Excuse my absence for the last couple of weeks here. I've been in a food rut. I know, even me. I think most people go through it, but me, not so much. Usually long after everyone is sick of cooking I want to make something else that involves a food processor or several steps. But it's true; I barely cooked dinner for a good two weeks straight. The low point was last week when I had a scoop of ice cream for dinner in a coffee mug with some chocolate milk (a sort of milkshake?) and a handful of nuts for dinner. I just haven't been feeling very inspired. I breezed through two of my cooking magazines without hardly dog-earing any of the pages, which is the sign to move it to the coveted cooking binder, and even the old favorites seemed so boring. Nothing sounded good. I don't know what the root of it is... maybe it's the time of year. I'm sick to death of stews and soups and heavy winter dishes, and although all of the cooking magazines the last couple of months were filled cover to cover with recipes for spring dishes of peas, artichokes and asparagus I STILL wasn't inspired...
Then last Sunday; I forced myself to make a grocery list which included mostly remake recipes that you have seen here and unfortunately nothing new and exciting. But then I saw a forecast for two 80-degree days in Chicago... IN APRIL! I'm loving it, so I completely bypassed all the spring recipes to the summer ones; beef stew one week and grilled eggplant salad the next (with some Thai take-out and ice-cream dinners in between.) In my defense as my friend Marcie says, we don't really have a spring here. It's snowy one day and then 80 a week later, who knows maybe I'll still get around to sharing another favorite of mine that I've been
waiting to share with you. It's an asparagus recipe, so spring is obviously the best time to share it with you. I had written this eggplant salad recipe (and the asparagus one too) on a list of recipes to post here months ago and couldn't wait to share it, but since it's a grilled salad, February or March just didn't seem like the right time to post it. Although an 80-degree day seemed like the perfect time because we're all in the mood for summer, right? Especially those of us who live through frigid, snowy winters.
This is by far one of my most favorite recipes. In fact whenever Johnny will see an eggplant as we're unpacking the groceries he knows it means I will be making this salad. The last two summers it appeared just about once a week on the menu. And although I like it best as it is written here, there are many variations as well. If I don't have basil or mint I will just use parsley. I've substituted shaved parmesan for the goat cheese. I've grilled it on a grill pan indoors, but this is really the best way. And once you make it once you don't even really need a recipe, it's more the combination of ingredients that makes it great. You can add more or less of whatever you prefer.
So go ahead, break out the grill... or grill pan. We have spring fever here in the Reynolds' household errr... summer fever, or whatever... Whatever you call it I'm sure you are feeling the same way! Stay tuned for some spring recipes!
Trish's Tips: There are many recipes that talk about salting the eggplant to remove the bitterness, but I never do it. Just skip it. Japanese eggplants are also delicious with this, I used to only use them, but they are a lot more expensive and not as readily available as your standard eggplant, so that's what I call for here. If you aren't a fan of goat cheese, shaved parmesan is also delicious. Eggplant is like a sponge and will literally suck up all of the oil that you give it. You could grill it without but the oil gives it a nice brownness that you won't get without. Just be sure to ration yourself or you will end up using a whole bottle. I pour half the oil in a bowl to get me through brushing one side, then pour the other half in the bowl and brush the other side. This can be served hot, room temperature or cold. I like it for entertaining because you don't have to worry about keeping it warm, but if you did want to you could grill it first then keep it warm in the oven. I like to toast my pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium-low heat, but keep a close watch as they do burn quickly. Then I will put them in a jar in the freezer to use whenever I want, that way I don't have to toast each time.
Adapted from Giada de Laurentiis
Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 large eggplants, ends trimmed and cut into 1/2-3/4 inch wide length-wise (into circles)
6 TBL olive oil, separated
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup thinly sliced basil,
3 TBL thinly sliced fresh mint leaves
1 TBL balsamic vinegar
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
Heat grill or place a grill plan over medium-high heat. Place the eggplant slices on a sheet pan and brush with 2 TBL of the olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Flip and repeat on the other side with 2 more TBL of olive oil and more salt and pepper.
Grill until tender and grill marks appear about 4 minutes per side.
Place the eggplant slices on a serving platter. Drizzle with more olive oil (1-2 TBL) and drizzle balsamic vinegar to your liking. Sprinkle with the pine nuts, goat cheese, basil and mint.
No comments:
Post a Comment