Warm aubergine and tomato salad with feta

This might just be my new favorite light summer dinner. I got the idea when a friend had this dish in a museum cafe recently after we had been to an exhibition.
Added bonus: It's dead simple to make.

Ingredients for two:
Two or three sprigs of thyme
One midsized aubergine, roughly diced
One clove of garlic, finely chopped
Four plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
A small glass of white wine of stock
Ca. 50 gr. of feta, sliced
Fresh basil, to taste
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

1. Start by heating your olive oil in a deep frying pan. Add the thyme so you will know when it's hot enough. When the herbs start to sizzle you can add the eggplant with a large pinch of salt*. Fry the eggplant over medium to high heat and turn every couple of minutes until the vegetable is cooked through. This will take around ten minutes.
2. Add the garlic and turn up the heat. As soon as the garlic is fragrant (and before it burns) add your chopped tomatoes, give it a quick stir then add the wine and another pinch of salt*. Let it come to the boil, reduce the heat to medium and let it simmer with a lid for 5-10 minutes.
3. Check so see if you still need to let some liquid evaporate, check the seasoning of a final time. Then arrange it on a platter or in y bowl, top with the feta and basil (torn or roughly chopped at the last minute) and serve with some nice dark bread.

This dish is wonderful the next day. Reheat it in a microwave or eat cold, what ever you prefer.
*Seasoning a dish like this in stages will make it more subtle than just throwing in a lot of salt at the end. Just remember that you can always add more and err on the light side....

Prosciutti with grilled apricots

I love the combination of prosciutto with melon. But recently a picture on the internet got me thinking about combining it with apricots... This is what I came up with.

The one thing I really like in this combo is the sourness that the apricots also have. Give it a try.
I had them warm from the oven, but I think they would be really nice cooled down too.

Ingredients:
Apricots
Olive oil
Fleur de sel or plain salt
Thyme, leaves picked and finely chopped

Preheat your oven grill to maximum heat.
Halve, de-stone the apricots and place them in an oven proof dish. Sprinke or brush with a little of your finest olive oil, sprinkle with the fleur de sel and chopped thyme.
Place under the grill and wait until the tops are slightly broiled.

Serve with your prosciutto, some salad and I had a little mozzarella to go with it.

Chicken with Lemon, Herbs and Maple Sirup

This is a dish that was drawn together by the necessity of a low maintenance dish that didn't need to many complicated ingredients (e.g. anything I had lying around the cupboard was fair game). The finished result was a real hit for the dinner party guest and myself. Will definitely be putting this together again very soon!

Ingredients:
4 chicken thighs, with bone and skin on
ca. 15 gr of butter
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 pickled lemon, just the rind finely chopped* (substitute with fresh zest)
2-3 sprigs of thyme, finely chopped
4-5 sprigs of sage, only roughly chopped
1 tablespoon of maple sirup (Maybe a little more for later on)
salt
pepper

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C. While it is heating up you can add all of the ingredients (except for the chicken) into a small bowl and let the heat from the oven melt the butter. You  want the butter to just melt and this will only take a few minutes.
2. Put your chicken thighs into a baking dish and spread the sauce over them with a brush. Make sure the thighs are covered with it on all sides. Put them into the oven and let them roast for 40-45 minutes.
3. I pulled mine out ten minutes before they were done and drizzled them with an additional teaspoon of maple sirup per thigh.

Side dishes
Forked potatoes: Cook the peeled and diced floury potatoes until thoroughly soft. Drain them well and let them dry out in the pan for a minute. Crush them roughly with a fork and add salt, chopped spring onions and a little olive oil to taste.
Spring greens: Fry off one finely sliced garlic clove in a little olive oil. Add a couple of handfuls of frozen peas and two defrosted spinach cubes (or fresh). Give it a stir, put a lid on top and let it warm through. Season to taste.


*Making your own preserved lemons is really easy and so quick. My apologies for not having posted the directions yet. This will soon be remedied. They are fantastic to cook with and can to my current experience be added to any dish you would add zest to; stews, roasts, soups, etc.