Seared Baby Eggplant with Mozzarella and Basil Oil

Local summer vegetables are so easy to come by right now, and I always look forward to going to the Green Market to get my weekly supply. One vegetable that is at its peak now is eggplant, and I was getting my weekly supply from the farmers each Saturday. Lately, however, Natalie has been providing us with beautiful Japanese and baby eggplants from her parents' garden. We're on an eggplant-eating kick now, so be prepared to see alot of eggplant recipes!

I found this one in a Vegetarian Times magazine, but I didn't have enough fresh basil to make the oil myself so I bought some Basil Olive Oil that I found at the Fresh Market. Also, none of the farmers had any leeks today, so I used scallions instead. Use the link above to use the original recipe: I am posting the modifications that I needed to make.

Ingredients
1 large baby eggplant, sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds
1 scallion, finely chopped
2 tbsp basil oil, divided
1/4 cup tightly packed basil leaves
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
fresh mozzarella, sliced into thick rounds
1 tbsp capers

Directions
1. Generously salt the eggplant slices and place in a colander to release the liquid for 45 minutes. Rinse, and pat dry.
2. Heat the basil oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add the eggplant slices and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until lightly browned. Flip the eggplant and add the white wine vinegar. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover the pan. Cook for another 3-4 minutes or until the white wine vinegar has evaporated and the second side of the eggplant is lightly browned.
3. Meanwhile, finely chop the basil. 
4. To serve, place a small dollops of basil oil on the plate, and sprinkle each dollop with basil. top with mozzarella. Add a sprinkle of basil and a slice of eggplant to each piece of mozzarella and repeat this layering until you have run out of eggplant slices. Top each stack with basil, chopped scallions, and capers.

Serves 2

Capellini with Lemon Basil Summer Squash

This is a delicious light and summery dish that can be made fairly quickly. When summer squash is unavailable, I will use zucchini.

Ingredients
1 pound summer squash, washed and gently patted dry
1 pound capellini, or angel hair pasta
6 large cloves garlic, crushed
4 tbsp olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
6 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions.

2. While pasta is cooking, heat the oil and butter in a small pan.

3. Add the zucchini or summer squash with garlic and cook until almost tender (about 2-3 minutes).

4. Add the lemon juice until heated.

5. Remove from heat and at the last moment add the basil.

6. Season with salt and pepper and serve over the hot pasta.

Serves 6

Vegetarian Lentil Meatloaf

My friend Angie is the one that inspired this blog, and this is a recipe from her. You can visit her blog here: Zozzobra's Recipes. If you can, check out her recipe for Buffalo Chicken Dip. She makes a vegetarian version using vegetarian chicken that is making my mouth water just thinking about it.

Ingredients
2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup lentils (or canned lentils)
1 small onion, diced
1 cup quick-cooking oat
3/4 cup grated cheese (cheddar, swiss, jack or american)
1 egg, beaten
4 1/2 ounces spaghetti sauce or tomato sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions
1. Add salt to water and boil in a saucepan.
2. Add lentils and simmer covered 25-30 minutes, until lentils are soft and most of water is evaporated.
3. Remove from fire.
4. Drain and partially mash lentils.
5. Scrape into mixing bowl and allow to cool slightly.
6. Stir in onion, oats and cheese until mixed.
7. Add egg, tomato sauce, garlic, basil, parsley, seasoning salt and pepper.
8. Mix well.
9. Spoon into loaf pan that has been generously sprayed with Pam (non-stick cooking spray) or well-greased.
10. Smooth top with back of spoon.
11. Bake at 350 degrees for 30- 45 minutes until top of loaf is dry, firm and golden brown.
12. Cool in pan on rack for about 10 minutes.
13. Run a sharp knife around edges of pan then turn out loaf onto serving platter.

Serves 4-6

Capellini with Tomatoes and Basil

This is a really simple and quick dish that is great for weeknights.

A quick tip for julienning basil: Stack the basil leaves on top of each other then roll them up like you would roll up a cigar. Slice the basil "cigar" from one end to the other, and when it is unfurled, you will have nicely julienned basil!

Ingredients
1 pound dried capellini or angel hair pasta
½ cup good extra-virgin olive oil
4-5 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
18 large basil leaves, julienned
1½ cups freshly shaved Parmesan cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions
1. In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper, and stir until blended. Set aside.
2. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Drain the pasta, add it to the tomato sauce and toss to mix. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Divide the pasta among individual bowls, top with parmesan and serve immediately. 

Makes 6 servings

Grilled Eggplant and Zucchini Stacks

The condo that we live in does not allow for us to have a grill on our patio. I love grilled vegetables, so for years I was always bitter when I came across a recipe that called for grilled vegetables. My sister-in-law was kind enough to give me a La Creuset Grill Pan for my birthday. From November on, I pretty much grilled anything that came into our kitchen. 

A few years ago, our friend Josh served us a dish of grilled eggplants with a balsamic-tomato relish. Inspired by this, I scoured the internet for a similar recipe, and settled on making something close to this one from Cooking Light. I didn't want to have the balsamic reduction incorporated into the vegetables, because the star of Josh's recipe was the relish, so here is the modified recipe:

Ingredients
Eggplant Stacks
1 large eggplant, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices, part of the skin removed
2 medium zucchini or summer squash, sliced lengthwise into 1/4-inch thick slices
1/2 cup goat cheese
2 tablespoon  chopped fresh basil
2 teaspoon  chopped fresh oregano
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil

Tomato-Balsamic Relish
1 cup diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/8 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions
1. Start with the tomato-balsamic relish: Place the diced tomatoes in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the balsamic vinegar, and set aside a room temperature to let the flavors blend.
2. Place eggplant slices in a colander. Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt; toss well. Let stand 10 minutes. Rinse slices thoroughly; dry with paper towels.
3. Brush eggplant and zucchini with oil; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and black pepper. Place them onto a hot grill for about 8 minutes or until tender, turning once.
4. Meanwhile, combine cheese, basil, and oregano.
5. To assemble stack, place 1 eggplant slice on a plate; top with one-fourth of cheese mixture. Lay two strips of zucchini side by side; top with one-fourth of the cheese mixture, and repeat, ending with a slice of eggplant. Let stand 5 minutes.
6. To serve, place a spoonful of relish on top of each eggplant stack.

Makes 4 servings