Marcus Wareing - New Classics

2 aubergines, cut into 2cm dice

1 bunch of coriander, leaves chopped

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE SPICE MIX

2 tbsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp fennel seeds

1 tbsp yellow mustard seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp sweet smoked paprika

2 tbsp plain flour

½ tsp table salt

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.

Put the cashew nuts on a roasting tray and bake for 6–10 minutes until golden. Remove, leave to cool, then chop roughly. Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C/140°C fan/gas 3.

Cook the freekeh for half of the time on the packet instructions, then drain.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a large casserole dish over medium heat. Add the onions, season with sea salt and pepper and sauté for about 10 minutes until they are soft but not coloured. Add the garlic and ginger for the last 3–4 minutes. Add the tomato purée, the passata or chopped tomatoes, stock, vinegar, treacle, currants and saffron to the casserole and remove from the heat.

Heat a dry large frying pan over high heat and, when hot, add the spices from the spice mix ingredients and stir them for 3–4 minutes until fragrant. Transfer the spices to a mortar and crush with the pestle. Mix with the flour and table salt in a bowl.

Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the frying pan and place back on the heat. Season the diced aubergine generously with the spiced flour and fry it in the oil, in batches, until golden, adding more oil with each batch as necessary.

Add half of the chopped coriander to the casserole and mix well. Add the part-cooked freekeh and the spiced aubergine. Sprinkle with three-quarters of the cashew nuts.

Bring to the boil, cover with a lid and transfer to the oven for around 1 hour until the freekeh is tender and the sauce thickened. Serve sprinkled with the remaining coriander and cashew nuts.

CARAMELISED CELERIAC, THYME AND HAZELNUT RISOTTO

A well-made risotto is something that takes time and cannot be rushed, but the end result is well worth it. Ensure you use a decent stock – it will really enhance the flavour and texture of the finished dish. This is the perfect opportunity to make your own stock, which will add a whole other dimension to your risotto. Always use carnaroli or Vialone Nano rice: the short, plump grains cook slowly with the centre remaining al dente.

Serves: 4–6

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: around 40 minutes

60g blanched hazelnuts

3 tbsp vegetable oil

50g butter

1 celeriac (around 500g), peeled and cut into 1cm dice

100ml milk

approx. 1.3 litres Chickenor Vegetable Stock

½ bunch of thyme, with 1 tbsp picked leaves, the remainder tied together with string

2 shallots, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely grated

500g carnaroli or Vialone Nano risotto rice

125ml dry white wine

75g grated Parmesan cheese

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

extra virgin olive oil, or hazelnut oil, to serve

Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4.

Place the hazelnuts on a baking tray and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil. Season well with sea salt and pepper and bake for 6–8 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool, then finely chop and set aside.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the celeriac and season with sea salt. Cook for 10–15 minutes, stirring, until the celeriac is soft and deep golden brown. Remove half of the celeriac and set aside. Add the milk to the saucepan and bring to a simmer for a few minutes. Scrape the bottom of the pan well then transfer everything to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Wipe out the pan.

Put the stock in a separate saucepan with the string-tied thyme sprigs and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently. Note: the thyme sprigs are to flavour the stock, not to use in the risotto, so discard them when you are getting down to the last few ladlefuls.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium heat in the saucepan you cooked the celeriac in. Add the shallots and garlic and cook for a few minutes until the shallots have softened but not coloured. Add the rice and stir for a few minutes until it becomes shiny and translucent. When it starts to make a faint popping sound, add the wine and let it bubble away and reduce, stirring continuously. Add a ladleful of the hot stock and some sea salt and pepper and stir. Simmer and continue stirring until the stock has been absorbed by the rice. Cook the rice for 15–20 minutes, adding the remaining stock a ladleful at a time, stirring continuously until each ladleful has been absorbed before adding the next. The risotto is cooked when the rice grains are a little firm but don’t have any chalky crunch on the outside when bitten into.

Stir in the caramelised celeriac purée and allow the risotto to come to a simmer. Stir in most of the Parmesan, adding any extra stock if required. Finally, add the diced caramelised celeriac and most of the thyme leaves.

Taste, add a little more salt and pepper if you like and serve straight away, sprinkled with the chopped hazelnuts, the remaining Parmesan, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil or hazelnut oil and the remaining thyme leaves.

VEGETABLE STOCK

Makes: approx. 1.5 litres

Preparation time: 20 minutes, plus 24 hours chilling

Cooking time: 10 minutes

2 leeks, chopped

6 carrots, chopped

3 onions, chopped

3 celery sticks, chopped

4 garlic cloves

1 star anise

1 tsp coriander seeds

½ tsp white peppercorns

2 bay leaves

¼ bunch of thyme

Put the leeks, carrots, onions, celery and garlic in a large stock pot and cover with 2 litres of cold water. Bring to the boil over high heat. Skim off any scum, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 8 minutes.

Lightly crush the star anise, coriander seeds and white peppercorns in a pestle and mortar or on a hard surface with the bottom of a heavy pan.

As soon as the 8 minutes are up, add the crushed spices to the stock pot along with the fresh herbs. Simmer for a further 2 minutes, then remove from the heat. Leave to cool, then cover and transfer to the fridge for 24 hours.

Strain the vegetable stock through a fine sieve and discard the vegetables. Keep covered in the fridge and use within 3–4 days. Alternatively, freeze and use within 4 months.

AUBERGINE PARMIGIANA

This is such a classic Italian dish. I have lovely memories of eating a great version of this in Italy, at a small, family-run trattoria. The seasoning, texture and flavour were perfect, so this is my attempt at recreating it, outside of Italy!

Serves: 4–6

Preparation time: 30 minutes, plus 1 hour of salting of aubergines

Cooking time: around 2 hours

4 aubergines, cut widthways into 1cm-thick slices

table salt

vegetable oil, for shallow-frying

plain flour, for dusting

3 × 125g balls mozzarella, sliced as thinly as possible

100g grated Parmesan cheese

FOR THE TOMATO SAUCE

50g butter

2 onions, thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, finely grated

200ml red wine

800g tomato passata or 2 × 400g tins chopped tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato purée

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

½ bunch of sage, leaves finely chopped

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE CRUMB

40g panko breadcrumbs

1 tbsp soft butter

50g grated Parmesan cheese