For the first recipe of my cookbook challenge, I started with one of my stranger books: The Detox Health-Plan Cookbook. This particular book has been with me almost as long as I've been in Britain and yet... I've only made a handful of the recipes contained therein. It's a shame because this book also contains a lot of information about healthy eating, nutrition and holistic healing through food. Really interesting and a successful bargain bin find!
The Detox Health-Plan Cookbook
Edited by Maggie Pannell
Hermes House, Anness Publication Ltd. 2006
The very first cookbook challenge post seems like the ideal place to confess that I have a particular weakness for cookbooks with fabulous photos. I wish every recipe would come with a photo! My reasons for choosing this particular recipe to kick off the challenge were based on practicality: I was desperate to clear out some cupboard space! I try to keep the kitchen cabinets fairly well stocked with canned tomatoes, different types of beans and other staples so, as a result, I'm often in need of a recipe that will let me use up some of those acquired bits and bobs! Since I didn't have a tagine dish handy, I used a large oven safe pot. However, I think you could also sauté everything in a large frying pan and then transfer to a covered baking dish if needed.
Although this recipe calls for dried beans, I swapped those out for canned versions and they were perfectly delicious. That's what I call cupboard success! I stuck with the recipe's suggestion of using fresh tomatoes but I think using a canned version in colder months would be perfectly acceptable as well. Finally, the original recipe uses the bay leaves and the celery as part of the soaking process for the dried beans. Since I was using canned versions, I decided to add everything into the main dish instead and I think they really added a nice depth of flavor.
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 60 min
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 bay leaves
2 celery sticks, finely chopped
2 medium aubergines, chopped into bit size pieces
1 onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1-2 red chilies, finely chopped
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp paprika
2-3 large tomatoes, finely chopped
1 1/4 cups vegetable stock
1 tbsp fresh mint
1 tbsp fresh parsley
1 tbsp fresh coriander/cilantro
black pepper to taste
2/3 cup greek yogurt
2 spring onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
Method:
Preheat the oven to 160C / 325F.
Heat three tablespoons of olive oil in a large, oven safe casserole pot over medium heat. Add the chopped aubergine and sauté for five minutes or until evenly browned. Remove from the pot and set aside.
Next, add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and add the onion and celery. Stirring frequently, sauté until softened. Add the garlic and chopped chilies. After five minutes, add the tomato puree and paprika and cook for a minute or two. When the puree has been mixed through, add the chopped tomatoes, aubergine, chickpeas, red kidney beans and vegetable stock. At this point, add black pepper to taste.
Cover the pan and transfer to the oven. After an hour, give the tagine a stir and check that the aubergine is cooked through. If the tagine still has a lot of liquid, allow to continue cooking in twenty minute intervals until it has the consistency of a stew.
To serve, mix the yogurt, mint and spring onions and add to each dish alongside a sprig of cilantro/coriander. We enjoyed this recipe on its own but it could also be nice over couscous for a more substantial meal. Enjoy!
