Plenty: Very full tart

I've been waiting for the right time to do this. Ottolenghi's Very full tart is easy, but takes a while to prepare since there are lots of vegetables to roasted (red and yellow paprika, aubergine, sweet potato, courgette, cherry tomato, plus onion, fried) on top of baking the tart. It took a little longer too because I made my own shortcrust pastry, since they don't sell ready-made savoury ones in Finland. It was easy enough to make oneself though. So, once the pie crust and vegetables were roasted, they were covered with ricotta and feta, and egg whipped with double cream. Mamma mia. Yes it is a very full and very rich tart. But again, Ottolenghi delivers! The key is precisely in the slow oven-roasting that gives the vegetables a wonderful sweetness. Divine.

Plenty: The ultimate winter couscous

Ultimate suggests maximality, fundamentality, extremity, the utmost of a given something. So to claim something is the ultimate this or that is no light assertion. Ottolenghi delivers again, though. This is the ultimate winter couscous if there ever was one. Carrots, parsnips, pumpkin, chickpeas, dried apricots and shallots are roasted in the oven with lots of heavenly spices (including cinnamon sticks and star anise) and olive oil. Harissa and preserved lemon peel are added later. The couscous is perhaps the most precious yet, laced with saffron. The richness of flavours is astounding. I'll be making this again on a cold night this winter. Thanks goes out again to my darling neighbours, for the pumpkin.

Lasagne al funghi e zucchine

Tonight I put together this lasagne using the last batch of zucchini from my neighbours' country plot and some portobello and button mushrooms, with marjoram and the usual red and white sauce. It was light on the cheese, with only parmesan accompanying the white sauce, and garnishing the top. Was the perfect way to stuff one's face on a cold autumn's Saturday night.

Plenty: Baby poached vegetables with caper mayonnaise

This didn't sound so exciting on the page but delivered just as beautifully as the other Plenty recipes. Baby vegetables with caper mayonnaise however was delightful surprise, thanks yet again to my neighbours, who provided me with the season's last batch of baby vegetables from their country plot - carrots, potatoes and turnips. I also bought some baby corn and baby asparagus and fennel to poach.

The poaching liquid is sublime: mostly white wine, with generous portions of lemon juice and olive oil, plus bay leaves, celery, onion and salt thrown in. My attempt at the caper mayonnaise failed; perhaps I didn't mix long enough since the mayonnaise failed to go thick (as you can see from the picture: sadly runny). Still, it tasted wonderful, made with white wine vinegar, garlic, lemon juice and zest, dijon mustard, egg yolk, salt and chopped capers.

I'l definitely be making this again. The vegetables were poached so that they were cooked but still crunchy, and the poaching liquid more than did justice to all the flavours of the little guys. Heaven. For a vegan version, leave out the mayo - the veggies are still good :)

Hummus

I had an earlier post on hummus with ful, but I've been making hummus so often since without the ful to stuff into my lunch sandwiches that I thought hummus deserved the honour of it's own entry too. So here it is. So easy to make, so cheap, so delicious and healthy. That's paprika sprinkled over the top as a garnish. Gonna go have some now...

Rum raisin chocolates

To help my colleague celebrate the publication of his new book at work over sparkling wine, I made some rum raisin chocolates. I got the recipe from my friend Metti, who in turn got it from her French friend, which is why I like to think of these as French, though they don't really have a nationality. They're very easy to make: melt some coconut butter, add the dark chocolate, let it melt, then mix in crushed nuts (almond or hazelnut for example) and the raisins that have marinated for at least 3 hours in rum (or cognac). Then the melty mix is poured into a dish and tossed into the freezer until it has hardended, after which it can be cut into bitesize pieces. Mmmm.

Larousse gastronomique

Made a surpise find today at Stockmann's Hullut päivät sale: a beautiful soft covered edition of the classic Larousse Gastronomique for just 9 euros. No kitchen shelf is complete without it. I guess mine is now.