Begendi (Mashed Eggplant with Cheese)

I read about Begendi in the same issue of Food & Wine where I stumbled upon the inspiration for Dijon Chipotle Chik'n. Chef Daphne Oz discussed eating begendi, mashed eggplant with mozzarella, and I thought it sounded magical. She suggested cooking it as an alternative to mashed potatoes--you can't go wrong with mashed potatoes, right?

 I put toasted almonds on it. Notice the leftover brussel sprouts and squash, sans pasta & ricotta

She didn't include a recipe, so I used the ole' trusty internet to find one. I found a recipe on Clifford A. Wright's blog. He warned: this is easy, but labor intensive. I didn't take his warning seriously enough!

I followed his directions pretty closely, reprinted in my own words here. There was a minor kitchen disaster, because the recipe didn't specify whether to cook the eggplant whole, halve it, or cut it smaller. I should have assumed that since he didn't say, keep the eggplant whole. I halved it to roast it, and it never cooked properly and adhered like rubber cement to my baking dish. Oh what fun to clean! Here's how to make it, properly.

Oh, one more thing. When I was researching the recipe, most called for a Middle Eastern or Mediterranean cheese. Kasseri, kashkaval, kefalotiri, and parmesan were all mentioned, but never mozzarella. But I had already gotten mozzarella into my head, so that's the way I went.

Listened to: New Pornographers. I listen to them very frequently with cooking, their albums seem to complement the process of cooking perfecting--can't tell you why!

Begendi (serves 4-8 as a side)

• 2 lbs eggplant (about 1 large)
• Oil
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 C AP flour
• 1 1/2 C hot milk
• 1 C fresh mozzarella, diced
• salt & pepper to taste

 1. Preheat the oven to 425. Brush the whole eggplants with a bit of oil. Place in a roasting pan, and roast, turning periodically, until the skins have blistered black, about 40 mins.
2. Once cool enough to touch, remove skins, and place the pulp of the eggplant in a strainer and strain for 30 mins (this will reduce bitterness)
3. Place the strained eggplant in a food processor, along with the lemon juice. Puree until smooth. Set aside.
4.  In a heavy bottomed pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat, gradually stir in the flour to form a roux, and cook 20 mins, stirring constantly. 
5. Remove the pan from heat, and gradually whisk in the heated milk, continue whisking til smooth.
6. Return the pan to the burner, and add the eggplant. Combine, and simmer on low heat for 20 mins.
7. Stir in the cheese, and combine til smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve immediately. 

Kitchen Notes: In general, the skins remove easily from the roasted eggplant, but use a knife or fork to remove all the spare eggplant flesh from the skins. If pressed for time, roast and drain the eggplant one day, and finish the next.

Verdict? Tasty, but not worth the effort. It's a rich and creamy side. I personally would like it spiked with a bit more lemon juice. Feta or goat cheese would also be nice, though the amount would need to be reduced. I sprinkled toasted almonds on top, and I think that it would be great over rice pilaf.

Harissa Roasted Vegetables

One of the books I've recently read was Blood, Bones and Butter by chef Gabrielle Hamilton. The book inspired me to make harissa hummus, which I adored. Funny thing--I really don't think the point of the memoir was to inspire people to cook. Oh Well.

In a late chapter, Ms. Hamilton laments how redundant meals of eggplant become while vacationing in Italy. She makes iteration after iteration of eggplant dishes. Though eggplant is not a veggie I adore, this vignette made me crave eggplant. When she mentions harissa and eggplant, I bolted to the market to buy my 1st eggplant of the season.

Because I was hoping to make a meal, rather than a side, I tossed a bunch of vegetables together, and here's what happened.

Listening to: She & Him Radio on Pandora

Harissa Roasted Vegetables (serves 6)

• 1 28-oz can diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 15-oz can white beans, drained
• 1/2 medium cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1 small zucchini, cubed
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 Tbsp olive oil 
• 3 Tbsp harissa
• salt & pepper 
• 1 C vegetable broth, plus extra 

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a heavy roasting pan, combine all above ingredients until well-mixed.  Place in oven.
2. Every 10 mins, stir, and add additional broth if mixture becomes dry. Roast about 45 mins or until vegetables are tender. Serve as a side or as a meal over rice, pasta, or with crusty bread.


Verdict? I really wanted to love this. Gabrielle Hamilton made harissa eggplant sound so very, very appetizing. Probably because she has an MFA in creative writing. This meal certainly wasn't bad, but it disappointed me. The harissa was a bit lost, and not surprisingly, the veggies didn't cook evenly. I'm debating whether or not to transform the leftovers into a soup.

Tzatziki for Katie

My friend Katie has a rather awesome garden where cucumbers proliferate and grow to mutant proportions. Being the generous soul she is, my fridge is well-stocked with free cukes. However, since Katie is a shrewd business woman, the cucumber transaction required that I reveal my secrets to consistently good tasting tzatziki. So, Katie, this recipe is for you! It was challenging for me to put this recipe into standard measurements, but here I go:
                                          
                                          Katie's Cukes are covered with little spines. Ouch!

Tzatziki (Cucumber Dip) (makes ~3 1/2 Cups)

• 2 large cukes
• 2 1/2 C Greek yogurt (Don't use fat free. Seriously.)
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• juice of 1/2-1 lemon
• small handful of dill, chopped (I have the hands of a 10 year old, so keep this in mind)
• Salt
• Freshly ground pepper (some prefer white pepper, for aesthetics. I simply prefer the flavor of black pepper)

1. Peel the cukes and remove seeds. I find that a grapefruit spoon works well to scoop out the seeds. 
2. Grate the cukes. I find once they're seeded, they're flimsy, and it's difficult to grate the entire thing without putting your knuckles in "grate" danger. Nobody wants blood in their tzatziki, so before grating becomes hazardous, keep the odd bits of cukes and set aside. Once done grating, cut into small, small pieces and just say that your tzatziki is "rustic style".
3. Set the cucumbers in a colander in the sink. Generously sprinkle with salt. Let the cukes drain for 30 mins or so. Go do something else.
4. Rinse the cucumbers. Grab several clean, lint free tea towels, cheesecloths, or cloth napkins. Place a handful of the cukes in the cloth, wring out the cloth to remove as much of the liquid as possible from the cukes. The grated cukes will feel vaguely sticky, without much moisture. Put the wrung out cukes in a bowl. 
5. Mix together the cukes and yogurt with a fork. Stir in the dill, lemon, garlic, salt and pepper. Adjust seasoning as needed. Tzatziki develops its best flavor over the next couple hours and stays fresh for a week. 

        Cukes, seeds removed 

Not much cuke remains, but the flavor will be very concentrated

Packed in a deli container, en route to Katie's 

Footnotes: 1) If you don't want to waste all of the pulp & seeds from the cukes, toss them into a pitcher of water. They make the water very refreshing in this hot weather, just strain before you use it. 2) The amount of lemon, dill, salt, and pepper are a matter of personal preference, but what's going to make or break this dip is the quality of the yogurt--fat free will be too runny, the texture will be far off, and whether or not the cukes are adequately drained of their liquid and shredded/chopped into fine enough pieces. 

Verdict? This is GOOD tzatziki, if I do say so myself. It's great on gyros, falafel, and on pita chips. It makes an interesting substitute for mayo on a BLT. However, my favorite thing to do with tzatziki is to make this recipe for Greek 7 layer dip.

Now, Katie, which recipe will you make me disclose next?