Weekend Lunch

Before you go to the market this weekend and restock your fridge with fresh produce, use up the vegetables you have left in the fridge for lunch. Here are 2 easy ways:

Roasted Vegetables
Heat the oven to 200 C. Roughly chop and aubergine, red pepper, courgette and a couple of red onions. Toss them in a roasting dish with some fresh thyme and a couple of whole, unpeeled garlic cloves, olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for about 20-30 minutes until the vegetables are tender and tinged with a golden hue. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Aubergine Spread
Take 2 aubergines, and chop them into 1 cm cubes. Heat a griddle pan over medium-high heat. Toss the aubergine cubes in olive oil and grill until tender and coloured. Season with salt and pepper. Place half in a food processor with a couple of tablespoons good mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. Pulse to a chunky puree. Transfer to a bowl and fold the remaining aubergine pieces through. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

 


Roasted Pepper and Tomato Soup

Ingredients
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
1 red chilli pepper
1 tin diced tomatoes
2 red peppers
1 vegetable stock cube
1 small French baguette
black olive tapenade and basil cress, to serve

Method
Roast the peppers over a flame or in a hot oven (225° C) until blackened. Place in a tightly closed plastic bag for ± 10 minutes to steam. Remove the skin from the peppers.

Dissolve the vegetable stock cube in 600 ml hot water. Finely chop the onion, garlic and chilli. Slice the peppers into strips.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a pan and sweat the onion until soft. In the meantime, cut the baguette lengthways into thin slices, drizzle with olive oil and toast in the oven at 200° C for 6-10 minutes until golden brown and crisp.

Add the finely chopped garlic and chilli to the pan and fry for 2 minutes. Add the strips of roasted pepper and the tin of tomatoes and mix well. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Blend the soup with a stick blender or in a traditional blender for a smoother finish. Season with salt and pepper.

Spoon the soup into bowls and drizzle with olive oil. Top the toasted baguette with a little olive tapende and basil cress and rest it gently on each bowl. Serve at once.

We, the Amsterdam Flavours chefs, hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If you have any questions on how to prepare it or just want to send us your feedback, you can reach us here Contact Amsterdam Flavours