Grilled Vegetable Salad, one word: Yum!!

I am sorry I have been absent on these past few days... a sudden and unfortunate death of a dear family member just got me into a very sad state of mind and I was in no real mood to think much about anything else other than how fragile our bodies and life are. Cooking was done by a way of necessity and that's the reason I took this little break. However, life goes on, and here I am, back and with some more good food to share!
(Thanks for letting me vent a little about other aspects of my life here too!)

During the warm months our greatest culinary pleasure is being able to fire up the grill! Everything that comes out is so flavorful and delicious, plus there is no smells or much cleanup to be done inside, and the not-turning-on-the-stove/oven-on-an-absurdly-hot-day factor too!

It is a win-win situation which we truly enjoy! And one of the foods I love most done in the grill are vegetables. You can grill almost any veggie you like in there and the outcome is always tasty; it gets that "charred" flavor that you only get from the grill and there is no mystery on doing it: the easiest way is to simply cut your veggies in similar size pieces, then season them with salt, pepper and a decent amount of good olive oil and throw them in the grill. Keep an eye on them as some veggies do cook a lot faster than others, flip along the way and as both sides get those wonderful grill marks you have a healthy and flavorful meal that can be enjoyed warm or kept for later to be eaten at room temperature or even cold (grilled veggies are great cold too!).

I make grilled vegetables all the time during summer and we never get tired of it!
The ones I like the most are eggplant, red bell peppers and zucchini/yellow squash, which by the way is what I used in the salad pictured above (minus the pepper on that day though!). Corn is also delicious, as are asparagus and onions too!

For the salad I grilled some eggplant and squashes that I had from the farmer's market, to them I added some grape tomatoes from our backyard and little pieces of fresh/soft goat cheese (which I absolutely looooove!), then I topped it all with a simple Dijon mustard vinaigrette that I made by mixing roughly 2 parts rice vinegar (I find this kind of vinegar to be lighter in taste) to about 1part olive oil (a tablespoon or so), a teaspoon honey, a teaspoon Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper to taste.
It was the perfect finish to complement the salad, which we enjoyed a whole lot, the vinaigrette added at the end really gave it some extra nice flavors, a great tang to the soft veggies! (Balsamic vinegar is another way I like to dress up roasted vegetables too!)
To me there is no easier or better way to have fun with the vegetables during the summer than making salads, and a grilled one is always welcome too!
Enjoy!
Ana

Rigatoni with Eggplant Puree

This was one of those recipes that you want to jump in the kitchen right after you saw someone making on TV. As I was watching the lady make the pasta my mind could not stop saying "you have to make this one, you have to make this one...!"
So, I did, of course! And what a pleasant surprise!
I really enjoy eggplant dishes and this pasta did not disappoint, actually I think I just got a new pasta sauce for the top of my list of favorites!
The eggplant sauce was sooooo creamy, so delicious and flavorful, I was truly impressed and amazed by the silkiness of this dish.
Since I don't have a food processor, I used my blender to process the eggplant so my sauce was really more on the puree side, and I have to say that I loved the texture it came out. It was almost like a babaganoush pasta sauce if you will, a rich eggplant puree infused with the flavor of garlic, olive oil and a very subtle "tomatoyness" (hey, I think I created a new word!).
Very delicious and I already want to make it again!
The only thing I did different was to omit the red pepper flakes (as both me and Matheus just cannot stomach the heat) and to use basil in place of the mint, and I think that was a good move to be quite true. Oh, and I sprinkled the cheese on top, instead of mixing it in with the sauce.
Great, super easy dish, which I am sure will be even more delicious and flavorfull when I make it during the summer, at the peak of both basil and tomato crops!
Enjoy!
Ana

Rigatoni with Eggplant Puree
(Recipe from Giada De Laurentiis)

1 medium eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 pint cherry tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, whole
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1 pound rigatoni pasta
1/4 cup torn fresh mint leaves (I used Basil)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with partchment paper (or aluminum foil).
In a large bowl combine the eggplant, cherry tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and red
pepper flakes. Spread vegetables in an even layer on baking sheet and roast in the oven until vegetables are tender and the eggplant is golden, about 35 minutes.
While the vegetables are roasting, place the pine nuts in a small baking dish. Place in the oven on the rack below the vegetables and roast until golden, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and reserve. (Keep and eye on these, they burn REALY fast!)
While vegetables are roasting cook the pasta until tender. Drain, put pasta in a large bowl and reserve 1 1/2 cups of the cooking liquid.
Transfer the roasted vegetables to a food processor. Add the mint and extra-virgin olive oil. Puree the vegetables.
Transfer the pureed vegetables to the bowl with the pasta and add the Parmesan. Stir to combine, adding the pasta cooking liquid 1/2 cup at a time until the pasta is saucy. Sprinkle the pine nuts over the top and serve.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Ratatouille... yes, the one from the movie, Remy's dish!!

If you like me love all things related to the cooking world, then you must have seen the movie Ratatouille!!
I went to watch it soon as it appeared in the movie theater around here and couldn't have liked it more! Matheus and I liked it so much that we watched it a second time with my Mom, Sister, and Brother in Law when they were here visiting us.
The movie is fun and gives a great message about how we should follow our dream - if you truly believe in yourself you can get where you want - at the same time making us think of how we sometimes might judge people on the appearance instead of looking deep into how they are truly able to perform (Although I am not sure I would still eat the food after seeing the massive amount of rodents present in that kitchen, being them good cook or not!!)
Anyway, this post is here not to make a movie review, but to share the recipe that actually inspired the movie writers who gave life to Remy (which to me still is the creator of the dish! hehehe!)
Ratatouille is, as described in the movie, considered as "pheasant" food, meaning it is a very simple dish that uses up the extra vegetables that the farmers used to have during their harvest. It is basically a stew, a mix of yummy vegetables and herbs that creates its own sauce and deliciousness as it cooks.
No need to embellish such good food, right? Yes, but it is clear that the movie producers found a way to make it look just as good as it taste!
The dish in question is actually not even a "Ratatouille" per say, after being made the way it was, in reality it is a Confit Byaldi, created by the chef Thomas Keller. (The arrangement of sliced vegetables is what maked this particular dish a "Byaldi")
Well, whatever the name, and whoever created this.... it is Delicious!!!
Simply fabulous, full of flavors and definitely better than I can ever describe it here.
We loved the dish and polished of the whole thing among the three of us (ahem... I did have a couple extra helpings of what is considered polite to eat, but lets not get into the details, shall we?!!!!).
It is a little time consuming I have to say, as you need to do a bit of slicing and dicing to get all ingredients ready, plus there is the piperade that might be made first. But don't let the process scare you of making this, because it is truly a great dish! (some planning in advance and you will enjoy your time in the kitchen making this... or at least I did!)
The piperade is very good, and the vinaigrette... oh my, that was delicious all by itself, and I will certainly double this part next time I make it as I found the amount of the vinaigrette to be too little compared to the rest of the dish.
I did shop for my produce at the farmer's market and tried to find all vegetables of the same diameter in order to make the dish look pretty. It was worth it, but not completely necessary, as the flavors are definitely way better than it might look.
Well, after a huge post I leave here the recipe for those who would like to try. And if you are a fan of vegetables and simple but delicious food... then I am sure you will love this just as much as we did!!
Enjoy!!
Ana

Thomas Keller's Ratatouille
Serves 4

For piperade:

1/2 red pepper, seeds and ribs removed
1/2 yellow pepper, seeds and ribs removed
1/2 orange pepper, seeds and ribs removed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion
3 tomatoes (about 12 ounces total weight), peeled, seeded and finely diced, juices reserved
1 sprig thyme
1 sprig flat-leaf parsley
1/2 bay leaf
Kosher salt

For vegetables:

1 zucchini (4 to 5 ounces) sliced in 1/16-inch rounds
1 Japanese eggplant, (4 to 5 ounces) sliced into 1/16-inch rounds
1 yellow squash (4 to 5 ounces) sliced into 1/16-inch rounds
4 Roma tomatoes, sliced into 1/16-inch rounds
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/8 teaspoon thyme leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For vinaigrette:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Assorted fresh herbs (thyme flowers, chervil, thyme)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make piperade:

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place pepper halves on a foil-lined sheet, cut side down. Roast until skin loosens, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest until cool enough to handle. Peel and chop finely.

Combine oil, garlic and onion in medium skillet and cook over low heat on stovetop until very soft but not browned, about 8 minutes. Add tomatoes, their juices, thyme, parsley and bay leaf. Simmer over low heat until very soft and very little liquid remains, about 10 minutes, do not brown; add peppers and simmer to soften them. Season to taste with salt and discard herbs. Reserve 1 tablespoon of mixture and spread remainder in bottom of an 8-inch ovenproof skillet.

To prepare vegetables:

Heat oven to 275 degrees. In center of skillet arrange 8 alternating slices of vegetables, 2 each of zucchini, eggplant, squash and tomatoes, over piperade, overlapping in a circle so that 1/4 inch of each slice is exposed. Continue alternating and overlapping vegetables in close spiral that lets slices mound slightly in center. Repeat until pan is filled; all vegetables may not be needed.

Mix garlic, oil and thyme leaves in bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle over vegetables. Cover skillet with foil and crimp edges to seal well. Bake until vegetables are tender when tested with a paring knife, about 2 hours. Uncover and bake for 30 minutes more. (Lightly cover with foil if it starts to brown.) If there is excess liquid in pan, place over medium heat on stove until reduced. (At this point it may be cooled, covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days. If desired, reheat in 350-degree oven until warm.)

To make vinaigrette:

Combine reserved piperade, oil, vinegar, herbs, and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl.

To serve:

Heat broiler and place byaldi underneath until lightly browned. Cut in quarters and very carefully lift one quarter onto plate with offset spatula. Turn spatula 90 degrees, guiding byaldi into fan shape. Drizzle vinaigrette around plate.

And here goes a few pictures I took along the process...

Piperade in the bottom of the dish









Veggies arranged on dish, right before going into the oven...









And after it came out.

Grilled Eggplant Stacks

We just had this for lunch and I had to run and post the recipe here. This dish was extremely flavorful, really good, truly delicious!!!
I don't think I have enough words to express how much I loved this one! I already liked all the components by themselves (c' mom, grilled veggies are the best, aren't they?!!!), so there was no way we would not enjoy this one. Sooooo yummy!
It is not difficult to put together and it has just the right ingredients to make an awesome and delightful summer dish.
It takes a little prep time to prepare the ingredients and grill them, but that's all you need to do. The rest is assembling and enjoying!
The stars of this dish for me was first of all the herbbed goat cheese, and then the balsamic-wine syrupy reduction. The cheese made it taste even fresher and it was so delicious on its own, I measured the 2 ounces asked in the recipe and then threw a little more in there just so I could have a tad extra, and also because I love goat cheese and I wanted a good portion of it in my "stack"!
The balsamic reduction was amazingly good. So rich, so syrupy, it made me feel like I was a very good chef, really, it tasted "chic"!
This could be easily be served as part of a vegetarian meal, as I actually had mine with tofu and brown rice, while the boys opted for red meat.
Making dishes like this makes me happier than ever, and it makes me love cooking more and more; because I know it is really hard to find such tasty food around. It would certainly cost me a fortune and no one could ever guarantee it would be this fresh.
This is why I love cooking the most. Treating my family with healthy and delicious food and seeing their happy faces is much more than I could ever ask for!
Enjoy!
Ana


Grilled Eggplant Stacks
(From Cooking Light Magazine, July 2007)

1 (1-pound) eggplant, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 small zucchini (about 4 ounces)
1 small yellow squash (about 4 ounces)
1 large red bell pepper, quartered lengthwise and seeded
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup (2 ounces) goat cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano

Place eggplant slices in a colander. Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt; toss well. Let stand 10 minutes. Rinse slices thoroughly; dry with paper towels.
Combine vinegar, wine, and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until reduced to 1/4 cup (about 8 minutes).
Prepare grill.
Trim ends from the zucchini and yellow squash; slice each lengthwise into 4 (1/4-inch-thick) slices. Flatten pepper pieces with hand. Brush eggplant, zucchini, squash, and pepper pieces with oil; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and black pepper. Place pepper pieces, skin side down, eggplant, zucchini, and squash on a grill rack; grill 8 minutes or until tender, turning once.
Combine cheese, basil, and oregano.
To assemble stack, place 1 eggplant slice on a plate; top with one-fourth of cheese mixture. Lay one strip of yellow squash and one strip of zucchini side by side. Drizzle with 1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic mixture. Top with one pepper piece. Top with one eggplant slice and drizzle with 1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic mixture. Repeat procedure three times with remaining eggplant, cheese, squash, zucchini, peppers, and balsamic mixture. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Ratatouille Tart

The moment I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it. Oh my, this was SOOOOO good! I have no words to describe how tasty and yummy this tart is!
I made it today for lunch and just had to come here and post the recipe to share with you guys.
Cornmeal-Crusted Roasted Ratatouille Tart is full of delicious vegetables that are slightly roasted before the tart is assembled, which makes them moist and gives the tart a rich taste at the same time.
Super good, seriously, I looooved this recipe! The cornmeal crust was simple to make and very easy to work with, plus it was delicious! The corn taste complemented the vegetables really well, it was almost as if corn was another veggie in there; the crust was crispy all over, even on the bottom. Pre-baking the crust ensured it turned out crunchy and not soggy, even though the vegetables were nice and moist. Oh, and the recipe says to use a food processor, but since I don't have one I made my dough by hand and it turned out great (again, so yummy!!!).
Matheus loved this as well and even asked if I could repeat the recipe again this weekend! Yay! If I have everything on hand by Saturday, then why not, right?!!
As usual, I followed the recipe but made a few alterations based on what I had at home, but this time they were very minor changes: I used a mix of leeks and onions instead of shallots, and added some garlic to this sauteed onion thing; also, fontina cheese was used instead of mozzarella, and since I did not have fresh basil I sprinkled the veggies with a dried Italian herb mix. Oh, and for the crust I used 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and will do it again, as the crust turned out very flavorful this way.
I don't believe my changes were too significant in terms of altering the flavors at the end as the major ingredients were all in there, but I am pretty sure this would taste even better with the fresh basil in it. One thing I did was to sprinkle a bit of salt on each layer of veggies, before adding the remaining ingredients on top, just to make sure that each layer would get the proper amount of seasonings.
We really enjoyed this recipe today! It is perfect for a light lunch, although after 3 pieces I ended up not feeling as light as I should!
Enjoy!!
Ana











Cornmeal-Crusted Roasted Ratatouille Tart
(Recipe by Ellie Krieger)

Crust:
2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
1/3 cup whole-grain pastry flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 tablespoons water

Filling:
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
2 shallots, thinly sliced (about 1/3 cup)
Cooking spray
1/2 pound thinly sliced eggplant rounds (about 1/3 medium eggplant)
1 zucchini, sliced into 1/8-inch rounds (about 8 ounces)
3 medium tomatoes, sliced thinly
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup shredded fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

For the crust:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine cornmeal, pastry flour, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to incorporate. Add butter and oil and pulse about 20 times, until mixture resembles small pebbles. Add water and pulse until mixture forms a loose dough. Remove dough from processor and press into bottom and about 1/8-inch up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan with a detachable rim. Press aluminum foil into the bottom and sides of the pan on top of the dough and weigh down with uncooked rice or pie weights. Place tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and remove rice and foil. Return to oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until no longer shiny and wet. Remove from oven and let cool.

For the filling: Increase the oven to 400 degrees F. Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat; saute shallots until soft, about 5 to 6 minutes. Spray 2 baking trays with cooking spray. Arrange the eggplant, zucchini and tomato slices on the trays in a single layer and brush with the remaining olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, and roast the vegetables until soft but not browned, about 15 minutes. Remove the vegetables from oven and cool.

Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Lay the eggplant slices in 2 layers on the bottom of tart; cover with 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese and some of the shredded basil. Add the zucchini and shallots, top with another 1/3 of the mozzarella and basil, then the tomatoes. Top with rest of the mozzarella cheese and the Parmesan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and vegetables have further wilted. Remove from oven, let cool for 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Pictures…

It is funny how the simplest food sometimes makes us droll…Last week I was reading some of my favorite blogs when I saw a picture at Valentina’s Blog (trembom.blogspot.com) of Stuffed Eggplant. Oh my, I love eggplant and just looking at that picture made me crave that dish too.
So, over the weekend we had to have some eggplant! I actually did not use a recipe, and when I came here to write my post I went to check back at Valentina’s, just to see how she made hers, and it was quite the same way I did!
I like to boil the eggplant shell before stuffing, just so that you get tender eggplant on both the filling and the shells. That also cuts up in the baking time, and if I have the filling and eggplant warm, a quick run through the broiler is enough to get a nice crunchy and cheesy top!
Valentina’s recipe is actually in Portuguese, so I am posting here a recipe in English that I have made before and liked a lot!
The eggplant in the picture above was stuffed with sautéed onions, garlic, diced tomatoes, the eggplant pulp, ground beef, and seasonings. But if you prefer a vegetarian dish you can omit the meat, or even substitute it with those soy crumbles, it is going to be yummy anyway you do! It is a very simple recipe that you can easily adapt to suit your taste.
The Greek-Style Stuffed Eggplant does not contain meat and the flavors are more pronounced due to the ingredients (especialy the fetta cheese). It is very tasty and we all liked it a lot when I made it at home. (When I made mine, the only thing I did different was to boil the eggplant on the stove, instead of the microwave method)
I hope one of the variations may appeal to your tastes! I love eggplant made this way, and you know what… just writing about it is making me crave it again!
Today we have lots to do and places to go, so we will probably end up eating out, but I have some plans for lunch tomorrow, let’s wait and see what comes next!
But before you go, check out my new blender, isn’t it pretty?! (My old one stopped functioning last week, after seven years of everyday use; I was sad in a way, but also quite happy to get a new toy!)

Ana

Greek-Style Stuffed Eggplant
2 eggplants, cut in half lengthwise (about 3 pounds)
1/4 cup water
Cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped plum tomato
1/4 cup white wine
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 (1-ounce) slices French bread
2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Carefully remove pulp from each eggplant, reserving shells. Coarsely chop pulp to measure 6 cups. Place eggplant shells, cut sides down, in a 10-inch square baking dish. Add water to dish. Cover and microwave at high 5 minutes or until shells are tender. Keep warm.
Preheat broiler.
Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add eggplant pulp; saute 7 minutes. Add onion; sauté 2 minutes. Stir in tomato, wine, and garlic; cook 3 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; add feta, 1/4 cup parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper, stirring to combine. Spoon 3/4 cup eggplant mixture into each eggplant shell.
Place the bread slices in food processor; pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure 1 cup. Combine breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup parsley, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and Parmesan, stirring well. Sprinkle 1/4 cup breadcrumb mixture over each stuffed shell. Arrange shells on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; broil 2 minutes or until lightly browned.
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 stuffed eggplant half)
Cooking Light, June 2003