(Alessandra's) Terrine of vegetables ‘in scapece’ - and sharing recipes for free on the internet

A friend told me that I should put my recipes on Instagram, in same ways she is right, I spend a lot of time on Insta (more than with blogger) but I don't want to give up my (numerous) blogs the Blogger blog, they are a great archive, a diary, and collected thousands of free recipes, which have been made and shared many times, and also a source of inspiration to a number of people in the food business. Of course many of these have also been 'copied' (without credits of permission) even by some 'sort of famous' food writers and chefs... but I don't mind, I blog to spread the gospel of good, fresh, simple vegetarian food, and it is working. If the the same recipes ideas reach people through AB instead of me just because AB is well know, I am happy for it! Plus in my job I give a lot of recipes away, or consult or write for others. Easy. 
But I admit that sometimes I raise my eyebrows if I see one of my recipes in a magazine (and without permission).  It may be lightly adapted in wording and newly photographed, but I still know, immediately that it was taken from one of my social media because I am well aware of which recipes are mine, down to what percentage, if part traditional of inspired by others. But mostly it tells me more about the people/companies who re-use these resources for their own gain, and to the fact that if you put something online then you should let it go! 

So I am not sure if I will find the time or energy to publish recipes on Instagram as well, I'll start with one of my most loved creations and see what's happens. After all if one of my recipes ends up in a magazine or someone else blog I usually find out because one of my readers tells me, which means that others notice it too, so best to share the best!

Like this one for example, which I first published on this blog 10 years ago with the name of Torta di Verdure in Scapece. Scapece is an Italian way of 'marinating' food, (like escabece in Spanish) but I know that this torta/terrine is my own. I shared it with an Italian food forum and went down very well (as well as it goes down at the table) and I made it many more times since so it is truly tasted. Then a few days ago a took a photo and decided that since it is such an amazing vegan recipe I should share on Insta and with an English name, terrine of vegetables ‘in scapece’. 

I truly do hope that chefs, and everyone else, start making it, it tastes soo good that it has to be shared! Someone may even re-publish it, I don't mind, and perhaps they will choose to add Alessandra's on the recipe? Or maybe a credit in the book? Or send me a box of chocolates and a thank you note :-). Who knows... 


Anyway, I copy and paste the recipe from Insta, try it!!

The best dish of the Holidays is this terrine of vegetables ‘in scapece’. It takes an afternoon to make and at least two days in the fridge after that, but it is AMAZING ❤️🧡💜💚 

Fry many (many many) eggplants, zucchini and coloured capsicums slices in olive oil. Place on kitchen paper and add salt as you work. Peel the capsicums after frying. Layer the slices in a terrine adding chopped Italian parsley and garlic, plus breadcrumbs, after each layer and spraying with some white balsamic vinegar. Press down as you assemble. Use lots if parsley and garlic! Don’t skip layers! Press down well before covering - add a weight on top if necessary. Refrigerate for at least two days before tipping out. Slice and serve 😋 #sharingmyrecipes#vegetarianvibes

Spaghetti 'alla Norma' con fiori di timo - Spaghetti with eggplants and thyme flowers

Spaghetti with eggplants are one of my favourite dishes, and the addition of thyme is amazing, especially thyme flowers, they are so pretty and more delicate than the leaves. Plus I have the garden full of thyme, I had to use it!

First slice the eggplants, add salt and sweat for an hour or so. Then rinse and pat dry with a tea towel. 

Then fry in plenty of olive oil, with a clove of garlic if you like (I do). Place on kitchen paper to remove the excess oil and add salt and thyme sprigs.

In the meantime prepare a tomato sauce, you can find a very easy recipe here,  or you can use an Italian passata, like Mutti. (but has to be Italian, and very simple (not full or strange ingredients...).

In another pot boil the water and cook the spaghetti al dente. Remember than when you assemble everything the pasta, the tomato sauce and the eggplants have to be hot!

Drain the pasta, toss into the sauce pan, dish on a plate and cover with the hot eggplants. Sprinkle with thyme flowers (they can be eaten, not just decorations!).

 

 And now some old photos of flowers from my garden, from this winter, when I had lots of orchids!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Melanzane fritte (fried eggplants) and photos of peonies

I love fried eggplants, for a parmigiana, on pasta, on pizza, in a panino, as a side dish… or just by themselves, they are so versatile! Just cut them very thin (I use a bread knife) make them sweat with salt for an hour, rinse them and pat them dry. Fry them a few at the time with plenty of olive oil and a clove of garlic. Drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt. Serve or use as required.

And now a few photos of peonies for my Pinterest board.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Japanese Vegan bento

Leftovers from Japanese dinner make good a bento (lunchbox). Here from the bottom right there is tofu, pan fried with vegetable oil and sesame oil, then finished with soy sauce (gluten free, use tamari) and lemon juice. The Asian eggplants had a similar treatment (minus the sesame oil): at home we just love the soy sauce + lemon juice combo! Next to it some seaweed salad, this was bought ready made, something that I would happy do more often if I didn't think that they overdo it with artificial colouring! But I love seaweed and you can use the dried types - dried wakame soaked in water will make a nice salad. Finally there is leftover rice, topped with vegetable, nori and sesame seeds furikake (Japanese seasoning for rice, look for it in Asian stores, and choose the one without fish or other animal products).

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Israeli cous cous with grilled eggplants and capsicums

I cannot wait for summer, capsicums and eggplants! Nearly there, in the meantime I use char grilled veggies preserved in oil, they are very versatile for a quick meal. For this dish I cooked a packet of Israeli cous cous (but fregola pasta is perfect too) with just water and salt, then I drain it and rinse it under cold water to cool it down and separate the 'grains'. I added extra virgin olive oil, a few drops of lemon juice, and finely chopped herbs and garlic. Then I mix it with the eggplants. Finally I filled some of the capsicums with it. It needs to rest for a few hours at room temperature, so that the cous cous gets more flavour. Easy and quick, and it makes such an impression!

And now just some pretty things I saw: loved this wallpaper with plates, + real plates!

Cans and tins look good on tables, although I wander if this mackerel was also on the menu too… I don't eat fish so I wouldn't know, and the restaurant, albeit rustic, was not a cheap one!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Plum smoothie, and purple heaven

Another day, another smoothie. I used some free stone plums from Oratia Orchard (they have many variety of plums, freshly picked), drinking yogurt, one banana and ice cubes. Perfect for breakfast and I love the colour! In fact I love all hues of purple and plum, here are some of my favourite.

Well, my blueberries should be blue by now, bus a bug ate half of my plant form the inside, and
the birds tend to get to the berries before me as soon as they turn blue! No blueberry jam this year,
but they look pretty in the garden. 

And these I adore, tiny little pansies from the garden.

Photos and recipes by Alessandra Zecchini

Sautéed Asian eggplants and asparagus with Italian herbs (and baby potatoes)

One of my favourite kitchen smells is garlic and herbs sizzling in olive oil! Here I used fresh rosemary, sage and oregano, a couple of garlic cloves, and a few long Asian eggplants, cut into halves or quarters (depending on their size). When the eggplants were done I added the asparagus (which take less time) and sauté the lot for one more minute, then added more fresh herbs, a good pinch of salt, a heavy lid, and turned the heat off. If you leave the veggies like this for 5-10 minutes they will just 'finish' cooking in their own steam.

I had herbs leftover, so I half-boiled some new potatoes, peeled them (sorry Kiwis, but I love to peel my potatoes, unless they are organic) and placed them on a baking try lined with baking paper. I added rosemary and sage, salt and olive oil. I baked the lot and the kitchen smelled lovely.

 Photos and recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Easy Parmigiana with zucchini and eggplants, step by step

Slice the eggplants and 'sweat' with salt for at least an hour. Rinse and pat dry. Slice the zucchini into long strips, you can also sweat the zucchini for 20 minutes to take away any bitterness and make them soft, if you like. Step two will be to either fry the vegetable slices (with olive oil) or to grill/bake them. If you fry them they are tastier, but a bit greasy (remove excess oil with kitchen paper) and it does take time! If you decide to grill them or bake them just put them on a baking tray lined with kitchen paper, brush with olive oil and add a pinch of salt. Place under the grill or in fan oven at 180°C until they look cooked on one side, turn them over and cook them on the other side. The grill is quicker, the oven tends to dry them up, so when I turn them I also cover them with more baking paper so that they keep some 'steam'. I prefer the baking method but for special occasions I fry!! Once you have all your veggies ready start assembling them like this:

In a roasting pan make a first layer of fried/baked zucchini (don't need to grease the pan,
the zucchini have been cooked in oil.

Add a little passata (Italian tomato sauce).

Add a second layer of fried/baked eggplants.

Add some more passata.

Add more zucchini.

Add some more passata and top with mozzarella. Bake until the mozzarella melts.

Eat.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Eggplant, tomato and mozzarella

I could almost call these mini parmigiana, but there is no Parmesan, so I am not quite sure. Still, same principle, but they are little individual portions, and they look quite good for a party, entree or fancy dinner.

Slice the eggplants and 'sweat' with salt for at least an hour. Rinse and pat dry. At this stage you can either fry the eggplant slices (with olive oil) or grill/bake them. If you fry them they are tastier, but a bit greasy (remove excess oil with kitchen paper) and it does take time! If you decide to grill them or bake them just put them on a baking tray lined with kitchen paper, brush with olive oil and add a pinch of salt. Place under the grill or in fan oven at 180°C until they look cooked on one side, turn them over and cook them on the other side. The grill is quicker, the oven tends to dry them up, so when I turn them I also cover them with more baking paper so that they keep some 'steam'. I prefer the baking method but for special occasions I fry!! Once you have your cooked eggplants add a little Italian tomato passata sauce on top, and a bit of mozzarella (I got mine from Massimiliano il Casaro). Place back in the oven until the mozzarella starts to melt. Serve individually or stack two together (like I did). Top with fresh basil, or fresh thyme or oregano (I used thyme). Eat hot or warm. I had them cold too, ok but not as good as hot! Variations are endless, and they look like mini pizzas, but without the dough!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Vegan Japanese Dinner part four, and my favourite miso soup is with eggplant, plus the winner of the gluten free cookbook giveaway

These are the final dishes of my Vegan Japanese dinner. For those of you who missed some 'episodes', the antipasto was raw avocado sashimi, and the main Fried tofu puffs simmered in vegetable broth, and by clicking here you can find the side vegetables, Broccoli and cauliflowers with easy miso sauce, and Quick Japanese Cucumber and Radish Pickles.

So, how do you finish a Japanese meal? Usually with soup and rice (dessert is optional really, a little seasonal fruit is preferred, like in this Autumn meal, where the fruit was persimmon, this fancy Japanese picnic basket, with mandarins - they are easy to carry, or this Summer meal, where dessert was... berries). 

But not fruit tonight, we just finished with rice and soup. Rice is served at the end to fill  the stomach, and diners eat what they need according to their body mass (this, I was told by a Ryokan chef in Kyoto, Nami, is it true?). By the time I served the rice and soup the light was gone, so apologies for the bad photos. Also, I had to hurry before the soup got cold! The rice is short grain and needs to be rinsed a few times, and then cooked by absorption. Usually I don't add salt to it. When ready I just put a umeboshi (pickled plum) on top, something usually done for breakfast in Japan, but I don't eat rice for breakfast so I use my umeboshi for lunch or dinner :-). And for the miso soup? Well, I like all types, but miso with eggplant is my favourite!

Miso soup with eggplant, tofu and onion weed

First you have to go back for a moment to the Fried tofu puffs simmered in vegetable broth, I used some light vegetable stock to cook the tofu puffs, and the leftover broth after draining the tofu was the base for my miso soup. Then I cut two long eggplants into six pieces each. I took the stock back to simmering point and I added the eggplants and four small cubes of Japanese freeze dried tofu (available in Japanese shops - but I have Japanese friends who send it to me by post regularly. Thank you Hideko and Atsuko!). I simmered everything for 30 minutes, then I took the miso paste left over from Broccoli and cauliflowers with easy miso sauce (in Japanese Zen cuisine everything is recycled!), and added a bit more miso paste to get the amount I wanted - personal taste here, and mixed it well. With chopstick I picked up the eggplant pieces and tofu and divided them between four bowl (3 pieces of eggplant and 1 small block of tofu for each bowl) then I quickly mixed the miso paste with the broth, and poured it into the bowls. To finish I topped the soups with some chopped onion weed. I love miso soup with eggplants! Did I said that already? :-)

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©



And now for the winner of the beautiful book by Sarah King:

The Family-friendly Gluten-free Cookbook  (RRP $39.99), courtesy of New Holland Publishers NZ. The winner has been chosen with random.org and....

List Randomizer

There were 16 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1.             Robyn

2.             Arfi

3.             Jane

4.             JT

5.             Anonymos ,

6.             Rebecca

7.             Emma

8.             Anita

9.             Rochelle Harrison

10.         Laura

11.         Ashley

12.         Claire

13.         Lucy

14.         Leanne

15.         Simo

16.         Mel

Timestamp: 2012-09-14 19:35:36 UTC

Congratulation Robyn! Please send me your address by email at alessandra at clear dot net dot nz