Eggplants Are Wonderful Things

Baba Ganouj (Eggplant Dip)
1 globe eggplant or 2-3 Japanese eggplant (This is what I use)
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2-3 Tbsp roasted tahini (sesame paste, I find it in the Jewish food section in a sealed can)
1-2 garlic cloves (more or less depending on taste preference)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Juice of one lemon - about 2 1/2 tablespoons
Salt and cayenne pepper to taste
1 Tbsp chopped parsley

Cut your eggplant in half, poke the skin with a fork a couple of times through the skin. Oil the eggplant and place it cut side down on a tinfoil lined sheet. Bake at 400o for about 25 minutes for the smaller eggplant or about 40 for the large. Remove and let sit for about 15 min. 

While you wait for the eggplant to cool, add garlic and parsley to the food processor or mince it by had very small creaming the garlic with the knife. Add the tahini, cumin, salt and pepper to the garlic and parsley mixture. 

Scoop the eggplant carefully from the skin and spoon it into the food processor. Discard skins and then pulse the eggplant with all the spices and tahini, adding the lemon and olive oil in to make it smooth and creamy. Spoon out your eggplant dip into a pretty bowl and top with plastic wrap smooshed down onto the mixture so it doesn't create a skin. Chill in the fridge if you like it cold. Me personally, I like it at room temp with an extra drizzle of olive oil a sprinkling of cumin or cayenne. I love to serve this with kalamata olives, picholine olives, pine nuts, bell pepper, snap peas, cauliflower, apricots, cucumber and pita bread/gf bread. 

 

Eggplant Lasagna
1 large eggplant, sliced in 8 slices 
or
2 Japanese eggplants, cut lengthwise into thin strips (You can get about 3 from each one)
1/2 cup wilted spinach
1/2 cup cooked chopped mushrooms
Salt and Pepper
4 Large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup pesto (store bought it fine, but I have a great recipe HERE)
2 1/2 cups seasoned breadcrumbs or GF blend like Ian's panko
6 tbsp lite olive oil
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/3 cup Romano or Parmesan cheese
1 cup prepared marinara sauce ( I love bertolli)

Season the eggplant with salt and pepper. In a wide, shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs and 4 tablespoons pesto. Pour the bread crumbs onto a large plate. Dip each eggplant slice into the egg mixture, then coat with the bread crumbs. 

 
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees ;. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, cook the eggplant until golden, 2 minutes on each side, using the remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil. Transfer the eggplant to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet. 

 
Chop mushroom and add both spinach and mushroom to a saute plan and cook together till softened. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, chopped mushroom, spinach and 3 tablespoons pecorino-romano; season with salt and pepper. Spread 1 tablespoon of the remaining pesto on each eggplant slice and top with about 2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture. Roll up each slice. Place rolls in a baking pan that has tomato sauce on the bottom. Bake until the eggplant is tender when pierced with a toothpick, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat remaining sauce to a simmer if you want. Serve with an arugula salad or some sauteed broccolini. 

Gourmet Pizza

A Little Gourmet Pizza to Brighten Your Day

Gourmet pizza is so easy. It just takes a little imagination and some really great dough. I don't always make my dough, sometimes I run over to the local pizza place that I like and grab a couple of balls of ready to go dough. If you want to make your own dough, then awesome! Here is a great and easy recipe. 

Pizza Dough
2 tsp dry yeast
1/2 tsp sugar
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
1 cup warm water
1 tbsp olive oil

It a food processor, combine all ingredients except water and olive oil. Sift together and as the blade turns, add water and oil. Once it pulls from the blade into a ball, it's ready. Let it sit in the fridge for 20 minutes before you take it out and roll it. As you roll it, place flour on top and bottom, but not too much...you don't want your dough to become tough and too elastic. 

The famous Mark Bittman and his Mission Fig and Goat Cheese pizza

I just happen to have the ingredients that went on this pizza in my pantry already, but grab the ingredients that taste good to you and you feel will be a great combination. 

Fresh pizza dough, enough to make 2 medium pizzas'

a sprinkling of flour

4 T. marinara sauce, I used Barilla brand

2 T. olive oil mixed with granulated garlic & Italian seasoning blend

3 T. olive tapenade (my own recipe below)

2 oz. goat cheese crumbled

1 T. finely chopped fresh parsley

1 T. pine nuts

marinated artichokes

I don't have a pizza stone so I lined a baking sheet with foil, oiled it slightly with olive oil and a sprinkling of flour over top. I rolled out my dough to fit and then place the dough on top of the oiled sheet. The oven should be heated to 450 and you shouldn't put the pizza in the oven until it's fulled heated. I brushed the oil, garlic and Italian seasoning around the edge of the pizza then spread the marinara sauce. I sprinkled it with olive tapenade, marinated artichokes, crumbled goat cheese and last but not least pine nuts. I baked it for 20 minutes and it came out perfectly.

Olive Tapenade

Olive tapenade is so dang easy. All you need is a food processor and make a little trip to the olive bar at the grocery store. 

For 2 cups of tapenade, you'll need

1 scoop of marinated artichokes

1/2 scoop of roasted and marinated garlic

1 scoop of the classic Greek mix that has feta squares, Kalamata, Niçoise, and Picholine olives.

Now here's the hard part. These olives aren't pitted. Before you dump all the ingredients into the processor, pull the pits out of the olives. 

Place all ingredients into the processor with 1 T. fresh parsley. You can add walnuts or almonds for a nuttier flavor. This is the best!

Try these other topping combinations:

• sun dried tomato pesto, broccoli florets, cremini mushrooms, & gouda cheese

• zucchini circle (thin), prosciutto crumbles, buffalo mozzarella cheese & parsley 

• mission figs sliced, goat cheese and balsamic drizzle.

• caramelized onions, mozzarella cheese, parmesan, italian sausage & spring mescaline piled high with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic. Green go on after you bake of course!
• currants, marscapone cheese, roasted yellow peppers, crumbled bacon & a drizzle of olive oil.

• salmon, goat cheese, roasted fennel bulb, sprigs of dill and a squeeze of lemon and olive oil.

• roasted red fingerling potatoes, shallots, leeks, and brie cheese.

 This next recipe is awesome, I stretch the dough out and grill it on the outdoor grill sometimes too.

recipe courtesy of savourthesensesblog.com

Roasted Garlic Flat Bread

8 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 tbsp basil (chopped)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Roll out your dough, sprinkle with basil, garlic, salt and black pepper and bake at 425 until golden. If it looks like the garlic is getting to crispy, lower the heat to 400 and spritz the oven with water.