An Eggplant Lasagna to Crave

Too often, eggplant lasagna is blah. It’s a great way to make a vegetarian lasagna but when the eggplant is just used as just a substitute for the meat, the result is a bland disappointment. I wanted to make an eggplant lasagna that was delicious because of – not despite – the eggplant. I started by researching caponata recipes, which I thought might make a good base, to make a filling that would bring out the flavor and silky texture of the eggplant. My capoanta-inspired filling starts with roasting the eggplant to concentrate the flavor and then adds a lot of vinegar that gives it a unique tanginess that works really well with the creaminess of lasagna. I also went light on the tomatoes; I wanted the tomato flavor to be there but to enhance not compete with the eggplant. To add a little depth, I replaced one of the layers of mozzarella cheese with smoked mozzarella. The result is a vegetarian lasagna that even meat-eaters can love.

Eggplant Lasagna (one 9” x 13” lasagna)

• 2 large or 3 small eggplants, cut into ¾-inch cubes
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 can (15 oz.) diced tomatoes
• 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
• ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tbsp. butter
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 1 ½ cups skim milk
• ½ lb. mozzarella cheese
• ¼ lb. smoked mozzarella cheese
• Uncooked lasagna noodles

1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. Toss eggplant with 1 tbsp. olive oil and 1 tsp. salt. Roast for 20 minutes, turning at least once. Remove eggplant from oven and turn oven down to 375°.
3. Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet, add the onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, tomatoes, vinegar, 1 tsp. salt, and pepper. Stir together and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Add the eggplant and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
4. In a medium-sized pot, melt the butter and stir in the flour. Whisk in the milk and a couple slices of smoked mozzarella. Stir over low heat until the sauce thickens.
5. Spoon 1/3 of the eggplant into the bottom of a 9” x 13” baking dish. Place uncooked lasagna noodles on top, add a layer of mozzarella cheese, and spoon 1/3 of the sauce over the top. Repeat for two more layers, using the smoked mozzarella for the middle layer.
6. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake, uncovered, for another 10-15 minutes until the top is golden brown.
   

Two Secrets to Great Lasagna

Lasagna is brilliant. The classic lasagna with its rich, tomatoey meat sauce, layers of pasta, and melted cheese is comforting and delicious. It’s a great dish to freeze so you can make it in advance or save leftovers. But a lot of people are afraid of making lasagna at home. I think it’s mostly because it can be a real pain to work with the noodles. You boil them, then they are too hot to handle and you burn your hands, but when they cool down they get sticky and are hard to work with.

Which leads me to secret number one: do not boil the lasagna noodles. You can buy “no-boil” noodles but you don’t need to. You can, in fact, use any dried lasagna noodle and skip the boiling step entirely. Not only is it much easier, the final lasagna tastes much better. That’s because instead of absorbing plain water (even if it’s salted), the uncooked noodles absorb the liquids from the filling and sauce, flavoring the pasta. The only thing to keep in mind is that you do want to make sure your filling has plenty of liquid so the dish doesn’t dry out.

The second secret is béchamel sauce which is used in the classic Italian lasagna. It’s very simple to make – it’s just butter, flour, and milk – but it makes the lasagna very creamy, even if you use skim milk in the sauce. If you are going to make lasagna, you need to include the béchamel sauce; you cannot skip this step. Period.

The other thing that I love about lasagna is that once you’ve figured out the basic recipe, there are endless possibilities for creative versions, such as sausage and sage, or crab and artichoke. Use your imagination!

Classic Lasagna (8 to 12 servings)

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
• 1 6-oz. can tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• 2 tsp. basil
• 2 tsp. oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 tbsp. butter
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 1 ½ cups milk
• 1 lb. lasagna noodles
• ¾ lb. mozzarella cheese
• Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Sauté the onion and ground beef until the beef is cooked through. Stir in the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Add the garlic, basil, oregano, and bay leaf. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.
3. To make the béchamel, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the flour and whisk together. Cook for 1 minute. Add the milk and whisk to ensure no lumps form. Heat the milk, whisking occasionally, until it thickens.
4. Spread 1/3 of the beef and tomato mixture into a 9” x 13” baking dish. Cover with uncooked lasagna. Place 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese on the lasagna. Pour 1/3 of the béchamel on the noodles and cheese. Repeat the process two more times. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top of the lasagna.
5. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake, uncovered, for another 10-15 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Doro Wat Gets Green

Usually I make doro wat with plain basmati rice. I love plain rice, but I was craving spinach so wanted to incorporate it. I decided to cook the rice pilaf style, using the same aromatics and spices that I use in the doro wat along with the spinach. Probably a very un-Ethiopian side dish but delicious nonetheless.

Berbere Rice with Spinach (4 to 6 servings)

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• ½ inch fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tsp. berbere (add more if you want it spicier)
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 2 cups water
• 1 10-oz. box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and excess water squeezed out

1. Heat oil in a large pot. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the berbere and cook another 30 seconds. Add the rice, stirring to coat, and toast until translucent, about 1 minute.
2. Add the water, cover, and cook until the water is absorbed.
3. Stir in the spinach.

Pumpkin Quiche Encore

Last year I made a pumpkin quiche that was delicious and had very sharp flavors. I wanted to try a softer version, so I traded the thyme for sage and the Parmesan cheese for goat cheese. I love this version, too, maybe even more. Paired with roasted asparagus it makes a for a very nice summer bistro meal which can be eaten warm (as opposed to piping hot).

I loved the crust from the Belgian leek tart so much, I used it here. You can, of course, use a store-bought crust but this crust is incredibly easy to whiz up in the food processor and the improvement in flavor and texture is actually quite astounding. It really is worth the effort.

Pumpkin Quiche (makes one 9” quiche)

Crust

• 4 tbsp. ice water
• ¾ tsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 ½ cups flour
• ¾ tsp. salt
• ½ cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Filling

• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 4 oz. pancetta, diced
• 10-12 sage leaves, chopped
• 2 eggs plus 2 extra egg yolks
• 1 cup light cream
• 1 15-oz. can pumpkin purée
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ¾ cup crumbled goat cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375°. To make the crust, combine 4 tbsp. ice water and cider vinegar in a small bowl. Blend flour and salt in a food processor. Add butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. With the machine running, slowly add the water-vinegar mixture, processing until moist clumps form. If dough seems dry, add more ice water by the teaspoon. Gather the dough into a ball and flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours (can be made 3 days ahead). Allow dough to soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.
2. Spray a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom or pie pan with cooking spray. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface to a 12-inch round. Transfer the dough to the tart pan; fold in the overhang and press to extend the dough ½ inch above the sides. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the freezer for 30 minutes (this will prevent the crust from shrinking). Remove the crust from the freezer, line the pan with foil that has been sprayed with cooking spray and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until crust is set, about 30 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake another 20-25 minutes until the crust is pale golden. Remove from the oven and cool slightly.
3. Heat the olive oil in a small pan. Add the pancetta and sauté until crisp, 5 minutes. Add the sage and cook until crisp, another 1-2 minutes.
4. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, pumpkin, and cream together and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the goat cheese over the warm crust. Sprinkle the pancetta and sage on top. Ladle the egg mixture into the pastry. Bake until nicely browned, about 30 minutes.

Rösti: Way Better than Hash Browns!

On our trip to Switzerland, one of the traditional dishes we enjoyed was Rösti. Basic Rösti is a side dish that is very similar to hash browns. (Having said that, fried potatoes – what’s not to love!) But Rösti can be elevated to a hearty and enormously satisfying meal. One of our favorites is Rösti mit Spiegelei (with fried egg). The Rösti itself is grated potatoes with onions and bacon, fried up into a round pancake. It’s then topped with melted Gruyère cheese and eggs cooked over medium. Just like brunch, only better, and you won’t miss the toast!

We decided to try our hands at making it at home. It’s a little labor-intensive and it’s not quite the same as the thickly-grated, extra-crispy original, but it was fun and delicious. We decided to make one large pancake rather than four individual ones. The one large one is harder to flip, but it is doable if you are careful.

Rösti mit Spiegelei (2 to 4 servings)

• 2 large Idaho potatoes
• 6 slices bacon
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• ½ cup shredded Gruyère cheese
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 2 to 4 eggs

1. Boil the potatoes in their skins for 20 minutes. Drain and cool. Then peel and grate using a cheese grater.
2. Sauté the bacon until crisp. Remove excess fat and crumble. Sauté the onions in the bacon fat until soft, about 10 minutes. Combine the crumbled bacon and onions with the potatoes and mix gently, taking care not to mash the potatoes.
3. Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the potato mixture. Using a spatula, press into a round, flat cake. Brown over a high heat. When the bottom side is browned, flip it over. Sprinkle the Gruyère over the top and allow to melt. When the second side is browned, place the potatoes on a large plate.
4. Add the butter to the pan. Cook the eggs over medium and place on top of the potatoes.

Rhubarb Redux

Less than two weeks after I wrote about rhubarb syrup, the New York Times online published this blog. Coincidence or trend?

Bring on the Summer Heat

Now that summer is officially here, it’s time for cool meals. I’ve been craving leeks so vichyssoise – the classic chilled leek and potato soup – was the obvious choice. I looked through all my cookbooks to study the variations and decided to make my own version based on the recipe in Gourmet Meals in Minutes. I picked this one because of the cheesecloth pouch with a few herbs and spices. I’ve used this technique before and it works very well for adding a slight layer of complexity without overpowering the delicate primary flavors. I did, however, make some changes. First, I substituted butter for the olive oil. Leeks sautéed in olive oil are delicious but leeks sautéed in butter are heavenly. Also, I omitted the onions. I love leeks’ mild oniony flavor and it feels like overkill to add onions to them.

The leeks that I bought were the sandiest, grittiest leeks I’ve ever seen! Cleaning leeks is easy. The secret is to clean them after you chop them. Fill a large bowl with cold water. Chop the leeks according to the recipe and drop the chopped leeks into the water. Swirl them around to separate them then let them sit for a couple of minutes. All the sand and grit will drop to the bottom of the bowl. Just scoop out the leeks and dry them in paper towels.

To go with my soup, I made fruit salad. But not just any fruit salad. I made a vanilla-mint fruit salad based on a recipe from the July/August 2007 issue of Cooks Illustrated magazine. Their version used cantaloupe, plums, and cherries. I used nectarines, plums, and blueberries. You can use any fruit that looks particularly good at the market. Vanilla and fresh mint are a brilliant combination and when you add the lime juice, it really brings all the flavors together.

Vichyssoise (4 to 6 servings)

• 2 tbsp. butter
• 3 leeks, chopped into small pieces
• 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into small dice
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 cheesecloth pouch containing 2 whole cloves, 2 parsley stems, 2 peppercorns, ½ bay leaf
• 1 ½ cups half and half
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp. chopped chives

1. Melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, chicken broth, and cheesecloth pouch. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes begin to fall apart, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Remove and discard the cheesecloth pouch. Purée the soup. Stir in the cream and add salt and pepper to taste. Fold in the chives. Chill before serving.

Vanilla-Mint Fruit Salad (6 servings)

• 4 tsp. sugar
• 2 tbsp. minced fresh mint leaves
• ¼ tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 nectarines, pitted and cut into ½-inch pieces
• 2 plums, pitted and cut into ½-inch pieces
• 1 half-pint container blueberries
• 2 tbsp. lime juice

1. Combine sugar and mint in a large bowl. Using a rubber spatula, press the mixture into the side of the bowl until the sugar becomes damp, about 30 seconds. Add the vanilla.
2. Gently toss the fruit with the sugar mixture until combined. Let stand at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until the fruit releases its juices, 15 to 30 minutes.Stir in the lime juice to taste.