A FAVOURITE SATURDAY LUNCH...
Good Morning, and a happy start to the new week to you all!
Where did the weekend go to? It just flew past!
Not the greatest of weather here in Kent, so a rather lazy couple of days was spent mainly relaxing by the fire, and with one of our brood home for the weekend, I was one happy Mumma.
Weekends are a time when I usually like to use the extra time to experiment with new recipes, but there are also times when I just want to keep things easy and prepared ahead and to stick to things I know we love to eat....leaving more time to do other things and to spend more time together.
One of my absolute favourite 'get ahead' meals is this version of Italian 'Aubergine Parmigiano. My idea of comfort food, which I have tweaked a little to be a healthier version of the original.
Rich a creamy, but with using low fat creme fraîche....not that you would know it!
Using lovely fresh tomatoes...
Beautiful Aubergines...
Layered up in a favourite dish, with herbs, creme fraîche and parmesan....
It is the perfect one dish lunch or supper, served along side a large green salad...
Made the day before, all that is needed is to pop it in the oven for half an hour...
Leaving more time to stick my feet up by the fire with the weekend papers and the family....and maybe a weekend glass of wine!
(I spy a small dog who is on the scent of something....probably this yummy lunch?)
'AUBERGINE PARMIGIANO'
(Serves 4 - 6 depending upon how hungry or greedy everyone is!)
6 - 8 Aubergines
10 medium tomatoes
1 clove of garlic
Olive oil
1 large tub of créme fraîche (full or half fat)
Bunch of herbs of choice (chives and tarragon work particularly well)
Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper
Start by slicing aubergines in 1cm rounds and roasting in oven with olive oil until soft. Meanwhile, chop tomatoes and fry with minced garlic, then season well. Heat créme fraîche in a separate pan and allow to bubble and reduce by a third then remove from heat. Add two tablespoons of freshly grated parmesan and the chopped herbs.
Alternate layers of aubergine and the cooked tomatoes in a dish. Finally pour over the herb créme fraîche sauce. Add extra parmesan over the top to finish. Leave to settle for 30 minutes, and for the flavours to develop and then place in a hot oven for 30 minutes to cook until hot and bubbling. Not essential, but toasted pine nuts make an extra yummy topping at the end.
So easy and seriously delicious....bon appétit!
***
I am off on my travels later this week!
Super excited to be exploring the stunning Norwegian Fjords with my mother and sister for a few days.
Join me on Instagram @sophiahomelifestyle to share what promises to be a beautiful and inspiring trip, as we take in amazing scenery on the famous 'Hurtigruten' boat trip, in search of the Northern Lights....and I shall of course, look forward to sharing a full blog post on my return.
Wishing you a happy and inspiring week....
Sophia xx
Thank you for the, recipe its sound gorgeous, I will definitely be trying it out! Have a wonderful time exploring the Norwegian Fjords - as you say, it will be a beautiful and inspiring trip!
ReplyDeleteDo try it Amanda, it's so delicious! Thank you so much for your holiday wishes...I hope to get some good photographs, although my photography skills may not be up to capturing the 'Northern Lights' if we see them!
DeleteSophia x
Thank you for sharing your recipe, I will give it a try, I absolutely love this dish. Have a wonderful time in Norway, I can wait to "see" all about it on Instagram. x
ReplyDeleteThank you Angela!
DeleteSophia x
These kinds of meals are so wonderful. About two weeks ago I made a TON of lasagne--three large aluminum pans--to give one (then decided, oh, heck, give two) to a neighbor, a mother of two, who was in the hospital getting a new kidney. I threw the third into the freezer and we ate it yesterday--a welcome warm meal on a chilly, windy day. I was surprised, upon delivering the trays of lasagna and a box of homemade sugar cookies to the husband, that this isn't normal in France. It's normal in the U.S., which lets me, frankly, get away with all kinds of things (nothing like benign stupidity). But seriously, somebody told me, yes, people used to do that kind of thing, but no longer. Why? The husband told me, "Actually, I do know how to cook!" But it wasn't about cooking! It was about him spending his time at the hospital, not out shopping and in the kitchen chopping. Some things I'll never understand.
ReplyDelete