Eggplant Parmesan Casserole

I was not the only one who enjoyed this tonight. Chris is not a big Eggplant Parmesan fan. But this received high praise! I am sure it was the prosciutto that made this as good as it was.

The eggplant was peeled and sliced. The slices were placed on a paper towel lined cookie rack. Salt was sprinkled on top and the slices sat for 1 hour. After the hour the salt was wiped off and the eggplant was dipped in flour, then egg, and then breadcrumbs. The breadcrumbs were seasoned with Oregano, Basil, Parmesan Cheese, and pepper.

The oven was preheated to 450˚. The breaded eggplant was baked for 25 minutes. I turned the eggplant over halfway through the baking time.

I had made tomato sauce using the tomatoes from my sister's garden. I coated the bottom of a pyrex baking dish with some sauce. Next a layer of eggplant. Then I added a small slice of prosciutto. That was topped with a couple of dollops of ricotta that had been mixed with oregano, and parsley. Some Mozzarella cheese, shredded, and some Parmesan were layered over the ricotta. More sauce and I repeated this until I ran out of the eggplant. More sauce and Parmesan on top.

That was all done on Sunday.

Tonight it went in the oven, covered with foil, at 350˚ for 35 minutes. The dish was uncovered for the last 10 minutes. The total time in the oven was 45 minutes.

Sauasge, Eggplant Balls, and Mario Batali Sauce

Yes I have jarred sauce in the pantry. Ah but not just any jarred sauce. There are 3 brands that I will pick up when they are on sale. Lidia's, Rao's and Mario Batali. Tonight, being the first night I was back in the kitchen since that little virus issue, I wanted to make something very easy. I had Eggplant Balls in the freezer and a little Sweet Italian Sausage. And there was Mario Batali's Marinara Sauce.

I browned the sausage and added a little white wine to the pan. I reduced that and scraping up browned bits of sausage. I added the sauce to the pan and heated it up. I seasoned the pan with oregano and crushed red pepper. I then added the Eggplant Balls and heated them through.

I made Fettuccine noodles with just butter as a side.

This was quite good. The sauce, for a jarred sauce, was nice. Not garlicky, which we all know we do not like!

Salad Days

Yes it is summer. I do not seem to be posting as much. Guess I am just taking it easy. 

I would like to send a shout out to all the deer in our neighborhood. 

"Thank you for not eating the flowers in front of our house this summer!!!"

 

 It is so nice to wake up and see flowers and not the chomped off stems.

 Ah summer! Just hot enough to reduce the time spent in  the kitchen.

Tonight's post features not one, but two salads. One is a summer favorite, Shaved Zucchini Salad with Parmesan and Pine Nuts. I added snow peas, Burrata cheese and bread crumbs. The Burrata and bread crumbs were left over from the salad I made last night.

And that brings us to the other salad ...

Eggplant, Tomato and Burrata with Anchovy Breadcrumbs. I found this on The Italian Dish blog.
I went to a party last night and brought this salad. It was a hit. I saved a little so we could have it with dinner tonight. The oven had to be turned on for the roasting of the Eggplant but I did that early in the day, before it got too hot! I loved the breadcrumbs. I used leftover olive bread that I had in the freezer. Just a perfect summer salad. Click here for the salad recipe.

This morning I made some Very Blueberry Scones. The recipe is from Smitten Kitchen. I liked combining the whole wheat and white flour. Makes it seemed "healthier"!

Greek Chicken Kabobs with Eggplant Salad

 

Who likes Mondays? Well, having a dinner like we had tonight makes Mondays a bit more bearable. The Kabob recipe was from Better Home and Gardens. I marinated the chicken before I went to work. The chicken was so moist and the Cucumber sauce will be used again later in the week as a salad dressing.

My rendition of  Greek Chicken Kabobs

Ingredients-
Nonstick cooking spray
2 teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons snipped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds chicken breast tenderloins or skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut lengthwise into 1-inch strips
1 cup grape tomatoes
1 6 ounce carton plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup shredded cucumber
2 teaspoons lemon juice
4 Greek pita flat breads

Method-
 In a medium bowl whisk together lemon peel, the 3 tablespoons lemon juice, the oregano, oil, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and the pepper. Add chicken; toss to coat. Thread chicken and tomatoes onto six to eight long metal skewers. Place skewers in the prepared baking pan; drizzle with any remaining lemon mixture.
Grill the skewers. This is where I hand of the dinner to Chris, the grill master.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine yogurt, cucumber, the 2 teaspoons lemon juice, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Remove chicken and tomatoes from skewers. To serve, spread yogurt mixture on flat breads. Top with chicken and tomatoes.

I think we may have a new favorite salad at our house. This Eggplant Salad was amazing! Eggplant Salad With Peppers, Mint and Caper-Feta Vinaigrette from The New York Times. What a perfect match with the Chicken Kabobs.

Ingredients-
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 ¾ pounds eggplant (any kind, or a mixture), trimmed and cut into 1-inch chunks
3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 2/3 cup)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon capers, chopped
1 pound mixed bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces (I would reduce the amount of peppers)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
¼ cup fresh mint leaves

Method-
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Whisk together the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.Toss eggplant with 1/3 cup vinaigrette, reserving the rest. Arrange on a baking sheet. Bake, tossing occasionally, until tender and golden around edges, about 30 minutes. Let eggplant cool somewhat. (It can be warm but not hot enough to melt feta or wilt mint.)
Whisk feta, garlic and capers into reserved vinaigrette. In a large bowl, combine eggplant, peppers, tomatoes and mint leaves. Toss with vinaigrette, and serve immediately or within several hours. (It holds up all day.)

Lasagna alla Norma

The today was the first Friday of Lent. Lasagna alla Norma was our first meatless meal.
I started saving recipes that I wanted to try during Lent on my pinterest page, Recipes For Lent. Tonight's recipe is from The Italian Dish blog. I did make a couple of changes to the original recipe. I used regular lasagna noodles. I used Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce and I added some roasted zucchini and homemade ricotta.


My version of Lasagna alla Norma

For the roasted eggplant and zucchini:

1 large eggplants, cut into barely one inch cubes
1 zucchini sliced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoons dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoons sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray with Pam (cooking spray).  Place the eggplant ingredients in a large bowl and toss everything together well. Place the eggplant on the baking pan. Roast the eggplant for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from oven and set aside. Repeat this with the sliced zucchini, roasting for only 20 minutes, turning the zucchini over half way through the cooking time.

For the sauce:
2 cups canned imported Italian tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
5 tablespoons butter
Salt to taste

Put the tomatoes in a saucepan, add the butter, onion, and salt, and cook uncovered at a very slow, but steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until it is thickened to your liking and the fat floats free from the tomato. Stir from time to time, mashing up any large pieces of tomato with the back of a wooden spoon. Taste and correct for salt. Puree the sauce with an immersion blender.

For the lasagna:
1 boxes of lasagna noodles cooked according to the package
1/2 cup Homemade Ricotta
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon oregano

In a baking pan, place about ¾ cup of the sauce in the bottom of the pan and spread it out to cover the entire bottom. Place noodles in one layer, covering the whole pan. Add sauce and spread on the noodles, making sure they all are covered. Place a fourth of the eggplant on the tomato sauce, a fourth of the ricotta for one layer. Repeat three times more. For the last layer, place noodles on top and cover with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle with the mozzarella and oregano and Parmesan. Cover tightly with nonstick foil or use regular foil, spraying the underside with cooking spray. 

Bake for about 45 minutes.  Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for about 15 minutes before slicing to serve.

Hope everyone has a relaxing weekend!

Eggplant Balls with Pappardelle

Hey two meatless meals in a row! Shhhhh. Let's keep this quiet.

I made these Eggplant Balls on Sunday. The recipe is from Claire's Corner Copia Cookbook. The Pappardelle was part of the batch I made on Friday night, I put half of the batch of  cut pasta in the freezer. Homemade pasta tastes so much better than store bought whether it is fresh or frozen.

I heated the eggplant in the oven and than tossed it with some Marinara that I had the freezer, heated it up first of course. I tossed in some grated Mozzarella cheese and we were good to go. So very good to go!

Ingredients -
1/4 cup olive
2 large eggplants, peeled and diced
2 tbsp water
2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves
4 oz shredded mozzarella
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup flour for rolling the eggplant balls

Method -
 Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the diced eggplant and stir to coat. Add the water, cover and cook about 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the eggplant is very soft. Remove from the heat and turn into a bowl. Add the bread crumbs, parsley, basil, mozzarella, eggs, Parmesan, salt and pepper. Stir to mix well. Let the mixture stand for 15 minutes.
Form the mixture into meatball size balls. Gently roll each ball in the flour to coat evenly.
Bake in a preheated 350-degrees oven about 30 minutes, turning once after 15 minutes.

I entered this post as part of Pasta Please. It is month long pasta-centric event created by Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes. I am late to the table on this but I heard about it from bricioli de italiano. Both blog are filled with wonderful recipes and stories.

Campanella with Roasted Eggplant and Ricotta Cheese

Tonight I used the recipe for Ziti alla Norma from Lidia'a Favorite Recipes. Now I have made Pasta with Eggplant sauce before but have heard of adding ricotta. Of course it made a huge improvement in the recipe! Yeah the ricotta added a creaminess to the sauce. But I think the whole dish would have been fine without it. Oh and the pasta choice was easy. I prefer Campanella over Ziti. Cook's choice!

Rigatoni Con Crema di Melanzane

"Yeah this is good."

And I am back! Sorry about the lack of posts, just a bit of adjusting going on. But all is good so let's have dinner.

I found this recipe on La Cucina Italiana. Rigatoni with Roasted Eggplant Puree. This was delicious. Okay I did not add the garlic but I did add crushed red pepper and a bit of white wine to the eggplant and parsley before I added it to the pasta. Loved the pine nuts, what's not to like. Will we have this again? Yes!

Ingredients -
2 1/4  to 2 1/2 pounds eggplant 
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 pound rigatoni
Freshly grated Grana Padano or Pecorino Toscano cheese

Method - 
Heat oven to 400º with rack in the middle. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cut eggplants in half lengthwise; score flesh-sides in a crosshatch pattern with a small sharp knife. Brush with 1 tablespoon oil and season with generous pinch salt and pepper. Arrange eggplant cut-side down on prepared baking sheet and bake, rotating pan once halfway through, until tender, 45 to 50 minutes.

Transfer baking sheet with roasted eggplant to wire rack. Turn eggplant halves cut-side up; let cool 5 minutes, then scrape eggplant flesh from skins; discard skins. Place flesh in a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl; let drain 10 minutes. Discard liquid.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

In center of cutting board, mound parsley, pine nuts, garlic and oregano; finely chop together mixture.

In a large skillet, heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add parsley mixture, reduce heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, 3 minutes. Stir in eggplant and cook 1 minute more. Remove skillet from heat.

Cook pasta in the boiling water until al dente; drain and transfer to a large serving bowl. Add eggplant mixture and cheese; toss to combine well. Adjust seasoning to taste. Serve immediately.

What did we have for dinner a year ago?
Leftovers and

What did we have for dinner 2 years ago?
Pasta with Meat Sauce

What did we have for dinner 3 years ago? 

Spicy Split Pea Soup

Spaghetti alla Norma

Let me start by saying I am so glad I did not sign up for that CSA program. Between my Dad's garden and Jake's Farm Stand I have more than enough veggies to play with.

Tonight's dinner feature's my Dad's white eggplant. This is the first year he has planted this type of eggplant. I love it. The fruit is nice and small and the taste is lighter than the purple eggplant.

We have not had a tomato sauce in some time, okay we usually have sauce once a week so this has been a long stretch for us. I found this recipe, Spaghetti alla Norma.

I followed the recipe but I made one change... I roasted the eggplant instead of frying it. Yes I have said before that fried eggplant tastes great but roasting is much better for you. So I roasted. And I was glad I did. The flavor of this sauce was amazing. The only sound you heard from the table was "Yum!" Just the sauce on the Italian bread was even good. Perhaps that is what I will have for lunch tomorrow!

I almost forgot about the Spaghetti. It was Lidia's Spaghetti. New house pasta!

So what did we have for dinner a year ago?

Chorizo and Bell Pepper Saute

So what did we have for dinner 2 years ago?

No Post  : (

So what did we have for dinner 3 years ago?

No Post  : (

Baked Eggplant Sinatra Florentine

I found this recipe on What's Cookin' Italian Style Cuisine. I love eggplant. I love spinach. I love ricotta. And who doesn't like Sinatra!

 

And Happy Birthday Jack!

Pasta alla Norma

This recipe is from Epicurious.com. I added only half of the peperoncini that the recipe called for. We ended up adding additional crushed red pepper. It was a good dinner. Lots of leftovers...

And  on another subject...

 

Peace has been achieved!

Pasta with Eggplant, Tomato and Bread Crumbs

Another Sunday evening with Mark Bittman. Pasta with Eggplant, Tomato and Bread Crumbs. What amazes me about the Mark Bittman recipes is their simplicity. A few ingredients which when combined pack a lot of flavor.