Aubergine and yoghurt soup

How strange being back at work after an 11 month absence. And what a difficult decision it was. Bursting into tears in the Monday morning team meeting because you were up all night with your ill baby and you feel like a rotten mum for having dropped him at the creche in such a state is just par for the course, I guess. And so is being knackered after cooking the week's meals on Sunday instead of lazing about with the FT Weekend.

A very large (in my husband's opinion the largest) part of the problem is my tendency to perfectionism. Nigella's whole domestic goddess thing. I feel compelled to cook meals myself, rather than get take-out, even if it is from Ottolenghi. I want it all to be "just so". Is that too much to ask? All I need to do is focus on easy recipes that can be made quickly, in large quantities and keep well in the fridge or freezer. See - not that complicated!

I have always found that soups are great for busy times and can quickly be reheated to be eaten with a thick slice of buttered rye bread. Try this recipe - it is an exciting and tangy meal-in-a-bowl.


Serves 4

Ingredients

2 medium aubergines

1 celery stalk, finely sliced

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 – 3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp fennel seeds

½ tsp caraway seeds

1 egg yolk

½ Tbsp corn flour

1 cup / 250ml natural yoghurt

650ml vegetable stock

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Salt to taste

Method

1. Cut the aubergines in half length-wise and roast them in a hot oven (200ºC/400ºF) for 30 to 40 minutes, or until they are very soft. Then set aside to cool.

2. In the meantime, heat a little olive or rapeseed oil in a saucepan and gently cook the onion, celery and garlic until soft.

3. In a separate pan, dry roast the spices for a few minutes, before grinding them in a coffee grinder or with a mortar and pestle.

4. While the other ingredients are cooling down, beat together the egg yolk and corn flour, then stir in the yoghurt.

5. Now scoop out the flesh of the aubergines (discarding the charred skin) and liquidize with the cooked onion mix, the spices, one cup of vegetable stock and the cayenne pepper. Pour the soup back into the saucepan and add the rest of the vegetable stock.

6. Slowly whisk in the yoghurt mixture and stir continuously over a medium heat until the soup just starts to simmer. Then remove the saucepan from the heat immediately. Adjust seasoning.
7. Serve with a spoon of thick yoghurt and some chopped parsley or a sprig of lemon thyme.

Blackcurrant ricotta pancakes

I hate goodbyes. So, to make it all a tiny bit more bearable, I decided to offer these little pancakes at Suzi and Illi's farewell brunch. The velvety ricotta batter is an ideal canvas to show off not only the deep purple of the blackcurrants, but also their delicious sharpness. If you squint your eyes, they even seem healthy with no added sugar and relatively little flour. Serve them with raw manuka honey and a warm smile.

Makes about 15 medium pancakes

Ingredients
3 large eggs
250g ricotta cheese
1 tsp vanilla essence or 1/4 tsp vanilla bean paste
pinch of salt
150g refined spelt flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
125ml milk or milk substitute
2 bananas, mashed
125g blackcurrants, washed and stripped from the stalks


Method
1. Beat together the eggs, ricotta cheese, vanilla and salt.
2. Add the flour and baking powder, and mix well. Then whisk in the milk.
3. Finally stir in the mashed bananas and blackcurrants.
4. Heat a skillet over a medium heat and add a tiny knob of butter. Once it has melted, use a spatula to coat the entire pan with the butter.
5. Now drop spoonfuls of the batter into the pan and cook on one side for about 2 minutes (or until the top seems set). Then flip each pancake onto the other side and cook for another minute.
6. To keep your pancakes warm, place them in a glass bowl and cover with a lid.

Courgette and mint soufflé

Earlier this year I convinced two of my longest-standing friends, Suzi-Q and Illi, to pack their bags and finally pay us a visit in London. What a superb time we've had so far. We even managed to squeeze in a trip to Paris. There, we hosted a dinner in our rented apartment with a 360º view across the City of Love.


It was during my frantic shopping trip for this said dinner, that I was reminded yet again of how versatile our trustworthy old friend the courgette (also known as zucchini or marrow) is. I never have anything specific in mind when I add a couple of marrows to my shopping basket, but somehow they always come in handy. And so it was that night. I topped fresh egg papardelle and slow cooked tomato sauce with char-grilled strips of courgette and judging by the empty plates, it turned out just fine. Parisians Kévin and Olivier brought the perfect dessert to end our evening: cherry clafoutis. C'était magnifique!


Back home I decided to try something a little more sophisticated with the humble marrow. This soufflé is quite delightful and really very easy to make. Don't be tempted to cut corners and add the grated marrow raw, though - it will end in a soggy affair.


Enough for 6 individual soufflés

Ingredients
35g butter
35g flour
250ml milk (or milk substitute)
freshly ground rock salt and black pepper
150g grated courgette
2 shallots, finely chopped
50g soft goats' cheese
1/4 cup tightly packed fresh mint leaves
4 large eggs, separated


Method
1. In a saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat. Whisk in the flour, salt and pepper.
2. Gradually add the milk, whisking continuously. Once the sauce has thickened, remove from the heat.
3. Fry the courgette and shallots over a low heat in a little oil until soft. Now stir the vegetables and cheese into the white sauce, making sure the cheese melts.
4. Beat in the egg yolks one by one, then set the mixture aside to cool for 10 minutes.
5. In the meantime, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Then fold them into the mixture. Be careful not to over-mix.
6. Spoon the mixture into 6 lightly greased individual ramekins and bake for 25 minutes at 180ºC/350ºF (or 170ºC/330ºF in a fan oven) or until puffed up and golden. Serve immediately.