A Conclave with Blue Marlin, Harissa and Rose

 I am going to recommend an excellent book here: Conclave, by Robert Harris.  When I pulled it off my TBR stack there were doubts.  Am I really going to get into a book on a Vatican election?  A good half of the books on that TBR stack do end up (on the way out) in the NTBR pile.  Of course, leave it to Robert Harris.  A great author can do wonders with almost any subject.  And as a Wall Street Journal reviewer says, "Harris is incapable of writing an unenjoyable book"  True in this case for sure.

The story concerns a pope's death in the near future, questionable  circumstances surrounding that, as well as the gathering of cardinals from around the world, the dynamics of their views and ambitions, as well as the election itself in the Sistine Chapel, all fraught with terrorist attack, protesters, and scandal.  I totally engaged with Harris' protagonist, the Dean of the College of Cardinals (in his fictional account), Cardinal Lomeli.  A truly spiritual man was well portrayed here, with human failings and struggles, who grows stronger through this trial.  All of the characters were engagingly delineated and believable, as Harris is able to competently connect with Religious life and motivations.  The ending was a bit incredible, but a great book altogether.

Eggplant, Parmesan and Ricotta Bake

 This was my first experience with cooking a Donna Hay recipe, thanks to IHCC (I Heart Cooking Clubs) and our weekly themes.  This week's was Chef Donna Hay, so I checked out her website for something to cook with what was on hand - an eggplant.  My only change was to swap out basil for some fresh oregano.

Salad of Figs, with Basil, Amish Blue and Pomegranate Vinaigrette

 

Well, as nearly always happens, the recipe will sound terrific, but there is a distinct lack of certain items.  In this case, a recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi, current featured chef at IHCC (I Heart Cooking Clubs), calling for  fresh figs and goat cheese.  Okaaaay, we had dried ones, and for feta, we had a lovely, creamy Amish Blue, which I had spontaneously bought and wanted to try.

Saffron Tagliatelle with Ratatouille Reprise

I'm the sort of weird individual who has fun making something like noodles.  Truthfully, I found myself humming a tune and saying under my breath, this is FUN!  Really.  And it was. Especially hanging them up on coat-hangers from a cupboard hinge.

Again with a recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi, from Plenty.  My choice for this week's potluck chef theme at IHCC, but of course.  Have I mentioned already how absolutely inspiring that man is? He served it up (in the book) with spiced butter, however having stated earlier that Ratatouille is lovely the next day, I thought, how perfect to toss with the tagliatelle.  I was going to call this post "Pricey Pasta" as the recipe calls for an entire  2 teaspoons of saffron, though I did cut the whole thing in half for the two of us.  Less to roll out, even more enjoyable.  You can find the recipe here also.

Fresh Corn Polenta Rocks with Ratatouille

 Yikes! This polenta is so darn yummy.  A very comforting, smooth, slightly sweet and savory porridge.

Occasionally I will make polenta as a backdrop for my Ratatouille, which in itself is pretty fabulous, but when I came across Ottolenghi's Sweet Corn Polenta in Plenty, I knew we were going there.  And, no sooner was that thought in mind, than there was fresh corn in the market begging me not to pass on by.

I should have totally dished up for both of us, but just scooped Bob's polenta into his bowl and left it for him to add on the Ratatouille.  So, of course he just tucked into that corn porridge like there was no end in sight,  saying it was too good and wanted it all by itself.  Only with seconds did he condescend to top with the "main dish".

What can you do?  At least I had my bowl for a photo. This fresh corn polenta will be a regular item on our menus in future, especially as it turned out to be very easy and much quicker to make than the usual sort, something else in its favor.

Roasted Pumpkin Feta Cake

I have recently been admiring those French savory cakes, and especially the cauliflower one Ottolenghi did and, which Deb of Smitten Kitchen adapted, hers with added black sesame seeds on the sides.  The guy who does the ordering at our grocery says there is some sort of disease affecting those seeds, so no supply for the time being.  And, I did like the way it looked.  Pooh.  Perhaps poppy seeds would work. Also, the cauliflower here hasn't been all that appealing.   So......... what I had was left-over, spicy roasted pumpkin, which would normally  go right into a Pumpkin Curry Soup.  But hey, we've been there and done that enough times to have a yen for something different.

You may have been hearing good things lately about Ottolenghi, London restaurant owner, author of the cutting edge cookbook, Plenty, and Guardian columnist.   I tried a few of his very creative dishes when the Guardian did a special feature about his book, including numerous recipes.  One was an awesome salad of fried white beans, sorrel and feta, which I should do again and post about.

This savory sort of cake is, apparently a traditional French  thing, a crustless variation on the quiche.  We Americans are more used to the Impossible Pie Bisquick version, at least those of us old enough to remember when we, or our mothers made them, back in the day.