Ratatouille

If you are trying to think of a different way to cook summer vegetables, why not take a leaf out of Disney's book, and make ratatouille? Ratatouille is a vegetable stew from Provence in Southern France. It makes a colorful and delicious vegetable dish when all of the summer vegetables are relatively inexpensive. It can be served hot with grilled or roasted lamb or pork, or chilled with garlic bread as an appetizer. You might even get the kids to try some if you tell them it's called Ratatouille!

Ingredients

• olive oil for frying
• 1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed with 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 lb zucchini, sliced
• 1 lb tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped, or 1 x 14 oz can tomatoes
• 1 large eggplant, sliced
  
• 1 green pepper, cored, seeded and sliced
• freshly ground black pepper

Recipe (serves 4 to 6)

1. Heat 2 spoons of oil in a large saucepan.
   
2. Add the onion and garlic and fry until golden.
   
3. Add the remaining vegetables, season well with black pepper and stir in enough water to come about half way up the mixture.
4. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly, then lower the heat, cover and simmer gently for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. The vegetables should be broken down and soft, and the juices quite think.
   
6. Adjust the seasoning and transfer to a hot serving dish, or cool and chill in the refrigerator.
   

Spicy Italian Sausage Sauce with Penne

This is a variation on the traditional marinara pasta sauce, as it has the addition of hot Italian turkey sausages, and an abundance of colorful vegetables. The sweetness of the carrots and yellow pepper combines wonderfully with the hot peppery sausage.

You can use pork or turkey sausage, and both taste great. We chose turkey as it is the healthier option with less calories.

Ingredients

(serves 4)

• 3 hot Italian sausages, skinned and sliced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 3-4 small carrots, diced
• 1 celery stalk, sliced
• 1/2 small yellow bell pepper, sliced
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 4 tablespoons red wine
• 1 can chopped tomatoes, drained
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• salt and pepper to taste
• basil leaves for garnish (optional)
• 8 oz dried penne

Method

1. Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and saute the crushed garlic. Add the tomatoes, dried oregano, dried basil, bay leaves, and red wine and bring to boil. Cook for 2 minutes at high heat. Reduce the heat and stir in the tomato paste, salt and pepper.
2. Simmer the sauce for a further 6 minutes, then remove from the heat.
3. Meanwhile, heat a pan of boiling water for the pasta, and add the dried penne. Cook according to the instructions (about 10 minutes for al dente).

4. Skin the sausages, and cut into slices about 1/2 inch thick. Heat the sausages in a pan, adding a little water, if necessary - no oil is usually needed with Italian sausages. Cook for 5-6 minutes.

5. Add the chopped onion, carrot, bell pepper and celery to the pan and cook with the sausage meat for a further 5 minutes - 6 minutes until the vegetables are tender.

6. Add the marinara sauce to the sausage and vegetable mixture, and heat through.

7. When the pasta is cooked drain, and add to the sauce mixture.

8. Serve immediately, and garnish with the fresh basil leaves.

Ready Made Paella Meals at Gourmet Fusion

After attending a seminar at one of the food shows recently, I learned that many people would like to do more cooking, and prepare interesting midweek meals for themselves and their families, but there just isn't the time. New technology has meant that everyone is on call 24/7, and with mobile phones, emails, and text messages with you all the time, no wonder we all feel frazzled!

With this in mind, I searched for some time saving products to add to the Gourmet Fusion store, and found these two ready-made paella meals.

One is a seafood paella, and one is vegetable paella. Both are fully cooked and ready to serve.

They come in a ready to heat, easy-open tin that is in a microwave safe dish. To prepare the meal you can either place the contents of the tin into the enclosed microwave-safe tray and heat, place the tin as-is in boiling water, or simply empty the contents into a pot on the stove.

They are made from all natural ingredients with no added preservatives or coloring. They are both available in the Gourmet Fusion online store and our Solana Beach store in Leaping Lotus, and definitely worth a try!

Cauliflower with Garlic and Paprika

The Gourmet Fusion store is now selling Spanish paprika at both its online store and its Solana Beach location.

Paprika is a source of vibrant color and flavor in Spanish cooking and is derived from a type of dried red pepper. The fresh pods from the mild Nora pepper are smoked over oak logs to develop the different aspects of the flavors. Peppers that are smoked over an oak fire develop into a rich and complex range of flavors which is much more powerful and pronounced than the sun-dried varieties.

The types of paprika we have available are sweet (dulce), hot (picante), and smoked (ahumado).

Pimenton Dulce: This lightly smoked variety is earthy and mild, and perfect for many dishes.

Pimenton Picante: This paprika is lightly smoked and blended with medium-hot varieties. It is slightly sweet to smokey in flavor, and will add a kick to your cooking.

Pimenton Ahumado: This is a rich and complex flavor with smokey overtones. This is the paprika that forms the basis of many Spanish meat and seafood dishes.

Our sweet and hot varieties of paprika are best used in sauces, vegetables, fish, eggs, and French Fries. Our smoked paprika works well in Paella, Fabada, beef and shellfish dishes, and for grilling.

The cauliflower recipe below is from the province of Murcia in Spain which is known for its wonderful vegetable gardens. We suggest using our sweet paprika in this recipe.

Cauliflower with Garlic and Paprika (serves 6)
Ingredients

• 2 lb small cauliflowers, cut into florets
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 or 3 thick slices coarse country bread, crusts removed (about 3 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• 2 cups water
• salt to taste
• 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
• freshly ground pepper to taste

Recipe

1. Fill a bowl with water and add the cauliflower florets and lemon juice. Set aside.
2. In a large frying pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the bread slices and fry, turning once, until crisp and golden on both sides, 3-5 minutes total. Remove from the pan, break into pieces, and place in a blender or food processor.
3. Add the paprika to the oil remaining in the pan over low heat and cook for a minute or two to release its fragrance. Add the water and bring to a boil. Drain the cauliflower and add to the pan. Season with a little salt and cook, uncovered, until the cauliflower is tender, 10-15 minutes.
4. Add the garlic, pine nuts and parsley to the blender or food processor and pulse until well crushed. When the cauliflower is tender, add about 1/4 cup (2 fluid ounces) of the cauliflower cooking water, pulse once, and then transfer the mixture to the frying pan. Stir to mix and cook for 5 minutes over low heat to blend the flavors.
5. Season with salt and pepper, transfer to a warmed serving bowl, and serve.