Eggplant Tomato Pie

Ingredients

1 eggplant
2 tomatoes
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp pesto
grated parmesan cheese fresh basil

Directions

This recipe and photo come from Key Ingredient (J.W.). The only changes were to add an egg, replace the parsley with basil and I actually sauteed the onion and garlic in a little olive oil before adding to the eggplant mash. Also replaced the cheddar with freshly grated parmesan.

Peel and cube eggplant, boil until soft. Drain water and mash. Add (sauteed) diced onion and garlic, breadcrumbs, beaten eggs, melted butter, pesto, and mix well. Grease a pie pan. Slice one tomato and layer on bottom of pan. Add eggplant mixture. Slice the other tomato and layer on top of eggplant mixture. Add grated Parmesan cheese and sprinkle with fresh basil. Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Mediterranean Inspired Summer Salads

Submit your favorite salad recipe using the comments section, and we will happily publish it on our blog.

We'll also prepare the recipe ourselves and include a photo of our version!

Med Food and Travel: Vegetarian Risotto with Butternust Squash and Fresh Sage

I "Googled" around to find a nice and easy butternut squash risotto recipe that I could improve on. I found this one at simplerecipes.com bought the ingredients and invited a couple of friends over for dinner. Here is the recipe with a few changes:

Ingredients:

• 6-8 cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 Tablespoons Olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 2 cups butternut squash, peeled, and finely diced (you can find these already peeled and chopped)
• 2 cups arborio rice 
• 1 cup dry white wine 
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 Tbsp chopped sage leaves
• Salt

Preparation:
Roast the butternut squash slightly on the broiler and set aside. Do not cook too much otherwise become puree once you add it to the risoto.

Meanwhile sautee the chopped onion and garlic in olive oil until onion is getting translucent / blond. Add the rice and mixed well with the sauteed onions. Lower the flame on the stove to low flame and add the butter, keep mixing all the time. Add half the cup of white wine to release the flavours on the pan. keep stiring and add a cup of broth then the sage leaves. Keep adding the broth and stiring until the rice cooks but still al dente. Add the roasted butternut squash and stir without mashing it.

You can add a bit of the Parmesan cheese while cooking the risotto but I like to grate it on top at the time of serving. Garnish with fresh sage leaves and serve immediately.      

Mediterranean Food - Fried Chick Peas with Chorizo and Spinash

I first saw this recipe in one of my favorite Mediterranean food blogs: Tobias Cooks! Mediterranean cuisine for everyday. My favorite food to cook is rustic Mediterranean dishes that you can add your own touches and improvise slightly. Tobias has a great recipe collection of Greek and Mediterranean dishes, shows great photos, and gives easy instructions on how to prepare the food to perfection.

This recipe originates from Spain and is a good complimentary to our previous post Travelling in Andalucia. The recipe comes from another chef and food writer Mark Bitman you can see the video of Mark Bitman preparing the Chick Peas with Spinach and Chorizo dish here. Or visit the NY times for Mark’s recipe here.

For this recipe I have used the Portuguese Dry Cured Chorico, a milder and spiced diferently from its Spanish version.

You can serve this as tapas or as a side dish to anything grilled.



Here is the recipe:

1 medium onion
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 cups cooked or canned chickpeas, as dry as possible
Salt and black pepper
Ground cumin
4 ounces chorizo
1/2 pound spinach, roughly chopped
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (my preference), port or sherry

Heat the olive oil and cook the chopped onions until brown almost crispy. Sautee the chorico until cooked and slightly crispy (set aside leaving the oil on the pan) add the chickpeas, salt and peper, ground cumin (or any other herb or spices) to taste. Continue cooking for another 5 to 8 minutes or until chickpeas are crisp set aside with the chorico.

Add the spinach and balsamic vinegar to the pan and cook until water has evaporated. Add chickpeas and chorico back to the pan and toss quickly to combine. Check for salt and pepper. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Malta: Traveling in the Mediterranean

Planning a Trip to Malta

I am planning a trip to Valletta, the tiny UNESCO world heritage capital city of the island of Malta. Valletta is largely untouched by tourism, and features beautiful architecture, a rich history and an excellent local cuisine.
I looked around online for rental holiday apartments and these two caught my attention.

Maison La Vallette
+356 7948 8047
maisonlavallette.com
from $100 per night, sleeps two

The decor is a mix of Maltese baroque style and bespoke designer furniture, and seems to be the perfect base to explore this city and island.



The other apartment is also a 16th-century townhouse in the traditional honey-colored stone that is so prevalent in the city. Simple design, with good classic taste and charm.

The Valletta G-House
07813 988827
vallettahouse.com
from £500 per week, sleeps 2

Mediterranean Food and Wine: Italian Pasta Recipes from Med Food and Travel Blog

Mediterranean Recipes -
Orechiette with Sausage and Broccolli Rabe

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion
4 garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 pound Italian sausage (make sure you get the best sausages you can find!)
dry marjoram leaves, bay leaves, salt and pepper
1 pound dry orecchiette
2 large bunches of broccolli rabe
White wine
Freshly-grated parmigiano cheese

1. Heat the olive oil and stir in the chopped onion and garlic in a large deep sauté pan over medium heat, let the onions brown 5-8 minutes. Add the sliced sausages and sauté until brown and cooked. Add the bay leaves, marjoram and any other herbs you want. Salt and pepper to taste, and sauté one minute. Add half glass of white wine.

2. Steam or boil the Broccoli Rabe for about 2 -3 minutes, until cooked but still firm. When cooked add to the pan with the sausage and mix in with the sausage sauce. Set aside.

3. Meanwhile, cook orecchiette in boiling water until al dente. About 10-13 minutes. Drain and add the cooked orechiette to the Sausage and Broccoli pan.

4. Add another half glass of white wine and let cook for a minute, so that the pasta soaks slightly the sausage and broccoli sauce. Remove from heat and pour into a large serving platter or bowl. Spoon remaining sauce over the top. Sprinkle with Parmigiano cheese.

Serves 4 as main course.

Mediterranean Travel: Spain, Andalucia

Heading south from Lisbon, on our way to Morocco for our tour of the Imperial Cities, we decided to delay the road trip for a couple of days and explore a little of Seville and the Andalucía countryside.




We drove through the North Alentejo region of Portugal entering Spain at the Badajoz border and then heading south towards Seville.

Our first stop for the rest of the afternoon and evening was the 16th century hotel on the hills of Cazalla de La Sierra in the heart of the Andalucian countryside.

80 Km North of Seville, the small charm hotel set high in the hills has been the property of Charlotte Scott and her family for over 25 years.

Raved about by magazines and artists that appreciate the privacy and unpretentious setting of the place. The historic home with typical rural architecture is the perfect setting to enjoy the Andalucían countryside.



After breakfast we were eager to head to the city. The last time I had been to Seville was during the 1992 World Expo, and if the city had its moment then it is doing very well in keeping it up.

Seville is one of the most beautiful cities in Spain, full of history and charm, young and vibrant with lots to do. We headed to the historic centre to walk by the city’s main monuments in the Santa Cruz neighborhood: the Cathedral, the Giralda, the Archivo de Indias and the Alcázar, are must see monuments of Seville, but what we enjoyed the most was walking through the old maze of Seville streets and enjoying the city’s old charm and modern vibe.



The city is credited with the invention of Tapas and Seville has more than a thousand bars where the choice of different tapas is virtually unlimited, from seafood to ham, eggs and vegetarian tapas the choice is endless. Sevillians actually make a meal of them, moving from bar to bar and trying one dish at a time. We did not have time for Tapas hopping so we settled by going to the recommended and very modern hotel EME.

Close to the cathedral in the Santa Cruz neighborhood the hotel that has won Interior Design and Architecture awards offers three different restaurants. We chose to try the Tapas Bar Milagritos where the interiors are an amazing combination of Modern and traditional and reflect the Andalucian soul with its bright blood red colors and hanging “Pata Negra” hams.




The hotel is also home to “Santo” restaurant that offers Mediterranean cuisine prepared under the eye and palate of Chef Martín Berasategui. There is also a Japanese restaurant at the hotel.

We thought that maybe on our way back from the Moroccan road trip we could stay at EME hotel for an evening and try Berasategui’s Mediterranean creations and unwind at the hotel’s famous Spa.

Trasierra Hotel
Cazalla de la Sierra
41370 Sevilla
Telephone: +34 600 550 600
E-mail: enquiries@trasierra.co.uk
Web: www.trassierra.co.uk

EME catedral hotel
Calle Alemanes, 27,
41004, Sevilla
Telephone / fax: +34 954 560 000 / +34 954 561 000
E-mail: info@emecatedralhotel.com
Web: www.emecatedralhotel.com