Recipe - Mediterranean Vegetable Koulibiac Pt 1

FOR THE RISOTTO
55 g Butter
1 tablespoon Olive oil
1 md Onion; peeled, finely
; chopped
2 Cloves garlic; finely
chopped
115 g Risotto rice
700 ml Vegetable stock; about
1 tablespoon Chopped flat leaf parsley
1 teaspoon Chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon Ripped basil leaves
25 g Freshly grated parmesan
Ground black pepper

FOR THE KOULIBIAC
1 Red chilli; seeded and
finely
; chopped
20 lg Basil leaves; torn , about
2 Garlic cloves finely chopped
1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar
6 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
3 small Red and 2 small yellow
peppers
1 small Aubergine cut into thin
slices
2 small Courgettes; cut into thin
Lengthway slices
2 375 g packet ready rolled
puff pastry; thawed if
frozen
2 tablespoon Black olive or sundried
tomato paste
2 150 g pack buffalo mozarella
cut into
; slices
1 260 gram jar sundried
tomatoes; well drained
2 tablespoon Green pesto
Beaten egg to glaze

1 To make the Risotto: Melt 25g/1oz butter in a nonstick pan with the
olive oil.

2 Sweat the onion, thyme and garlic until soft but not brown. Add the
risotto rice and cook for two minutes until transparent and smelling nutty.

3 Add one ladle of stock and stir until the rice absorbs it before adding
the next ladle. Continue for 15 minutes, stirring continuously. Add the
herbs and stir to combine. Add the remaining butter and parmesan. Season
and remove to a bowl to cool. Set aside.

4 To make the Koulibiac: Preheat the grill. Tear about 12 basil leaves and
place in a shallow, nonmetallic dish with the chilli, garlic, vinegar and
6 tbsp oil. Place the peppers under the grill and cook for 2030 minutes
until well charred, turning regularly.

5 Cool, peel, cut into quarters and remove the seeds. Add the peppers to
the chilli mix.

6 Preheat the griddle pan. Brush the aubergine and courgettes with the
remaining olive oil. Cook the vegetables in batches for 23 minutes turning
once until just tender.

7 Leave to cool a little, then add to the chilli mixture, turning to coat
and then leave to marinate for 12 hours or preferably overnight. Drain off
any excess marinade and pat dry with kitchen paper.

6 Preheat oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5. Trim one sheet of pastry by cutting
2.5cm wide strips off one of the long edges and two short edges of the
pastry, to give a 30 x 20cm (12 x 8") rectangle.

7 Place one on a parchmentlined baking sheet and spread with the olive or
sundried tomato paste to within 2.5cm/1" of the sides. Spoon on the cooled
risotto and spread out evenly.

8 Layer with aubergines and mozzarella, season and spread over the pesto.
Add layers of sundried tomatoes, remaining basil leaves, courgettes,
yellow and red peppers. Dampen the pastry edges.

9 Take the second piece of pastry and, starting about 2.5cm/1" from one
short edges, run a lattice cutter along the centre of the pastry, pushing
down firmly and finishing about 2.5cm/1" from the opposite edge.

10 Carefully lift up the pastry, open out the lattice and place over the
layered vegetables. Press the edges of the pastry together and trim off the
excess. Seal the edges using a fork, brush with beaten egg and sprinkle
with Maldon salt.

11 Bake for 3540 minutes until the pastry is risen and golden brown. Allow
to cool a little on a wire rack, slice and serve with a leafy salad. ]]]]]
[[[[[ SPICE BUN B: Two Fat Ladies C: Two Fat Ladies, New

continued in part 2