After a gastronomic lunch out yesterday, it was surprising that we could still manage to have a piece of Megamelt ensaymada. Annabel Lee cheesecakes, Megamelt was disappointing. I couldn’t taste the butter (was there any at all?). The bread was dry. It wasn’t like this when it started out as Supermelt a few years ago. Supermelt ensaymada was the best ensaymada ever. Yeah, was. Whether the change in quality is another sign of the hard times, I don’t know.
Anyway, with all that food from lunch ’till noon, we weren’t exactly starving an hour before dinner time. I decided we could have a chunky soup and some buttered toast. This soup dish was made with cubes of beef brisket, chunks of fresh tomatoes and eggplants, sweet peas and pasta.
Ingredients :
300 g. of beef brisket
5 ripe tomatoes
2 large white onions
1 head of garlic
1 bay leaf
4 tbsps. of olive oil
3 eggplants
1 c. of frozen sweet peas, thawed
1 c. of small pasta (shell, elbow or cut macaroni)
2 tbsps. of tomato paste
a pinch of dried basil
a pinch of dried rosemary
salt and pepper
Cooking procedure :
Cut the beef brisket into 1-inch cubes. Place the beef cubes in a glass bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Cut the tomatoes into chunks. Chop the onions. Crush, peel and finely mince the garlic.
Heat the olive oil in a casserole. When hot, lightly fry the beef cubes just until no longer pink. Add the garlic, onions and tomatoes and pour in about 6 cups of water. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, skimming off scum as it rises. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 30 to 40 minutes or until the beef is tender but not overcooked.
While the beef cooks, prepare the eggplants. Trim the tops and cut the eggplants into 1-inch cubes. Soak in water with a little salt until use to avoid discoloration.
When the beef is ready, add the pasta and the cubed eggplants. Stir in the tomato paste. Add more salt and pepper, if necessary. Add the basil and rosemary. Stir well. Cover and simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the eggplants and pasta are cooked. Add the sweet peas and cook for another minute.
Serve hot with buttered toast.
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