Charlbury Ramble

I'm sorry, did someone mention a late summer walk?

Now would said walk happen to include 1/2 of a 3 course meal at a phenomenal gastro-pub, The White Horse in Stonesfield?

Oh yes, yes it does.

Menu: White Onion and Rosemary Soup (some sort of strained buttery soupy glory, complete with fresh bread)
               Steak and Kidney Pie (come on England!)

               Baileys & Chocolate Cheesecake

Throw in a couple Crabbies (alcoholic ginger, yes please!), and a cider and you have the makings...of a very difficult next couple of miles of walking.

This particular walk might also feature a quirky fun bookstore (complete with cat), preserved Roman villa (mosaics included!!), the sheer childish delight of freaking out the local poultry (grouse beware), and a phenomenal local pub (the Rose and Crown in Charlbury) at the end of it featuring not one, not two, not three...but six local ales of all kinds of varieties. Friendly local dog also a bonus. They also allowed us to eat our own food (we knew this their copy of"Best Pubs in Britain" guide, in which they were featured, told us so) which was an absolute win.

Ah late summer. Is there anything better?

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Shell Bean Succotash

In my opinion, this is among the most American of dishes. Simply because it has the best name *ever*. Although my mother never made it herself, I will always associate this with childhood and Loony Toons, thanks to Sylvester the Cat's famous catchphrase ("Sufferin' Succotash!)". I had no idea what he was talking about at age 8 and only now, a few decades later, have I realized that the dish that inspired the alliterative phrase was also a delicious veggie filled concoction. While this version comes from the New York Times Recipes for Health section, as you'll quickly see, it's an almost fool-proof way of cooking veg. It's also an absolutely gorgeous dish, full of colors.

Who knew that good old Sylvester was advocating your 5 a day?

Ingredients

1 pound shell beans (about 1 3/4 cups)

1 onion, halved

7 cups water

3 large garlic cloves, crushed

A bouquet garni made with a few sprigs each of parsley and thyme, a sprig of sage and a bay leaf

Salt to taste

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 small red onion, finely chopped

1/2 pound summer squash, cut in small dice

2 garlic cloves, minced (optional)

Kernels from 4 ears of corn

2 or 3 sage leaves, minced

Freshly ground pepper

Preparation

1. Combine the beans, onion, water, garlic, bouquet garni and salt in a heavy saucepan or soup pot, and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer 45 minutes, or until the beans are tender. Taste and adjust salt. Remove and discard the onion, the bouquet garni and the garlic cloves. Drain though a strainer or colander set over a bowl.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat, and add the red onion. Cook, stirring, until it begins to soften, for about three minutes. Add the squash, and salt to taste. Cook, stirring, until the squash begins to soften and look translucent, three to four minutes. Add the garlic and corn. Cook for about four minutes, stirring often. Season with salt and pepper. Add the beans and sage, and continue to cook, stirring, for another minute or two. Taste and adjust seasonings. If you want this to be more moist, stir in some of the bean broth.

Yield: Serves 6.

Advance preparation: This will keep for a few of hours atop the stove.

Baba Ghanoush

 You may have noticed a preponderance of eggplant/aubergine recipes. I can only blame the abundance of the farmer's market. Well, that and the fact that every time I go, my roommate goes as well at a different time. We both arrive home to realize that we have each purchased 3 eggplants. Which makes a total of 6 to get through. Which results in massive eggplant-related recipes. I've been wanting to make this one  for a while and it came out beautifully. The entire bowl of this was gone in 2 hours or less.
So maybe using up all those eggplants wasn't as much of a chore as I thought...

Makes about 3 cups

Ingredients

3 medium eggplants (about 4 pounds)

3 tbsp tahini (sesame paste)

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 ½ tbsp lime juice

2 tsp salt

2 tbsp finely chopped parsley

1 spring onion, chopped

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

½ tsp paprika

½ tsp harissa

½ tsp cayenne

½ cup Greek yogurt

Optional:

1 tbsp white truffle oil

2 tbsp sesame seed salad dressing

Preparation

Preheat an oven grill. With a paring knife, pierce the eggplants in several places. Place on a medium baking sheet and roast until skins are dark mahogany in color and flesh feels soft, about 50 minutes. Let stand until cool enough to handle. Split the eggplants, scoop the flesh into a colander, and press to extract excess liquid.

Transfer to a bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Stir or use a food processor to pulse until smooth. Taste and adjust the lime juice and salt.

Transfer to a serving bowl and serve with warm pita bread.

Spicy Stuffed Eggplants/Aubergines

 Ok, these didn't come out as pretty (or photogenic) as I wanted but trust me, they're delicious. I've made many a  "stuffed vegetable" recipe in my day, but these were wonderful as a vegetarian main course (if you skip the bacon). The buckwheat is a nice alternative to couscous or other starchy filling. While it's a bit grainy on its own, combine it with goat's cheese and you've got a win. It's also a great weeknight dinner recipe: while you're roasting the eggplants (sigh, or aubergine..I have a tendency to cook foods that have a UK/US noun difference) you can make the other parts of the recipe and be done in 30 minutes!

Serves 4

Takes 30 minutes, start to finish

Ingredients

2 large eggplants

Olive Oil

125g buckwheat (cooked according to package instructions)

zest and juice of ½ lime

3 tbsp harissa

10 cherry tomatoes, deseeded and finely chopped

handful chopped fresh flatleaf parsley

150g crumbled goat’s cheese

2 strips bacon (cooked)

Preparation

-Preheat the oven to 200C or fan180C. Halve the eggplants lengthways and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with plenty of olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes or until tender

-Meanwhile, cook 125g buckwheat according to pack instructions. Stir in 2 tbsp olive oil, the zest and juice of ½ lime and the 3 tbsp of harissa. Deseed and finely chop the cherry tomatoes and stir into the buckwheat with a handful of chopped fresh flatleaf parsley and 150g crumbled goat’s cheese.

-Remove the eggplants from the oven and, once they’ve cooled a little, carefully scoop out the flesh and roughly chop. Stir into the buckwheat mixture and season well. Spoon the mixture back into the eggplant shells and return to the oven for 10-12 minutes.

Spicy Chicken and Corn on the Cob Salad

Another main course summer salad. This being taken from the pages of the September 2010 Delicious Magazine. Oh, if there was ever a hearty salad that sang of summer, this has got to be it. Fresh sweet corn, courtesy of the local farmer's market, has got to be one of the best late summer vegetables. And while the optimal summer preparation method is the almighty grill, this salad benefits from adaptability. Being the grill-less souls we are, we put the corn under our griddle for 20 minutes or so and the effect was just about the same. This also applied for the roast chicken. If we had more time on our hands, we could have roasted the chicken ourselves (and hey, if you want to, go right ahead) but this being a weeknight dinner, it was far easier and faster (and actually cheaper) just to buy it pre-roasted and slice it.

Serves 4

20 minutes to make, 30 minutes to cook

Ingredients

3 corn on the cob with husks

50g unsalted butter, softened

1 ½ tbsp harissa paste

Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

Handful of fresh flatleaf parsley, chopped

Roast chicken, cut into strips

1 bell pepper, deseeded and sliced

1 avocado, sliced

2 large handfuls of lamb’s lettuce

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Handful of fresh chives, chopped

Preparation

-Soak 3 lengths of kitchen string in warm water for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, peel back the husks of the corn, leaving the leaves attached at the base. In a small bowl, blend the butter, harissa, lemon zest, and parsley. Season well and smear all over the corn on the cobs, then re-cover with the leaves and tie string around each cob.

-Preheat an oven grill or griddle until hot and then grill the corn in their husks, turning, for about 15-20 minutes, or until black all over.

-Mix the red pepper, avocado, and lamb’s lettuce in a salad bowl. In a small bowl, whisk the lemon juice with salt and pepper, then whisk in the extra-virgin olive oil. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss together. Slice the chicken into strips and add to the salad.

-Remove the string and husks from the warm sweetcorn and, using a sharp knife and cutting the length of the cob, carefully strip off the kernels and add to the salad.

-Toss well to combine, sprinkle over the chives, and serve immediately.