The good thing about cooking a ton of food for a holiday is that chances are, you will have lots of leftovers. The challenging part is finding ways to repurpose those leftovers into something different and delicious. Smoked turkey was good on a salad, leftover roasted vegetables topped our homemade thin crust pizzas. In previous years I made moussaka with leftover lamb, this year we decided on lamb wraps. In addition to the usual tzatziki sauce that I would serve with lamb, Joe suggested “something spicy.” I had some ideas but after googling it, found an interesting recipe for beet chutney.
As a beet lover, I enjoy their earthy quality and thought the sweet and sour quality of a chutney would be a nice contrast to the creamy coolness of tzatziki. The chutney comes together quickly and benefits from being made ahead, allowing the flavors to blend together. The recipes calls for a two inch diameter beet, which turned out to be just a little bit less than a cup. Tweak the sweet and sour elements to your own liking. I used golden raisins because that’s what I had on hand, dried cranberries might be nice as well. Dried cranberries would fit the color scheme and would fit right in with a Thanksgiving menu. The chutney would also be good as a appetizer on top of a cracker spread with goat cheese or Brie.
Beet Chutney
Makes about a cup
Ingredients
1/4c olive oil
1 ½c red onion
1 2-inch diameter red beet, peeled, cut into ¼ inch cubes
½c water
½c red wine vinegar
3T raisins (I used golden raisins)
3T sugar
2t chopped peeled fresh ginger
1t yellow mustard seeds
Pinch of cumin seeds
Directions
Heat olive oil in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped red onion and beet cubes. Cook until onion is tender but not brown, stirring frequently, about 8 minutes
Add ½c water. Increase heat to high and boil until mixture is thick, about 5 minutes. Add vinegar, raisins, sugar, ginger, mustard seeds, and a pinch of cumin seeds. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until beet cubes are tender and the chutney is thick, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings as needed and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cool.
I enjoy all aspects of cooking, but if asked what I enjoy making the most, it would be salads. My first choice, of course, would be greens picked fresh from the garden. Right now, while the last of the snow is being washed away by the rain, like everyone else, I depend on the greens available in the supermarket. The selection of packaged greens has improved over the last several years and one local supermarket carries greens grown in nearby greenhouses.
When using clamshell or bagged greens, check the date and first be sure you will be able to use what you purchase well before the expiration date. It is better to buy a smaller container that you will use than end up with something that resembles lettuce soup! I examine the package from all angles before I purchase because the freshest container can have quite a few soggy leaves.
The first step is to wash your greens thoroughly, even the packaged lettuces that are “triple washed”. I find that washing revives packaged greens and allows you to remove any damaged leaves. I fill a very clean sink with cold water, add the greens and swish them around, after a minute or so, the dirt and sediment will sink to the bottom. For very delicate just-picked micro greens that might wind up in the drain, I put them in the bowl of the salad spinner filled with cold water. The dirt sinks to the bottom and you can scoop the leaves out with your hands. Transfer the greens to the colander part of the spinner. I give them a shake in the colander portion first over the sink to remove excess water then I will start spinning. I spin and dump the excess water several times. It is also important not to overfill the salad spinner, or the water has nowhere to go, three-quarters of the way is a good stopping point. If you are not using all the greens you have prepared, store them in a gallon storage bag. I like to put a flat paper towel in the bag first to absorb any excess water. Store in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator, and be sure not to store anything on top of it.
Thinly shredded romaine was a new twist on a green salad for me. In this recipe, again from Ana Sortum in the latest issue of Fine Cooking magazine, romaine lettuce is cut crosswise into quarter inch slices almost giving it a slaw-like quality. The shredded romaine is combined with spicy arugula and a trio of fresh herbs, dill, mint and parsley. Crispy grated cucumber and toasted walnuts are added to the salad. A creamy yogurt based dressing is the perfect compliment to the greens. A little Aleppo pepper sprinkled on at the end gives a little kick.
Spring starts this week and Joe is more than ready to go out and work the soil. He started the first crop of salad greens several weeks ago in the Aerogrow and transplanted them yesterday in the greenhouse. So it won’t be long before we will be enjoying our own home grown salads.
Shredded Romaine and Cucumber Salad
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the dressing
2T fresh lemon juice
1T Champagne or Chardonnay vinegar
1 1/2t granulated sugar
1t minced garlic
1/2c plain whole milk or low fat Greek-style yogurt
1/4c plus 1T extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
For the salad
1 large head of romaine lettuce
1 English cucumber
1c baby arugula
3/4c lightly toasted walnuts, halves or pieces, reserve 2-3T for garnish
2T chopped fresh dill
1T chopped fresh mint
1T chopped fresh flat leaved parsley
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1/4t Aleppo pepper or a scant 1/4t red pepper flakes
Directions
For the dressing
In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, vinegar, sugar and garlic. Let stand for about 10 minutes to mellow the garlic. Whisk in the yogurt. Slowly drizzle in the oil, whisking constantly to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use. Dressing can be made up to 3 days in advance.
For the salad
Core and separate the romaine leaves, discarding any bruised or damaged outer leaves. Wash and thoroughly dry the romaine, this is important because the dressing won’t cling if the lettuce isn’t dry. Slice the leaves into 1/4 inch crosswise pieces and place into a large bowl.
Peel, halve and grate the cucumber on the large holes of a box grater. Squeeze out the excess water with your hands and add to the lettuce. Add the walnuts to the salad.
Coarsely chop the arugula and add to the bowl along with the herbs. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
Toss the salad with dressing to coat generously. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the Aleppo pepper and reserved walnuts and serve.
Imam Bayildi translates “the priest fainted”. Was it because the dish was so delicious or was it a reaction of this frugal priest to the copious amount of expensive olive oil his bride used to make this dish? This is my second interpretation of this popular Turkish dish, one of a group of vegetarian recipes referred to as zeytinyagli or olive oil foods, served cold. This recipe cuts down considerably in the amount of olive oil traditionally used in the original dish but definitely not on the flavor.
This is another recipe from Ana Sortum, chef at Oleana restaurant in Cambridge Massachusetts. This recipe is similar to the first one I made in some of the steps.The eggplants are sprinkled with salt and brushed with olive oil and baked until the flesh is soft. In the first recipe the flesh is scooped out and mixed in with the other ingredients, in the second the other ingredients are combined and pressed into the cooked eggplant, I liked that method. Onions, garlic, tomatoes, oregano and parsley are found in both recipes. Finely diced cauliflower, star ingredient of the moment, is a unique component for Imam Bayildi and adds a different texture and flavor to this dish that I liked. The second recipe also uses green bell pepper, an ingredient that I am not a big fan of. Green peppers are less expensive but not quite as nutritious as their red, yellow and orange counterparts. As a gardener, I have just considered them to be peppers that someone wasn’t patient enough to let ripen. I am now coming around to seeing green bell peppers as a unique ingredient. In this dish they add an interesting slightly bitter edge to the sweetness of the onion and the creaminess of the eggplant.
This is the first time I have ever grated tomatoes for a recipe. Choose ripe firm tomatoes and grate them over a shallow bowl with the largest holes of your box grater. Keep your hand flat and grate until the tomato flesh is scraped away from the skin. Discard the skin and you are left with tomato pulp that can be used in a variety of dishes. I am sure this is a technique I will use again.
Aleppo pepper is one of my favorite ingredient discoveries of the last several years. It is dark red, flaky and somewhat oily in texture. It takes it name from the ancient city of Aleppo in northern Syria, just east of the Turkish/Syrian border. The flavor profile is rich, sweet and fruity with hints of cumin. The heat profile is moderate, just a bit hotter than paprika. As a result of the conflict in Syria, what now is sold as Aleppo is actually an identical pepper plant, Maras, that is grown in Turkey.
Imam Bayildi
Serves 8 as a side dish or 4 as an entrée
Ingredients
4 small eggplants, about 1/2lb each
10Tolive oil divided, 4T for brushing eggplants, 3T for sautéing, 3T for drizzling over finished dish.
Kosher salt
2 1/2lb tomatoes, halved
2c diced sweet onion
1c diced green bell pepper
1/2c finely diced cauliflower
1T finely chopped garlic
1/2c chopped Italian parsley, more for garnishing the finished dish.
1t finely chopped fresh oregano or 1/2t dried
Aleppo pepper or crushed red pepper flakes
3/4c crumbled feta, more for garnish
Directions
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375°F.
Halve the eggplants lengthwise and place cut side up on a large rimmed baking sheet. Season the cut sides generously with kosher salt and brush with the first 4T of olive oil. Flip the halves over and bake cut side down until soft, about 30-35 minutes. Set aside until cooled.
While the eggplant bakes, grate the cut sides of the tomato on the large holes of a box grater. It is easiest to put the grater in a bowl. Discard the skins. Drain the pulp in a fine meshed sieve until most of the liquid has drained through, about 20 minutes.
Heat 3T of the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the pepper, cauliflower and garlic, cook, stirring occasionally, until all the vegetables have softened somewhat, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from the heat and stir in the tomato pulp, parsley and oregano. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the feta.
Use a spatula to flip over the eggplant halves. With a slotted spoon, divide the filling among the eggplant, using the spoon to gently push the filling into the flesh.
Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and bake until hot, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with more crumbled feta and parsley and serve.
Here are two new recipes to add to your holiday entertaining repetoire. Kabocha squash and olive pomegranate walnut dips are unique, flavorful and will take you out of the everyday French onion and spinach dip rut.
Olive, pomegranate and walnut dip is also known as Zeytoon Parvardeh and originates from the northern Iranian province of Gilan, where fruit, olive and nut trees abound. Pomegranates, in peak season now, are used in two ways, for the crunchy seeds and deliciously tart pomegranate molasses. Pomegranate molasses can be purchased at Middle Eastern markets or if you are feeling a little adventurous, you can make your own by cooking down pomegranate juice with a little lemon juice, much in the same way a balsamic vinegar reduction is made. Olives, another major component in this dish, are pitted and chopped to about the size of the pomegranate seeds. My choice was a mild buttery Castelvetrano, but any variety that is briny, not bitter will work. Walnuts are traditionally used in this dish but another Middle Eastern favorite, pistachios, would be a good substitute.
This “dip” has the chunky consistency of a tapenade or a relish and in one instance I saw it referred to as a salad. We used it as a topping for fish and I could see it topping sliced lamb in a pita. If you chopped the ingredients in a food processor as it was called for in some of the versions of the recipe, it would have more of the consistency of a dip. Though tarragon compliments the flavors of the ingredients in this dish, some of the more authentic recipes called for mint and a seasoning called golpar or Persian hogweed. Used with vegetarian and bean dishes, it is often incorrectly sold labeled as angelica. Golpar translates to “rose feather” and has been described as fragrant and reminiscent of pepper or cardamom. Sounds like something I will have to seek out in the future.
We use winter squash in soups, casseroles and side dishes, why not in a dip? I improvised this recipe with ingredients I had in my kitchen. The honeyed sweetness and custardy texture of kabocha squash is a natural for a dip. The goat cheese brings a little creamy saltiness and contrasts with the heat of the curry powder. Sweet or hot curry powder would work according to your taste.The juice of a lemon brightens all the flavors. Kabocha squash dip is a natural for pita triangles or vegetable crudite. Serve the olive, pomegranate and walnut dip with crostini that has been topped with a thin layer of chevre.
Green Olive, Walnut and Pomegranate Dip
Makes 2 1/4cups
Ingredients
1/2c walnuts
2c pitted briny green olives, finely chopped
1/2c pomegranate seeds
3T pomegranate molasses
3T finely chopped tarragon
3T extra virgin olive oil
1T red wine vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Spread the walnuts in a pie plate and bake until toasted, 10 minutes. Let cool, then finely chop.
In a bowl, mix the walnuts with the other ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with pita chips, crudité or as a topping for fish.
Kabocha Squash Dip
Makes 2 1/2 cups
Ingredients
1 small Kabocha squash
4oz soft goat cheese at room temperature
1/3c tahini
2t or more curry powder (mild, hot, your choice)
Juice of one small lemon
Half and half or cream to thin out texture
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 425°F. Cut Kabocha squash into 2″ wedges, place on a baking sheet cut side up and brush lightly with olive oil. Bake squash until tender and browned in spots, about 45 minutes. Check half way through baking to flip the tray around. Let squash cool.
Scrape two packed cups squash from the skin, save any additional squash for another use. Put squash, goat cheese, tahini, curry powder, juice of a lemon in a food processor and pulse until nearly smooth. Add a little cream to thin out, pulse until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and additional curry powder if desired.
Scrape into a bowl and serve with crackers or crudité.
When it comes to Thanksgiving I’m “all about the sides”. Now don’t get me wrong, we had three turkeys for Thanksgiving, roasted, grilled and smoked, all cooked to perfection by my hubby. No fried turkey this year, we tried it one Thanksgiving and the combination of a deep fryer and a windy day on a wooden deck made for an interesting and potentially dangerous afternoon.
I love fall vegetables, a variety of interesting winter squashes, beautiful brassicas and hearty root vegetables all appear at our table. In previous years I would make myself crazy with last minute preparations for a half dozen complicated side dishes before we sat down to Thanksgiving dinner. Now I like to roast a combination of root vegetables tossed with olive oil, salt and freshly ground pepper and supplement them with some other interesting sides.
If I am at home in the early afternoon I will occasionally turn on “The Chew”, a television program that has been described as “The View” for foodies. The panel includes among others, star chef, restauranteur and cookbook author, Mario Batali, and it was Mario’s recipe this day that caught my attention, Creamy Kale Gratin.
We are not newcomers on the ever expanding kale bandwagon. Joe has been growing it in the fall for quite a few years, before it achieved it’s current celebrity status. This year’s crop was abundant. He grew both the Red Russian variety with it’s reddish purple stems and curly leaves and the Lacinato or dinosaur kale with crinkly long dark green leaves. What most people don’t know is that after the first frost, kale becomes sweeter and could easily convert the most die hard kale hater.
Today’s episode was titled potluck party, focusing on dishes you could bring to a Thanksgiving dinner and I’m sure this dish would be a hit at any potluck meal, Thanksgiving or otherwise. Mario compared this dish to steakhouse creamed spinach, only made with kale. Mario had the assistance of actress Katherine Heigl, best known for her Emmy winning role on Grey’s Anatomy. Her job, along with promoting her new television series, was to chop some of the kale while Mario made the Bechamel sauce. I saw that chef Michael Symon was at the ready, most likely in case the task was too much for her to handle. I noticed she did a fine job, Michael said with a bit of surprise that she did a good job and Mario commented on her “mad skills”. She explained that she played a cook in one of her movies (Life As We Know It; I checked) and they taught her to properly chop. She refered to it as a hidden talent, one of those things you learn as an actor.
The kale leaves are roughly chopped to the stem. Twenty cups may seem like a large quantity but like all greens, they cook down quickly. Rather than putting the stems in the trash, Mario puts the stems in half full pickle jars and snacks on them the next day. The kale is cooked in a large sautepan until wilted, it will cook fully when it is combined with the cheese sauce and croutons. A layer of croutons is placed on the bottom of a large buttered gratin dish. The next layer is the kale combined with the very cheesy sauce seasoned with freshly ground nutmeg. The remaining croutons are layered on top.
Either variety of kale is suitable for this recipe. From my observation of the video it looks like they used a curly variety, I used the darker Lacinato with long crinkly leaves. I prepped my dish the day before, stopping before sprinkling the croutons with olive oil, salt and pepper. I brought the dish to room temperature the next day, finished the final steps and baked the gratin. The last dilemma the Chew tackled was how do you eat the bread bit? Fork and knife is fine but if you want to pick it up like a crostini, that’s just fine too. We all enjoyed the gratin, a delicious way to enjoy one of the final offerings of the fall garden.
Lacinato kale in the fall garden.
Creamy Kale Gratin
Serves 10
Ingredients
20 cups Russian or Lacinato kale, stems removed and roughly chopped
1 loaf sourdough bread, cut into 1/2 inch slices
6 T butter, and additional butter for the baking dish
1/2c shallots, sliced
1t red pepper flakes
1/4c all purpose flour
1 1/2c milk
1 1/2c heavy cream
8oz grated gruyere cheese
8oz grated sharp white cheddar cheese
1/2c crème fraiche
1/2c Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly grated
1/2t freshly grated nutmeg
Directions
Preheat oven to 400°F
Preheat a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons butter and a drizzle of olive oil. When the butter has melted, add the shallots, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Sauté until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the kale and season with salt and pepper. Sauté until wilted about 4 minutes. Set aside.
Meanwhile, in a separate heavy bottomed pot (think Le Creuset) , melt 4 tablespoons butter. Add flour and stir to combine. Cook the flour mixture for 2 minutes, stirring continuously. Slowly pour in the milk and cream and whisk to combine. Continue to cook,, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, until the béchamel sauce coats the back of a wooden spoon (about 5 minutes). Remove from the heat. Add in the cheeses and whisk until smooth. Season with freshly grated nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir in the reserved kale mixture.
Butter a large gratin baking dish. Lay an even layer of the read slices in the bottom of the gratin dish. Pour the creamy kale over the bread. Top the casserole with the remaining bread slices, placing them tightly together. Season the bread with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Place in the oven to bake for 30 minutes, until the topping is golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
A rough chop is all you need for this dish.A layer of bread slices are placed at the bottom of the dish.Next, a layer of creamy, cheesy kale.Then another layer of sourdough bread rounds.Brush sourdough lightly with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper and bake. Delicious!
A flavorful salad that’s a healthier alternative to mayonnaise based slaws. Crispy cabbage, celery and radishes are combined with sweet Sungold tomatoes in this very easy to make dish. Why is it considered Puerto Rican? Couldn’t find a definitive answer for that, but the addition of some sliced hearts of palm would give it a real Caribbean flair. Serve with a grilled steak or roast chicken, the leftovers keep for several days, that is, if you can keep it that long.
Puerto Rican Coleslaw
Makes about six servings
Ingredients
6-8 c finely chopped green cabbage
1 c diced small tomatoes
½ c chopped celery, if the stalks are large, cut in half lengthwise first
1/2c chopped celery leaves
6-7 radishes, cut root and stem off first, then cut into half moon slices
¼ c sliced green onion
2 T apple cider vinegar
1 t fresh lime juice
½ t kosher salt, or more to taste
¼ to 1/2t hot pepper sauce, I used sriracha sauce
3T grapeseed or canola oil
Directions
Chop up the cabbage, tomatoes and celery leaves, and slice celery, radishes and green onions, and toss into a large bowl. You can make this part ahead, place it in a container with a lid and pop it in the fridge until you’re ready to make the salad.
In a small bowl, whisk together apple cider vinegar, lime juice, salt, hot sauce and oil. Taste to see if you want to add more hot sauce.
Toss salad with the dressing. You can make this salad ahead and store it in the fridge for a few hours before you’re ready to serve.
“Gifted” with another box of Brassicas this week, I was looking for a way to use cauliflower in a fall salad. A new cookbook, Bar Tartine : Techniques and Recipes, gave me the salad I was looking for.
Opened in 2005, Bar Tartine, located in the Mission District of San Francisco is an offshoot of the highly praised San Francisco bakery, Tartine. In addition to doing their own curing, preserving and in-house fermenting, the food draws influences from countries as diverse as Norway, Japan and Hungary.
The cauliflower is broken down into tiny florets, save the rest to make cauliflower “mashed potatoes”. In a bowl with the yogurt dressing, combine the florets with cucumbers, chickpeas and mushrooms. Our garden provided me with the radishes and serrano peppers needed for this salad. I was hesitant to use the two serranos as suggested, ours get quite hot so I went with just one. The yogurt dressing tamed the chiles heat quite a bit.
Resist the urge to roast or blanch the cauliflower before adding it to the salad, if you normally dislike it raw. Marinating small florets in the dressing softens them up considerably without making them mushy. The yogurt dressing is especially good and would work well with other salad combinations.
Assembled ingredients for the yogurt dressing.
Bar Tartine Cauliflower Salad
Serves 6
Ingredients
For the dressing
1 c Greek style yogurt, regular or low fat
5T sunflower oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2T freshly squeezed lemon juice
1T red wine vinegar
1T honey
1 1/2t fine grain sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions for the dressing
In a bowl large enough to hold all the salad components, whisk together the yogurt, sunflower oil, garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper to taste. If not using immediately, store dressing in an airtight container. Dressing can be made several days ahead.
Ingredients for the salad
6-8 c cauliflower, trimmed into tiny florets
2 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded if necessary, cut into small dice
4-5 scallions, cut into 1/4″ rounds
1c cooked chickpeas, fresh is best but rinsed well and drained thoroughy if canned.
8oz mushrooms, button or shiitake, quartered
6-8 radishes, ends trimmed and thinly sliced
1 or 2 green serrano chiles, stemmed, seeded and thinly sliced
1/4c sunflower seeds, lightly toasted
1/4c each chopped fresh flat leafed parsley, dill and tarragon
Directions for the salad
Add the cauliflower, cucumbers, scallions, chickpeas, mushrooms, radishes, chilies, sunflower seeds and herbs to the bowl toss lightly and let stand for 15 minutes.
During this time the vegetables will begin to exude some liquid the cauliflower will soften. Toss again and transfer salad to a bowl. Leftovers should keep for several days, if you can keep them around that long!
Cauliflower is a master of disguises. Toss cauliflower with olive oil, salt, freshly ground pepper and herbs of your choice and roast it. The florets carmelize and develop a nutty quality, reminiscent of popcorn. Because that’s how you will consume it, like popcorn. Or simmer it until very tender, mash it up with milk and butter (or your reasonable substitute of choice) and you have a side as flavorful as any bowl of mashed potatoes.
This time cauliflower takes the place of coarsely ground bulgur in a mock tabbouleh. Taboulleh is a Lebanese herb salad with bulgur, as food historian Clifford A. Wright points out in his book, Little Foods of the Mediterranean, not a bulgur salad with herbs. The advantage of using cauliflower is that, unlike bulgur, it will not continue to expand as the dish sits. By the nature of the vegetables in it, the mock tabbouleh will exude more liquid, so be judicious in the amount of dressing you use. If you have any leftover the next day, drain any excess liquid off before serving.
This was an opportunity for me to use a new acquision in my battery of herbs and spices, sumac. Not related to the poisonous variety, it is extracted from the berries of a bush that grows wild in Mediteranean regions. The berries or drupes are ground into a reddish powder that adds an astringent lemony taste to salads or meat dishes. Combined with dried thyme and sesame seeds, it’s also part of a seasoning blend from the Middle East called z’atar.
Other additions to the salad could include chickpeas or some finely chopped bell pepper. For an “authentic” presentation, serve with romaine lettuce leaves to scoop up the tabbouleh. This is a recipe that got a big thumbs up from my hubby, who thought it tasted even better the second day.
Use quick on and off pulses to chop the cauliflower florets finely to resemble medium grain bulgur.
Cauliflower Tabboulleh
Serves 6-8
Ingredients for the Dressing
1T finely grated lemon zest
3T fresh lemon juice
1T red wine vinegar
1/3-1/2c safflower or avocado oil
1/2t ground cumin
1/2t ground sumac
1t kosher salt
1/4t freshly ground black pepper
Directions for the dressing
In a small bowl, whisk together lemon zest, lemon juice,vinegar, oil, cumin, sumac, salt and pepper. Set aside
Ingredients for the tabboulleh
6-8 c cauliflower florets, use the stem part to make cauliflower “mashed potatoes”
1c chopped cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped into 1/2″ dice
1c chopped tomato
1 1/2c fresh flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped
1/2c dill leaves, chopped
1/4-1/2c mint leaves, chopped
3-4 green onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves finely minced garlic
Directions for the tabboulleh
Chop cauliflower florets in a very fine dice, either with a box grater, by hand or in a food processor with short, quick pulses. Do not overcrowd the processor, you may have to do this in batches. The final product should resemble medium bulgur grains. Transfer the chopped cauliflower to a large bowl. Add the chopped cucumber and tomato.
Add chopped parsley, dill, mint, green onion and garlic to workbowl to chop more finely. Transfer to the bowl with the cauliflower. Gently mix to combine, add dressing and mix again. Taste for seasoning and serve.
Imam bayildi translates roughly,”the priest fainted”. But why, was it because the eggplant dish was so delicious, did he eat too much at one sitting or was he just in shock at the amount of expensive olive oil used to make it?
One account in Turkish lore tells the story of an imam or priest, well known for his love of good food. One day the Imam announced his engagement to the daughter of a wealthy olive oil merchant. Part of her dowry included huge casks of olive oil, the size of a man, twelve in all. After the couple were married, the new bride proved to be an amazing cook. One dish in particular, eggplant cooked in olive oil, proved to be the imam’s favorite. In fact he requested the exact same dish twelve nights in a row. But the thirteenth night his favorite dish was missing from his evening meal. When asked why she didn’t make it, she told him the enormous supply from her dowry was used up. The news so shocked him that…..the priest fainted.
No matter what the story, Imam bayildi is a very well known Turkish meze, not really an appetizer but comparable to the small plate tapas dishes of Spain. Traditionally the dish is an eggplant cut down the middle, stuffed with garlic, onion, tomatoes and aromatic spices and simmered in olive oil to cover.
My goal in making this recipe was to cut back on the copious amount of olive oil but still make a flavorful dish. Rather than cook the eggplant whole in olive oil, I cut the eggplants in half, brushed the cut side with olive oil and baked it until the flesh was easy to scoop out. I combined the chopped eggplant with sauteed onion, garlic and tomato and currants. The addition of the aromatic spices, cinnamon and allspice will make your kitchen smell heavenly. I could also see the addition of feta cheese, pine nuts, even ground beef or the more traditional lamb. Serve warm or at room temperature along with a green salad for a delicious luncheon entree.
Imam Bayildi or Baked Stuffed Eggplant to Make a Priest Faint
Serves four
Ingredients
4 medium eggplants
6 T extra virgin olive oil
2 medium onion, very thinly sliced (I used a mandoline)
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/4c chopped tomatoes
5T chopped flat leafed parsley
1/2t dried oregano
1/4c currants
1/4t ground allspice
1/4t ground cinnamon
2T fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 375F. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise. Cut several lengthwise slits in the eggplant halves. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake, cut side down for about 1/2hr, until the flesh is soft and easy to scoop out. Keep oven on at same temperature.
While eggplant is cooking, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Cook the onions over low heat, stirring occasionally, until very soft, 20 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, 4 tablespoons of the parsley and the oregano and simmer until almost dry, about another 5 minutes. Add the currants, allspice and cinnamon. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set this mixture aside.
Scoop out the eggplant flesh with a spoon, leaving the skin and 1/4 inch of the lining intact. Finely chop the pulp and add it to the onion and tomato mixture. Mix well and season with salt and pepper.
Place the eggplant shells in a baking dish just large enough to hold them. Fill them with the tomato onion mixture. Sprinkle with fresh lemon juice. Cover and bake the eggplants for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes.
Serve warm or cool at room temperature.
Ingredients, ready to go!Cut the eggplants in half, brush with olive oil and place cut side down on a parchment lined baking sheet. This variety is an “Italian pink” called Dancer.
The shells are now filled with the eggplant, onion, tomato and aromatic spice mixture and baked.
With lots of caponata, grilled eggplant, ratatouille, and a double batch of eggplant parmesan under my belt, I was looking for another way to enjoy the bounty of our eggplants this season. It came in the July/August issue of Cooks Illustrated magazine, eggplant involtini.
After all these years (30+) I still look forward pouring over the latest issues of the cooking magazines I subscribe to. Since the magazines are a little in advance of what is ready to harvest from the garden, I put a yellow sticky note on the seasonal recipes I would like to try. Eggplant involtini was in the July/August issue that arrived in June when our eggplants didn’t even have their first flowers, so I have been waiting several months to try this recipe.
Involtini are neat little bundles of stuffed meat, fish or vegetables. Fillings can be as varied as your imagination. Eggplant works especially well as a wrapper for involtini. Use your largest, broadest eggplants to make the planks. Lop off the stem and hold the eggplant upright. With a very sharp knife, make approximately 1/2″ thick planks. For the first and last pieces you will need to trim off the rounded outer edge. I found that a vegetable peeler handled the problem nicely.
Instead of frying, which is called for in many involtini recipes, the slices are brushed lightly on both sides with olive oil, and seasoned with salt and pepper and baked. This makes the slices pliable enough to roll without falling apart.
Once the slices have cooled a bit, fill with the fatter edge closest to you and roll up. Ricotta, though it doesn’t have much flavor of it’s own is a good binder for the more flavorful ingredients, pecorino romano and basil. The addition of fresh lemon juice brightens the flavors. A generous tablespoon of filling is enough for each slice. The original recipe called for some bread crumbs in the filling to bind it a little, I didn’t include this step and thought my filling held up nicely.
While you are cooking the eggplant there’s time to make a very basic sauce. Canned whole tomatoes, garlic, oregano, kosher salt and pepper are all you need. I always use my whole roasted tomatoes from the garden that I freeze for months without tomatoes. We had a bumper crop this year so I will be making a lot of chili, lasagna, stuffed peppers over the winter months. As for the canned varieties, in a taste test done by Cooks Illustrated, Muir Glen Organic Whole Tomatoes was the winner. Muir Glen is about a dollar more per can than the more familiar runner up, Hunts.
The involtini rolls, are added to the thickened sauce and brought to a simmer. Once the sauce is warmed, additional cheese is sprinkled on top. The rolls are browned and the cheese is melted in the broiler. Finish off with a sprinkle of basil, mini basil leaves worked well here.
Not the quickest or easiest preparation, but both the rolls and the sauce can be made in advance and assembled right before serving. An impressive dish good enough for company.
Eggplant Involtini
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
2 large eggplants, shorter wider eggplants are best (1 1/2 pounds each), if skin is thick, peel, I did not peel mine
6T olive oil
Kosher salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4t dried oregano
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 28oz canned whole peeled tomatoes drained with juice reserved, chopped coarse-I used my garden roasted tomatoes
1c whole-milk or part skim ricotta cheese
3/4c hard Italian grating cheese like Gran Padano or Pecorino Romano
1/4c plus 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil or torn mini basil
1T fresh lemon juice
Directions
Slice each eggplant lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick planks (you should have 12 planks). Trim rounded surface from each end piece so it lies flat. I found that using a vegetable peeler made this easier.Adjust 1 oven rack to lower-middle position and second rack 8 inches from broiler element. Heat oven to 375°F.
Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and spray generously with vegetable oil spray.
Arrange eggplant slices in single layer on prepared sheets. Lightly brush 1 side of eggplant slices with oil and sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper. Turn slices over and repeat brushing and seasoning.
Bake until tender and lightly browned, 30 to 35 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. This process took about 10 minutes less in my convection oven. Let cool for 5 minutes. Using thin spatula, flip each slice over. Heat broiler.
While the eggplant is cooking, heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch broiler-safe skillet, over medium-low heat until just shimmering. Add garlic, oregano, pepper flakes, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Stir in tomatoes and their juice. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes. Cover and set aside.
Stir together ricotta, 1/2 cup cheese, 1/4 cup basil, lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium bowl.
With widest ends of eggplant slices facing you, evenly distribute ricotta mixture on bottom third of each slice. Gently roll up each eggplant slice and place seam side down in tomato sauce.
Bring sauce to simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 5 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven and broil until eggplant is well browned and cheese is heated through, 5 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Pecorino and let stand for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon basil and serve.
The variety I used for this dish was Clara, a pure white Italian style eggplant.Eggplant slices are brushed with olive oil and seasoned lightly with salt and pepper.After baking the slices are soft enough to roll but don’t fall apart.I used roughly torn mini basil in my filling.The very simple filling made of ricotta cheese, Pecorino Romano, fresh lemon juice and mini basil.The eggplant slices are easy to roll up. Place them seam side down in the warmed sauce.
