Don't Sweat the Aubergine

pinch of nutmeg; turn off the heat, cover, and leave to infuse for half an hour. Strain into another pan through a sieve, add breadcrumbs, and warm through.
    I’m afraid I don’t know how many breadcrumbs you’ll need. Add some, stir and simmer; the sauce will continue to thicken, so err on the side of too few at first (unless you want an excuse to add more milk and create more sauce – but of course this milk will be unflavoured). When the sauce has the consistency you want, take it off the heat and stir in a walnut-sized knob of butter. You could add a couple of tablespoons of cream too. You can leave the sauce and warm it up later, by which time it will have become very thick and will need loosening with a little more milk.



 
    YOU SHOULD NOT think of making stock as one of those operations that only dedicated cooks, blessed with an abundance of time, perform. It requires little effort, and can often make use of ingredients you might otherwise have thrown away. Your home-made stock will add depth of flavour to soups, stews, risottos and many other dishes
.
CHICKEN STOCK
----
HOW TO MAKE IT
----
    1kg chicken wings
    Water to cover
    Vegetables – some or all of the following, roughly chopped:
    2 onions
    1 carrot
    1 leek (cleaned and minus the rough green leaves)
    2 celery sticks
    Put the chicken wings into a stockpot, casserole dish or other pan with a capacity to hold all the ingredients with room to spare. Cover with cold water by no more than 5cm. 1 Bring the pot to simmering point. Cover, 2 and simmer on the lowest flame for 3 hours or longer, 3 checking on the water level from time to time and topping it up if necessary. Throw in the vegetables, and simmer for a further 30 minutes. 4 Strain into a bowl through a colander, gently pressing down the meat and vegetables to extract as much juice as possible. Chill the stock by placing the bowl carefully in a tub of cold water (making sure the water does not rise up and pour in through the lid, obviously). Once the bowl is cool, put it in the fridge. 5
----
VARIATIONS
----
    This pale stock is known as fond blanc. To make a darker, more flavoursome variety, roast the wings first. Anoint them with a little oil and put them into a hot oven (gas mark 6/200°C for about 30 minutes, or until browned).
    Your butcher may sell you cheap chicken carcasses. You could roast them first, too.
    If you roast the chicken wings first, deglaze 6 the roasting pan with half a cup of water, and add this liquid to the pot.
    Don’t throw away the remains of a roasted chicken. Gather all the bones and leftover bits from people’s plates, and put them into the stockpot with the carcass, again adding vegetables later. If you’re lucky enough to have bought a chicken that came with giblets, and haven’t used them already for the gravy with your roast, add them; but leave out the liver, which gives the stock a bitter taste.
    You don’t have to peel the onions: there’s goodness in the skin. Be cautious with the carrots, which add a good deal of sweetness to the liquid. Mushrooms and unpeeled garlic cloves are other possible ingredients. You might add herbs, too: parsley, thyme and bay work well.
    If you’ve used chicken wings, don’t throw them away. They are forgiving things, and remain moist and tender even after long cooking. Allow them to cool, and cover with a marinade ( see here ). Heat them in a gas mark 6/200°C oven for 15 minutes, or under a grill.
----
WHY YOU DO IT
----
    1 • Don’t drown the stock . You can add more water later, if you have too little. The flavour of a concentrated stock that has been diluted will be better than that of a watery stock that has been boiled down. You know that you’ve got the ratio of water to meat right when, after cooling, the stock has turned into a jelly (see point 3, below).
    Don’t add salt to a stock. You may want to reduce the liquid later; that will increase the concentration of any salt in it. Add whole peppercorns, if you like, but not ground pepper, which after long simmering will impart an acrid taste.
    2 • Covering the pot . If you want to create a restaurant-standard, clear broth, don’t do this. As the liquid comes to a simmer, scum created by the connective tissue in the meat and from the bones rises to the surface. You can spoon it off and throw it away. But further material of this kind will continue to rise, and, if not discarded, will sink back into the liquid and discolour it. Do you mind? If you’re a home