FINYS FABULOUS FOODS AND FINDS

This vegetarian dish consists of three different cheeses giving it a creamy, delicious flavour. Egg plant is an easy vegetable to cook with and has many uses in cooking.  Here I have teamed the eggplant with fresh ricotta, and a Parmesan pasta sauce. It is a delicious meal and one that does not take a long time to make, and it is great for all the vegetarians out there! In this instance, I have served it with polenta, but you could use rice, or even boiled potatoes instead. Preparation Time: 30 minutes Cooking Time: 20 minutes Makes: 4-5  servings Ingredients Olive oil spray 1 large eggplant or 2 small 480g fresh ricotta 2 tsp dried basil, or ½ cup fresh chopped 1 cup grated Parmesan 1 550g Primavera Pasta Sauce ¾ cup grated mozzarella Cooked polenta (optional) to serve Method Preheat the oven to 190°C.  Spray 2 large baking trays with olive oil spray to lightly grease, or use baking paper. Cut the eggplant into about sixteen 1 cm thick slice...

This is a dessert which uses barley, which is more often used in soups.  It is mixed with Ricotta and rhubarb making it creamy! The rhubarb tart taste goes very well with the slightly sweet ricotta and barley mix, and it is also low fat and healthy. Preparation Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 35 minutes Makes: 4-5 servings Ingredients 100 g pearl barley 250g fresh ricotta 2 tbsp honey ½ tsp almond essence 250g rhubarb, cut into short lengths 5 tsp sugar or equivalent. Method Cook the barley in a pan of boiling water for 25-30 minutes, or until soft, adding more water if necessary. Rinse under cold water, drain well and set aside to cool. Meanwhile preheat oven to 180°C/160° fan forced, and line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. In a medium bowl, place the ricotta, honey and almond essence.  Beat until smooth and creamy.  Fold in the barley. Place the rhubarb on the tray and sprinkle with the sugar.  Bake for 15 minutes, or unti...