Eggplant And The Best Caponata Ever

I love eggplant. Always have. Mom used to slice it into circles, sprinkle with salt, set the slices in a colander and let the " bitterness" run out. I don't mess with all that. I don't know, maybe eggplant growing has changed since I was a kid. Maybe the vegetable isn't bitter at all and mom just thought it was. Once the slices were ready for cooking, she'd give them a good rinse under cold water, dry them well, dip them in beaten egg then into crushed cracker crumbs and fry them in a whole lot of butter. My sisters and I always fought over who got the most and if but one slice was left on the serving plate, we had to draw straws to see who got it.

In all those years since the 1940s, we've learned a thing or two about cooking healthy. And while I would dearly love to eat eggplant fixed mom's way, I don't allow myself to do it. What I have discovered though is that eggplant is just plain good the way God made it. I do tend to peel it because to me, the peel is difficult to chew. Other than that, the vegetable is good baked or stewed or grilled or roasted.

I've tried caponata before and truthfully, never thought it was anything to rave about, let alone take the time to make. That is until I saw Chef Anne Burrell cook it up on the Food Channel. Doggone, the recipe was vegan and the only thing I tweaked was to add some tofu to make the dish a complete meal. I could barely wait to get into the kitchen and if you've known me long, you know that I absolutely hate cooking. But something about this recipe called to me. And guess what? It is undoubtedly the best caponata I've ever eaten--bar none. Thanks, Anne.

1 large eggplant, peeled and diced into 1" cubes
3 Tbs. olive oil

Fennel has a licorice taste and while some
like it raw, I prefer it cooked.

Salt and pepper

1 large red onion, cut into medium dice
1 pinch of red pepper flakes
1 fennel bulb, cut into half-inch dice
3 celery ribs, diced
6 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1 red and 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into medium dice
2 zucchini, cut into medium dice
8 oz. firm tofu, drained and pressed, cut into half-inch cubes
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup tomato paste
2 Tbs. sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup golden raisins (I used regular since I was out of the golden ones)
1/4 cup capers, drained
1/4 cup pine nuts (I used almonds as that's what I had)
1/2 bunch of fresh mint, cut into slivers

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the cubed eggplant with the olive oil, salt and pepper and lay it in a single layer on a sheet pan. Roast it for 15-20 minutes.

Coat a deep pot with olive oil. Toss in the onion and crushed red pepper. Season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium high heat until the onions are soft. About 8-10 minutes.

Spend the $ for fresh mint. It makes
all the difference in the world.

Add the fennel, celery, garlic and tofu and cook another 5-6 minutes. Stir in the peppers and cook another 6 minutes. Add the zucchini and season with salt and pepper once more. Cook over medium heat until all the vegetables are soft. Toss in the eggplant, the water and the tomato paste. Cook until the water is evaporated. Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar in a small bowl and add it to the mixture. Stir in the raisins, capers, nuts, and mint. Cook another 5-6 minutes.

Serves 6-8 and while I served it hot with garlic bread, it's good cold too.

You know how some recipes just get better and better the longer they sit?
Well this is one of them. It was great on day one. Better on day 2. But
by day 3, what little was left, had an incredible depth of flavor.

Stuffed Grape Leaves

Siren's Feast an Edible Odyssey by Nancy Mehagian is a culinary memoir. Really. There is a genre called culinary memoir. I've read a few, including Tender At the Bone by Ruth Reichl, (no recipes) and Pat Conroy Cookbook, (loaded with recipes). Good reads. So when it was announced that Nancy Mehagian would speak to the local writer's club, I was there early to get a front row seat.

Nancy Mehagian is an attractive woman in her late fifties or early sixties. She had a comfortable way about her, the way she stood, the way she dressed, her infectious smile. As she spoke, giving us a hint of her life, I knew that she had led a spiritual life, searching for adventure and truth. She read us the introduction to her book, about growing up Armenian in Arizona. About the large family gatherings where food was the star. She told us about traveling to Spain in her early twenties, falling in love with the country and opening a vegetarian restaurant there. She read us the chapter about her trip to the famous Amarnath cave in India, she hinted at a stay in prison in England. She was a hit. You know you are a hit when the audience begs you to read another chapter, so she did.


After her talk, we were invited to meet her at the back of the room. Smart lady, she brought two large plates of Stuffed Grape Leaves for us to sample. This woman knows how to sell a book.

A large jar of Grape Leaves has gathered dust in my pantry for about nine months. I think fear kept them there. I looked and looked at recipes. Most of them had raisins and cinnamon in them. I couldn't taste them - you know, how you can read a recipe and know it will be good.

Nancy Mehagian's stuffed grape leaves were delicious. I can't tell you for certain what convinced me that I needed to buy her book, the story or the recipe. I needed that recipe.

I made a few changes (in red) to her recipe. The finished product was delicious, but not as pretty as hers. It takes practice to wrap a perfect Grape Leaf, and after wrapping about 40, I got better. I love them, and I love the idea of gathering friends and family to prepare stuffed Grape Leaves together before a celebration. Like Mexican tamales, and Scandinavian stuffed cabbage, Stuffed Grape Leaves are a labor intensive project, made pleasurable when shared with friends.

Most of the Grape Leaves I made went to a solar eclipse party on the top of the Santa Monica Mountains. How appropriate. Sorry, I don't have a picture.

Stuffed Grape Leaves  

Makes a lot - 30-40 

1/3 cup olive oil (sunflower oil)

3 large onions, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp dried dill weed

1 tsp dried mint leaves (3 tablespoons fresh mint)

1/2 tsp paprika

1 bunch parsley, finely chopped (cilantro)

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 cup white rice

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup pine nuts

1 cup water

1 jar of grape leaves, 16 oz

1 cup water

1 lemon + 1 lemon, sliced at serving time.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Saute onions and garlic in oil until translucent.

Add next ten ingredients and cook for about 10-15 minutes. The rice will not be done, but on it's way.

Stuff the grape leaves as shown HERE, putting about a teaspoon of rice mixture in the center of the leaf.

Arrange the stuffed grape leaves in the bottom of a dutch oven, pour 1 cup of water and the juice of one lemon over the grape leaves, cover and bake about 20 minutes, until rice is cooked.

Cool. You can serve these hot or cold. I prefer cold. 

Serve as an appetizer with fresh lemon wedges. 

Stuffed Artichokes

I brought all of the food for an overnight trip to Joshua Tree National Park. My college buddy brought all the camping equipment since we were going in her car. We were hoping to catch the show of wild flowers and cacti in bloom. We did!

Last year we went in late March and witnessed the Joshua trees (pictured) sprouting white stocks similar to yucca bushes. This year in mid-April only a few late bloomers in the highest elevations still had flowers. However, we enjoyed the teddy bear chollas, ocotillos, and other cacti blooming now when last year we were too early.

This is a magical, other worldly place. Joshua Tree. Ever listen to U2? Our park ranger told us that this Irish band capitalized on this park without actually stepping foot on its premises! Yes, they stayed at a nearby hotel and got their picture taken in front of a yucca brevifolia, but never viewed the crazy rock formations, or seen the unbelievable view of Coachella Valley and snow topped mountains behind Los Angeles from Keys point. Don't you ever make such a poor judgement. This is a national treasure. Promise me you'll go someday

Ingredients

1 butternut squash

2 artichokes

1/4 olive oil

4 cloves garlic

juice of 1/2 lemon

salt & pepper

4 oz. Kalamata olives

1/4 cup pine nuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut butternut squash in half lengthwise and lay cut side down onto baking dish. Add 1/4 inch water(1/2 up your thumb nail) and bake for 45 minutes until skin gives slightly when pressed.

2. Cut artichokes in half starting at the stem. Place in large stock pot only filling water level up to 3/4 the height of the artichokes, so that the vegetable is not submerged under water.

3.Drizzle olive oil over the artichokes and add the cloves of garlic, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to the water. Bring contents to a boil and simmer on medium heat for 30 minutes until the stem is fork tender. Drain and scoop out flower fibers with a spoon or small knife and discard. Set on serving plates.

4. Scoop out seeds from squash, slice meat into cubes without actually scoring the rind. Using a large spoon scoop out the cubes from the cooked squash. set into a medium bowl. Add sliced Greek style olives and pine nuts to the bowl. Mix gently to keep the squash from turning too mushy.

5. Pile generously onto the artichoke halves.

We dined well. I also packed the left over roasted tomato orzo salad and these paired together well. Served as a cold lunch on a beautiful day in the park.