24 Sunday Mar 2013
Aubergines. Oh, how I love them.
I noticed some small aubergines at the local Asian market and I couldn’t pass them up.
Into the wok they go…
Sichuan Style Aubergine & Tofu In Chilli Bean Sauce 
23 Tuesday Oct 2012
Tags
I found some beautiful aubergine at the grocery store the other day (grown in Fiji!). I made a salted pastry dough and blind baked it in a 22cm tart pan. I sliced the aubergine into rounds and roasted them with good olive oil (Leccino, from Two Short Dogs), minced red pepper, garlic, and parsley. I thinly sliced a tomato and warmed the slices in a pan into which I heated good olive oil with fresh thyme. I layered aubergine in the tart and placed sliced tomatoes on top, along with the remaining olive oil. I then added fresh mozzarella and fresh thyme sprigs and fresh grated Grana Padano. This was baked for about 15 minutes in the oven at about 200C, until the cheese melted. Delicious!
09 Tuesday Oct 2012
Tags
aubergine, blue cheese, cold ferment, fennel, italian, mushroom, pizza, pizza stone, sourdough
Testing sourdough pizza with 2 day bulk fermentation…
Pizza al Finocchio, Funghi e Formaggio Erborinatio (Pizza with Fennel, Mushroom, and Blue Cheese)
Pizza alle Melanzana (Pizza with Roasted Eggplant)
01 Monday Oct 2012
Tags
aubergine, basil, cheese, cold ferment, fior di latte, grana padano, italian, kalamata olives, pizza, pizza stone, red onion, sourdough, tartine basic country sourdough, thyme
I pulled out the sourdough retarding in the refrigerator and divided it into three 260g portions. I folded and shaped the dough balls and let them rest while the oven warmed and I prepped the toppings.
When the oven came to temperature I switched the oven from bake to broil and made the first pie.
One portion was a bit smaller than the others, so I made a bambino pizza with Kalamata olives, red onion, fresh thyme, and freshly grated Grana Padano.
The next pie was topped with a bit of fior di latte, roasted melanzana, and freshly grated Grana Panano.
The last pie was topped with fior di latte, Kalamata olives, red onion, fresh thyme, freshly grated Grana Padano, and basil.
These pies cooked in about 6-7 minutes. I had some of the best oven spring I’ve ever had out of this dough. Next time I’ll mix the dough and probably give it four turns over two hours at room temperature, then bung it in the refrigerator for two to three days before using.
