An avocado tomato tian with tempura peppers, sweet chilli, basil and coriander sauce was the first thing we ate when we arrived in Cape Town. We just climbed off the plane and went straight to lunch at Harbour House at The Waterfront. It was the shape of things to come: lunch and dinner booked every day for three weeks, well nearly. In the end I worked it out as 29 meals out in 19 days. This does not include breakfasts or the meals we had at the game reserve. Heaven or hell? You decide …
Harbour House’s version of this recipe was with tempura prawns, I changed it to red peppers because you can cut them in a similar shape to prawns (they have that natural curl) and they look sort of pink in the tempura. The original recipe also uses fresh basil to infuse an olive oil and a mayonnaise as two of the three sauces that are used to dress the plate. I didn’t have any fresh basil so I used some basil pesto and lots of fresh coriander to increase the vibrancy of the green. I blended these together in the oil and mayonnaise with a stick blender. Basil and coriander actually work really well together. I was a bit worried about the Italian/Indian (con) fusion of flavours … but hey it tastes good.
The last of the hass avocados are being harvested at the moment where we walk the dog. They are stored in piles of crates ready for market. The farmers are cutting back the trees and making bonfires out of the mountains of branches. It was my inspiration to have a go at this special dish.
Avocado tomato tian, tempura peppers, sweet chilli, basil coriander sauce recipe
Serves 2, vegetarian (vegan without the mayo). Adapted from the Harbour House recipe
Prep time: 40 mins Cooking Time: 5 mins
- 1 medium red pepper, cut in 1 cm slices
- 2 small avocados, mashed with lemon juice
- 2 small tomatoes, peeled, deseeded & chopped
- 1 small aubergine, cut into 1 cm rounds
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- a pinch of chilli flakes
- salt & pepper
- sweet chilli sauce, see my recipe here if you want to make your own
- fresh basil leaves (or I used basil pesto and fresh coriander), save some for garnish
- 1 heaped tbsp mayonnaise
- 1/2 lemon
- olive oil
- 2 or 3 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch, maizena)
- 100 gr flour (I used spelt flour)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 200 ml iced fizzy water (or beer)
- vegetable oil for deep/frying
Drizzle the aubergine slices with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, minced garlic and chilli flakes. Roast in a 200 c oven for about 30 minutes until softened. You won’t need the whole aubergine for this dish but you can keep the rest for salads, wraps or whatever. Put the pepper strips on a plate and sieve over the cornflour until the peppers are coated on all sides. Mash the avocados with a big squeeze of lemon and season with salt & black pepper, taste. Cut a cross in the base of each tomato. Plunge them into a bowl of boiling water and leave for about 30 seconds. Drain then refresh them in a bowl of iced water for another 30 seconds. Then you can peel them easily. Half or quarter the tomatoes and remove all of the seeds. Chop or dice the tomato flesh, season with salt & pepper and set aside. Add one heaped tablespoon of mayonnaise into to a measuring jug with one teaspoon of basil pesto and/or a big handful of basil/coriander leaves for a greener colour. Add a squeeze of lemon, a drizzle of olive oil, salt & pepper. Blend with a stick blender adding a splash of water to loosen it if necessary. Taste.
Ina separate measuring jug add another teaspoon of pesto and/or a big handful of basil or coriander leaves. Drizzle over a good glug of olive oil and blend. Add more oil until you get a good drizzling consistency. Season. Sieve the flour, baking powder & salt into a large bowl. Whisk in the ice-cold water/beer until just combined. Do not over whisk. Heat the oil to about 180 c in a wok. Add the peppers (in two or 3 batches) to the batter and coat completely. When the oil is hot, carefully lower the first batch of peppers into the wok. When the peppers have come to the surface, if you like you can sprinkle over some more batter from a height with your fingers. This gives it an extra, light crispy coating. Use chopsticks or a metal slotted spoon to move the peppers onto the bits of batter so it sticks to the peppers. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side.
Drain in a sieve over kitchen paper and keep warm while you cook the rest.
Using a mould or chef’s ring on your serving plate, place two slices of aubergine into the base. Top with with a layer of the diced tomatoes then add a layer of the mashed avocado. Smooth the top and press down lightly.
Drizzle the mayonnaise, sweet chilli sauce and basil oil around the plate. Place the tempura peppers evenly around the tower/tian. Then slowly lift of the ring and serve garnished with some fresh basil or coriander leaves and a drizzle of the basil oil. Some toasted ciabatta slices would be good with this too.
Now try to get someone else to clean up the mess in the kitchen!
For more pictures of our lunch at Harbour House check out this post.
