Eggplant, Salmon, Lentils and Cauliflower "Brain"

My apologies...  I recently changed computers, and with that change, for some reason, I lost the edits I had made to the blog to display the correct fonts and line spacing.  I guess Microsoft truly doesn't give a rat's tail about making some of its products user friendly -- Blogger is NOT!  Anyway, I understand the only solution is to actually write each post in Blogger; rather than write it in a word processor and import.  So next week, I hope things will look better....

Eggplant With Mint, Honey and Sesame Seeds

Call this a side, or an appetizer; either way call it super tasty. I used to make this by cubing the eggplant before frying it, but recently I saw this “whole slice” method and thought I'd give it a try.  I love the presentation!

Eggplant, sliced 3/4” thick

Flour for dredging

Egg for dredging

Honey

Fresh Mint leaves, cut chiffonade

Sesame Seeds

Dredge the eggplant slices in egg and flour, and fry them in EVOO on medium-high heat, until they are just starting to get soft, and nicely browned. Plate the slices, drizzle with honey and sprinkle with cut mint and sesame seeds. One slice per person makes a nice side along with a protein and a starch.


Spinach Salmon Cheese Roll

I love this technique of containing the roll in parchment paper to keep it nice and round. The rest of the recipe is all my own invention!

1 package Crescent Roll Dough sheet

1/4cup chopped fresh Parsley

1 Tbsp chopped fresh Thyme

Cream Cheese or Ricotta

1/2 shallot, chopped

2 cups fresh chopped spinach

6 ounce baked Salmon filet, flaked

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 Tbsp Butter

olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Roll out crescent roll pastry on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle approximately 12 by 15 inches. Spread with ricotta, and sprinkle with parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and sauté the shallots until translucent. Add spinach and sauté for 3 minutes or until wilted. Remove from heat and cool.

Spread spinach over pastry, top with diced salmon, and season with salt and pepper.

Roll up pastry, tucking ends in as you roll, burrito style. Wrap the pastry in parchment paper buttered with 2 tablespoons of butter and tie it up with kitchen string to hold roll together. Rub outside of paper with olive oil. Place on baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes.

Note that I rolled the pastry out too thin, and the paper wrap was my salvation – it kept the filling from oozing out all over the baking sheet!

Unwrap, slice roll, and serve with dill hollandaise, remoulade or similar sauce.

  

Skyr-Roasted Cauliflower

This whole-head roast is based on a recipe from Siggi's Icelandic style Skyr company recipes.

1 Tbs Vegetable oil
1 head Cauliflower, whole, stem and leaves removed
1-1/2 cup Siggi'stm plain Skyr
1 Lime, zested and juiced
1 Tbsp Cumin
1 Tbsp Garlic powder
2 Tbsp Chili powder
1 Tbsp Curry powder
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper

Preheat the oven to 400F. While that's going on...

Lightly grease a small baking sheet with a bit of vegetable oil.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the yogurt, lime zest, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, curry powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix well. Actually, what I did was just use Garam Masala spice blend instead of all those powders. It worked out just great.

Dunk the entire head of cauliflower into the bowl. make sure it’s well coated.

Set the cauliflower right side up on the baking sheet. Roast until the surface is browned and crusty, about 30 minutes. The skyrinade (skyr marinade) creates a beautiful and flavorful crust on the cauliflower. 

Let the cauliflower cool for about 10-15 minutes then cut into wedges to serve.

Lentil-Tomato Salad

One of the doctors where Sally works was celebrating a “workiversary” – X number of years at the clinic, so the staff threw him a party. Naturally, I was tasked to create something vegetarian but flavor-filled that everyone would like. This fit the bill rather nicely.

1 cup dried Lentils (preferably small French lentils)

1 large clove Garlic, chopped

1 tsp Salt, or to taste

3/4 lb fresh Tomatoes, diced (2 cups)

4 large Scallions, thinly sliced (or 3/4 cup sweet onion diced)

1/4 cup chopped fresh Dill

1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh Basil

1/4cup Red-Wine Vinegar, or to taste

1/4 cup EVOO

1/4 tsp Black Pepper

Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan with lentils, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until lentils are just tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Drain lentils in a sieve, then transfer to a large bowl.

Toss the hot lentils with the tomato, scallions, dill, basil, vinegar, oil, pepper, and remaining salt.  Serve chilled or at room temperature.