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.

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.

Mediterranean Travel - Camargue, France

Late Summer Lunch at La Chassegnette

In the gorgeous Camargue region of southern France, a land of wild horses, rice and salt fields, there is a restaurant owned by chef Armand Arnal called La Chasegnette. A former sheep farm that has been carefully converted into a great restaurant that will treat you to the best that the South of France and Mediterranean Food has to offer. The restaurant has its own certified organic vegetable garden and is very proud of serving only the best most natural and locally grown ingredients.



The inside restaurant is decorated in a simple contemporary way, it is a great space and perfect for dinner. For lunch and if the weather allows ask for a table outside under the vine treluces. order a bottle of Rose, ask for the freshly made tapenade with sourdough bread crostinis and order the chef suggestions.



After lunch make sure you visit the boutique where you can buy local gourmet Mediterranean foods and wines. And walk around the property and gardens.



La Chassagnette is located approximately 8 miles south of Arles, on the road to Le Sambuc. Exit toward Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, then take a left on D36 in direction of Salins-de-Giraud

La Chassagnette
Le Sambuc 13200 ARLES
Closed on Wednesdays
Tel. +33 (0)4 90 97 26 96
Fax +33 (0)4 90 97 26 95
E-mail: chassagnette@heureuse-camargue.com
Web: lachassagnette.blogspirit.com