Cheat's Grilled Eggplant Parmigiana Ciabattas

Try saying that five times fast: 

Cheat's Grilled Eggplant Parmigiana Ciabattas

Cheat's Grilled Eggplant Parmigiana Ciabattas

Cheat's Grilled Eggplant Parmigiana Ciabattas

.... 

Okay, you get the idea. Quite a mouthful eh? In more ways than one too. These ciabattas are simply fabulous and the perfect weekend food. Besides being tremendously easy to make, they pack a powerful flavour punch that, if you're anything like me, will leave you very, very satisfied. The best way I can describe it, is that it feels like taking a bite of Italy with all that basil, tomato and mozzarella action. Hey, it's even in the Italian flag's colours. Bellissimo!

Verlaque's** fruit infused olive oil really shines in this dish, rendering the aubergine both beautifully soft and with a wonderful mix of sweetness and tartness. It definitely have my vote for favourite new South African product. Even if you use regular olive oil though, the smoky aubergine, loud & assertive basil, garlicky sundried tomato pesto and strings of gooey white mozzarella will ensure that the memory of these ciabattas stay with you for some time.

Cheat's Grilled Eggplant Parmigiana Ciabattas

Adapted from Epicurious

Serves 4

The cheat's version uses bought sundried tomato pesto instead of requiring you to make a tomato sauce from scratch. If you buy a good quality pesto I think it tastes even better this way. It goes without saying that an extra-garlicky pesto is almost a requirement...

If you must you can sub the Verlaque Splash with a good quality extra-virgin olive oil, but do try and get hold of it, the flavour is quite extraordinary.

1 large aubergine, cut into thickish round slices 

3 - 4 tbsp (45 - 60 ml) Verlaque Lemon Infused Olive Oil with Cranberry Splash Balsamic Reduction & Pomegranate

1/2 tsp  (2.5 ml) salt

1/4 cup (60 ml) sundried tomato pesto

4 individual sized ciabattas (or buy 2 and cut in half or 3rds)

12 fresh basil leaves

100g sliced mozzarella

freshly ground black pepper

1. Place aubergine slices in an oventray, sprinkling with the olive oil and salt. The aubergine should be generously coated on both sides with the oil. Place in the oven at 180C and bake for approx 15 minutes until soft.

2. At this point you can let your aubergines rest in the sauce for a while to intensify the flavours (I left mine overnight and they were amazing!) or you can proceed directly to the next step.

3. Heat a griddle pan over medium-high heat on a stovetop. Place the aubergine slices onto the griddle (if you've left them overnight they will be very soft, so handle with care). Grill for a minute or two each side to firm up and impart delicious smoky flavour (and attractive griddle marks).

4. Meanwhile, halve your ciabatta and toast in the oven (you can also use the griddle pan for this). Also, switch your oven back on (180C).

5. Spread one half of the ciabatta with the sundried tomato pesto, then top with basil leaves. You'll want to cover the whole surface with basil leaves. Lay some aubergine slices on top and follow that with mozzarella slices. Cover with the other half of the ciabatta. Repeat with the other three ciabattas. 

6.  Place in the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese and serve warm.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 549.4 , Total fat 15.4 g, Saturated fat 4.1 g, Polyunsaturated fat 1.0 g, Monounsaturated fat 8.6 g, Cholesterol 14.5 mg, Sodium 564.7 mg, Potassium 28.0 mg, Total carbohydrate 11.0 g, Dietary fiber 0.3 g, Sugars 1.3 g, Protein 8.8 g

Good source of: Calcium 16.4 %, Phosphorus 11.7 %

** Full disclaimer: Verlaque's product was included in the goodie bags at the 2010 SA Food Blogger's conference, so I received it for free. However I was neither asked nor paid to endorse them. I simply love the product and will definitely go on to buy it once I've used up the last little bit.

Bokkom, Lemon & Basil Risotto with Fried Aubergine Slices

We recently visited Paternoster and while there I had a delicious dish of homemade pasta sheets layered with chillies, bokkoms and toasted breadcrumbs. In fact I was so taken with the bokkom flavour, that I bought some to take home with me (vacuum packed to give our nostrils a fighting chance...). I confess, they were lying on the kitchen counter for a few days, staring at me accusingly, then I unceremoniously dumped them in the kitchen cupboard, for later usage.

A few days later I started scouring the internet and racking my brain for risotto ideas and happened upon a recipe for a risotto with anchovies, mint and fried aubergines. And so I started thinking that bokkoms (at least to me) are somewhat similar to anchovies and wouldn't the preserved lemon that I made for the previous Daring Cooks challenge be a perfect complement to the flavours?

However I had another hurdle awaiting me  - the challenge demanded that we make our own stock. Yes, from scratch. At first I wanted to take the easy way out and make some vegetable stock. I really did not feel up to handling a chicken carcass. In the end though, I bullied myself into roasting a chicken (my first time) and making stock from the chicken bones and reserved skin. The things I do in the name of science... I stuffed the chicken with one of my preserved lemons which infused the whole bird with a deliciously lemony flavour. That was enough to convince me to make a lemony chicken stock too.

It was a simple affair really - add chicken bones, reserved skin, remainder of preserved lemon (plus some extra) and the leftover chicken juices at the bottom of the roasting pan to a pot, add a roughly chopped carrot and celery stalk, some onions, a bit of salt and top up with water. And voila! In about three hours you have a flavourful chicken stock. And it makes your whole house smell pretty good too.

As for the risotto - it was heavenly. The bokkoms added just the right note of saltiness and bite to the creamy risotto and the preserved lemon peel and basil delivered the final touches. I will admit that I never could understand the hype about homemade chicken stock, but I think it really made a difference in the end result. Bon appetit!

Oh and before I forget, the official challenge checking line:

The 2010 March Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Eleanor of MelbournefoodGeek and Jess of Jessthebaker. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make risotto. The various components of their challenge recipe are based on input from the Australian Masterchef cookbook and the cookbook Moorish by Greg Malouf.

Bokkom, Lemon & Basil Risotto with Fried Aubergine Slices

Adapted from About.com: Homecooking

Inspired by a meal prepared by Sardines on Toast (blogger/chef at Oep ve Koep, Paternoster)

Serves 4

1 medium aubergines, cut into strips

3 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1/2 tsp minced garlic

2 bokkoms, sliced finely*

1 3/4 cups arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

6 cups lemon chicken stock

3 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

3 tbsp butter

1 tsp preserved lemon peel

1. In a large saucepan, heat two tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat, add the aubergine and fry until well browned and tender, about 8 - 10 minutes. Reduce the heat as needed to keep the aubergine from burning.

2. Heat the rest of the oil in a large saucepan, add the onion, garlic and bokkoms and saute for 2 minutes. 

3. Add rice and stir for a few minutes to coat the rice with oil.

4. Add wine and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Stir constantly until all the wine is absorbed. 

5. Add the chicken stock, a half cup at a time, stirring until the liquid is absorbed before adding more stock. The whole process will take about 20 -25 minutes for the rice to be cooked al dente. 

6. Stir in the basil, butter and lemon peel. Spoon the risotto into individual serving bowls, and arrange the fried aubergine slices on top. Sprinkle with more basil and lemon peel if desired. Serve at once. 

* If you aren't lucky enough to be able to personally buy some bokkoms (dried salted mullet) on the West Coast of South Africa, I would imagine that you might be able to get away with using bacalao (dried salted cod). I have not tasted bacalao myself though, so you might want to use your own discretion on that one. Otherwise, use anchovies as per the original recipe.

Greek Green Bean Stew

(Updated from the archives) 

It has been Hot with a capital H for the past few days in Cape Town and surrounds. So hot in fact, that I have avoided my kitchen at all costs, preferring to eat cold fruit directly from the fridge, soak in cold baths and lounge in front of the fan. This morning we woke up to a slight reprieve from the heat. As someone so eloquently stated on Twitter: "Dear Cape Town...after much debate, Hell would like to thank you for returning its weather...have an awesome day now." 

Unfortunately  my menu plan for the week did not take the weather into account and so I had a choice between Greek Green Bean Stew or homemade Turkish dumplings last night. *Note to self: check 7 day weather forecast when planning meals.* Needless to say the stew won. I just could not face folding little pieces of dough around mince last night. No sirree, not happening. 

Instead, I chopped up some aubergines, greenpepper, beans, tomatoes and onions, threw it in my wok with some olive oil and relaxed on the balcony with the wind (from the fan) in my hair and an ice cold G&T in my hand. Okay it wasn't a G&T, but soda with triple sec does not sound half as glamorous, does it?

The stew was not heavy at all, but rather like a ratatouille. In fact it's pretty perfect for the slightly overcast weather today. See I braved the elements so you can have weather appropriate meals. It's a tough job...**

Greek Green Bean Stew

Serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1 medium onion, cubed
1 green bellpepper,cubed
2 medium aubergine, cubed
300g green beans, topped, tailed & halved
4 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried marjoram
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp sugar
salt & pepper, to taste
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
a few capers (optional)

1. Sprinkle aubergine with salt and leave to rest in a colander for about 30 minutes. Wipe dry and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, saute the onion, green pepper and garlic in a tablespoon of oil until soft, but not browned. Remove and set aside.
3. Add the remaining olive oil to the pan and saute the aubergines over medium heat until just cooked.
4. Add the beans, tomatoes and onion & greenpepper mix to the aubergines. Sprinkle with herbs, cinnamon and sugar and season with salt and pepper. Lower the heat, cover and let simmer until the beans are tender and the tomatoes have thickened into a sauce.
5. Serve while hot, scattered with feta and capers if using.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 219.2 Total Fat 9.9 g Saturated Fat 2.5 g Polyunsaturated Fat 1.1 g Monounsaturated Fat 5.6 g Cholesterol 8.8 mg Sodium 298.0 mg Potassium 993.8 mg Total Carbohydrate 31.0 g Dietary Fiber 9.2 g Sugars 1.3 g Protein 6.4 g

** Donations for G&T gladly accepted
***PS: Excuse the crappy picture quality - I blame it on bad lighting.