Vegetation

This dinner was SOOO yum! But I am a pasta fan and both coriander and eggplant are 2 of my favourite foods so if you don't like eggplant or pasta then it's probably not for you. It's a vegetarian dish but can be made vegan I would think by switching the parmesan cheese for some nutritional yeast flakes without TOO much of a difference.

Pasta with Coriander and Eggplant

30g coriander leaves (about 2 bunches) 4 tbsp cashew nuts 4 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese (or 2 tbsp nut. yeast would work too me thinks and make it vegan)
3 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lime
14 tbsp olive oil (roughly)
500g dry pasta (I used that San Remo wholegrain and it was awesome)
2 large eggplants
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Process the cashews until they look like crumbs. Add coriander, parmesan or nut. yeast, garlic, lime juice and 8 tbsp of the olive oil. Blend until almost smooth.

Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise, then cut each half into 5mm thick slices. Salt if necessary.

Cook pasta according to packet directions. Meanwhile heat remaining olive oil (or a few tbsp) in a non stick frying pan and fry eggplant until tender and soft. Keep warm until pasta is done.

Drain pasta, return to saucepan and toss with coriander sauce. Serve topped with the grilled eggplant.



I also made a hard white cheese (found the recipe on the net somewhere). It's pretty good although I will probably use a few less herbs next time, I'm not into super onion-y garlic-y cheese but this one isn't TOO strong.

Firm White Cheese

300ml water
2 tsp agar powder
100g cashew nuts (I used raw)
1-2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp tahini
1-2 tsp onion granules or less of onion powder
1-2 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic granules or less of garlic powder

Bring the 300ml of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Sprinkle the agar powder on top and simmer for around 3 minutes.

Place in a food processor together with the remaining ingredients, scraping down the sides of the jar as necessary (I used a blender for a smoother result). Blend until smooth.

Place in a plastic container in shape you want your cheese to be and refrigerate until firm.

This cheese will slice and can also be grated.