Barbelith Underground > Conversation

Sorry, had to help a friend move house.

So anyway, this is a wetter recipe than Justrix's one, more for dipping crudite or tortilla chips or tasty bread in, and it makes a big bowlful.

Preparation-
You chop the aubergine into small chunks like cubes, and then sprinkle some salt onto a plate or shallow bowl. Place the chunks on the plate, sprinkle salt all over them (don't be shy of the salt, it's to leach the aubergine of the bitter taste they sometimes have and you rinse it off) then put another plate on top and put something heavy on top of that. Leave it for half an hour or more and they sweat this purple liquid out and reduce in size. Rinse the chunks in a sieve to remove the salt and drain or put on a cloth or kitchen towel to dry them.
Break open the garlic's head, put the cloves under the chopping board and lean on it, or just smash them gently with something like a mallet. Top them and peel them, which should be easy after smashing them, then put them whole in a big roasting dish with olive oil.
Chop the shallots/onions, bell pepper/s and mushrooms into big chunks.
Slice the tofu into cubes and dry them like the aubergine.
Preheat the oven to about 200 or your preferred roasting temperature, and put the roasting dish in therte to heat up the garlicky oil.

So, when the oil is hot-ish you put the tofu and aubergine cubes in and the shallots, shake them about and let them roast a bit to give the tofu flavour, shaking occasionally. Then when they're browned enough and smell yummy you add the peppers and mushrooms and roast until they're soft, occasionally shaking them. (You can actually stop at this point and serve the roast stuff with cous-cous and it's yummy)
When it's ready, decant all the roasted veg & tasty oil into a big bowl and add the big bunch of coriander (or basil if you don't like it) and the salt & pepper, tabasco and whatever to taste. I like to add some vege worcester sauce but YMMV.
Use a blending device to whoosh up the mixture until it is all the texture of humous, the put it in the fridge, or eat it warm with fresh baked bread if you can. It's a bit like a healthy cheese-free fondue, and I think it's vegan.

If you have less time, fry everything except the tofu and coriander in a wok or pan on a high heat until it's soft with some browned bits (5-10 min) then throw it into the blender with the tofu & coriander unchopped & the condiments. The flavour is less subtle, but it takes less than half an hour instead of three.

Vegenomicon