The aubergine has been stuffed with the Aubergine flesh, tomato, onion, garlic, ground cumin and a little crushed dried chilli. The brown bits in the pilaf are orzo which is first fried in olive oil until brown, the rice is then added and fried for a few moments before the water is added and everything continues in the usual way for boiling rice. The rice/orzo ratio is 75%/25%.
Yesterday evening I set out to cold smoke some bread flour, coarse sea salt, cheddar cheese, pecorino cheese and bulbs of garlic.
That I’m cold smoking in a BBQ is irrelevant, the BBQ is not lit. It simply is a good enclosure in which to smoke.
This is the smoke generator filled with sawdust, in this case Hickory sawdust, which when lit very slowly smoulders around the maze until it reaches the middle. This can take up to 12 hours. No heat is generated with the smouldering just smoke.
This is everything now setup, the smoker is alight and the lid will now closed.
The cover is put over the BBQ in order to trap as much smoke as possible inside the BBQ. Now it will left alone until tomorrow morning.
It’s now morning and time to retrieve the smoked goodies!
This is tagged as both meant and vegetarian. With or without the ham added as a topping it’s equally good.
200g jasmine rice
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
2 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp kecap manis
2 tsp soy sauce
4 spring onions
For the paste
50g shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tsp Nasi Goreng Sambal or 1 medium red chilli, deseeded
1 tbsp cooking oil
These quantities serve 2.
Cook the rice and then spread it on a tray and refrigerate for as long as possible.
Put all the ingredients for the paste in a small blender and whizz until fairly smooth.
Heat the oil in a wok over a high heat, then fry the garlic until golden, pour in the eggs, leave to cook until half set, then break up. Carry on frying the egg until it’s just beginning to brown, then tip in the spice paste and cook for a minute or so.
Add the rice breaking up any lumps as you go and fry until heated through, then stir in the kecap manis, soy sauce and spring onion.
Fry, stirring, for another minute or so. Serve with any toppings you fancy such as a fried egg, shredded ham, salted peanuts, steamed vegetables such pak choy, diced red chilli if you like extra heat or sambal oelek etc.
Spaghetti alle Vonglole followed by some Epoisse with a nice chunk of baguette. This what I had for dinner tonight and would be my last meal request if I were the condemned man.
If the condemned man were allowed alcohol it would be a Pouilly-Fuissé (I know it’s French not Italian but I only understand French wine!) and, very surprisingly, it’s said to go well with the Epoisse as well. 