FOOD: BAKED AUBERGINE W/ CHICKPEAS AND GREEN CHILLI

The clocks went back last night which means that today will be spent in a sleep deprived haze. Dexter was up at 4am.... yes I did just say, 4 f-ing am. I mean, who does that on a Sunday? Urgh! 

Yes, already it's pretty plain to see that today isn't going to be one of the best. It's raining out, we have little more than a Supermarket trip planned & India has a stinker of a cold. But, at least we will have something nice to eat, right? Yes, totally, because tonight we are having this awesome baked aubergine dish that I found in Bill Granger's Easy book. 

Now, to be honest my (albeit fuzzy) mind doesn't naturally want to put chickpeas and aubergines in the same dish. In fact, i probably wouldn't have ever cooked this dish if I'd thought about it a little more, but I am SO glad I did. Now, this will forever signify the start of the winter season for me. You know, the sodding rain the crisp sunny mornings, the frozen nights the fire roaring in the front room, those stupid adult hats with animal faces on the cosy hats & gloves, and now.... this dish.

I urge you to make this asap because lets face it, winter can be a little bit rubbish at times and this will cheer it up in a big way. Unless you don't like aubergines, and then I can't help you today because I'm just too dang tired...

CAPONATA BRUSCHETTE

A couple of nights ago, I had a big craving for aubergines in a tomato-y stew, but i didn't quite fancy this.  Hmm, Dilemma.
I was also craving olives, probably because i'm not meant to eat them at the moment, and capers. I wanted it altogether, right then & in gigantic quantities.
Well low & behold, guess who came to my rescue? Jamie! Of course he did, he's JAMIE.

WHAT WE ARE EATING: Aubergines with tomatoes, garlic & thyme

This is one of my favourite meals ever & I make it all the time. It's super healthy too, which makes me happy! I normally serve it with a french baguette, but recently I made a less-salted version for the kiddos & mixed it with some quinoa which really worked.

So here's what you need for 2 people as a main:
(recipe adapted from Gino D'acampo)

- 2 vegetable stock cubes or powder to the equivalent (I use Organic Swiss Bouillon).
- 2 litres of water
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 3 Medium Aubergines (approx' 200g each)
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled & halved
- 1. 5 - 2 tins of chopped tomatoes (400g size tin)
- 3 large plum tomatoes, de-seeded & quartered
- 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves
- Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
- Bread if your choice to serve


and here's what you'll need to do:

1. Pour your 2 litres of water into a large pan & add your stock cubes / bouillon powder & bring to the boil.
2. Top & tail your aubergines taking off about 1cm from both ends, then chop into roughly 3cm chunks.
3. Once your stock is boiling, add your aubergines & cook for approx 8 minutes.

4. Drain in a colander & gently press out any excess water. Set aside.

5. Over a medium heat, heat your oil in a large saucepan & sizzle your garlic for about one minute, taking care not to let it burn.

6. Add your aubergines & continue to cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Add 1 and a half tins of your tinned chopped tomatoes, season well with the salt & pepper & continue to cook over a medium heat for 20 minutes, checking & stirring occasionally.

8. Add your quartered plum tomatoes & fresh thyme leaves. If the mixture looks too thick for your taste, add the remaining tinned tomatoes. Cook for a further 10 minutes.

9. Taste, adding more salt & pepper if you desire, then take off the heat.

10. Serve with your fresh bread.

Mmmmmmm! Enjoy x