Vegetables Archives - Page 6 of 8

Eggplant Boat Salad

Eggplant Boats are filled with mozzarella and then placed on a bed of fresh tomatoes. I use them to make my Eggplant Boat Salad Sometimes I buy too many vegetables, but this long eggplants will work. They are still firm. Many Italians claim the eggplant as their own; the truth is that it was cultivated in India and China for more than 1500 years. Both my Calabrese and Sicilian roots have their version of cooking the perfect eggplant dish. This simple dish relies on good ingredients. Always use your best olive oil to dress salads and finishing drizzles. My olive oil today comes from California. Grateful to my friend Rolla for sharing. 🙂

I love using it in pasta or a good relish. Today is the day after Thanksgiving and I want something light. This is my Eggplant Boat Salad. Served with some fresh bread, it makes a nice light supper while tantalizing the taste buds. When I visit Italy my relatives and friends relish the simple flavour of fresh food. tonight I want to enjoy the flavours and sip a good glass of wine and take my time eating this salad. Let’s get back to slow food and really savour our food and drinks. Let’s get back to healthy.

Another healthy eggplant recipe of mine: https://recipesatmytable.com/the-best-grilled-eggplant-parmigiana/

For the different types of eggplants check out: https://www.homestratosphere.com/types-of-eggplant/

Ingredients

2 large Japanese Eggplants
1/2 a mozzarella ball ( sliced)
slat and pepper
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp olive oil for cooking eggplant
3 large tomatoes
1/4 cup of good olive oil for dressing

The Process

These are two long Ping Tung eggplants also referred to as Japanese eggplant. Wash them and lean off the tips.

Slice each eggplant in half and then make slits on the diagonal without cutting through.

This is fresh mozzarella and I cut slices to put into the diagonals of the eggplant.

The eggplants curl up a bit. I place them on a stone pizza round because they will crips. Season them with salt, pepper and the Italiansseasoning. Drizzle the oil over them.

Place them in a 375F oven for 25 minutes. Don’t worry if the mozzarella oozes out.

When they come out of the oven use a knife to tuck in the mozzarella.

Slice some tomatoes and lay them on a platter. You can also add greens to this. Dress them simply with salt, pepper and olive oil.

Always use a good olive oil. This one comes from California and brought to me as a gift. Grateful fro friends that share. Thanks Rolla!!

Sit the boats atop of your salad. Drizzle with more olive oil.

October 15, 2020

Refrigerator Corn Relish

In the summer, I always have an abundance of corn. Refrigerator Corn Relish is easy to make and freshness up any meat dish. Its sweet and sour taste enhances a good grill. In the winter, I often make it with frozen corn. You can add roasted red peppers to it or some red pepper chilli flakes for heat. As I always say, make it your own.

Growing up we didn’t eat a lot of corn. My father didn’t like it. In Italy it was generally a food fed to pigs. It is ground for polenta. For some reason corn on the cob was considered peasant food and city folk would definitely not eat it. In fact Italians didn’t know how to cook it. I remember my nonna putting a pot of corn to coil right after lunch to eat for supper. They believed that uncooked corn would give you a bad stomach ache. Even when I visit Italy today you don’t see corn on the cob. You might see some kernels in salads. Sometimes you might see it in the grocery stores ready to eat and it may be sold on some beaches.

Relish in cooking usually was made from leftovers. Mostly they were preserves for the winter months; they were special and treasured. Used more as a condiment, a relish enhances a meal and adds flavour. A relish requires some type of acid, which is usually vinegar. You can make a relish from many vegetables. The relish you use on your hamburgers and hotdogs is thought to be a version of an Indian Chutney recipe.

Leftover corn is also great in my https://recipesatmytable.com/roasted-tomato-and-corn-soup/

Ingredients

1/4 tsp ground cumin
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 large ears of corn
1 large tomato juiced and seeded
2 tbsp chopped onion
2 tbsp prepared green relish
1 tbsp chopped celery leaves
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper chilli flakes (optional)

Process

I roasted the corn and then removed it from the cob. If you have never done this before try this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOJrREMXBYo

Core, seed and chop your tomato. Finely chop your onion.

Add the green relish, onions, tomato, salt and pepper into the bowl and mix.

Meanwhile toast the ground cumin in a pot before adding the apple cider vinegar and sugar to the pot.

Place the diced celery leaves over the other ingredients, pour the vinegar mixture over all and toss. Refrigerate and serve with your favourite dishes.

This will keep in your refrigerator for up to a week. You can also double the batch. tonight we served it with barbecued pork chops.

August 13, 2020

Lasagna Bianca

Whenever we weren’t feeling well as kids, nonna would cook “in bianco” (white cooking) and it was easy on the tummy. Lasagna Bianca is a dish that reflects this. I discovered that “La Cucina Bianca” is a traditional part of northern Italy in the province of Liguria. In this province on top of the mountains the recipes come from the land. They lack colour because these are the products from the land: cheese, legumes and dairy products.

La Cucina Bianca looks bland, but it is healthy and flavourful. It goes hand in hand with “Cucina Povera” because they are single dishes made to fill the belly. Good cooking is as simple as going back to the land and using a few ingredients to enhance the experience. As always, I think the most important part about cooking is to gather in the kitchen and have a party.

Another dish on my blog that is basically a white one https://recipesatmytable.com/butternut-squash-risotto/

Ingredients

3 medium sized zucchini ( cut on the mandolin length wise )
6 medium sized potatoes ( cut on the mandolin length wise)
12oven ready lasagna noodles (I only use Molisana Brand)
1 recipe for béchamel sauce ( see below)
1/2 cup of good grated Parmesan Cheese
6 slices Provolone ( 6 more optional)
1 tbsp Italian seasoning

Process

Generously butter a 9 X 13 pan. Take your lasagna noodles and soak them in warm water while you slice the vegetables. These are oven ready noodles and the warm water makes them pliable.

Now slice the vegetables lengthwise and all the same thickness. My Mandolin has a slice selection.

Start by putting 6 lasagna noodles along the bottom. Sprinkle with a good tbsp of parmesan, add the Provolone slices and dot with béchamel.

Next comes a layer of potatoes, parmesan cheese, italian seasoning and again dot with béchamel.

The Bechamel Sauce

2 tbsp butter or olive oil
1/4 cup flour
3 cups milk
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp chopped parsley
salt and pepper

Follow with a layer of zucchini, parmesan cheese, italian seasoning and again dot with béchamel. Repeat the potato and zucchini layer one more time.

Use your last 6 lasagna noodles for the top and pour the remaining béchamel sauce over it all. Finish with the leftover parmesan cheese. Put a piece of parchment over the top of the pan and secure with aluminium foil. No extra liquid is needed, it will come from the potatoes and zucchini. Place into a 350F oven for 50 minutes.

Once done remove the foil and at this point, if you want to add the other 6 slices of provolone, lay them over the top. Return to the oven for 7 to 10 minutes or until melted. If you don’t want the extra cheese the lasagna is done and golden brown already.

It cuts beautifully and you can see the butter and there is no liquid, just layers of golden yummy!!

First slice for me!!

July 21, 2020December 12, 2020

2 Comments

Cheese, Asparagus and Onion Pie With An Italian Spin

I love England and have visited many times. One of my favourite restaurant go-to is Cheese and Onion Pie. Cheese, Asparagus and Onion Pie With An Italian Twist takes my favourite English dish and flavours it with Italian spices. The secret to the pie is cooking the onions slowly, we just want to sweat them out. Lancashire cheese is used in England, but I mix mozzarella, provolone and parmesan. After some research, I see that this pie has its origins in France.

Italians love onions, and we have a version of Erbazzone where we bake vegetables in dough. After several tries, I think I have a good version of this. In my version I also added some asparagus for a little pop of colour and flavour. Onions are also very good for you. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/276714#benefits

This makes a lovely main dish, but whatever you do, ensure that you eat it warm. It didn’t taste great cold. LOL I served it with a lovely green salad and other little antipasto dishes. Perfect meal.

If you like savoury pies, don’t forget to try https://recipesatmytable.com/kale-pie/

Ingredients for

3 medium onion ( sliced)
3 tbsp butter
salt and pepper
1/2 cup white wine
1 bunch asparagus

Pastry

2 cups flour
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp lard
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp ice water

Cheese

2 cups grated mozzarella ( divided in two
1/2 cup parmesan ( divided in two)

Process

Chop the onions and start sweating them in the butter. Add salt and pepper. Keep an eye on them after about 10 minutes add the 1/2 cup of white wine.

I also cut the asparagus into small chunks and steam them in the microwave for 3 minutes.

Meanwhile in a food processor add the flour, butter, lard and salt. Pulse until it looks like peas. Add the cold water until it comes together.Take 2/3 of the dough for the bottom and leave 1/3 for the topPlace the dough onto a springform pan.

Add half the onions to the first layer.

In with the asparagus.

Sprinkle with Parmesan and the mozzarella next.

Repeat the process and put the top crust on and fold in all the sides. I added some bigger chunks of mozzarella because I love cheese. LOL

Crimp all the sides in and cut three holes in the top for the steam to escape. I am not much for decorating; and so, I made a little criss-cross over the pie. Brush it with a little milk or cream.

Place into the oven at 350 F for 50 minutes. Then turn the broiler on low for 3 to 5 minutes for that extra brown crust.

Out of the oven and cooling.

Cuts beautifully!

June 25, 2020June 25, 2020

1 Comment