Rachel's Recipes

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Aubergines with green tahini crust and cracked wheat pilaf

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Prep 10 min
Cook 1 hr
Serves 6

For the aubergines
3 aubergines, halved lengthways
3 tbsp olive oil
Flaky sea salt and black pepper

For the tahini crust
50g mixed fresh herbs – basil, coriander or/and flat-leaf parsley
1 garlic clove, peeled
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon
A pinch of salt
80g tahini paste

For the cracked wheat pilaf
350g cracked wheat
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
60g toasted pumpkin seeds
80g pomegranate seeds
1 tsp pul biber, or aleppo chilli flakes
20g chives, finely chopped

Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Score the flesh of the halved aubergines in a crisscross pattern (don’t cut right through to the skin), then put on a lined baking sheet and brush generously with the olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then roast for 35-40 minutes, until the flesh is soft and golden.

Put the herbs and garlic in a small food processor and blitz until they’re all chopped up. Add four tablespoons of cold water, the lemon zest and juice, and the salt, and blitz again to make a smooth liquid. Add the tahini and blitz one last time, until the mix has a smooth consistency.

Dollop a large spoonful of the tahini mix on the cut surface of each aubergine half, spread to cover, then return the aubergines to the hot oven for 10 minutes, to set the crust.

Meanwhile, bring 500ml water to a boil in a large saucepan, add the cracked wheat, oil and salt, bring back to a boil, then take off the heat. Cover the pan with clingfilm and leave to stand for 15 minutes while the wheat absorbs the water. Remove the clingfilm, add the pumpkin seeds, pomegranate seeds, chilli flakes and chives to the softened wheat, and stir well to combine.

Serve each crusted aubergine half on top of a mound of the warm cracked wheat pilaf.

Poached haddock and roast portobello mushroom rarebit

Prep 15 min
Cook 45 min
Serves 4

500ml full-fat milk
2 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh thyme
Sea salt and black pepper
400g haddock fillet, skinned and pin-boned

For the rarebit mix
25g unsalted butter
25g plain flour
100ml dry cider
150g mature cheddar, grated
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp English mustard
Sea salt, to taste
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 sprig fresh thyme, leaves picked, plus a little extra to serve

For the mushrooms
4 large portobello mushrooms, outer skins and stalks removed
1 shallot, peeled and chopped
1 sprig fresh thyme, leaves picked
A drizzle of olive oil
4 tsp white-wine vinegar
40g unsalted butter

To make the rarebit mix, put the butter in a saucepan and heat gently until melted. Add the flour, cook, stirring, for two minutes, then gradually pour in the cider, stirring all the time. Once all the cider has been incorporated, turn down the heat and cook for five minutes more. Stir in the cheese until melted, then add the Worcestershire sauce and mustard. Taste for seasoning, adding salt, cayenne pepper and thyme as required, and mix well.

Line an oven tray with baking paper and spread the rarebit mix on to it in an even, roughly 1cm-thick layer. Cover the surface with a second sheet of baking paper, to stop a skin forming, then leave to cool.

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Arrange the mushrooms upside down in a baking dish, sprinkle over the chopped shallot and thyme, then drizzle with olive oil and the vinegar. Place a knob of butter on each mushroom, then bake for 20 minutes. Remove and leave to cool.

To poach the haddock, put the milk, bay leaves, thyme and a pinch of salt in a wide pan and bring to a simmer. Carefully lay in the haddock, leave to poach for five minutes, then lift out the fish, transfer to a tray and leave until cool enough to handle.

Meanwhile, heat the grill to a medium setting. Flake all the fish and arrange it on top of the mushrooms. Cut out four circles of the set rarebit mix to the same diameter as the mushrooms, then lay one on top of each piece of fish to cover it. Season with black pepper, then grill for two to three minutes, until nicely coloured. Serve immediately, scattered with a few more fresh thyme leaves and perhaps with some dressed salad leaves on the side.

Ligurian potato and pesto lasagne

Prep 15 min
Cook 1 hr 15 min
Serves 6

300g green beans, trimmed
500g small waxy potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
300g fresh lasagne sheets (about 8 large sheets)
50g parmesan (or vegetarian alternative), grated
1 small handful pine nuts

For the pesto
50g pine nuts
1 plump garlic clove, peeled
25g parmesan (or vegetarian alternative), finely grated, plus extra to serve
2 large handfuls basil leaves
200ml olive oil
Salt and black pepper

For the bechamel
50g butter
50g plain flour
600ml whole milk
1 parmesan rind, if you have it (optional)
Freshly grated nutmeg

First make the pesto. Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan for a few minutes, until golden all over, then tip into a food processor with the garlic, parmesan, basil and half the oil. Blitz to a paste while slowly pouring in the rest of the oil, until the pesto is pale green and creamy. Season to taste, then scrape into a bowl (cover with extra oil if making ahead).

Now for the bechamel. Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook gently for a couple of minutes. Pour in the milk bit by bit, stirring between each splash, until you’ve got a smooth, creamy sauce. Add the optional parmesan rind, leave the sauce to bubble gently for a few minutes, then season with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.

Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil. Drop in the green beans, simmer for three to four minutes, until just tender, then scoop out with a slotted spoon and set aside. In the same water, simmer the potato slices for five or six minutes, until just cooked through, then drain.

Heat the oven to 210C (190C fan)/410F/gas 6½. Spoon a little bechamel over the base of a roughly 20cm x 30cm ovenproof baking dish and top with a layer of lasagne sheets. Drizzle over a generous spoonful of pesto, then scatter on a few green beans. Add a layer of sliced potatoes and some grated parmesan, seasoning lightly as you build up the dish. Repeat with more pasta, a little bechamel, more pesto and veg until the beans and potatoes are used up, but you still have plenty of bechamel and pesto left over. . Swirl the remaining pesto and bechamel over the top layer of pasta, then scatter on the remaining parmesan and the untoasted pine nuts.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden and bubbling, then remove and leave to sit for five to 10 minutes before cutting the lasagne into squares.