Eggplant Caviar

Well, the name alone has kept me away from many similar sounding recipes, but when it comes from Smitten Kitchen, I just can’t help myself!

And good thing, this was fabulous! (Although the garlic was a bit offensive to my dinner partner later that evening.)

Makes about 2 cups

1 eggplant, about 1 pound

Half a large tomato or one Roma

2 to 3 small garlic cloves

3/4 teaspoon salt

Few grinds of black pepper

3 tablespoons vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prick the eggplant all over with a fork, and roast on a foil-lined baking sheet for 30 to 45 minutes, until soft. Make a few slashes in the bottom of the eggplant, and drain it in a colander for about 20 minutes. Cool completely.

Cut eggplant open and scrape out flesh and seeds with a fork onto a cutting board, discarding the skin. With a large knife, chop the eggplant flesh into very small bits. (Unfortunately, the food processor, although speedier, only purees the eggplant, leaving little texture.) Scrape into a medium bowl.

In a food processor, puree the tomato with garlic. Pour puree into bowl with chopped eggplant, add the salt, black pepper, vinegar and vegetable oil. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Sundried Tomato Stuffed Mushrooms

For the Despedida of Mary Andrews, I made a Spanish Tortilla and these stuffed mushrooms. Regarding the recipe--it made enough stuffing to fill over 25 mushrooms, and still have a lot leftover (I just ran out of stuffing).

The stuffing is tasty, although I'm not sure it blends well with the mushroom--it's a little light for the heavy, earthy mushroom. I may use the rest to stuff a zapallito, although I think the breadcrumbs may be better suited to tomatoes--with something to replace the sun-dried tomatoes...but then it really isn't the same recipe, is it?

Either way, they were eaten up, with no complaints. =)

Mushrooms Stuffed with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Adapted from Gourmet, March 1996

1/2 ounce dried tomatoes (about 5, not packed in oil)
2 tablespoons olive oil
18 white mushrooms, stems pulled out and chopped fine and caps reserved
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1 large egg yolk, beaten lightly
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, washed well, spun dry, and minced
1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crumbled
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In a small bowl soak tomatoes in hot water to cover 5 minutes. Reserving 1 tablespoon soaking liquid, drain tomatoes well and chop fine. (Skip this step if using oil-packed tomatoes.)

Lay mushroom caps, stems removed, face down on baking sheet either lightly sprayed with cooking spray or parchment paper. Bake them approximately 10 minutes, or until their liquid puddles underneath. Remove from the oven. Carefully pour off liquid that has gathered in the bottom of the pan, and then again, carefully, turn mushroom caps over so they are ready to be filled.

In a small skillet heat oil over moderate heat until hot but not smoking and cook chopped mushrooms stems, shallots and garlic, stirring until shallots are softened. In a bowl stir together mushrooms mixture, bread crumbs, tomatoes, reserved soaking liquid, yolk, parsley, basil, and salt and pepper to taste. Mound stuffing in reserved mushroom caps and arrange caps in a lightly greased shallow baking dish, or the same parchment-lined pan you’ve roasted your mushrooms in. Sprinkle mushrooms with Parmesan and bake in middle of oven 15 minutes.

Makes 18 hors d’oeuvres.

Based on the reviews, some ideas for next time: Cook in white wine, add more tomatoes.

Artichoke Spinach Dip

Jen had a get-together to show off her new pizza making skills, and I wanted to contribute as well. Appetizer-surfing brought up a fabulous sounding Artichoke Spinach dip. Unfortunately, when I hit the grocery store, I'd already made up my mind, regardless of the $12 peso can of artichoke hearts, $12 peso package of cream cheese, and other cheeses necessary to create this heart-attack inducing ----. It was worth it, but probably won't be appearing again until I get back to the U.S.

Artichoke Spinach Dip

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup grated Romano cheese

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon salt

pepper to taste

1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a small baking dish.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together cheeses, mayonnaise, garlic, basil, salt and pepper. Gently stir in artichoke hearts and spinach.

3. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish.
   

4. Bake in the preheated oven 25 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned.

Zucchini Latkes

So, I've been getting an overload of those cute little zapallitos from work, and looking for ways to use them. Zucchini pancakes are a typical fallback, when I get tired of the steamed and sauced versions...

However, I ran across a recipe for Zucchini Latkes, which seemed fairly simple. Quite similar to my pancakes, except I've never made latkes before. And I'd been craving hashbrowns for a while, so the chance to add some potatoes sounded promising. I wasn't about to hunt down matzo in Argentina, with a bunch of bread crumbs in my pantry, so I subbed those.

They also really needed a sauce, so I mixed up some mayo with a few drops of sriracha, and ended up with a fabulous dish!

Zucchini Latkes
Adapted from Food & Wine

Makes about 4 dozen 1 1/2-inch latkes

1 pound medium zapallitos
1 large baking potato (3/4 pound)
1 small onion (4 ounces), peeled
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Vegetable oil, for frying

1. Halve the zucchini crosswise. Cut the zucchini flesh off the seedy center and coarsely grate it in a food processor. Or grate it on a box grater until you reach the seedy center. Discard the center. In a food processor or on a box grater, coarsely grate the potato and onion. Transfer the grated zucchini, potato and onion to a colander and squeeze dry. Let stand for 2 minutes, then squeeze again. Transfer the vegetable mixture to a large bowl. Add the matzo meal, egg, lemon juice, salt and pepper and stir to combine.

2. In a medium skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil until shimmering. Drop packed teaspoons of the zucchini mixture into the skillet and flatten them with the back of a spoon. Cook the latkes over moderately high heat until the edges are golden, about 1 1/2 minutes; flip and cook until golden on the bottom, about 1 minute. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining zucchini mixture, adding more oil to the skillet as needed.

Make ahead: The fried latkes can be kept at room temperature for up to 4 hours. Reheat them on a dark baking sheet in a 375° oven for about 5 minutes, or until warmed through and crisp.