Tortang talonggggg

As a child, I probably wouldn’t have liked eggplant had it come in the form of something other than a torta (omelet). It would be adulthood when the eggplant, grilled until charred on the stove-top, mashed and dressed in nothing but vinegar, salt and pepper, became something sublime- a perfect foil to the salty, fatty richness of duck eggs (a combo that you can have with fish or pork or even chicken).

But as a child, anything fried was good, and to have meat, was even better. So the tortang talong was both, and it was also a vegetable, albeit one that didn’t have anything by way of substantial nutrients.

And when we grew up and could cook our own meals, being able to make the ‘perfect’ torta was a sign that the ‘baton had been passed down’ to you; that you passed the test that separated the so-so cooks from the capable ones. Our nanny was taught by my dad, but ironically, we had to learn it ourselves, and I did it by trial and error.

The requirement is simple- the eggplant has to hold the fillings in place (using the beaten eggs) and be in an acceptably regular shape. You get bonus points if the eggplant stem is intact and you can use it to transfer the omelet from the serving plate to your plate, without it breaking off. But I’m not fussed with this as the only reason why I keep it is for aesthetics; I like a lot of fillings so my tortas tend to be heavy and fat.

If you’re looking for a good recipe, try this one.

I’ve used shrimps as my filling, spiced up with Korean gochu jang. I also used FOUR EGGS (I’m currently dieting) which explains the round shape; the pan was literally filled up. I used the American eggplant as it’s currently cheaper. I wasn’t completely convinced that it would work, but it does; the flesh is more watery, but other than that, it’s virtually the same as the Chinese or Japanese variety that we’re familiar with.

The Weekend (eats) in images

Christmas treats from Pōhutukawa Pantry

Cotto

We had dinner out last Saturday for a friend’s birthday and when they said it was Italian (Cotto on Road), I was uhm like, carbs. And this is really by habit even if in truth, the Italian restaurants I’ve been to the last couple of years had a menu where you had heaps of non-pasta options.

And these were not after-thoughts either. Amano’s Hawkes Bay-sourced lamb shoulder is my go-to and is always excellent in whatever iteration. The prawns at posh local Andiamo prepared with a simple salsa verde and a confit potato side makes me want to ask the chef if they’ve been sourced fresh nearby because that’s how they taste (I haven’t though).

And of course at Cotto like most modern Italian restaurants, you don’t get a big bowl of spaghetti (though I wouldn’t mind one to be honest), but smaller, tasting plates.

Happy Thanksgiving (a table for two)

There’s only just my sister and her husband now that their only child is a full-grown adult and living her best life on the mainland. So not all American tables this thanksgiving are groaning with food.

Friday's galette (?)

Galettes refer to the catch-all term for a pastry base, topped with either sweet or savoury fillings with the edges roughly folded in to create a gorgeous, rustic-looking bake.

But is still a galette if you used store-bought flaky pastry or did a square one instead of the more traditional round one with the roughly folded edges?

Who cares? Again, saw it on TikTok and had this craving for caramelised onions- the pastry base was just incidental. There was a bag of white onions at a reduced price of $2.50 and four sheets of ready-to-cook pastry was $6. Sam hates onions and I remembered that there were two pieces of leftover chicken kransky sausages in the fridge and what came to mind immediately was a version of chicken-cranberry pizza. We had some leftover strawberry jam which I mixed with some ready-made chili-lime and to soften this combo, dollops of leftover sour cream.

Brush with egg-yolk and put into the oven using fan bake for about 20 minutes.

Capsicum sauce

Finally, $1 capsicums, yay!! From a high of $4.50 per piece, summer is the inflation-buster we all need.

I don’t particularly like capsicums- in my mouth, I can feel the soft inner flesh separating from the plasticky outer skin- though I tolerate them in stir-fries and such. I also don’t eat pasta a lot; if I wanted carbs, I’ll just do rice thank you very much.

But I saw someone on TikTok making a red-pepper (aka capsicum) sauce for pasta and then I got a supermarket alert for specials ($1 capsicums!) so I thought that it was meant to be.

The good thing about this sauce is that you don’t need a whole lot of ingredients (and the costs do add up). It’s basically 3 large capsicums and the rest of the ingredients are stuff you may already have at home like garlic, shallots (if you don’t have these it’s fine), butter and chicken cubes. Cheese which is normally horrendously expensive was on special so I got a block of good parmesan.

You simply char the capsicums so that you can peel off the nasty, plasticky outer skin and I realised that I couldn’t really do it as pictured below, using the electric cooktop. So I ended up putting it in the oven using grill. So once you’ve peeled the skin off and taken out the seeds. sauté them in a pan with a bit of olive oil and butter, a chicken cube and diced garlic (shallots if you have them) for about 10 minutes. Blitz the whole thing in a food-processor- it didn’t even need water or a thickening agent; the puree is the perfect consistency. And the flavour- sweet, creamy with a hint of spice and tang. I admit adding two tablespoons of sour cream, but it didn’t really need it, nor the parmesan if I’m being honest.

I’m thinking of buying a whole bag of $1 capsicums now, prepping them ready for blitzing and stored in the freezer.

Tuesday

Got my Twitter account restored. I’ve been contacting Twitter support for months with ZERO response until Elon Musk came in and in less than 30 seconds, was able to login with a new confirmed email address. The guy’s a TWAT, but he must be doing something right, like firing incompetent, sanctimonious Twitter staff who can’t even solve simple technical issues.

Friday cravings

Because I don’t have a family of my own, I realised that I didn’t need to enforce some of the rules or traditions that we had growing up. So yes, I can eat a whole bag of expensive shrimp (we had to share because there was only so much to go around). I can eat in bed, or in front of the television (rarely now because I don’t watch ‘normal’ TV anymore). Cake for dinner (why not?). Or a can of mackerel with eggs and rice for dinner when it’s normally for breakfast.

Normally, we would saute diced garlic, onions and tomatoes before adding in the fish, but I skipped that part for less oil. A dash of tamarind powder into the broth made for a good sour contrast with the rich oiliness of the fish.

Happy, nostalgic eating on a rainy Friday.