Chapel Market Summer Vegetable Bake_ Chantelle Nicholson, Chef Owner, Tredwells
This dish was inspired from a trip to my local farmers’ market in Chapel Market on Sunday. All the vegetables were from there, as well as the cheese. I always have chicken and vegetable stock in my freezer - I tend to freeze it in both large ice cubes and also slightly larger quantities. I get the chicken bones from my local butcher and make a batch up when I need it. I reduce it down so it is thick and ready to be added into dishes to create a little more unctuousness and flavour. Vegetable stock is a great way to use any bits and bobs. For all my stocks I roast everything first to get maximum flavour.
1 aubergine, sliced into 1cm rounds
1 courgette, sliced into 1cm rounds
50ml Duchess farms rapeseed oil
1 onion, peeled and finely sliced
2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
100g Hodmedod’s emmer wheat, par boiled for 5 minutes
1 tbsp Hodmedod’s fava bean paste
300ml vegetable or chicken stock
1 red chilli, finely sliced or 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Sea salt & freshly milled black pepper
Small handful of basil
25g Cheddar, or hard cheese
Place a drizzle of oil in a frying pan over a moderate heat. When hot, add the onions with a good few pinches of salt. Cook until lightly golden then add the garlic and chilli cook for a few more minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook until most of the juice has evaporated. Add the stock and fava bean paste, mix well, bring to a simmer then turn off the heat.
Place the par-boiled emmer wheat in the bottom of a casserole and then layer the oiled and seasoned aubergines and courgettes on top. Pour over the stock and cover with a tight fitting lid. Place back on a very low heat for one hour or else in a 180 degree oven for half an hour.
Check the emmer wheat is cooked through then add the basil and cheese and pop under the grill for a few minutes.
*If you wanted to increase the protein content you could add some mincemeat (pork or chicken) or add some cubed tofu to cook with the veg.