Cuisine – Gentle autumn stews

The thrill of a gentle stew simmering away on the stovetop, with sweet and savoury aromas wafting around the kitchen, is one of the joys of cooking as the cooler weather sets in. The vegetables of the late summer harvest have some of the best flavours of the year, as growth has slowed down with the last of the sun ripening them at a pace that’s far easier to keep up with than the prolific crops grown in the heat of February and March.

I am writing this after picking some of the final crop of tomatoes in my garden and observing that I may have only a couple of weeks left for fresh basil until the plant gives up to the cold. Good things always come to an end, but even though I am always writing in praise of eating seasonally, we have a whole army of food producers out there growing crops under glass, and even heating their hydroponic sheds, so we can enjoy fresh produce year-round. But I will miss the summery flavours and will be shopping carefully so that I don’t pay horrendous prices that are sometimes attached to out of season vegies.

Recently, in the NZ Cheese Awards, local producer Massimo’s of Silverdale won medals for his freshly made cheeses. As an Italian, he loves authentic mozzarella cheese – not the grated yellow stuff that is sold in handy plastic packs in the supermarket for topping kid’s pizzas. Real mozzarella is freshly made, comes in a large white ball and is presented in a plastic pottle of liquid to keep it as moist as it should be. It also can be marketed in smaller balls when it is known is bocconcini. Keep it refrigerated, tipping the liquid away and use it any recipe that calls for mozzarella and you won’t believe the difference or, hopefully, ever return to that artificial yellow cheese.

Massimo has begun producing burrata cheese on a commercial scale. Almost all his stock was snapped up by good Italian chefs and top restaurants. Now we can buy it in some supermarkets and local stores. Burrata is a version of mozzarella that has an almost liquid creamy centre, which oozes out when you cut into it. I loved it in summer in the centre of a fresh tomato and basil salad, with olive oil drizzled over, but now I am very happy to plonk it in the middle of a vegetable stew and make it into a complete meal.
This recipe will only be a true success if you take time to ensure the aubergine is cooked through. Don’t be afraid to get creative with your vegetable stews. You can add chunks of pumpkin, potato, carrot or kumara, but make sure they’re cooked until soft. Even a few green vegetables like a handful of spinach or green beans can add to the colour.

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Aubergine, peppers, onion and tomato stew with burrata and basil

4-5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium aubergine, cut into 6cm chunks
2 red capsicums, sliced
1 large onion, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 can chopped tomatoes in juice
1 teaspoon salt
small pinch sugar
10cm strip lemon rind
2 fresh bay leaves
½ cup water
Handful of fresh basil leaves
1 burrata cheese, drained

Heat the olive oil in a heavy frying pan until medium hot. Add the aubergines chunks and sauté until golden, turning frequently. Remove the aubergines to drain on paper towels.

Add more olive oil to the pan if necessary and add the sliced peppers and onions with the whole garlic cloves. Cook gently over a very low heat for 10-15 minutes or until the mixture softens. Add the canned tomatoes, salt, sugar, lemon rind. Return the aubergines to the mixture with the water. Simmer together for 15 minutes until soft and aromatic, checking it cooks on a slow heat so that it doesn’t catch on the bottom. Add extra water if you need to.

To serve, turn the mixture out onto a serving bowl and add the drained ball of burrata and strew the basil leaves over the top and some extra olive oil if you wish.

Serves 4