1 day ago
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Last year I wrote about how I lost my food fandango, got it back, and now simplify matters, especially in the kitchen. This means I no longer do feasts with lots of elements, even at Christmas, but I still adore a showstopper, especially one that the whole table, irrespective of dietary requirements, can enjoy together. This year’s offering is such a centrepiece, an aubergine timbale (timbale means drum) packed to the gunnels with vegetables, rice, nuts, fruit, spices and, should you wish it (you should), one of the finest cheeses to come out of Normandy: Boursin.
Christmas aubergine and rice timbale
You will need a 23cm springform cake tin and two or three large baking trays (or you might need to bake in batches). In advance, you can roast the aubergines and squash and cook everything up until the rice (ie, the onions and spices, etc). Also worth knowing: you can bring this out of the oven an hour before serving and it reheats well in the microwave. Both dairy and dairy-free Boursin are now available.
Prep 20 min
Cook 1 hr 45 min
Rest 15 min
Serves 8
Extra-virgin olive oil
Fine sea salt
1.2kg aubergines (about 4 large ones), 3 cut lengthways into ½cm-thick slices, the other cut into 2cm x 2cm cubes
500g butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into 1cm x 3cm slices
3 large onions, peeled and thinly sliced
6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
20g sage, leaves picked, ⅔ of them chopped, the rest left whole
½ tsp ground black pepper
1¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1½ tsp ground allspice
100g tomato puree
350g basmati rice, rinsed and soaked in cold water
50g shelled walnuts, roughly chopped
50g currants
150g Boursin, or similar (a vegan one, if need be)
Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7 and line three large baking trays and a 23cm springform cake tin with baking paper. Put eight tablespoons of oil into a large bowl, add a teaspoon of salt, then mix well. Brush the oil over both sides of the aubergine slices, then lay them out on two of the trays, making sure they’re not overlapping.
Put the cubed aubergine and squash in the oil bowl, mix well, then tip out on to the other tray. Roast all the vegetables for 25-35 minutes, until the sliced aubergines are bronzed.
Meanwhile, put four tablespoons of oil in a wide frying pan for which you have a lid, then set it over a medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, until soft and golden. Add the garlic, chopped sage and spices, fry for five minutes, then add the tomato puree and cook, stirring, for another five minutes.
Drain the rice and add it to the pan with one and a quarter teaspoons of salt and 450ml water. Mix well, cover and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to a whisper and cook for seven minutes, until the rice is still a little undercooked.
Tip the rice on to the tray with the cubed aubergine and pumpkin, sprinkle over the walnuts and currants, then dot with pieces of Boursin and mix gently.
Arrange the aubergine slices over the base of the cake tin, overlapping them slightly and with no gaps, then work your way up the sides, leaving a couple of centimetres of sliced aubergine hanging up and over the edge of the tin.
Spoon the rice mixture into the tin until it’s full, then cover the top with more overlapping aubergine slices. Fold in the overhanging bits to seal and enclose.
Put a small square of baking paper on top of the aubergines, wrap the top tightly with foil, then bake for 30 minutes.
Remove and leave to rest for 15 minutes before serving. Meanwhile, put a tablespoon of oil in a small saucepan on a medium heat and, when it’s very hot, add the whole sage leaves and fry until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried sage to a plate and sprinkle with sea salt.
Unwrap the foil and paper from the tin and place a platter on top. Carefully but quickly flip over the plate and tin, undo the springform catch, then remove the tin.
Voilà! Serve with the crisp sage leaves on top.
