Pineapple, Ginger and Tofu Curry

My husband is excellent when it comes to eating his vegetables, but when it comes to eating fresh fruit he is a bit lazy.  The one time he'll tuck into a bowl of fruit is when its chopped up into little pieces and given to him as a fruit salad. Well no jewelled fruit or berry studded salad here.  Instead I present you with a savoury pineapple dish coated in thick, spicy coconut cream.

Pineapples are not widely used in Indonesian cooking, however this recipe is adapted and inspired by a dish from the city of Palebang in South Sumatra.

I have to admit, I would never had thought of combining these ingredients together, but I was encouraged by the recipe suggestion.  The curry was enjoyable, both sweet and savoury.  The taste reminded us both of Peshwari Naan bread; a South Asian sweet bread that is often served with spicy dishes.  I also found the surprise ginger hit wonderful against the juicy bursts of the pineapple chunks.

The tofu is optional, added namely for bulk and texture.  This curry is best eaten on the day.  If you leave it overnight, the flavours intensify and it become overly sweet, and this is meant to be a savoury curry, not a dessert.  I served it simply with plain boiled Basmati rice.

Pineapple and Tofu Curry
Serves 4
Ingredients
Optional: 300g firm tofu
1 pineapple, peeled and chopped into medium-sized cubes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 - 3 shallots, peeled and finely sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2½ inch ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon coriander seeds, roasted and ground
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 – 3 teaspoons red chilli flakes
150g block coconut cream
½ pint water
Coriander or mint leaves for garnish
Salt and black pepper to taste.
Optional: Lime wedge for serving
Method
Heat the oil in a wide pan and add the shallots and garlic. Saute for around 2-3 minutes until soft and add the chilli flakes, coriander, ginger and saute for another 3 minutes. Add water, coconut milk and pineapple. Bring to the boil and then turn the heat to medium-low. Add tofu if using, then cover. Cook for 6-8 minutes. Stir in the coriander and season with salt and black pepper to taste.  Serve with plain boiled rice topped with a lime wedge. Recipe adapted from here.

Aubergine, Chickpea and Coriander Salad

Here is a bowl of salad containing some slick glossy aubergines and nutty chickpeas.

Its flavours are enhanced further with chilli flakes and coriander.  And to appeal to the eyes, dressed up further with some edible flowers, in this case pansies.  Pansies are also known as Heartsease.

This salad is delightful to eat on its own, but served warm drenched in some good homemade tomato salsa and then stuffed it into a pitta bread, its even better.

 Some unexpected pansies growing in a garden pot. I am thinking of crystallizing some for cake decoration.

Aubergine, chickpea and coriander salad
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 large aubergines, cut into chunks
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 x 400g can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon lemon juice
large bunch of coriander, stalks removed
Method
Preheat oven to gas mark 6.  Coat the aubergine chunks in 2 tablespoon olive oil and place on a tray and bake for 20 - 30 minutes, until golden. 
In a large bowl, add the remaining oil, lemon juice, chickpeas, salt, garlic and coriander.  Then stir in the aubergine.  Stir well to combine.  Recipe adapted from Nadine Abensur's Cranks Light.

Broad Bean and Black Peppermint Flan

The last few weeks, I've been creating a lot of tart and flan based meals, and here I go again and present you with another savoury one.

This flan is studded with fresh broad beans and some black peppermint which came from the garden.  Black peppermint is exactly what is says it is - its mint that smells like black pepper.  But unlike the traditional green mint, the leaves of this one are thicker and dark, almost velvet purple in colour.  On cooking, the black peppermint didn't impart that much flavour .  I think to appreciate it more for both scent and flavour, it would benefit being part of a salad rather than a cooked dish like this;. 

Still we enjoyed a slice of this tart earlier.  We have more than half left over, which we will be taking with us tomorrow as we will be travelling down South again.  To be honest, I want to go and see my mother-in-law and my family again, as well as see the progress on my Dads allotment but at the same time there are so many things here that we have to do for our move down - I guess they will just have to wait until we come back.

I am submitting this recipe to Cinzia of Cindy Star for this week’s Weekend Herb Blogging (WHB) #290. WHB is overseen by Haalo from Cook Almost Anything.
Broad Bean and Black Peppermint Flan
For the shortcrust pastry to line a 8 - 9 inch round tin
Serves 4 - 6
Ingredients
225g plain flour
½ teaspoon salt
125g butter
3 tablespoons water
Method
Add flour and salt to a bowl. Add the butter then rub it into the flour with your fingertips, lifting the mixture out of the bowl to incorporate as much air as possible as this will make the pastry light. Continue until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs, then add the water a little at a time and use your fingertips to press the mixture together and form a dough. Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead rolling out the dough into a round. Blind bake in a hot oven at gas mark 6 for 20 minutes.

Ingredients for the filling
200g broad beans, shelled
1 tablespoon Black peppermint or regular mint, minced
Spring onions, sliced
250g cottage cheese
1 egg, beaten
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Blanch the broad beans for a couple of minutes. Then mix the broad beans with the cottage cheese, mint, spring onions, seasoning and the beaten egg. Spread the mixture in the flan case and bake in the oven at gas mark 5 for 30 – 35 minutes. Serve cold or at room temperature.