Fricken' fabulous veggie stacks

Pictures take by Walter Köppe

I am still on holiday! We have now spent time in Knysna, Kleinemonde, Hogsback and been up the wild coast. But alas, as with all good things we are winding our way back home now and have just arrived in the Tsitsikama forest for the final stretch of our trip.

On New Year's Eve Adam and I cooked a very spontaneous dinner for the family which had unanimously been decided would be light and easy. We had all been eating non-stop and were feeling a touch overwhelmed at the prospect of another rich meal.

We did end up with four courses but each was small and light and well spaced out to leave space for chatter and chilled bubbles. The one course which Adam prepared (under my guidance) was a dish very much influenced by my mother’s cooking. I remembered her telling me about a meal she made last year, while visiting my brother in France, which was very similar. So I gave her a call yesterday and asked her if she could send me a guideline for her recipe and some pictures, which I knew my step dad had taken. The below is what she sent me.

Vegetable “Stack”

This dish looks spectacular served on beautiful plates and can be a starter or a light main course. The idea came from a promotion at the Mega French supermarket Carrefour fresh produce department, so I went home to do something similar at my son, Dirki’s Antibes apartment. 

The two interesting tweeks to this recipe are: 1) the aubergines are dry-fried, so not fatty at all and; 2) one can replace the crème fraîche topping with a slightly thinned hummus which can make this a vegan option as well as low-fat.

Ingredients for four
4 medium sized fresh beetroots
4 medium sized courgettes
1 Tbsp of olive oil

1 Tbsp of fresh lemon juice

1 tsp of crushed garlic

¼ tsp of salt
1 large aubergine
4 tsp of toasted seed mix and/or fresh chopped chives

4 Tbsp of crème fraîche (or hummus)

Method
Roast the trimmed and washed beets for one hour at 175˚C until cooked through. Peel and slice into rounds of about ½ a centimetre.

Slice the courgettes lengthwise into thin ribbons. Cover them with boiling water from the kettle and leave them for 5 – 10 minutes. Drain them and gently toss them in the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt.
Slice the aubergine width wise into 4 thick round slices and dry fry on medium high heat in a thick-bottomed non stick pan or griddle until scorched on both sides. 

Assemble as illustrated: the beets in a circle overlapping on each plate. Then a pile of marinated courgette slices, after which a slice of browned aubergine. Top with a dollop of crème fraîche or hummus and garnish with toasted seeds and or chopped chives. Serve immediately.

To thin the hummus (if using), add water, olive oil and or lemon juice until it has thinned to the consistency of thick cream.