Add the rest of the ingredients, blend .taste and adjust the seasoning. it should be a creamy pouring consistency set aside. When the eggplant is cooked pour the tahini over the eggplant while it is hot so the eggplant soaks up all the flavor.

 Rice

 Boil the water in a kettle
Place a heavy bottom pot with a tight lid on the stove , melt half the coconut oil slowly in the bottom of the pot.
Add the chopped onions saute for 3-4  minutes
Rinse  the rice under cold water in a sieve,shake off excess water add to the oil and stir so all the grains are covered with the oil.
Add the salt and mix
Add the boiling water, bay leafs and turmeric mix put the lid on the pot, bring to the boil then turn the pot down to a simmer. 
Do not remove the lid for 15 minutes  then test the rice turn off the heat
Place a sheet of kitchen paper  on top of the rice place the lid back on the pot and leave to stand for 5-10 minutes.
Remove the paper, fluff the rice up with a fork.

 Serving suggestions, eat while hot make a green salad with a simple olive oil garlic and lemon dressing   to eat with with this . 

 An Ideal go to quick  meal  to share with family or friends with a glass of white wine in the garden on a warm summers evening all the natural flavors are enhanced by roasting turning them into the hero of the meal the vegetables the rice and tahini turn this into a substantial meal.  
















    






 




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