Ratatouille Shepherd's Pie

Ratatouille Shepherd's Pie

adapted from Food & Wine

This is a vegetarian version of the hearty, usually meaty Shepard's pie. The ratatouille is made with eggplant, zucchini, summer squash and tomatoes and then covered with rich mashed potatoes to make a filling meal.

You can lighten the meal (and point amount) by using skim milk to make the mashed potatoes and lessen the amount of butter.

Makes 2 servings                                                                11 WW pts / serving

about 1/2 lb. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 Tbsp. heavy cream
pinch of ground white pepper
2 1/2 Tbsp. butter, divided
1 tsp. Kosher salt, divided, plus more to taste
1 large egg yolks
1 1/2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion, red or yellow
1 Tbsp. minced garlic, about 1-2 cloves
1/4 large eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 cups)
1/2 medium summer squash, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 cups)
1/2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 cups)

1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
2 Tbsp. (1 ounces) dry white wine
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. can diced tomatoes, drained
3/4 tsp. balsamic vinegar
few grinds of freshly black pepper, plus more for garnish

1. Place potatoes in a pot with enough water to cover. 
2. Bring the pot to a boil over high; reduce heat to medium, and cook until potatoes are cooked through, about 20 minutes. Drain potatoes, and let cool slightly.
3. Meanwhile, heat cream, white pepper, and butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until butter is melted, 1 to 2 minutes; set aside.
4. Put the potatoes through a ricer into a bowl; Add the cream mixture and 1/4 tsp. salt; Stir to combine.
5. Set aside until potatoes are just warm to the touch, about 5 minutes. 
6. Stir in egg yolks, and whisk until incorporated. Set aside at room temperature.
7. Preheat oven to 400°F. 
8. Cook the onions, garlic, and 1/4 tsp. salt in the oil in a high sided skillet;stirring often, until onion is softened, about 2 minutes. 
9. Add the eggplant; cook, stirring occasionally, until eggplant is browned in spots, about 5 minutes.
10. Stir in yellow squash, zucchini, Italian seasoning and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften, about 6 minutes.
11. Increase heat to medium-high. Add wine; Cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits from bottom of skillet, until most of the liquid is evaporated, about 3 minutes. 
12. Add the tomatoes, vinegar, and black pepper; cook, stirring often, until vegetables are well coated, about 2 minutes; Divide the vegetable mixture between 2 oven safe containers.
13. Top vegetable mixture evenly with mashed potatoes; drag a fork through potatoes to create a swooped pattern, if desired. 
14. Bake until heated through and potatoes are browned in spots, about 35 minutes. 
15. Garnish with additional black pepper, and serve.

Enjoy!

Italian Pickled Eggplant

Italian Pickled Eggplant

adapted from Sip & Feast

The father of an old friend used to make marinated eggplant for her. I've never been able to find a recipe that came close to the deliciousness he gave her, until now.

After storing the eggplant in the refrigerator, the oil may congeal. You can run the container under hot water for a few minutes or put it in the microwave for 10-15 second intercals until it loosens up.

Serve with toasted Italian or French bread or on crackers. It makes a great addition to as salad as well.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

1/2 lb. eggplant, peeled and cut into 1" x 1/4" strips
1 Tbsp. hot cherry peppers, chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
1 small clove garlic
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1 cup white vinegar
2 cup water

1. Place a single layer of eggplant strips on paper towels; Sprinkle with salt; Cover with more paper towels.
2. Put baking sheets on top of the top towels and weight them down with a few cans.
3. Change the paper towels as they become saturated, about every hour for 6 hours.
4. After the eggplant has released its water, rinse the salt off in a colander. 
5. Try to squeeze out more liquid from the eggplant
6. Bring a medium pot, bring the water and white vinegar to a boil; Add the rinsed, squeezed eggplant and cook for no more than 2-3 minutes.
7. Strain eggplant strips and rinse to cool. 
8. Squeeze out more moisture one more time and lay eggplant on paper towels to dry.
9. In a container evenly layer the half of the eggplant strips, half of the cherry peppers, half of the garlic and half of the parsley; Repeat layering. 
10. Press down the eggplant with a spoon and top the jars with the oil. The eggplant should be completely covered.
11. Store the jars in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Enjoy!

Eggplant Gratin

Eggplant Gratin

adapted from Gourmet October 1990

My husband likes this dish with the addition of my Fat Free Pomodoro Sauce.

Makes 2 servings                                                     0 WW Blue points / serving

1/2 lb. eggplant, sliced

Cooking spray

3/4 cup minced onions

1/2 tsp. Penzeys Greek seasoning (optional)

2 Tbsp. + 2 tsp. fresh parsley, chopped

1 1/2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp. low carb dry bread crumbs*

1. Lay the eggplant on paper towels; sprinkle with salt; let stand for at least 30 minutes to draw to some of the moisture.
2. Preheat the oven to 400F.
3. Cut the eggplant into 1/2 inch pieces and place in a steamer basket.
4. Bring a couple of inches of water to a boil in a pot; add the steamer basket and cook covered until the eggplant is tender, about 10 minutes.
5. Remove the steamer basket from the pot and allow the eggplant to drain for about 5 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, cook the onion with the Greek seasoning or salt and pepper until the onion softens, about 3 minutes.
7. Turn off the heat and stir in the eggplant and 2 Tbsp. parsley. Mix well to combine.
8. Divide the eggplant mixture between 2 ramekins coated with cooking spray.
9. Combine the bread crumbs, cheese and remaining2 tsp. parsley in a small bowl and stir to combine.
10. Divide the bread crumbs between the ramekins; Spray the top with some cooking spray.
11. Bake in the preheat oven for 20 minutes, or until the top is golden and the mixture is bubbling.

Enjoy!

* Make low carb bread crumbs buy pulsing half of an light English muffin or a slice of low carb bread in a mini food processor. 

Eggplant Tomato Stacks

Eggplant Tomato Stacks

adapted from The Complete Cooking Light Cookbook 2000

Makes 4-5 servings                                1 WW Blue point / 2 stacks

8-10 3/4-inch thick slices from eggplant an (1 1/2 - 2 lb.) eggplant

3/4 tsp kosher salt, divided

Cooking spray

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided

8-10 slices of tomato (1/2 inch thick)

3 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp. minced fresh basil

1. Place the eggplant rounds in a single layer on paper towels. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp kosher salt and let stand for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 400F.
3. Place the eggplant on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Coat the tops of the eggplant with cooking spray.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes; turn the eggplant over, spray with the tops with cooking spray. Sprinkle with garlic powder and 1/4 tsp of pepper. Bake an additional 12 minutes. Remove from oven.
5. Preheat the broiler. 
6. Place a tomato slice on top of each eggplant round.
7. Combine 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, Parmesan cheese and basil in a small container.
8. Sprinkle the Parmesan mixture on top of the tomatoes. 
9. Broil 2 minutes or until lightly browned.

Enjoy!

Eggplant & Zucchini Parmesan

Eggplant & Zucchini Parmesan

adapted from Cooking Light October 2014

For another point you can add 2 tablespoons of low fat mozzarella when you top the vegetables with the marinara.

Eggplant & Zucchini Parmesan with Lemon & Parsley Noodles & Zoodles

Makes 2 servings                            4 WW Blue points / serving

Cooking spray

1/2 eggplant, sliced 1/2 inch thick (4 slices)

1/2 medium zucchini, sliced 1/2 inch thick (6 slices)

1 tsp water

1 egg, beaten

1 cup panko

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 1/2 Tbsp shredded parmesan cheese

pinch kosher salt

1/2 cup of your favorite fat free marinara sauce

Lemon parsley Noodles & Zoodles

1. Preheat oven to 475F
2. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place a wire rack on the baking sheet and coat with cooking spray.
3. Combine egg and water in a bowl and whisk to combine
4. In another bowl combine the panko, Italian seasoning and Parmesan.
5. Dip the eggplant in the egg mixture, allow excess to fall off, then into the panko, pressing gently for the crumbs to adhere. Place on wire rack.
6. Repeat with the remaining eggplant and zucchini.
7. Coat both sides of the eggplant and zucchini with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt.
8. Bake at 475F for about 10 minutes.
9. Turn the eggplant and zucchini over, top with the sauce and mozzarella.
10. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
11. Serve with Lemon Parsley Noodles & Zoodles

Enjoy !

Greek Eggplant Steaks

 Greek Eggplant Steaks

adapted from Food Network.com

Makes 3 servings                                        0 WW Blue points

1 eggplant cut into 3 thick steaks

Pinch of chili powder

Sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbsp reduced-fat feta cheese

1 tomato. seeded and diced

1/4 cucumber, seeded and diced

2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1. Sprinkle the eggplant steaks with kosher salt. Lay on paper towels, cover with another paper towel and weigh down with a pot for 20 minutes.
2. Wipe off excess salt and pat dry.
3. Sprinkle with chili powder and pepper.
4. Cook the eggplant in a skillet coated with cooking spray until cooked through, about 4 minutes per side.
5. Transfer to serving dish and top with feta, tomato, cucumber and parsley.

Enjoy !

Eggplant Mozzarella Melt

  Eggplant and Mozzarella Melt

Adapted from Everyday Food / Jul-Aug 2005

Eggplant Mozzarella Melt serve with Noodles & Zoodles

Makes  4 servings            3 WW Blue Points *

2 large eggs

1 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 cup plain dried breadcrumbs *

1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

1/3 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

Cooking spray

1 medium eggplant, cut into ½ inch thick slices (about 1 lb, 12 slices)

1 1/2 c Spicy Marinara Sauce or your favorite fat free pasta sauce

1/2 cup reduced fat shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 475F. 
2. In a shallow bowl, lightly beat eggs with salt and pepper. 
3. Spread breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes, if using, in a pie plate or shallow bowl and mix well.
4. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
5. Dip eggplant rounds in egg, then dredge in breadcrumbs, turning to coat completely; transfer to prepared baking sheet. 
6. Spray each side of the egg plant with some cooking spray.
7. Bake, without turning,  until golden and tender 15-20 minutes.
8. Top each slice with some sauce and cheese. Bake until cheese is browned.

Enjoy !

* I started with 1 cup of breadcrumbs but there were still 1/3 cup leftover when I finished breading. The WW Blue point value is based on 2/3 cup of breadcrumbs being used.

Asian Garlic Chicken and Eggplant Stacks

My boys are back and we even have an additional one. Nick's buddy who lived next door in Wilbraham is visiting for the week. Can I pull off an Advocare approved dinner that they will eat? I batted 500. Which one do you think I struck out on?

Asian Garlic Chicken
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable stock
10 large garlic cloves, chopped
2 1/2 tablespoons Bragg's liquid aminos or low sodium soy sauce
1/4 tsp ground pepper
4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
1 Tbsp dried onion flakes (I used Tastefully Simple Onion Onion)
1 1/2 tsp Oriental five spice powder
1 tsp Tastefully Simple Spinach Herb Dip Mix
3 large bay leaves
Cooking spray

Whisk vinegar, chicken broth, garlic, soy sauce and pepper in small bowl to blend.  In another small bowl. combine the onion flakes, five spice powder and Spinach Herb Mix. Crush onions slightly. Season chicken breast halves on both sides with seasoning mix. Coat a large skillet with cooking spray and place over mediium high heat. Add chicken and sauté until browned about 4 minutes per side.
Pour vinegar mixture over chicken. Add bay leaves. Reduce heat to low, cover skillet and simmer until chicken is just cooked through, about 10 minutes. Using tongs, transfer chicken to plate.
(Optional: I did this for the boys who enjoyed adding Teriyaki Hot sauce and dunking the chicken)
Boil pan juices 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Discarding bay leaves. Serve sauce on the side.

Eggplant Stacks

1 eggplant, sliced thick
1 tomato, sliced thick
1 onion, sliced thick
Italian Seasoning
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
Aged balsamic vinegar 

Preheat broiler. Line baking sheet with foil. Place vegetables on baking sheet. Spray lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Broil until eggplant and onion are slightly browned and tomato is cooked through. (Depending on the thickness of each vegetable this may occur at different times so watch carefully.)
Stack in your preferred pattern. I like eggplant, tomato, onion and eggplant. Sprinkle with chopped basil and sprinkle with balsamic vinegar.

Ratatouille - And I do not mean the adorable mouse!

I have tried a variety of different ratatouille recipes and this one by far is the best. The variations are limited only by your imagination. Depending on what was in the refrigerator, I have added zucchini, summer squash, mushrooms. Today we stuck with the basic recipe. Serve it as a main dish or a side on it's own. I like to serve it over a little bit of pasta.

 

Baked Ratatouille with Cheese Custard
adapted from Gourmet September 1995
For ratatouille
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds eggplant (about 1 large), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 medium onions, chopped fine
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
3 bell peppers (assorted colors), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 pound tomatoes, seeded and chopped fine, or a 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped fine
1 cup canned chick-peas, rinsed and drained  
2/3 cup packed fresh basil leaves, chopped
2/3 cup packed fresh parsley leaves, chopped
freshly ground black pepper to taste
For cheese custard
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1/2 cup freshly Parmesan (about 2 ounces)
3 large egg yolks
Make ratatouille:
In a skillet heat 1 tablespoons oil and cook half of eggplant, stirring frequently, until golden and tender, about 6 minutes. Transfer cooked eggplant to a 2- to 2 1/2-quart baking dish. Cook remaining eggplant in 1 tablespoons oil in same manner and add to dish.
In the skillet cook onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes in the remaining tablespoon oil stirring, until onions are softened. Add the bell peppers and cook stirring occasionally, until tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in remaining ratatouille ingredients and simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Season mixture with salt and additional pepper and spoon evenly over eggplant.
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Make cheese custard:
In a saucepan melt the butter over low heat and whisk in flour. Cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes and whisk in milk in a stream and salt and pepper to taste. Bring sauce to boil, whisking constantly, and simmer, whisking, 2 minutes. Stir in Parmesan and remove pan from heat. In a heatproof bowl whisk yolks together and whisk in about one fourth of sauce. Whisk yolk mixture into remaining sauce. Spoon custard over ratatouille. Ratatouille may be prepared up to this point 4 hours ahead and chilled, covered.
Bake ratatouille in middle of oven 45 minutes, or until custard is lightly browned. Cool ratatouille 10 minutes before serving.
Serves 4 to 6 as a main course or 8 as a side dish.

Veggie Stir Fry

Thanks to the farm share and my friend Judy who not only gave me vegetables from her garden but delivered them to me at Shriners, I had vegetable stir fry for dinner. needless to say Nick would not come near it with a 10 foot pole but that just means more for me!

Very unlike me I did not measure any of  the veggies. It was sort of a dump combination looking at what I had more of and what would go bad quickest. I used a combination of eggplant, zucchini, onion, red bell pepper, okra, baby bok choy, carrot, yellow beans, broccoli, shiitake mushrooms, pea tendrils, beet greens and a previously steamed sweet potato. I started the stir fry with 1/2 Tbsp Ming Tsai's Curry Ginger Oil and added a little vegetable stock when the pan was looking dry. I finished it with a sauce made of 1 part soy sauce, 1 part oyster sauce and 1/2 part chile-garlic sauce.

Vegetarian Tapas for Dinner

Still using up those veggies from the farm share this week. Until my share last year I never had fresh edamame. Yummy! Well this was the week for fresh edamame.

Edamame with Garlic & Chile

1 bunch of fresh edamame
1 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoons oyster sauce
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

Cooking spray

1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoons ginger, peeled and minced 

1 garlic clove, minced
Cook edamame in a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain. Meanwhile mix the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil and red-pepper flakes in a small bowl. Heat wok coated with cooking spray over high heat. Add vegetable oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds, then add edamame and stir-fry until pods are lightly charred, 2 to 3 minutes. Add soy sauce mixture and stir-fry until edamame are well coated and most of the liquid evaporated, about 1 minute. Serve immediately.

Spicy Glazed Eggplant adapted from Gourmet May 2008
1 1/4 lb Asian eggplants (about 4), trimmed, halved lengthwise, and cut diagonally into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon finely grated peeled ginger
1/8 teaspoon Japanese seven-spice powder (I used five spice because that is what I had)

3 tablespoons vegetable oil (I reduced to 1)
Toss eggplant with 1 teaspoon salt and drain in a colander, stirring occasionally, 45 minutes.
Rinse eggplant under cold water and dry well, pressing out any excess moisture.
Stir together mirin, soy sauce, ginger, and seven-spice powder.
Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then sauté eggplant until browned, about 8 minutes. Stir in mirin mixture and cook, gently stirring and turning frequently, until sauce becomes a glaze and eggplant is browned and tender, about 1 minute. Serve hot or at room temperature.

This recipe needs something. Maybe it is the other two spices in the seven spice powder which I did have and don't know what they are. We tried a variety of different things including Sriracha chile sauce, more soy but to no avail. If anyone has ideas the recipe sounded great but it fell flat. I am going back on the Epicurious.com site to see if anyone posted ideas.