Curried Eggplant Delight

As we are now officially into the summer season, my menu planning takes a turn to lighter, more refreshing meals. I get a lot of daily recipe and cooking emails, and one such recent email fit the bill perfectly for using fresh summer produce, and employing fresh herbs from my windowsill. Real Simple is hands down one of my favorite magazines (I’ve been an avid reader and subscriber for the past two years), and a lot of their recipes ascribe to my cooking philosophy of keeping it simple (no surprise there!) in order to showcase the natural flavors of the ingredients. When the recipe for Curried Eggplant & Tomatoes with Basil popped up in my inbox, I knew it would be a smash success, and it was! I used the original recipe as a guide a tweaked for my own taste. My husband and I both really enjoyed it- the combination of eggplant and chickpeas made for a substantial vegetarian meal that left us both really satisfied. I used just a bit of light yogurt to add a little richness to the sauce, and the basil and curry played off of each other really well. Instead of serving it over rice (as suggested in RS’s recipe), we opted to use cauliflower mash, which cut out some of that heavy carb feeling and upped the veggie intake. I actually had the leftovers the next day for lunch, and the curry flavor was more saturated after a night in the fridge. It’s an easy weeknight meal to pull together, and I would even recommend serving it at a casual dinner party- it would be great for a homestyle dinner where large dishes are passed, and would go well with homemade pita chips on the side. All in all, a wildly tasty dish!

Curried Eggplant with Tomatoes and Basil
(Adapted from Real Simple, Cauliflower recipe my own)

For the Cauliflower Mash:
-1 Medium head of fresh cauliflower, broken into florets
-2 Tbspns salted butter (optional)
-2 Tbspns low fat Greek yogurt
-Sea salt & fresh cracked pepper

Steam cauliflower florets over boiling water in a vegetable steamer until fork tender. Remove from heat & transfer florets to a large bowl heatproof bowl. Add in butter & yogurt and mash using a handheld masher, stick blender or hand beaters until smooth. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Mash can be kept warm over a low simmering pot of water for up to 30 minutes. Give mash a good stir before plating.

For the Eggplant Curry:
-1 Large eggplant, about 1-1 ½ lbs. cut in 1 inch pieces
-1 Pint cherry tomatoes, halved
-1 Medium onion chopped (I recommend a sweet onion, such as Vidalia)
-3 Medium cloves of garlic, minced
-1 15.5-16oz Can of chickpeas, rinsed & drained
-3+ Tblspns good curry powder (I used Spice Island’s Spicy Curry Powder for a little extra kick)
-Good handful of fresh basil, chopped
- ¼ - ½ Cup of low fat Greek yogurt
-Olive oil
-Sea salt & fresh cracked pepper
-Red pepper flakes (optional)
- Couple tspns fresh cilantro, minced (optional)
-Crumbled goat cheese (optional)

In a large sauté pan or wok, heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, until slightly translucent- about 3 minutes. Add in tomatoes and continue cooking for a few minutes, seasoning with salt & pepper. Add in eggplant, and cook until it begins to soften slightly about 5-7 minutes. Stir in garlic, curry powder and red pepper (if using), and cook another few minutes until fragrant (adjust curry powder to your personal taste, I tend to be a bit heavy handed personally). Add in chickpeas and about 1- 1 ½ cups of water and stir to combine all ingredients well. Simmer, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender and chickpeas are heated through, about 15 minutes or so. Turn off heat, add in basil and yogurt and stir to combine well. Adjust salt & pepper seasoning to taste. Serve over cauliflower mash with chopped cilantro and goat cheese sprinkled on top.

Note: This dish would also be wonderful over brown rice, Israeli (or regular) couscous or any other hearty grain.

Lobster-Tomato Risotto w/ Pan Seared Scallops & Crispy Pancetta Ribbons

This is one of my all time favorite recipes to cook for a small dinner party. There are a lot of easy alterations to this (I've made grilled marinated swordfish steaks in lieu of the scallops, if it's a busy night, I'll do orzo "risotto" instead of regular- recipe to follow soon!) and I'm a huge proponent of establishing a good relationship w/ your local fish monger to know what is fresh and best that day. It really is simple elegeance at it's best in my book. So, without further adieu:

Lobster-Tomato Risotto w/ Pan Seared Scallops & Crispy Pancetta Ribbons

1lb fresh scallops, picked for "foot" muscle & patted dry
1/4 lb picked lobster meat
3 ripe tomatoes (Backyard Beauties were awesome!)
3 portobella caps, wiped clean and sliced into bite sized pieces
1 medium shallot, minced
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
Parmesan cheese
Heavy cream
Truffle oil
White wine
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
4 1/2 cups lobster stock (can sub chicken stock as well), HOT
8 rounds of pancetta, cut into thin strips

Heat a large skilled over medium heat with a small coating of truffle infused oil. Fry pancetta strips until crisp, remove & drain on paper towel. Season scallops well w/ salt & pepper and sear off in same pan used for pancetta w/ leftover oil and pancetta renderings (3 or so minutes on each side. Remove from pan & place in a low warm oven. In same pan, saute tomatoes & mushroom until soft, but not overcooked. Remove veggies from pan & keep warm. Add a bit more oil and saute shallots and garlic for 3-4 mins until transparent. Add in the rice and stir to coat w/ the oil & shallot mixture. Add a heavy splash of white wine (I used Sauv Blanc) and cook off for 2 or so mins. Begin adding hot stock to rice and stirring until absorbed, about 1/2 a cup or so at a time. Continue to add stock until risotto is fully cooked, about 20-25 mins. Add about 1/4-1/2 cup of heavy cream (or more, depending on how creamy you want it) to the rice and 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese (I like to use a better quality cheese for a better consistency) and stir until fully combined. Add in the picked lobster meat, tomatoes and mushrooms over low heat and take off stove. Transfer risotto to a large shallow serving bowl and top with scallops. Sprinkle pancetta ribbons and chopped flat leaf parsley and serve w/ lemon wedges. I served the dish with a simple baby green, herb and thin sliced red onion salad dressed w/ balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and it worked beautifully!