• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • about me and belleau
  • contact me
  • pr & demo’s

Belleau Kitchen Homepage

Recipes from my Lincolnshire kitchen

  • Home
  • Chicken Thighs
  • Bread
  • Cakes
  • Eggs
  • Vegetarian
  • Everything else

aubergine and bean hot pot – dish of the month

18 January 2013 by Dominic Franks


day four: 14stone (196lbs) – no movement but I doubted anything would be so quick…

… it’s a tricky time to start a healthy eating plan with this dreadfully cold weather not inspiring me to eat anything but stodgy food and my jet-lag, which fully kicked in today… why your body waits a few days before it hits you with that 3am ‘wide-awake’ thing I will never know… doesn’t really add up to the greatest start but these are all excuses really and I recon that if I can get over this hump I can do anything… and actually i’m currently quite enjoying the challenge of taking recipes I love and really want to eat and warping them slightly to fit in with the diet… 

… i’m employing a lot of tricks I learnt on the Atkin’s but trying to use them in a healthy and sensible way… reducing carbs being one of the things I know my body reacts well too and my 3am wake up this morning wasn’t such a terrible thing as I turned on the light and poured my way through one of my lovely Christmas presents from The Viking, Nigel Slater’s The Kitchen Diaries II… a simply divine book of literature and food… it’s an inspiration to read and so lovely in fact, to pick it up on January 15th and read a recipe that he prepared on January 15th knowing how wonderfully this would work for all of us in this British winter… a concept that isn’t entirely lost on Janice from Farmersgirl Kitchen or Sue from Heaven on a Plate who have come together to create a new bloggers challenge called Dish of the Month… no this doesn’t refer to me… silly… it’s all about cooking from this wonderful cookbook each month and it’s going to be so exciting as the seasons change, watching how it develops through the year…

aubergine and bean hot pot with a cheesy cauliflower and broccoli crust
now this is my version of the dish… i’ve changed the recipe slightly to fit in with what i had in the kitchen and i’ve completely changed the topping from a breadcrumb crust to a cauliflower and broccoli crust, to fit in with my low-carb regime… the great thing about this dish is that I wanted to make a big pot that would last a few days so that I don’t need to leave the house whilst this snow storm passes over head… if you want Nigel’s original version I urge you to go out and buy the book or rent it from the library… or buy it on-line… you will not regret it…

for the hot pot
2 400g tins of beans – I used 1 tin of haricot and 1 tin of black-eyed
1 aubergine – chopped into large chunks
olive oil
1 large onion – medium chopped
2 garlic cloves – finely sliced
3 sprigs of rosemary
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
1 and a half tins of chopped tomatoes

for the cauliflower and broccoli crust
1 medium cauliflower
2 broccoli heads
1 clove of garlic – finely chopped
100g strong cheddar finely grated
the grated zest of one lemon
3 sprigs of rosemary – leaves finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 tablespoons olive oil

you will need a large pan or casserole dish with a lid – pre-heat the oven to 190C fan

to make the hot pot, first take the cut aubergine and gently fry it in a large pan with plenty of olive oil until golden and soft – you will get a more even result if you do this in two batches – set aside to drain on some kitchen paper

using a little more oil, gently fry the onions until soft, adding the sliced garlic, rosemary and oregano half-way through… the onions should be very soft with no colour

add the chopped tomatoes and once gently boiling, add the beans and aubergine.  Fill one of the empty tomato tins with water and add this to the pan too, let it come back to the boil, then cover and place it in the oven for 45 minutes.

to make the topping, remove the florets from the top of the cauliflower and broccoli and chope them as finely as you can… a second in the food processor would do it

place the cauliflower and broccoli crumbs in a bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and mix gently until combined

after 45 mins take the hot pot out of the oven, spoon the topping on top and place back in the oven, uncovered for about 20 minutes or until the top is golden and crisp

eat and of course, enjoy!

Share this post:

Twitter Facebook LinkedIn E-mail

Filed Under: Vegetarian Tagged With: aubergine, diet, dish of the month, hotpot, nigel slater

Previous Post: « smoked haddock and sweetcorn chowder
Next Post: lemon and orange cake »

Reader Interactions

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Comments

  1. manu says

    18 January 2013 at 2:42 pm

    What a delicious recipe!
    Have a nice weekend

  2. Susan Lindquist says

    18 January 2013 at 2:55 pm

    Oh my … a full dose of the veg here! What an ingenious topping, Dom! Love the lemony addition hint added to the mix!

  3. Janice Pattie says

    18 January 2013 at 2:57 pm

    Ah Dom, you are our dish of 'every' month 😉 Thanks so much for entering Dish of the Month, you are a man after my own heart with that lovely beany dish and what a great idea for an alternative topping. Hope your body clock reverts to British Wintertime soon.

  4. What's Baking?? says

    18 January 2013 at 3:08 pm

    Hope you had a good Xmas vacation. You were in the USA rite? Anyway, your dish has got lots of fibre. Not only healthy but looks delicious too. Heard it's snowing for the 2nd yr this yr in the UK. I wish we have snow here but sigh! it's tropical all yr round.

  5. Mark Willis says

    18 January 2013 at 3:56 pm

    Looks a great dish, but the trouble is I would want a big hunk of crusty bread with it!

  6. Jen Price says

    18 January 2013 at 4:13 pm

    That sounds lovely and very healthy 🙂

  7. From the Kitchen says

    18 January 2013 at 4:20 pm

    We love aubergine (even when our son's hair turned out that color when he dyed it the day before high school graduation)!! This recipe looks and sounds delicious.

    And, our son has turned out wonderfully although his hair didn't.

    Best,
    Bonnie

  8. Choclette says

    18 January 2013 at 4:58 pm

    You Dish of the Month Dom? Dish of the Year more like – or you will be when you shed those pounds 😉

    Lovely hot pot and your adapted topping is brilliant.

  9. Susie @ Fold in the Flour says

    18 January 2013 at 5:25 pm

    Sounds lovely, and I think the way you've used cauliflower and broccoli as the topping is brilliant! 🙂

  10. Susan heavenonaplate says

    18 January 2013 at 5:35 pm

    Oh I so identify with the jet lag thing, and the weight thing and the carbs thing, and the comfort food thing, but most of all he Nigel thing…xxx
    (thanks for entering…nice to have you back safe from your travels)

  11. Karen S Booth says

    18 January 2013 at 8:21 pm

    Dom, who is dish of the month does beans and beans means MINES! Cos' I LOVE them! GREAT entry for the dish of the month! Karen

  12. Ruth Ellis says

    18 January 2013 at 9:23 pm

    This looks fantastic – great wintry weather food!

  13. Gardeningbren says

    20 January 2013 at 1:39 am

    I bought the aubergines today to make this dish. Broccoli is going to have to be subbed with (sadly tiny) Brussels sprouts as that is what we have left in the snow, in the garden. Am sure it will be fine. Soy cheese I am afraid…but cheddar would make it so much better!!! Thanks for the inspiration. Keep up with the diet..us too!!

  14. Andrea Mynard says

    20 January 2013 at 10:07 am

    Looks great, love the nutritious amount of different veggies in this bake – just the sort of food I'm craving at the moment. Have nowhere near this selection of veg in the garden at moment though, even if I could find them under the snow. Am going to have to wait until no longer snowed in and able to make it to a shop to try it.

  15. Anneli (Delicieux_fr) says

    20 January 2013 at 1:08 pm

    I love the look of this. Healthy and hearty – a great meat free supper dish. Bookmarked! Thanks!

  16. From Beyond My Kitchen Window says

    21 January 2013 at 2:03 am

    I would never have thought of changing the crust to a vegetable crust. You are always thinking, great idea Dom!

  17. Johnny Parker says

    31 January 2013 at 2:45 pm

    What great recipe..Never seen this before nice one Dom

Primary Sidebar

About Belleau Kitchen

My name is Dominic, I am a cook, food writer and creative event producer. I write the food blog Belleau Kitchen and also write a monthly recipe column for Lincolnshire Life Magazine and Good Taste Magazine. I also run creative event production company The Persuaders, producing global events for brands since 1997. I am based both in the small village of Belleau in Lincolnshire and the smaller village of London! Read More…

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Subscribe

Archives

Foodies100 Index of UK Food Blogs
Foodies100
Tweets by @DomInTheKitchen

as featured in Lincolnshire Life Magazine

Lincolnshire Life
Belleau Kitchen Basics
Simply Eggcellent

creatively managed by

The Persuagers
Belleau Cottage

Footer

dominthekitchen

Sausage & Mash Pie - nothing quite hits the spot o Sausage & Mash Pie - nothing quite hits the spot on a cold and rainy miserable day!

recipe over on the blog soon - click on the link in my bio for the the picture you want the recipe for. It will take you to my site. 

Today I used @quorn_uk veggie sausages, & @sainsburys frozen mash and cooked it in my @falconenamel pie dish

#pie #sausages #sausageandmash #mashedpotatoes #mash #gravy #vegetarian #veganuary #winterwarmer #food #foodblogger #foodwriter
Mushroom & Kale egg ‘muffins’ ... such a simpl Mushroom & Kale egg ‘muffins’ ... such a simple and easy dish to prepare but SO tasty and healthy too! Amazing eggs from the wonderful folk @scamanseggs 

#recipe coming to the blog soon - check the link in bio

#eggs #eggsofinstagram #eggrecipes #fritatta #omelette #mushrooms #kale #brunch #lunch #healthy #healthyfood #healthyeats
Vegan roast vegetable gravy. The best gravy I’ve Vegan roast vegetable gravy. The best gravy I’ve ever made, easily on par with the roast chicken-wing gravy I made at Christmas. Served here with @quorn_uk ‘meatballs’ and two types of mash - regular potato and swede & carrot. 

#vegan #veganuary #meatballs #meatballsandgravy #gravy #vegetarian #mash #food #foodwriter #foodblogger #sunday #sundayroast
Cake! - is there such thing as a ‘healthy’ cak Cake! - is there such thing as a ‘healthy’ cake?

This fat-free orange and lemon cake is actually an adaptation of the infamous Clementine Cake by @nigellalawson . It’s one of my absolute favourite ‘go-to’ cakes.  If truth be told I usually make it at Christmas because its rich almond nuttiness and intense clementine fruitiness is perfect for the holiday season but looking back over the years I realise I haven’t actually made it for about 8 years! So now seems the perfect time to resurrect an old favourite.  It’s also a great cake to make if you have an abundance of citrus fruit left over from last year.  I always seem to have a few stragglers left in the bowl that really need eating.

#recipe on the website - click on the link in my insta bio for the recipe 

#cake #clementinecake #groundalmonds #baking #citrus #glutenfree #fatfree #food #foodblogger #foodwriter #weekend
vegetable stew with a creamy yoghurt sauce & chedd vegetable stew with a creamy yoghurt sauce & cheddar dumplings with @quorn_uk pieces and @fage_uk yoghurt

The challenge with making food or diet-related New Years resolutions is that it tends to be pretty damn cold this time of year and all we really want to eat is warming soups and stews which often tend to be quite naughty.  With this stew I’ve tried to cut down the fat but still make it unctuous and satisfying although the dumplings are a total cop-out but I’m thinking that this is a ‘one bowl meal’ and I’m not saving it with any other carbs so I’m letting myself off here!

#recipe up on the website now - link in bio

#stew #winterwarmer #dumplings #resolutions #vegetables #veganuary #yoghurt #food #foodporn #foodphotography
Roast Brussels Sprouts Fajitas with homemade Oat-F Roast Brussels Sprouts Fajitas with homemade Oat-Flour Tortillas

Not more Brussels sprouts I hear you cry! But like puppies, Brussels are not just for Christmas.  They are a very versatile vegetables and can be used in so many recipes, plus they’re packed with the good stuff. They’re high in fibre, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, making them a nutritious addition to your diet. They also come with added health benefits, including the potential to reduce the risk of cancer, decrease inflammation and improve blood sugar control.  If all this isn’t good enough for your wellbeing then ive added some tangy Mexican-inspired spices and some homemade tortilla’s to remind us all of the sunshine and holidays… remember them?

recipe on the website - link in bio, by which I mean if you go to my profile page and click on the link, pictures will pop up. Click on the pic you want the recipe for. 

#brusselsprouts #healthy #healthyeats #heathyfood #NewYear #NewYearNewFood #food #foodblogger #foodwriter #fajitas #mexicanfood #tortillas #realbreadcampaign #campaignforrealbread #veganuary
Load More… Follow on Instagram

© 2010 - 2021 | All rights reserved | Website by Peckish Digital