Georgia's roasted eggplant and quinoa salad

This little gem was inspired by the inimitable Deb Perelman's eggplant bruschetta.  Not sure it qualifies as a new recipe, but it was extremely well-received, so here goes!

The only note I'll make here is about fat.  I wouldn't roast eggplant in anything but olive oil, personally, because it's so damn perfect.  Like a Mediterranean sonata and Georgia's eye-roll. That being said, as always, use what you've got. You should, however, adjust the heat accordingly. Olive oil has a smoking point of around 400 degrees fahrenheit (or lower, depending on the purity of the oil).  So if you roast your eggplant at a temperature any higher than 400 degrees fahrenheit, you are scorching the oil and releasing harmful, carcinogenic compounds into your eggplant.

Here is a chart of the smoking points of common fats, to guide you in selecting your roasting temperatures.

We did not have any pomegranate on hand, but it would make a delicious addition, especially with orange or yellow peppers instead of the red ones you see above. Happy eats!

Love,

Téo

Roasted eggplant salad

1 very large, or 2 medium, eggplants
3 tbsp olive oil
2 cups quinoa, cooked
1 medium red onion, finely diced or sliced whisper thin
Juice of 2 lemons
1 red, orange or yellow pepper
3/4 pound feta
1 generous handful fresh mint
More olive oil, to taste

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit. Slice the eggplant, lengthwise, into 1/2 inch slices.  Sprinkle with salt (coarse, if possible) and lay between sheets of paper towel on a cutting board, topped with a heavy object, to sweat.  After about 15 mins, remove paper towel, tap off salt and cube eggplant finely.

- Coat the cubes of eggplant in olive oil and spread out on baking sheet in a single layer.  Roast, shaking occasionally, for 40 to 45 mins, or until browned.  Try not to move eggplant too frequently or it will break down.  You are going for a crisp exterior with a creamy interior.

- While the eggplant is roasting, dice or slice the onion into a large mixing bowl.  Cover with lemon juice, so they will pickle slightly.  Cook your quinoa, dice your bell pepper and have a glass of rosé.

- Remove eggplant from the oven and cool completely before using.  Same with the quinoa, which must be at room temperature.  See above re: rosé.

- Once cooled, mix quinoa and bell pepper into the onions.  Add eggplant and toss gently.  Crumble the feta into the salad.  Add a few glugs of good olive oil and fold gently.  Adjust the acidity by adding more lemon juice.  

-  Set aside to rest, if you can, to allow the eggplant to absorb the dressing.  Do not chill, salad will be fine at room temperature for several hours.  Add mint and pomegranate (if using) right before serving.  Enjoy!

Amazing late summer and fall salad...and we're back!

I will spare you an excuse re: why I haven't posted in almost a year, because let's face it if you are reading this you know me and love me and have an idea about what an absolutely crazy year it has been for me.  Phew.  Let's hope it's coming to an end.

Anyways, after nearly a year of mental blog entries that never materialized (except as material-like mounds of guilt) I finally developed a recipe that made me gasp, stop, and run over to my laptop.  Actually, I first tested it on a few folks, for you and good measure.  The reviews are unanimous.  It's delicious.

About the star of this salad.  Radicchio is a great source of vitamin K, which is essential for the formation and regeneration of muscle and bone tissue.  A diet healthy in vitamin K may also prevent Alzheimer's disease by limiting neural damage (for Mark Bittman's great recent article on Alzheimer's and sugar, see here).

Finally, radicchio also contains age and skin cancer fighting antioxidants, eye-friendly beta-carotene, and a host of B vitamins to aid in metabolism and fight stress.  Of course, you're most likely to reap these health benefits from raw radicchio (as opposed to roasting in on the barbecue...though also delicious) so this salad is a great way to get lots of raw radicchio in.

Vegans, I apologize, this salad is not for you.  It relies on the crispness of pancetta and tang of feta to offset the bitterness of radicchio.  I've tried this dressed with both lime and balsamic, and I can't remember which I prefer, so use what you've got on hand (or both).  I also imagine that it would be quite good with blood orange, though I think I've only ever seen one in Montréal, ages ago, and it was $ 25.  So do what you can...and eat joyfully!

Thanks for having me back, all!

Love,

Téo

PS.  I am working on my food photography....which is humbling.



Radicchio salad

2 handfuls raw pecan halves
1 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp maple syrup

10-12 slices pancetta

1 large radicchio (or 2 small)

1 bunch flat-leaf parsley (a.k.a. Italian parsley)

2-3 ripe pears

1/2 pound feta
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar or lime juice
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
Olive oil, to taste

- In serving bowl, mix red pepper flakes with balsamic or lime juice.  Grate in garlic.  Set aside.

- In a shallow pan, toast pecans in butter and cayenne pepper over low heat for approximatively 4 mins, stirring often to avoid burning.  Add maple syrup and continue to cook until bubbly and thick, about 30 seconds.  Turn out onto parchment paper (or a plate) and cool.

- Chop pancetta grossly and saute until crispy.  Set aside in pan.

- To chiffonade radicchio, peel back leaves (discarding tough bottoms) then stack them on on top of the other and cut into think slivers (like cabbage in a coleslaw).  Add to serving bowl.

- Grossly chop parsley and add to bowl.  Quarter and core pears, then slice them and add to bowl.

- Grossly chop candied pecans and add to salad.  Add pancetta and toss, scraping the pan and using the fat to dress.  Taste and add olive oil if desired.

-  Crumble feta into salad and give it a final toss.  Serve with crusty bread and good olive oil.  Enjoy!

Beets, two ways...for Nathalie!

Apologies are in order.  I gave away my digital camera this summer, because I prefer my old film SLR and that's what I was using at the time.  I was away, on a trip, in a beautiful setting, snapping away, with lots of time to wait for my negatives to be developed and scanned.


I underestimated how much of a problem this would be when I started this blog.  Food blogs mean food pictures.  Food pictures are difficult without a digital camera.


I am working on solving this problem.  But it's taking a while, and I've been holding off on these delicious beet salads in the meantime.  No more.  Time's a wasting.  So if you'll indulge me, I'll be putting up the next few recipes without pictures.  But be patient, dear readers.  I'll add pictures later.


----------------------


Now, many people are not beet fans.  It's alright.  I wouldn't touch them myself until my late teens.  And then, I suffered through them for a while, convinced that--given their colour and weird taste--they had to be good for me.  But now I love them.  And you should, too.

These my two favourite beet recipes.  If you are a tentative beet eater, you may want to start with the cooked salad.  If not, go ahead and try the raw one.  Either way, you'll get lots of iron, potassium, magnesium, phosphorous, and vitamins A and B.  Beets are an excellent detox-booster, as they tone blood and feed red blood cells.  Enjoy!

Beet slaw


Beets can be roasted and fried, but they are most often boiled.  For a long time.  I came up with this recipe as a means of eating beets raw, which I figure preserves the maximum amount of nutrients.  Do not peel the beets if you can help it--the skin has tons of fibre.  Scrub them well and peel around any bumps and rought spots, and perhaps near the stem where the skin gets thicker.  But otherwise, leave the skin on.

5-9 beets, depending on the size
2-3 limes, depending on how many beets
1 carrot (optional, for colour)
1 large clove of garlic
3-4 tbsp sunflower oil
Salt and pepper
1-2 avocadoes, ripe

- Grate the beets using the bigger setting on a cheese grater (I have a flat handheld grater and it is a god send).  Watch your fingers.  Try to grate directly into the bowl or you will have a purple kitchen.

- Grate the garlic into the beets.  Raw garlic is an excellent antimicrobial (ie, a yeast killer).  Antimicrobials rid the intestines of bad bacteria, leaving room for the good ones to grow and thus boosting immune function.  If you are not a raw garlic fan you can skip it here, but I urge you to try it.  If you have a date, or are otherwise worried about garlic breath, there is a magic trick.  A mouthful of parsley after your meal, and there'll be no trace of garlic to be found.  That goes for both garlic and onions, in whatever shape or form.


- Grate your carrot in.  Squeeze your limes and toss the juice with the beets.


- Drizzle in the sunflower oil and toss well.  Season to taste.  Divide salad in serving bowls.


- Cube your avocado and serve on top.  Try to get a chunk of avocado in with each bite...


Beet and corn salad

5-9 beets, depending on the size
1 red onion (or half if very big)
2-3 handfuls of frozen corn (ie, 1/2 to 1 cup), thawed
1 bunch of parsley (I prefer flat leaf (ie, Italian) in this recipe, but that's just me)
3-4 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
Salt and pepper
Sunflower oil

- Cook your beets.  It takes a long time.  Be patient.  When a fork can make some headway in, but it feels like there would still be a bit of crunch, they're ready.


- Soak cooked beets in cold water for a minute to cool and loosen skins.  Peel.  The skins should rub off.  If they don't, scrape stubborn spots with a paring knife to loosen.


- Cube beets into bite-sized pieces.  Try not to cut your beets too small.

-  Slice your red onion thinly.  You are going for quasi-Goodfellas slivers.

- Wash and coarsely chop your parsley.

- And corn, parsley and onions to beets.  Toss.


- Add salt and pepper to taste.  Drizzle with vinegar and sunflower oil.  Toss well.  Serve.


-----------------------------------------


PS.  These recipes call for sunflower oil, because its flavour is milder and it allows the accents to shine.  If you swap for olive, you will taste it.  But, as always, do what you can!