Eggplant Parma Extraordinaire!

Eggplant...Salted? Breaded? Floured? Naked? 

We've tried many renditions, such a family fave. Parm has to be salty sweet and deliciously olive oily. 

We've discovered that none are as fabulous as this one. 

It has that specific NYC salty flavour with sweet eggplant layers. The earlier recipe in this blog is also great, but this one beats it.

For a 9" by 13", medium size Pyrex or baking dish: Peel off the bitter skin and THINLY slice 2 or 3 smaller but fat eggplants. As a guideline, each layer needs about 5 slices and you will need 3 layers.

Nevermind salting the eggplant!!  Simply fry the eggplant in olive oil until brown on both sides. C'est tout! Place slices in a plate with paper towel to absorb any excess oil and SALT at this point. Keep going until you have lots. 

It will be pure and sweet. 

For the sauce, Mutti concassé tomotaoes are best. For this and everything.

First, slice, not chop, many cloves of garlic, like 6 to 8, or more. Sautée garlic until golden, starting in lots of cold olive oil, enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Goes fast so watch it. Add a few chili flakes and basil, then a can of Mutti tomatoes.  This way you have flavored the sauce with enough punch but it's not overpowering. Let this sauce marry for a while on low heat. 

You will need fresh mozz cheese. 2 to 3 medium size balls, sliced thinly. 

Layer sauce, eggplant and spaced out mozz slices until you've got 3 layers. If you have fresh basil add to each layer. 

For the topping, mix some panko with garlic salt, melted butter, paprika, salt and pepper. Add fresh chopped parsley. Sprinkle thisnon top of the parm dish.

Cook for about 30-40 min at 350F. 

This dish is a dream...our family fave! Serve with crusty baguette and lots of butter!

Enjoy...

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Lemony Love Preserved Lemons

This is a luxurious condiment with myriad uses that literally perk up the palate, and almost any dish.  The "sexual" energy of the origin story of this delectable treat will be posted at another time...

The method used is based on the photo in this post. Simple recipe but the process is the most important part. (The first time I made this, I had to throw out the jar of lemons because I didn't do things property.)  

Find the best medium sized lemons you can and wash them very well. Once they are preserved, you will be using the entire lemon, rind and pulp...in practically everything!

Get a wide and fairly deep jar, one with a rubber gasket and sterilize it in boiling water. 

Hold the lemon on its head and cut into it deeply but don't cut it in half, leave the bottom attached. Then turn, and do this again so now you have a lemon cut into quarters but attached at the bottom. Repeat with all of the lemons you will use. My jar used 3 lemons.

In a small bowl, mix equal parts kosher salt and granulated white sugar. About 3/4 cup to a cup of each. Place the lemons in a medium sized bowl and "stuff" them with as much of the mixture as you can, pushing it deep into the quartered lemons. Now you will leave the lemons uncovered in the fridge for about 24 hours. After this time, the bowl will have lots of liquid which you will need. 

Now, push the lemons down into the jar as tightly as they will fit in any way. Drop in a bay leaf and a few pepper corns. Push them down again and add the liquid from the bowl. THE KEY: the lemons MUST be completely covered with lemon juice, over fill if need be.  I was lazy about juicing more lemons so I bought a jar of fresh lemon juice, (not concentrate!!) which did the trick with no effort.  

Close your jar tightly and put it in the fridge...go about your life for 4 weeks until they are ready to use. 

CAUTION: if the lemons and their juice look murky at anytime, throw them out. This will mean that they weren't covered in lemon juice and mold is growing in the jar. No Good!

The juice should look fairly clear. Sometimes pulp collects at the bottom of the jar which is normal.

These lemons add a punch of flavour to any dish. Sometimes they just melt into whatever you are making: soups, salad dressings, hummus, braises, pasta sauces, tagines, roasts etc. Everywhere!

These preserves are pungent so rinse a piece before you use if you want a smoother flavour.  

Try them...they are addictive!

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Classic French Onion Soup- Ou La La!

If you are low on patience, DON'T make this soup.  If you are high on love...make it!

A great classic Soupe à l'onion takes time, and more patience than you might think.  Getting the onions to the right caramelization point is a labour of love unto itself.  For this process, about an hour is probably a good reference for the time frame. When you think they are ready, let them cook for another 5-10 minutes. Need to be dark brown with a dark fond (caramalized bottom of the pan) for the flavour bomb. The fond will melt into the liquid once added. 

Slow and low on the glow...

My soup is based on Julia Child's original recipe, and that's what makes it so good!

With about 6 large onions, I like the big sweaty yellow ones. I am often tempted to use Vidalia onions, so gorgeous but almost too sweet for this soup. Cut the onions in half and slice thinly.

In a large heavy pot (or cast iron bottom type pot) saute the onions in a bit of olive oil. Start the heat on medium high to get things going and then bring it down to low for the rest of the cooking time. Add 1 smashed clove of garlic and a pinch of salt (no sugar please, onions sweet enough) to the pot, this helps with getting the dark brown caramel you need for a great soup.  No burning allowed!!

Learned a trick: add a bit of water to the onions at the beginning and put a lid on the pot. Let them sweat down for a few minutes. Then remove the lid and continue. Somehow the steaming decreases the caramalization time...it works! 

Once the onions are soft and dark toffee coloured, add a heaping tablespoon of flour and mix.  Then add a couple of tablespoons of sherry and about 1.5 cups of white wine. This broth with look a bit creamy...a touch of worstershire sauce adds depth. 

To this, add a combination of chicken and beef broth, about 4 litres of liquid total.

Add a few sprigs of fresh thyme and 1 bay leaf, and let simmer on low heat for a while.

To serve, you need oven proof bowls.  Pour soup about 3/4 of the way, and then add crusty, day old or baguette bread 

( broil it first if fresh so crispy.) Top with a combo of gruyere and strong, old cheddar cheese...LOTS!!

Place the bowls on a cookie sheet so easy to handle a few at a time. Broil for a few minutes to melt until golden, and serve.

Be careful not to burn your hands and mouth.... letting the soup cool for a few minutes is probably a good idea!!

C'est delicieux!

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Glorious Garlic Shrimp

What a fabulous old-school yet timeless appetizer. Savour this buttery, garlicky deliciousness mopped up with your fave bread.

Choose shelled and tail- on medium sized shrimp, thawed from frozen or fresh. Enough for about 8 to 10 per person. 

Pre-heat oven to 425F.

Sauce made in a bowl:

2-3 tbsp melted butter

2-3 tbsp olive oil

2-3 tbsp lemon juice 

Good splash of white wine

4 cloves of finely chopped garlic

Lots of finely chopped parsley

1/2 tsp Paprika 

1 tsp dried Italian herbs, put what you like

1 tbsp chili pepper flakes,

Salt and Pepper

In any oven proof dish or pan you like for serving, spoon some sauce into it and then arrange your shrimp in 1 layer. Add sauce to this layer and then add next layer of shrimp. Ideally 2 layers works best. Pour the rest of the sauce on top and lightly cover with breadcrumbs. Sprinkle a bit of olive oil on top of the finished dish.

Bake for 12 min or so. Broil the top if you want a bit more color.

Serve this hot with lots of crusty baguette. 

I promise...it is a serious crowd pleaser!! 

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Salted Tahini Choco Chunk Cookies

 These are melt in your mouth fabulous!! Make them...fast! 

Let dough get cold in fridge for at least an hour. Pre-heat oven ar 325F.

• 8 tablespoons or 1 stick butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup tahini, well stirred
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons  flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
• 2 cups ( about 280g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chunks, or chocolate chips
• flaky sea salt. 

Cream the butter, sugars, tahini, vanilla, and then add full egg and egg yolk.

Add dry and incorporate but don't overmix.

Add chocolate, I love Bakers semi sweet chunked with a knife.

Make small balls and space enough on cookie sheet, they spread. 

• Bake the cookies, turning the baking sheet in the oven midway during baking, until the cookies are golden brown around the edges but still pale in the center. For small cookies, about 12 minutes, for larger cookies, about 14 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle cookies with a bit of flaky sea salt, and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet. Bake the remaining cookies the same way.

These do not last in your kitchen.  I promise.

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Whole Baked Crispy Cauliflower

So pretty to serve and super easy to prepare. This is a crispy canvas for any flavour theme. So yummy!

Pre-heat oven to 450F.

First, in a large pot, generously salt the water and gently boil the washed whole head of cauliflower for about 15-20 minutes. Drain and let dry for a while. 

In an oven proof pan, simply season the entire head of cauliflower with lots of olive oil, salt and pepper. Pop it in the oven for 45-55 min. Need to see the char...

While this bakes, prepare a sauce that will be poured over the head once cooked. Make more sauce than you think as it is easily absorbed by the hot cauliflower and delicious to scoop with every bite. Pick a glavour profile and wing it. 

Here is a Mediterranean version:

Greek Extra virgin Olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon and its zest.

Handful of chopped capers and 1 garlic clove, minced. 

Paprika, garlic salt, dried Greek oregano, bunch of fresh chopped basil and parsley, salt and pepper. 

Look for texture. Pine nuts, baked quinoa crisps, croutons, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds etc...

Look for freshness with a variety of herbs. And lots.

Mint, cilantro and harissa,

Cumin, shallots  etc.

Also fun to lay the cauliflower on a bed of yogourt, hummus, buratta or any other spreadable. 

This dish takes tons of flavour. Just decide the slant and enjoy as a side or main dish.

YUM...and fun to make. 

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Zingy Zucchini Taco Boats

Another dinner when everything in the fridge "must-go"! 

This Zucchini boat dish is just a canvas for a creative opportunity to use up any vegg and/or any ground meat you may have on hand. Here's what had "to go" on this particular day...

Filling:

Sauté diced onions, 

1 smashed clove garlic, chopped red and yellow cabbage, shredded carrot, parsley.

Add ground beef to brown. Add chicken stock, a bit of tomato passata or ketchup. 

Spices: cumin, coriander, turmeric, garlic salt, chili powder, paprika, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. OR...a packet of Taco seasoning.

Half the raw zucchinis and scoop out the center with a spoon. The pulp goes in the meat mixture. 

In a pan than you can use to bake and broil, layer some tomato passata and olivenoil, salt and peepper. Lay the zucchini boats side by side and full each with the meat mixture. Top with whatever grated cheese you have, love Cheddar on this. And, don't forget your favorite hot sauce to go...

At 350F, bake for 40 min or so and then broil for a couple of minutes for melty cheese action. 

You can see how this concoction is open to so many variations. The zucchini is just a low carb vessel for a delish dish. 

Pick a theme, Italian, Mexican, Middle Eastern, and fill them up! Great leftovers too. 

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