MARCH
Despite this being the first month of autumn, it’s still terribly hot and steamy in our neck of the woods, and although I love my food I must admit that even my appetite starts to flag when the temperature constantly hovers in the mid 30s.
However over the last few years, I’ve managed to develop a few strategies so that we can eat well but also manage (at least to some extent) to beat the heat. The most successful so far, is that I cook early in the day before the temperature climbs and my enthusiasm vanishes in direct proportion to the rising mercury!
Fortunately, another factor in our favour is that this sultry weather corresponds with the farmers’ market bursting with the last of the summer produce, and it’s not hard to find inspiration amongst the mounds of beautiful fruit and vegetables – shiny, red peppers; intensely-flavoured tomatoes; fat bunches of herbs and the final flush of summer fruits.
Our current favourite is a simple gratin of slow-cooked onions and garlic mixed with luscious grilled peppers, herbs and capers; the lot topped with goats’ cheese, slices of those aforementioned tomatoes and crunchy, olive-oil crisped breadcrumbs. We usually make a meal of this with chunks of good bread (vital for sopping up the delicious juices) and a handful of salad greens tossed in vinaigrette, but, it’s equally good as a side-dish with things like barbecued lamb steaks, chops or a simple herb-roasted chicken.
By Belinda Jeffery
RED CAPSICUM, TOMATO AND GOATS’ CHEESE GRATIN
We often make a meal of this easy gratin along with chunks of good bread (vital for sopping up the lovely oily juices) and a handful of salad greens tossed in vinaigrette. However, it would also be terrific with barbecued lamb steaks or chops, or a simple herb-roasted chicken.
4 large red capsicums (peppers)
1/3 cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil
2 large brown onions, halved and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, halved and sliced paper-thin
Approx 700g medium-size ripe tomatoes
2 tablespoons capers (the tiny salt-packed ones look best)
2 tablespoons thyme leaves
2 heaped tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
about 200g goat’s cheese marinated in olive oil and herbs
70g coarse-ish fresh breadcrumbs, made from a good country-style or sough dough loaf
Thyme or parsley sprigs, optional
Slice the capsicums into large pieces along their natural contour lines and remove the seeds and white ribs. Put them, shiny-side up, on a grill tray and run them under a hot grill until the skins blister and blacken. Remove and cover them with a clean tea towel to sweat and loosen the skins. Peel them as soon as they’re cool enough to handle, then slice them into 1.5cm wide strips. Set them aside.
Meanwhile, heat half the oil in a medium-sized frying pan over low heat. When it’s warm, add the onions and garlic and cook them so they sizzle softly, stirring them regularly, until they’re a pale golden brown – this takes about 20-25 minutes. When they’re ready, turn off the heat and set them aside.
Cut the tomatoes into thick slices (about 8mm) and put them aside too.
Preheat your oven to 180C. Lightly oil a medium-sized gratin dish – the one I use is roughly 30 x 16 cm, and is 4.5cm deep.
To put the gratin together, mix half the capsicum strips, most of the capers and 1 tablespoon each of the thyme and parsley into the onion mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Spread this mixture over the base of the gratin dish, then crumble the goat’s cheese evenly on top. Overlap the tomato slices attractively on the cheese, slipping a strip of the remaining capsicum between each slice (if the capsicum strips are a bit big, cut them in half.)
Now, thoroughly mix the breadcrumbs with the remaining herbs and capers and 1 tablespoon of the remaining olive oil. Scatter this mixture evenly over the tomato slices then dribble what’s left of the oil on top.
Bake the gratin for 35 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and you can hear it gently bubbling. Remove and leave to cool a little before serving. (I know it’s tempting to eat it straight away, however it tastes best when it’s warm rather than hot.) If the rim of the gratin dish looks a bit splattered, just wipe it with damp paper towel to clean it up. Scatter with a few herb sprigs, if liked. Serves 6 (or 4 as a main course.)
