Aubergine, spinach and tomato casserole

I invented this dish in Trinidad, where one of the shops had a very limited supply of fresh vegetables, but they nearly always included wonderful aubergines and beautiful, local spinach. You had to buy large quantities of both, so I would cook half the spinach in a recipe one day, followed by spinach and aubergine the next day, finishing up with aubergine alone on the third. This is the recipe I invented for day two!

I can’t really give a measurement for spinach. So often you have to buy it as is: by the bunch, already tied up, or by the bag, which frequently doesn’t mention the weight. If it includes the roots, there will be more wastage than, say, baby spinach. Put it this way: a huge amount of spinach disappears into very little. For two people you would probably want as much as would fit in a 3 litre (3 quart) bowl, before it’s washed and chopped. If the spinach still has its roots on, it will want very thorough washing. Sea water is fine for this, as long as it’s clean. Give the spinach a really good shake and wait until the meal is just about cooked before adding any more salt.

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

2 tbsp olive oil

1 aubergine

1 tsp oregano

6 juniper berries

400 g/14 oz can tomatoes

spinach, well washed

grated cheese

• Chop the onion, dice the garlic and fry them in the olive oil for five minutes.
• Meanwhile, chop the aubergine into chunky pieces.
• When the onion is softened, add the aubergine and stir it round until most of it is coated in oil. (Aubergine is like blotting paper, so don’t worry too much about getting it evenly distributed.) Turn down the heat, cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the aubergine is soft.
• Add the oregano; crush or chop the juniper berries and add these. Pour in the tomatoes, roughly chopping them with your spoon. Roughly chop the spinach and add this. Cover and cook for a further 5 minutes.
• Take the lid off and stir everything around so that it’s all mixed together. Smooth the top and sprinkle with the grated cheese. Turn the heat right down, insert a flame tamer and cook gently until the cheese has melted.

Serve with pasta or potatoes.

Notes:

• If you can lay hands on it, vegan cheese is fine for this. It’s also good with my 'Parmegan cheese', even though that doesn’t melt. Either put it on before serving, or add it at the table. Or both! 
• A green such as chard would substitute for the spinach, but kale and cabbage would take too much cooking. If you don’t have soft greens, serve a vegetable on the side.

 

Spinach soup

The basic recipe is one of Rose Elliot’s, somewhat altered to suit the realities of the sailing life. Spinach is a great and versatile vegetable, when you can get hold of it. Its close relatives, such as Swiss chard or curly kale, can nearly always be substituted for the Real Thing. Sometimes the stalks are a bit tough – the easiest way to test this is to bite a piece off and see how stringy it is when raw. If they seem too much of a good thing, cut them out and just use the leaves. Not infrequently, spinach is sold in large packs and unless you happen to be somewhere cool, it will not keep for more than two or three days. This soup is a good way to finish off spinach, because as with most soups, more or less of one ingredient does not ruin the overall dish.

 

Use 1/3 seawater to 2/3 fresh, if the sea is clean, and leave out the salt.

 

Serves 2 as a main meal, 4 – 6 as a starter

 

 Ingredients

 

1 tbsp butter OR olive oil

1 large potato, peeled and chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

A bunch of spinach – about 450 g (1 lb)

4 cups of water

1 tbsp lime or lemon juice

salt and pepper

nutmeg

 

Method: 

• Peel and chop the potato; chop the onion and garlic. 
• Heat the butter or oil in a large pan and add the potato and onion. Cook for about 5 minutes, but don’t let them brown. 
• Meanwhile, coarsely chop the spinach. Throw this into the pan and turn it with the other vegetables. Pour in the water and bring to the boil. 
• Reduce the heat until the mixture is just simmering; cover and cook for 15 – 20 minutes. 
• Take out a piece of potato and check that it’s thoroughly cooked. If it’s of a floury type, it should be crumbling away. 
• When the potato is thoroughly softened, mash the soup with a potato masher , until it’s thickened. You will be left with bits of onion and spinach floating around, but that’s all right. If you prefer use a stick blender to purée the soup.
  
• Season carefully with salt and pepper; add a very generous grating of nutmeg and stir in the lime juice before serving. 

Variations: 

• This soup’s character can be completely transformed by adding a 400 g /14 oz tin of tomatoes, 1/2 tsp cumin and 1/2 tsp coriander. 
• If potatoes are unavailable, a sweet potato could be substituted. 
• Instead of a potato, use one or two plantains and stir in a tbsp of curry powder/paste. 
• Use canned spinach.
  
• Try serving with a dollop of yoghurt – especially if you’ve made the elegant, liquidised version