from Santa's kitchen
This is a very quick and easy vegetarian supper dish for two people, especially good if you grow your own tomatoes and courgettes and have a glut to use up.
If you have the time, salt, drain and dry the sliced courgettes: layer them in a colander, sprinkling each layer with salt, and place a suitably sized plate on top.
Weigh this down with a heavy object (like scale weights) and after 30 minutes quite a bit of water will have been drawn out. Dry them really thoroughly in a clean cloth and then they’re ready to cook. Heat the oil in a frying pan large enough to hold the courgettes in one layer (otherwise do them in two batches), add the crushed garlic and sauté the courgette slices to a nice golden colour on each side. Next arrange layers of courgettes, cheese slices and sliced tomatoes in a heatproof gratin dish so that they overlap each other slightly like slates on a roof. You can watch how to skin tomatoes in our Cookery School Video on the right
Finally sprinkle on the grated Parmesan, basil and salt and freshly milled pepper. Then bake on a high shelf in the oven for 30 minutes. Serve this with lots of crusty bread and a green salad with a sharp lemony dressing.
1 Kg corned pastrami brisket
300 ml stock
Spice Mix
10 ml rainbow peppercorns, cruched
10 ml coriander seeds, crushed
5 ml mustard seed, crushed
5 ml each coarse salt and brown sugar
5 ml garlic flakes and dried origanum
10 ml smoked paprika
a pinch pf chili powder
Beer Onions
30 ml olive oil
2 large onions, thinly sliced
about 125 ml of the meat’s cooking liquid
15 ml sugar
pinch of salt
3 sprigs of thyme
about 80 ml beer
45 ml balsamic vinegar
Mix all the spices and set aside. Rinse the brine from meat and pat dry. Using a sharp knife, score the fat layer without cutting into the meat. Heat a deep oven proof pan and brown the meat, fat side down. Remove the pan from the heat and turn the meat over so that the fat layer is facing upwards. Rub in the spices, add the stock so it covers the meat to just below the spices and bake in the oven for about 3 hours. Remove from the oven and let it rest while you cook the onions.
Heat the oil, onions and cooking liquid in a heavy based pan and boil the onions slowly over low heat until all the liquid has evaporated and the onions are soft and glossy. Saute the onions until they start to colour. Add the sugar, salt and thyme and fry for a few more minutes. Stir in the beer and vinegar and cook until glossy.
Using an electric or very sharp knife, slice the meat thinly. Serve with the onions mustard and creamy horseradish sauce and side dishes such as mashed potatoes nd sweet carrots, or enjoy it on a fresh roll, deli-style.