Eggplant Caprese Napoleons

There is something about a recipe whose introductory remarks begin "[s]o simple, so fresh and so good for you."  This is a dish that I made for my beautiful Angel, Clare, as part of my effort to make nutritious dishes from the pregnancy books that I found.  The name -- Eggplant Caprese Napoleon -- caught my attention primarily because of the interesting combination of recipes that are brought together in this one little dish ... Caprese salads in the form of a Napoleon.

This recipe is more "Caprese" than Napoleon.  It draws from all of the ingredients in a classic, Neapolitan Caprese salad:  vine ripe tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil.  It even includes a touch that I often add to my own Caprese salads ... balsamic vinegar.  The salad ingredients are stacked as layers, which draws its inspiration from the classic French Napoleon, a dessert featuring layers of puff pastry and filling.

The Caprese salad is actually "sandwiched" between two slices of eggplant.  The recipe calls for the eggplant to be grilled.  However, it does offer the option of broiling the eggplant slices, which is the option that I chose on this particular occasion.  Broiling the slices worked well, but it does not leave the classic grill marks on the slices that would have definitely added to the presentation.  Next time, I'll grill the eggplant.

EGGPLANT CAPRESE NAPOLEONS

Recipe from Healthy Eating During Pregnancy, at pg. 68

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus a little more to finish

1 clove of garlic, pressed or minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large heirloom or other flavorful, ripe tomato, 

     cut into 4 slices

4 ounces pasteurized buffalo mozzarella cheese, 

     cut into 4 slices

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

Freshly cracked black pepper

Directions:

1.  Prepare the eggplant.   Preheat the grill or the broiler.  Slice off and discard the top and bottom of the eggplant and slice the remainder into 8 slices.  Season with the salt and let sit for 10 minutes.  Mix the olive oil and garlic in a small bowl.  Using a basting brush or spoon, brush the eggplant with garlic oil.  Grill or broil the eggplant until golden on both sides, about 8 minutes total.  If you broil the eggplant, make sure that it is not too close to the flame and watch it carefully to make sure it does not burn.

2.  Make the Napoleons.  On a serving platter, arrange 4 grilled or broiled eggplant discs. Top with a layer of tomato, a layer of mozzarella, and a final layer of eggplant.  Set aside.

3.  Make the sauce.  In a small saucepan over medium high heat, bring the vinegar to a boil and reduce to a syrup, watching carefully to make sure that it does not burn, about 4 minutes.  Carefully drizzle the syrup over the 4 napoleons, adding extra drops on the platter for decoration.  Sprinkle the basil atop the stacks and around the platter and sprinkle with salt and cracked pepper.  Serve immediately.

ENJOY!

Fusilli con la Salsicca dell'Agnello (Fusilli with Lamb Sausage)

While perusing the stalls of Eastern Market, I was struggling to create a primi or first dish for a meal with Clare and her parents.  Typically, in Italy, a primi is either a soup, salad or pasta dish.  My mind was focused on a pasta dish that incorporated form of meat (and, for my Angel, shrimp) along with a simple red sauce.  

Thus, I had two choices to make.  First, I had to decide upon a pasta.  I chose freshly made fusilli, primarily because I did not see the pappardelle hidden in the back.  Fusilli is a pasta that may have originated in Naples, the capital of the Italian region of Campania.  There are several possible sources for the name.  Some believe that the pasta got its name from fusile or fucile, which is the Italian word for "rifle."  The rounded, spiral shape of the pasta is supposed to represent the groves in the rifle's barrel. Others point to the Neapolitan dialect where fuso is a word that refers to spindle. 

After choosing the pasta, I had to decide upon the meat.  There are a lot of choices at Eastern Market, but I ultimately selected fresh lamb sausage.  The use of sausage provides one handy shortcut ... it provides not only the meat for the dish, but also some seasoning.  It is important to keep that in mind because if you add the normal levels of seasoning, you may end up with a dish that is -- depending upon the type of sausage you use -- too salty or too spicy.  I chose a regular lamb sausage, which did not have any chiles or peppers in it.  

One last note, when working with sausage, I ordinarily brown the sausage first.  However, I wanted to try something different, that is reflected in this recipe.  Rather than browning the sausage, I added the sausage to the tomato sauce and cooked it in the sauce.  I did this because I wanted to break up the sausage into as small of pieces as I could.  It took longer for the sausage to cook, but the end result was still very good. 

FUSILLI CON LA SALSICCA DELL'AGNELLO

(FUSILLI WITH LAMB SAUSAGE)

A Chef Bolek Original

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

3/4 pound of fresh fusilli

1/2 pound of fresh lamb sausage, removed from casings

1 large clove of garlic, diced finely

1/2 onion, diced finely

3/4 of a can of whole San Marzano tomatoes

1/2 tablespoon of dried basil

1 teaspoon of dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon of red chile flakes

2 teaspoons of finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1.  Saute the garlic and onions. Heat the olive oil on medium heat.  Add the garlic.  Cook for one minute.  Add the onions and continue to cook for about three to four minutes, until the onions are translucent.  Stir occasionally to prevent the garlic from burning.

2.  Add the tomatoes and lamb.  Add the tomatoes to the onion/garlic mixture.  Using a masher, mash the tomatoes until they are broken up well.  Add the basil, oregano and chile pepper flakes.  When the tomatoes begin to boil, break the lamb sausage into small pieces and add to the tomato sauce.  Continue to cook until the lamb is cooked. Add the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and stir well.

3.  Cook the pasta.  Heat a pot of water until it is boiling.  Add the fresh fusilli to the boiling water.  Cook for two minutes.  Remove the pasta from the water and add it to the tomato sauce, with a little of the water.  Stir very well until the pasta is covered with the sauce.  Serve immediately.

ENJOY!

Soft Shell Crab Po-Boy with Avocado Remoulade

In a prior post about soft shell crabs, I noted that, as a cook, the months of May through September are special to me.  During this time, fresh soft shell crabs are available at local supermarkets and seafood markets.  On our way back from our Outer Banks vacation, Clare and I bought a dozen jumbo soft shell crabs from Endurance Seafood in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.  While I normally buy soft shell crabs fresh, Endurance Seafood was sold out of fresh soft shell crabs.  All they had left were frozen soft-shell crabs.  Still, I could not pass up the opportunity to buy those frozen crabs because it would provide me with a supply of those delicious crustaceans for experimenting with different dishes. I have previously used two of the jumbo soft-shell crabs as part of my Iron Chef Night: Vidalia Onion cooking experience.  However, my mind still works on recipes that we could make for the remaining soft shells that are sitting comfortably in our freezer.

 One recent recipe that I decided to make was Soft Shell Crab Po-Boys with a Remoulade.  Although I like remoulade sauces, I am not a big fan of mayonnaise, which is usually a principal ingredient in a remoulade.  I cannot say that I avoid mayonnaise altogether, because many people have witnessed me eating a tuna salad or chicken salad sandwich.  However, if I can avoid the ingredient, I will do that, even if it requires additional steps or searching out new ingredients.  Fortunately, I came across a recipe for an Avocado Remoulade.  I made this recipe as a topping for the Soft-Shell Crab Po-Boy Sandwiches and it was a great success.  This recipe will be my go-to whenever I need a remoulade.

On other thing about this recipe, many seafood po-boys involve deep frying the fish or shellfish.  You can certainly deep fry soft shell crabs.  For this recipe, however, I sauteed the soft-shell crabs.  I believe that soft shell crabs taste best when they are lightly dredged with flour and sauteed on a hot pan with butter. This recipe simply reflects my personal preference.  If you want to deep fry the soft-shell crabs, just heat enough oil in a pot or a deep fryer to 360 degrees Fahrenheit. 

SOFT SHELL CRAB PO BOY WITH AVOCADO REMOULADE

Remoulade adapted from Simply Recipes
Serves 2

Ingredients (for the Soft Shell Crabs):

4 soft shell crabs

1 1/2 cups of flour

1 teaspoon of chipotle powder

1 teaspoon of onion powder

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

Salt, to taste

Ground pepper, to taste

3 tablespoons of butter

2 small french loaves

1 medium Vidalia onion, sliced

1 heirloom tomato, sliced

Lettuce leaves
French bread (or just any other bread or bun)

Ingredients (for the Avocado Remoulade):

2 avocados, cut, peeled, and cut into large dice

3 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lime juice

4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon of minced shallots

1 tablespoon of flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon of Dijon or other mustard

Salt, to taste

Ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  Make the remoulade.  Add the avocado and lime juice in a food processor.  Pulse until blended.  Slowly add olive oil, pulsing until you get the desired consistency.  Add minced shallots and parsley and continue to pulse until combined.  I pulsed it a little more to maintain the consistency that I wanted, but you do not have to do that.  Remove the sauce to a bowl, add the mustard, salt and taste and stir until incorporated.

2.  Prepare the soft shell crabs.  After washing the soft shell crabs, dry them and set them aside. Spread the flour on a plate and add the spices to the flour.  Mix the spices to make sure that they are incorporated throughout the flour.  Dredge the soft shell crabs in the flour and shake off the excess flour.

3.  Saute the soft shell crabs.  Heat the three tablespoons of butter on medium high heat.  Once the butter is melted, add the soft shells carefully, shell side down.  Let the soft shell crabs cook for about four to five minutes, then flip the crabs.  Cook for about three to five minutes more.  Remove the crabs.  

4.  Plate the dish.  Construct the po-boy sandwiches by first cutting the bread in half and slicing down the side.  Spread some of the remoulade on both sides of the bread.  Place the soft shells on the bread and top with sliced onions, heirloom tomatoes and lettuce.  Then add a nice heaping spoonful of the remoulade on top.  Serve immediately.

ENJOY!