It was the modern master of homesteading, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, who turned our approach to cooking upside down so many years ago with such a simple concept. If you keep a store-cupboard stocked with staples which transform fresh food into delicious meals, you can create tasty home cooking no matter what fresh veg, meat or fruit you have to hand. It was this idea that gave us the key to seasonal eating – keep the basics stocked (which include salty, acidic, spicy and oily things) and adapt their use to whatever the season throws at you. Eventually, you toss out the recipes altogether or at least, never have to baulk at one because of the list of ingredients you need are always on hand. The weekly veg box full of surprises (from Riverford in the UK, who also write a fine blog) no longer daunted us as rolling with the seasonal punches became loads easier.
Yotam Ottolenghi has recently reaffirmed this approach, and published a list of his store-cupboard staples (which are, as you can imagine, slightly more difficult to source in southern Tasmania!). We’ve condensed both lists, edited them for practicality (sorry, Yotam) and published our version here: Our Staples
Nasu Dengaku
This Japanese dish is centred around a wonderfully rich, sweet glaze which can be applied to any grilled vegetable, although nothing beats the combination with charred and creamy eggplant…..serves 4.
Ingredients
For the miso glaze
To serve
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Method
Step 1: Roughly cut the eggplants into large chunks, toss in oil and a sprinkle of salt. You can grill the eggplant to get that charred flavour or roast in an oven at 200ºC for about 20 minutes until the eggplant is slightly browned. Step 2: Mix together the miso glaze ingredients and pour over the eggplant, tossing to coat well. Continue to roast for a further 5-10 minutes, or until the miso sauce starts to caramelise Step 3: Serve eggplant scattered with spring onion and toasted sesame seeds |