Stacked Polenta, Eggplant, & Smoked Mozzarella

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This dish is so delicious and can be presented so beautifully that you will definitely want to add it to the list of your go-to recipes especially for entertaining. Even if you are not vegetarian, like me, you will love this dish with all the layers of flavors and textures. The smoked mozzarella is key in giving it a layer of complexity that will keep you coming back for more. Any season, any reason, this is a great meal to make.

Although tomatoes are available year-round, they are in season and at their best between June and September. So during  those months I use fresh ones. All other times, I use canned or boxed tomatoes. I like to use Pomi chopped tomatoes.

A quick note on how to read recipes. Below I have written in the instructions, “1 cup polenta, cooked…” This means measure 1 cup of dried polenta and cook it. If I had said, 1 cup cooked polenta, that would mean cook the polenta first and measure 1 cup of it.

Serves 2-4            Difficulty level: Intermediate

Ingredients

Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 ½ pounds fresh, ripe tomatoes, cut into 1” pieces. You can substitute canned tomatoes when not in season. I like to use Pomi chopped tomatoes.
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes or cayenne
  • 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
  • 2 tablespoons vodka
  • ¼ cup crème fraich
  • 1/4 cup chiffonade basil for garnish

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Instructions

The sauce – Heat a medium saucepan on medium-low heat. Add the olive oil. Once heated, add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 20-30 seconds. Add the chopped tomatoes with the juices and turn up the heat to medium-high until it comes to a boil. Turn heat down to medium-low again and cook the tomatoes for about 20 minutes or until soft. Add the spicy pepper.

Puree the sauce either in a food processor, or with an emersion blender. Return to the pan and season with salt and black pepper. Add the vodka and bring to a boil. Cook for a few minutes until the alcohol has evaporated. Lower the heat and add the crème fraich. Stir to mix. Add the parsley and stir. Keep warm until ready to use.

Eggplant, Mozzarella, & Polenta

  • 1 globe eggplant
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 8 ounces smoked Mozzarella cheese, grated
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 cup polenta, cooked and put in a dish to set (click here to watch a quick video on how to cook polenta_

Slice eggplants about ½ inch thick with skin on. Depending on the size of the eggplant you should have about 10-12 slices, but make sure to have at least 4 – one for each serving if doing single layer.

Brush both sides with the olive oil and grill on medium heat until cooked, about 2-3 minutes on each side. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Assembly and Cooking

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Un-mold the polenta by inverting the pan on a cutting board. Cut the polenta in 4 squares. If using individual ramekins, use a knife to loosen the polenta and un-mold.

Place the squares of the polenta and slices of grilled eggplants on a cookie sheet, top with some mozzarella cheese. Heat in the oven until the cheese melts, about 5 minutes

To assemble, put some sauce on the bottom of each plate or platter. Make stacks by putting one square of polenta, topped with one piece of eggplant. Add more sauce and repeat with another layer. You can also serve it as one layer.

Finish with more sauce on top and chiffonade basil.

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Variations:

  • Serve as an appetizer by making it into smaller stacks. The picture above is a small square of polenta, a thin slice of eggplant cut in half and then folded in half.
  • Make it lighter by omitting creme fraiche or use 1/2 & 1/2. Milk will not work. It will make it too watery.
  • Don’t make it spicy by leaving out red pepper flakes.
  • Don’t puree the sauce and use it as a chunky sauce.
  • Use other vegetables like zucchini, mushrooms, or red peppers. Or a combination of vegetables.
  • make it in a baking dish and layer like lasagna
  • Use regular mozzarella instead on smoked.

Do Ahead:

  • The sauce can be made up to one week ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container. Or freeze for up to one month. When ready to use, bring to a boil, simmer on low heat for 5 minutes.
  • Polenta can be made up t0 5 days ahead and refrigerated.
  • Eggplants can be grilled and refrigerated for up to 3 days. I haven’t yet tried to freeze them. If you try it, please share your findings.

Cranberry Sauce

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This is so easy you will never want to buy another can of cranberry sauce!

Variations:

  • Add spices like cloves, cinnamon, or ginger.
  • Add fresh herbs like thyme or rosemary while it’s cooking
  • Use cranberry sauce on chicken, duck, pound cake, ice cream…
  • Making a leftover turkey salad? Add some cranberry sauce to the mix, with some nuts and celery.

Do Ahead:

The sauce can be made 5 days ahead of time. Keep refrigerated. You may need to add a little liquid when reheating.

Bruschetta

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This bruschetta always reminds me of that scene in the movie Julie & Julia. You know the one, at the beginning of the movie when she is thinking about starting a blog. Anyway, every time I see that scene my mouth waters and I have to make some. Even if it’s not tomato season.

It’s usually a summer kinda dish so when I crave in the cold seasons, I just warm up the tomato mixture slightly before serving it on the bread. Enjoy!

Serves 2          Difficulty Level: pretty easy and quick

  • 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons chopped red onion
  • Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup chiffonade basil leaves – click here to watch a video on how to chiffonade
  • 4 1″-1.5″-thick slices of baguette or French bread
  • 3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Since the tomatoes are the main attraction in this dish, choose ones that are juicy and flavorful, like heirloom, or vine-ripened ones. Cherry tomatoes also work.

In a small bowl, mix the chopped tomatoes, garlic, and onion. Add about 2 teaspoons of olive oil, season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Stir in the basil. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. It’s best to let it sit for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day ahead, but most of the times I am not that patient. When I make this dish it’s because I have a craving and I need to have it ASAP!

Bruschetta

Heat about 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a medium pan. Add the sliced bread and fry on both sides until lightly brown and crunchy.

Place two pieces on each plate. Divide the tomato mixture into four portions and place on top of the bread slices. Enjoy with a knife and fork or devour by picking it up with your hands. Guess which one is my favorite way to eat it?

Variations:

  • Make it lighter by toasting the bread with no oil instead of frying it.
  • Make it lighter by not adding any olive oil to the tomato mixture.
  • In a pinch, and if you are absolutely desperate, for example if you are stranded on a deserted island, you can use chopped canned tomatoes. Let the juice drain completely.
  • Serve it slightly warm – but not cooked – if it’s chilly outside.

Do Ahead:

  • The tomato mixture can be made up to 1 day ahead.
  • The baguette can be fried one day ahead and heated in the toaster when ready to serve. But only if you are serving this to company and don’t want to spend your time in the kitchen while they are there. It’s really at it’s best when it’s made fresh.

 

 

Spicy Thai Green Curry Beef with Eggplant

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The ideal Thai dish will have a harmonious balance of sweet, salty, spicy, and sour. That’s why it’s so satisfying to eat. And I am guessing you love happy tastebuds as well since you are looking at this recipe.

I also love cooking Thai dishes because usually it’s quick and fairly easy. The other plus is that you can do almost all the prep ahead of time so when it’s time to make dinner, it will take just a few minutes. I have some suggestions for you at the end of the recipe under the Do Ahead section.

I gave this recipe a rating of easy because really – it is pretty easy to make. But then I added intermediate because some of the ingredients may require some searching at the grocery store or going to a specialty store.

Thank you to my friends – Alex for cooking with me, and Goody for video taping.

Serves 4          Difficulty Level: easy to intermediate

  • 3-4 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 pound sirloin steak, cut into thin, bite-sized strips
  • ½ pound Japanese eggplants, about 2, sliced on the bias
  • 1-2 tablespoons of green curry paste (recipe follows, or use store-bought)
  • 2 ½ cups coconut milk
  • 4 kaffir lime leaves, chopped
  • 1-2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1 teaspoon palm sugar (or granulated sugar)
  • A handful of Thai basil leaves
  • 2 Thai chilies, sliced thinly for garnish

Heat some oil in a large sauté pan or wok. Add the sliced beef and sauté, stirring frequently, until the beef is almost cooked, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside for later.

Next, add more oil if necessary (Enough to cover the whole surface of the pan.) Sauté the sliced eggplants until brown on both sides, stirring frequently. Remove from pan and add to the cooked beef.

Heat about 2 tablespoons oil in the same pan. Add 1 tablespoon green curry paste and fry until fragrant. Stir in half of the coconut milk and stir. Cook for about 5-6 minutes, until an oily sheen appears.

Add the kaffir lime leaves, fish sauce, and sugar. Stir in the remaining coconut milk. Bring back to a simmer and add the sautéed eggplants and beef and heat through. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Add the Thai basil leaves just before serving. Garnish with Thai chilies. Serve warm with rice.

Green Curry Paste

  • 15 Thai chilies
  • 2 lemongrass stalks, chopped
  • 3 shallots, sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 tablespoon chopped galangal
  • 4 kaffir lime leaves, chopped
  • ½ teaspoon lime zest
  • 1 teaspoon chopped cilantro root (or 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves)
  • 6 black peppercorns
  • 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon shrimp paste (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Combine all the ingredients together thoroughly in a mortar and pestle or in a food processor until smooth. Add the oil, a little at a time, and blend well between each addition. Makes about 1 cup.

Leftover curry paste can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Variations:

  • To make it vegetarian or vegan, you can omit the fish paste in the curry paste and use soy sauce instead of fish sauce.
  • Use other vegetables like bell peppers, carrots, bok choy, broccoli, zucchini, or cauliflower.
  • Make it lighter, by using light coconut cream
  • Serve with white rice, brown rice, noodles, quinoa, faro, or other grains

Do Ahead:

  • Make the curry coconut sauce up to 5 days ahead. Sauté the beef and eggplants when ready to eat and combine with the sauce.
  • Mise en place (A method of preparing and organizing ingredients before you start cooking.) all the ingredients, except the eggplant up to 3 days in advance. Eggplant can be sliced one day ahead.

 

Roasted Kabocha Squash & Black Bean Tacos with Chili-Lime Crema

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If you’ve never had this underrated squash, I recommend you give it a try. Kabocha squash is available year-round, but is at its best in late Summer and early Fall. The flavor is slightly sweet and has the same texture as butternut squash. It’s rich with vitamin A that is good for immunity, eyes, skin, hair, and healthy white blood cells. It’s also is a good source of iron.

The hardest part about this recipe is cutting and peeling the Kobocha, also known as a Japanese pumpkin. But here is a trick. Cut it in half and microwave for about 2-3 minutes. This will help soften the skin, therefore easier to peel. All else fails, leave the skin on. It is actually edible.

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Serves 3-4    Difficulty level – easy peasy

  • ½ medium Kabocha – about 1-1.5 pounds
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • sea salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • ½ cup roughly chopped cilantro
  • 1/3 cup diced or thinly sliced red onion
  • 1 cup shredded Romaine lettuce
  • ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1 avocado sliced for topping
  • 1 lime cut into wedges

For the chili-lime crema

  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (less if you don’t like it spicy, more if you do)
  • zest of 1 lime
  • 1 teaspoon lime juice
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 425°. Start by cutting the ends off. Then cut in half, seed, and peel.

Chop the Kabocha into small cube-ish pieces – about ½” x ½”. The shape doesn’t matter so much, as long as they are about the same size so they will cook evenly.

Toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, and pepper. (Note: You can roast the whole squash and save half for snacks, to put in a salad, or soup.) Roast in the oven until soft and slightly brown about 20-25 minutes.

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In the meantime, mix the black beans, ground cumin, about ¾ of the red onion, and cilantro in a medium bowl. Once the squash is cooked, add to the bean mixture and toss to coat.

Warm the tortillas on a griddle pan and keep warm by wrapping in aluminum foil, kitchen towel, or tortilla warmer if you have one.

To make the chili-lime crema, mix all the ingredients together. Set aside.

Put the lettuce, extra chopped onion, feta, avocado, chili-lime crema, and lime wedges on a platter for self-serving. Serve the squash and bean mixture, along with the condiments and warm tortillas.

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Variations:

  • Make it lighter and use non-fat Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.
  • Make it low carb and add all the condiments to the squash mixture and turn it into a salad.
  • Use other winter squash or sweet potatoes instead of Kabocha.
  • Use other kinds of beans like pinto, white beans, or kidney beans.
  • Add some cooked rice to the squash and bean mixture.
  • Add black olives to the squash and bean mixture.
  • Make it a tostada by keeping the tortillas on the griddle until crisp.
  • Make it into enchiladas by adding some cheese, rolling them up, putting them in a baking dish, adding enchilada sauce on bottom and top, with some cheese, and baking them at 375° for 20 minutes.

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Do Ahead:

  • Kabocha squash can be roasted 5 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.
  • The mixture can be make 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated and reheat in a pan on the stove or in microwave.