Eggplant-Tomato Gratin, Orange-Glazed Roasted Cauliflower, Broccoli-Cheese, Mediterranean Rice & Beans & Greens

How I wrote last week's blog and didn't post it I don't know!  Blame it on the weather!
Long names for this week's delectable dishes.  But don't let that stop you from trying these goodies!

Eggplant-Tomato-Onion Gratin
One of my favorite early TV chefs was Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet out of Washington state.   To him, frugal did not mean 'cheap', it meant 'wise use of resources' -- especially ingredients and time.  In some ways this is an homage dish to what he taught me.

I did a wedding reception for fifty people last weekend, and as things happened, I had some "odds & ends" of ingredients leftover.  So I decided to be frugal and use up some of those things to make our dinner Tuesday night plus leftovers for Sally's lunches.

The unique leftover ingredient, for me, was a large can of Italian Peeled Tomatoes -- the well-known San Marzano variety of "plum" tomato -- peeled whole fruit and puree.  I don't normally like canned tomatoes -- they're typically too acidic.  I got these special tomatoes for one of the wedding dishes I made, but ended up with an extra can or two because I was buying 'mass quantities' from the local GFS Restaurant Supply grocery.

1 medium Eggplant from our SW Florida Co-Op, cut into 1" cubes
1 large Co-Op Red Onion cut into 1" squares
3 cloves Co-Op Garlic, sliced
1 28oz can Italian Peeled Tomatoes with Tomato Puree and Basil Leaf
1/2 cup Seasoned Breadcrumbs (not, for once, Panko)
1/2 cup Romano Cheese in a can
1/2 cup finely cubed Mozzarella (or shredded if that's what you can find)
3 oz soft Goat Cheese, broken into bits

Preheat the oven to 400F.

First I layered ingredients in a 9x9x3 baking dish -- eggplant, onion and garlic, with a drizzle of EVOO. Then I separated the whole tomatoes from the puree, and poured the puree over the layers.  I folded this together with a spatula, then sliced the tomatoes into 3 or 4 pieces and folded them in as well.

Next I folded in the breadcrumbs and the powdered Romano cheese, stirring well so that everything got a nice coating.    After that it was time for each of the other cheeses in turn.

Pop the resulting dish in the oven for 30-45 minutes until you get a nice golden cheesy crust.  Let it rest a few minutes before serving.

Because of the high quality ingredients, the real flavors come through, and this Italian dish does not need any herbs or spices!

Orange Glazed Whole Roasted Cauliflower 
What do you do when you get  a beautiful head of cauliflower?  Roast it whole, of course.  When you live in Florida?  Glaze it with OJ, naturally -- everything goes better with orange.

1 Whole head Cauliflower -- your choice of color, but I had white.
1 can frozen OJ Concentrate, partially thawed
12-20 leaves fresh Basil, chopped.

Pre-heat oven to 400 F.

Put the cauliflower stem down in a baking dish.  Use a kitchen paint brush (I like 1" wide) to brush the thick OJ concentrate over all the exposed cauli.  Scatter chopped basil on top.

Bake for at least 1 hour, glazing the cauliflower every 20 minutes with additional OJ.  Cooking time will vary with the size of the head.  Test for doneness with a long-tined meat fork.

Add a final sprinkle of basil leaves at the end so that they are nice and green and flavorful when you slice into wedges and plate with some of the orange gravy from the bottom of the baking dish.

BTW -- I pureed the leftover "brain", added some half & half and a bit of almond milk, some sautéed celery, plenty of white pepper and a pinch of salt, and we had a great #MakeoverMyLeftover soup that my friend Chef Susanne Duplantis would be proud of.  Checkout her website for some really interesting ideas on leftovers!

Broccoli Cheese
This is more a technique than a recipe:

• Cook some broccoli al dente -- nuke it, boil it or roast it.
• Make a White Sauce -- some melted butter, some flour, cook a minute, start breaking it back down with some dairy.
• Add cheese -- yellow or white, sharp or mild.  I used wedding leftover Mozzarella -- and slowly melt it into the dairy whisking all the while.
• Balance the amount of dairy and cheese until you get a nice cheesy sauce.
• In a nice baking dish, pour the cheese over the broccoli, top with breadcrumbs, and bake for 30-45 minutes at 400F

Mediterranean Rice & Beans & Greens
I was looking for something 'different' for Saturday night's dinner, and this fit the bill!  We normally associate rice & bean recipes with Mexico, the Caribbean and Latin America but this just sounded right.

1 can Garbanzos, drained and the juices saved for an experiment
1-2 cups cooked Brown Rice -- you know I'm not fond of brown rice, but it works here
Zest of a Lemon, plus the juice
1 large clove Garlic
1 cup loose-packed fresh Greens (Swiss chard, spinach, kale) -- I used some Beet greens that I just happened to have
fresh cracked Black Pepper, to taste

Saute the garlic in a splash of EVOO in a largish pot.  Stir in the rice, garbanzos and lemon components.  Add the greens and some pepper, cover, and let the greens wilt for a few minutes.  Add a bit of water is there's not much liquid.  Stir to combine, and plate.

While we ate (it was pretty tasty 'as is') we talked about what could take this dish up a couple notches for the next time.    Toasted pine nuts would be a good addition.  Toasting the garbanzos would also add depth of flavor.  We were divided over the possibility of adding some sautéed mushrooms.  Try it and tell me what you think!

Check back next week for the results of my Aquafaba experiment.  Don't know what that is?  Tune in next week for The Rest Of The Story...