Charred Vegetables Two Ways: Babaganoush // Charred Red Peppers and Courgette with Herbs
Do you wish you could get excited about cooking vegetables but find them boring?? Do you want to try something different to spice things up? For a lot of people, vegetables are an afterthought and not given the same attention as meat or fish. Understandably cooking veg then gets monotonous and uninspiring. But it doesn’t have to be that way! Charring veg is a great way to try something a bit different and get a great smoky flavour.
Charring and peeling might sound a bit faffy but it’s straightforward and is really worth it. Just be sure to let them cool down first! I highly recommend doing these on a BBQ to get that really smoky flavour and charr. I made this for dinner on Tuesday evening, then had leftovers for breakfast and lunch the next day, I couldn’t get enough!!
Full disclosure, I cheated and used a gas BBQ….just don’t tell the Capetonians!
Ingredients
Babganoush
3 big aubergines
2-4 Tbs Tahini
2 Tbs olive oil
Juice of ½ a lemon
½ tsp smoked paprika
Handful of fresh parsley finely chopped
Salt and pepper
Charred Red Peppers and Courgette with Herbs
2 Red Peppers
3 Courgettes – you can do more/less peppers or courgettes depending on what you have!
2 handful chopped herbs: I used a mix of parsley/dill/ coriander/ chives but use whatever you have to hand! Try to have at least 2 different herbs.
3-4 Tbs olive oil
Juice of ½ a lemon
Salt and pepper
Method
Charring
Start up your BBQ or preheat your oven as hot as it goes. Once ready, pop your aubergines, red peppers and courgettes straight onto the BBQ or into the oven on a tray. You don’t need any oil. After about 15 minutes check them, and turn. The skin should be starting to char and turn black. This is what we are aiming for! Repeat this 1-2 more times until the skin is charred and the veg are soft.
Take off the BBQ/ out of the oven and leave to cool – until cool enough to handle.
Once cool enough to handle, using a sharp knife and a small spoon or fork, carefully take the skin off the peppers. Be Careful, they will be full of hot liquid!
For the aubergines and courgettes, it is easier to split them down the middle with the knife and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Again, be careful of any hot liquid.
Peppers and Courgette
· Lay strips of the peppers across the bottom of a plate/ serving dish. Dot the courgette flesh over them. At this stage you could add a tin of butter beans, well-drained to the courgette flesh.
· Make the herby dressing: chop up the herbs finely, mix with lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper.
· Drop ½ tsp’s of this over the veg, and serve any extra dressing on the side.
Aubergine
· Roughly chop the aubergine flesh and place it in a big mixing bowl. Add the tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, paprika, chopped parsley and salt and pepper. Mix well, breaking up bigger bits of aubergine as you go.
· Place in a serving bowl, make a little well in the middle – drizzle over a tsp of olive oil, some paprika and a few parsley leaves.
Serve with yoghurt flatbreads (recipe on the blog) and a source of protein – we had wild venison steak. They go well with simple BBQ/ grilled meat or fish, or you could add a tin of butter beans to the courgette flesh to add protein. Sliced hard-boiled eggs on the side would work well too.
