This is a perfect dish to welcome fall in New England.
You can add many things to risotto but mushrooms (especially porcini) are my favorite. I made this dish up last night with vegetables I had on hand: crimini mushrooms and eggplant. Feel free to omit the eggplant, it’s just as good.
Making risotto is not hard, but it is an art. The key is adding small amounts of liquid to the rice, only enough for it to be absorbed a minute or two at a time. This ensures the dish will be not only flavorful but will have the correct texture: think al dente (with a little bite); never soggy or water-logged.
And of course, the main thing you do, is stir, baby, stir. (Tip: Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan while stirring and lower the heat if you think the liquid is evaporating too fast or if there is a danger of the rice burning.)
Ingredients:
What I did:
Heat olive oil in a medium-sized pot over low heat. Add diced onion and cook until translucent. Add rice and stir. Add more olive oil if needed, just enough to coat the rice. Cook for a minute or two, stirring occasionally. Ladle in the liquid, just enough to cover the rice and stir. When liquid is absorbed, add more liquid, just enough to cover and stir. Continue doing this until risotto is done (about 45 minutes). In between stirring the risotto, coat a cookie sheet with olive oil and salt (kosher is best). Put down a layer of eggplant and brush tops of eggplant slices with oil and salt. Bake in a 400-degree oven, turning over when bottom is brown. Do the same with the mushrooms. Add nepitella to the cooked mushrooms and set aside. When risotto is done. Stir in eggplant and mushrooms. Stir in butter and parmesan cheese. Add pepper to taste.
Heat olive oil in a medium-sized pot over low heat. Add diced onion and cook until translucent.
Add rice and stir. Add more olive oil if needed, just enough to coat the rice. Cook for a minute or two, stirring occasionally.
Ladle in the liquid, just enough to cover the rice and stir. When liquid is absorbed, add more liquid, just enough to cover and stir. Continue doing this until risotto is done (about 45 minutes).
In between stirring the risotto, coat a cookie sheet with olive oil and salt (kosher is best). Put down a layer of eggplant and brush tops of eggplant slices with oil and salt. Bake in a 400-degree oven, turning over when bottom is brown. Do the same with the mushrooms. Add nepitella to the cooked mushrooms and set aside.
When risotto is done. Stir in eggplant and mushrooms. Stir in butter and parmesan cheese. Add pepper to taste.
This dish takes about 45 minutes to make if you work fast. Add another 15-minutes to 30 minutes if you work at a leisurely pace.
You can serve this as a main meal (serves four) with a side salad; or as a side dish. And if you’re out to impress, try serving it as a side-dish inside a parmesan basket.
Find more recipes in the Food section.
Roasted eggplant tastes great, is low-calorie and can be used in a variety of dishes.
I improvised this dish one night using ingredients I had on hand. The taste is savory, sweet, and comforting. And it’s something that can be whipped up in about half an hour.
Wash and peel the eggplant vertically, leaving vertical, purple stripes. Cut thin (About 1/4 of an inch) round disks of the eggplant. Brush on olive oil and salt on both sides. Bake in a 400-degree oven on a cookie sheet. Brown on one side and then turn over. This should take about 15 minutes for each tray of eggplant. Set aside. Mix cream cheese into cooked mushrooms. Top an eggplant slice with a couple of tablespoons of the mushroom mixture. Top this with a few slices of sun-dried tomatoes in oil. And then top that with a few leaves of arugula. And top it all off with another slice of eggplant.
Wash and peel the eggplant vertically, leaving vertical, purple stripes.
Cut thin (About 1/4 of an inch) round disks of the eggplant.
Brush on olive oil and salt on both sides. Bake in a 400-degree oven on a cookie sheet. Brown on one side and then turn over. This should take about 15 minutes for each tray of eggplant. Set aside.
Mix cream cheese into cooked mushrooms.
Top an eggplant slice with a couple of tablespoons of the mushroom mixture.
Top this with a few slices of sun-dried tomatoes in oil. And then top that with a few leaves of arugula. And top it all off with another slice of eggplant.
You can serve it as is, or heat it up in a hot oven for just a minute before serving.
Serve this with roasted broccoli or other roasted vegetables if you wish to make dinner a total vegetarian treat.
Maggie holds a plate of Moussaka and Greek salad.
This is an untraditional moussaka recipe from Julia Child. I changed it slightly. It’s a bit time consuming to make but worth the effort. And unlike eggplant parmesan, you don’t have the tedious chore of dipping the eggplant in egg and breadcrumbs.
For the lamb mixture:
For the topping:
It comes out of the oven bubbling hot, but wait a few minutes until it cools a little before serving.
Wash and peel the eggplant vertically, leaving vertical, purple stripes. Cut thin (About 1/4 of an inch) round disks of the eggplant. Brush on olive oil and salt on both sides and lightly sprinkle with the dried herbs. Bake in a 400-degree oven on a cookie sheet. Brown on one side and then turn over. You can cover the cookie sheet with aluminum foil during baking. This should take about 15 minutes for each tray of eggplant. Set aside. Chop the parsley in a food processor, remove and reserve. Add the onions and chop with on/off pulses; remove and saute in a frying pan with 2 tbsp. of olive oil; add the minced garlic. When onions are tender, add the ground lamb. Brown very lightly. Fold in tomatoes, wine, parsley and allspice, salt, pepper. Simmer over moderate heat, stirring frequently for about a half hour or until the mixture is thick enough to hold its shape in a spoon. Taste periodically and adjust seasoning. Remove from heat and stir in the beaten egg. Lightly oil a baking dish (one the size of a good lasagna will do) and line it with a layer of eggplant. Spoon half the lamb mixture over it and then add another layer of eggplant. Add the rest of the lamb mixture and end with another layer of eggplant. To make the topping, do the following: Cook the butter and flour together for about 2 minutes without coloring, stirring with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and pour in all but 1/2 cup of the hot milk. Whisk vigorously to blend thoroughly. Put it back on moderately high heat and whisk slowly until it comes to a simmer. Add in the rest of the milk in drips and drabs. Be careful to scrape the sides and bottom of the pan. The sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon. Whisk in salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and stir in mozzarella cheese. Spoon the hot sauce over the top of the eggplant. Shake the baking dish to allow it to sink down. Sprinkle the swiss cheese evenly on top. Bake for 45 minutes in a 350-degree oven until the top is a light brown and bubbling.
Brush on olive oil and salt on both sides and lightly sprinkle with the dried herbs. Bake in a 400-degree oven on a cookie sheet. Brown on one side and then turn over. You can cover the cookie sheet with aluminum foil during baking. This should take about 15 minutes for each tray of eggplant. Set aside.
Chop the parsley in a food processor, remove and reserve.
Add the onions and chop with on/off pulses; remove and saute in a frying pan with 2 tbsp. of olive oil; add the minced garlic.
When onions are tender, add the ground lamb. Brown very lightly.
Fold in tomatoes, wine, parsley and allspice, salt, pepper. Simmer over moderate heat, stirring frequently for about a half hour or until the mixture is thick enough to hold its shape in a spoon. Taste periodically and adjust seasoning.
Remove from heat and stir in the beaten egg.
Lightly oil a baking dish (one the size of a good lasagna will do) and line it with a layer of eggplant.
Spoon half the lamb mixture over it and then add another layer of eggplant. Add the rest of the lamb mixture and end with another layer of eggplant.
To make the topping, do the following:
Cook the butter and flour together for about 2 minutes without coloring, stirring with a wooden spoon.
Remove from heat and pour in all but 1/2 cup of the hot milk. Whisk vigorously to blend thoroughly.
Put it back on moderately high heat and whisk slowly until it comes to a simmer. Add in the rest of the milk in drips and drabs. Be careful to scrape the sides and bottom of the pan. The sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon.
Whisk in salt and pepper to taste.
Remove from heat and stir in mozzarella cheese.
Spoon the hot sauce over the top of the eggplant. Shake the baking dish to allow it to sink down.
Sprinkle the swiss cheese evenly on top. Bake for 45 minutes in a 350-degree oven until the top is a light brown and bubbling.
Serve warm or tepid, but not too hot. It’s good cold, too.
Check out the other “Big Fat Greek Mother’s Day Party” recipes.
My friend Michael enjoyed a plate of this updated pasta dish on a recent visit to the RootsLiving kitchen.
Tweaking basic recipes with some of your favorite ingredients keeps things exciting, fresh and new.
This basic pasta recipe from the bible of classic Italian cooking, the Artusi, was featured in a post here a year ago. I recently upgraded it to include one of my favorite ingredients: eggplant.
The differences between the original recipe, called “Neapolitan-Style Macaroni II” and this updated version are as follows:
Cut up the eggplant and add with the other ingredients to the pasta.
(Note: If you’d like to print this recipe, click on the headline on this post and then use the print button at the bottom of the post. In other words, print from the “permalink” not from the homepage.)
You can't go wrong with impromptu pasta dishes made with fresh ingredients you already have at home..
I can’t pass up a good-looking eggplant. If I see one at the grocery store I buy it, regardless of my dinner plans for the week. This is because a good eggplant is not always easy to find. I’d say there’s about a 50/50 chance of finding a good one.
And what does a good one look like? It should be a deep, dark purple (nearly black with lighter highlights revealing themselves under the bright grocery store lights). The skin should be blemish free, smooth, and taut. It’s also a good sign if the stem end is a bright green or at least shows signs of recently being so. And it should be heavy when you pick it up so that when you rap it gently with a closed fist it produces a low dull thud.
I won’t buy a lesser eggplant. I’ll change my dinner plans if I can’t find one. And that’s because eggplants of a lower quality are bitter and are responsible for giving all eggplants a bad name. This has resulted in cooks doing crazy things with eggplants, such as slicing it, putting it into a colander, salting it, and letting it sit until the juices run out. In my earlier cooking days, I tried that and found it resulted in an eggplant that still is much bitter than using a fresh one without all of this nonsense.
The key is using a good, fresh eggplant, and doing what you will to it quickly after peeling and slicing it. Don’t let it sit around getting brown.
I also partially peel my eggplants before slicing them. I do this by cutting off the stem end and then using a vegetable peeler to vertically peel strips off the eggplant from stem end to the bottom. This creates an eggplant with purple stripes. And then I slice it thinly — about a 1/4 to 1/8 of an inch or less.
Since cooking eggplant is often an impromptu act for me, I often come up with interesting recipes based on what I have on hand. This recipe came about on one of those occasions.
(This is a good dish to make if you have a little leftover tomato sauce. The Italians use a sparse amount of tomato sauce on their pasta, usually only enough to color it a deep orange, not a heavy red.)
Ingredients/Shopping List
Bring a large pot of salted water (use a good amount of salt) to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente. While water is being brought to a boil, peel and slice an eggplant as described above. Put slices on an oiled cookie sheet and brush olive oil on top of each slice. Make sure both the tops and bottoms of each slice have a thin layer of olive oil on them. Sprinkle slices with Kosher salt and cook in a 350 degree to 400 degree oven until brown on each side. Turn slices over half-way to make sure each side is a golden or dark brown. (Don’t worry about overcooking them. The thin slices will have a crisp paper texture and will taste great. Just be sure you don’t burn them!) Cook 2 cookie sheets of eggplants in this way. When eggplant slices are done, cut them into quarters. Crumble the sausage links into a hot frying pan with a light coating of olive oil. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over them. Cook until done. And then transfer to a dinner plate lined with a paper towel to drain off the excess grease. Heat the tomato sauce up over the stove. Drain the pasta into a colander and then pour it back into the empty pot. Add sausage and stir. Add the eggplant and stir. Add the tomato sauce and stir. Add grated parmesan cheese and stir. Serve hot.
Bring a large pot of salted water (use a good amount of salt) to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente.
While water is being brought to a boil, peel and slice an eggplant as described above. Put slices on an oiled cookie sheet and brush olive oil on top of each slice. Make sure both the tops and bottoms of each slice have a thin layer of olive oil on them. Sprinkle slices with Kosher salt and cook in a 350 degree to 400 degree oven until brown on each side. Turn slices over half-way to make sure each side is a golden or dark brown. (Don’t worry about overcooking them. The thin slices will have a crisp paper texture and will taste great. Just be sure you don’t burn them!) Cook 2 cookie sheets of eggplants in this way.
When eggplant slices are done, cut them into quarters.
Crumble the sausage links into a hot frying pan with a light coating of olive oil. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over them. Cook until done. And then transfer to a dinner plate lined with a paper towel to drain off the excess grease.
Heat the tomato sauce up over the stove.
Drain the pasta into a colander and then pour it back into the empty pot. Add sausage and stir. Add the eggplant and stir. Add the tomato sauce and stir. Add grated parmesan cheese and stir. Serve hot.
(Note: If you’d like to print this recipe, click here or on the headline on this post and then use the print button at the bottom of the post. In other words, print from the “permalink” not from the homepage.)
This luscious eggplant casserole is low on calories. For you Weight Watchers, that means only 1-2 points per serving.
(The first in an occasional series of low-calorie meal recipes.)
I should weigh 1000 pounds.
After making, eating and writing about food for RootsLiving - with recipes such as Ma’s Stuffed Peppers, Mac and Cheese for Adults, Chicken with Polenta, and Italian Cheeseburgers — I need to start focusing on some low-cal dishes.
I started creating low calorie meals several years ago when my wife joined Weight Watchers. My criteria for inventing these dishes was that they not only be low calorie — and low in Weight Watcher points — but they also be healthy and just as flavorful as the fattening stuff.
This eggplant parmesan dish meets that criteria by using a red Italian sauce made with carrots that was one of my father’s favorites. He got the recipe from our cousins who live near the walled city of Lucca in Italy. And I can assure you that none of them used this sauce in their favorite dishes because they were watching their weight.
And oh, yeah, there’s one more thing: this eggplant parmesan contains no parmesan cheese.
You could add some and boost the calorie (or points) up a bit. But with the wide-variety of intermingling flavors contained in this dish, I don’t think you’ll miss it.
Eggplant Parmesan Light (About 1 or 2 Weight Watcher points per serving)
(Serves 4)
The red carrot sauce can be used on pasta too or in this case, rice.
Brush a cookie sheet with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil so that eggplant slices won’t stick too much. Peel eggplant and cut into thin slices, no more than a 1/4-inch thick. Cut lemon into wedges and squeeze juice into small bowl. Brush each eggplant slice with the lemon juice and salt. Then place on cookie sheet. Bake eggplant slices in batches in a 450 degree oven. Turn slices over being careful not to burn. Lightly brush olive oil into small casserole dish or baking pan. Put down one layer of eggplant slices. Top each slice with a very thin slice of mozzarella cheese and then cover with carrot sauce. Repeat until all eggplant slices are used. Place a small piece of fresh basil on top of the top slices. Bake eggplant in a 350 degree oven until cheese melts (about 10 minutes).
Brush a cookie sheet with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil so that eggplant slices won’t stick too much.
Peel eggplant and cut into thin slices, no more than a 1/4-inch thick.
Cut lemon into wedges and squeeze juice into small bowl. Brush each eggplant slice with the lemon juice and salt. Then place on cookie sheet.
Bake eggplant slices in batches in a 450 degree oven. Turn slices over being careful not to burn.
Lightly brush olive oil into small casserole dish or baking pan. Put down one layer of eggplant slices. Top each slice with a very thin slice of mozzarella cheese and then cover with carrot sauce.
Repeat until all eggplant slices are used. Place a small piece of fresh basil on top of the top slices.
Bake eggplant in a 350 degree oven until cheese melts (about 10 minutes).
Italian Red Sauce Made with Carrots
Heat olive oil in a sauce pan. Add garlic and onion and cook until translucent. Add chopped carrots, celery, and parsley. Saute until soft, stirring often for about 15 minutes. Add tomato paste and enough water to turn sauce orange (about 3 cups). Cook until water is reduced and sauce becomes thick (about 15 minutes). Stir often. Add wine and cook for about another 10 minutes, stirring often. Add salt and pepper to taste, and basil.
Heat olive oil in a sauce pan. Add garlic and onion and cook until translucent.
Add chopped carrots, celery, and parsley. Saute until soft, stirring often for about 15 minutes.
Add tomato paste and enough water to turn sauce orange (about 3 cups). Cook until water is reduced and sauce becomes thick (about 15 minutes). Stir often.
Add wine and cook for about another 10 minutes, stirring often. Add salt and pepper to taste, and basil.
(All photos by Mark Micheli)
