EGGPLANT cheese RED PEPPER loaf

A superbly turned out rustic vegetable loaf born out of forgetfulness!

Therefore...I present you my accidental twist on a family favourite.

It had been so long that this meal was enjoyed at our table.

I had actually forgotten that the original recipe had crushed Italian tomatoes in it!

For those wondering if this loaf presentation was from the original recipe...no...not quite!

It had never, ever been anywhere near this appearance.

I guess a new family dish has been born.

It did take me a few minutes to contemplate what had gone wrong!?!

As I was finishing up the cooking...I wondered...was it usually this dry?

No matter...the mix tasted amazing and I was ready to serve it.

Hubby had bought a crusty, artisanal French baguette...
and we were soon ready to dig in.

This is where the accident continued to be a blessing in disguise.

As I plated the mix...a slight mountain shape was holding its own.

I grabbed two spatulas and started working on what seemed like a loaf form.

It surprisingly and actually held without falling apart.

What an incredibly happy surprise this was.

Both Hubby and I gazed at it wondering...
who would be the first to dismantle this vegetable beauty.

This is how this pleasant accident of mine unfolded.

EGGPLANT cheese RED PEPPER loaf

serves 4 as entrée or 2 as main course

Click here for the...PRINT VERSION

INGREDIENTS:
(American / Metric measures)

. 3 tbsp. (45ml) each of olive oil and vegetable oil (grape seed preferred)

. 1 large 'Spanish' or 'Vidalia' onion (chopped)

. 1 large red bell pepper (chopped)

. 1 large 'Black Beauty' eggplant (cubed)

. 1/2 tsp. (2.5ml) each sea salt and garlic powder

. 1/2 tsp. (2.5ml) each of dried herbs: basil, oregano, sage, tarragon

. 6 large eggs

. 2 tsp. (10ml) 'fleur d'ail' (or 1 crushed garlic clove)

. 1 cup (180gr) packed Parmesan * cheese (grated)

. 1/4 cup (40gr) roasted almonds (crushed)

* For this recipe, I used a milder and smooth tasting parmesan made from Buffalo milk named:

Buffalo Parmesan from Sovrano:

Italian sovrano cheese is similar in appearance and texture to a good-quality parmesan cheese but quite a departure in flavour.  Instead of the pale golden rind that encases Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, sovrano, the Italian word for "sovereign," can easily be identified by its distinctive white rind imprinted with little crowns.  This cheese is made from a combination of buffalo and cow's milk. It has a slightly creamier texture and milder flavour than the more robust Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.  Sovrano has a clean finish, with very little in the way of a lingering aftertaste. -- referance here

PREPARATION:

takes about 35-40 minutes

. Once the eggplant has been sliced and chopped...place all the cubes in the  colander and salt it by stages so that it's allowed to sweat out its water and bitterness. Set aside. Note: because the ‘Black Beauty’ variety has a thicker skin...I personally slice its skin partially on 4 sides.

. Meanwhile...on medium heat start stir-frying both onions and bell pepper until the point of caramelization.

. After about 20 minutes of cooking...add the sweated eggplant along with the salt and garlic powder. No need to rinse the eggplant. Stir into the onion mix and keep cooking until it has reduced to about half its volume. Now add the dried herbs and stir.

. In the meantime, get the egg mixture ready by using a blender: put the eggs, garlic, cheese and almonds ...then, blend until smooth.

. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables and incorporate properly until the egg appears cooked and the moisture no longer is present.

When ready to plate it...just pile it up and shape it like a loaf.

 

I really do wish that you'd give this one a try...
it was absolutely delizioso!

Have you ever had such a surprising accidental turnout ready to do again?

Buon appetito...and flavourful wishes,

Foodessa

BLUEBERRY ginger citrus GF Muffins

I buried my thoughts with these...
sweet BLUEBERRIES and made a wish.

I asked my precious Food Fairy to please grant me

success in making my very first BLUEBERRY muffin.

At this point, I figured that a little childish plea
could not hinder my baking challenge ahead.~~~~

2 Herbs roasted Nuts Tomato PESTO

Fresh Herbs and toasted Nut essences whirled into...

a blissful roasted Tomato PESTO special.

Some of you may

have made PESTO sauce authentically with the...

pestle and mortar?

Well, kudos to you...because it's sooo not my style to 'pestare'.

In other words the verb which gave the ultimate name to PESTO. Many of us have also taken the essence of what the classic Pesto consists of and slowly modified the original 'Pesto Genovese' to suit our practical and mostly culinary tastes.

With all the fragrant herbs...
I certainly have given my personal whirl on this recipe a multitude of times. 
~~~~~

 
 

AMARETTO for mi AMORE on his B-day

A nutty and fruity bittersweet Italian liquor enhances...

this great baked FRENCH TOAST dish to greater heights.

This very satisfying and flavoured French toast breakfast

was devoured after our berry smoothie cocktails.

They were a sort of a pre-amble for celebrating my

Sweetheart’s very precious years on this earth...

especially since he met me of course ;o)

Who else spoils his tummy to no end?  ~~~

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An incredible way to simply roast GARLIC
to its rich caramel luscious state.

Last week while I was getting ready to bake some savoury muffins...
I had in view a large braid of garlic staring at me.

Hmm...I wondered if I could roast those bulbs differently this time around.

Usually, I would never consider roasting such a fresh garlic so soon.

There are so few times in which we do have fresh

garlic cloves like these to aromatize our dishes.

So, why was I thinking that I should be roasting them? ~~~ 

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This sumptuous multi-ethnic inspired Fruit Melody CHEESECAKE...
got the Spa and Star treatment.

Do you think this decadently moist cheesecake needed...
a ‘water bath’ (Bain-Marie) to succeed? ~~~

FISH cakes CROQUETTES and SAUCES

The powerful Omega3, Protein in SALMON and Potassium in POTATO...

play together in harmony with the Iron in BEANS.

Exceptionally nutritional meal snack that is easy to

prepare as well as being incredibly tasty to savour.~~~

LEMON coconut ginger MOUSSE GELATO

Breaking out of my 'GELATO' box through flavour pairing with character!

 

Aromatic LEMONS tango with COCO and GINGER.

 

At first, my only true and very simplistic intention...

was to make some sort of citrus ice cream.

The flavour of lemon on its own was surely fine...

however, I needed something a little more daring. ~~~ 

ROMESCO SAUCE goes ITALIAN my way

A savoury nut - tomato based specialty...

which has originated in Spain has now been taken over by an Italian.

I'm newly naming my glorious and versatile rich pesto...

the ROMaSCO SAUCE.

This sauce may look...well, let's be honest...a little ordinary!

However, I have been taught from a very early age that we can't judge until savoured.

Aromatic, rich and incredibly flavourful is exactly how I would describe this pesto.

I took the deep, red colored and very classic 'Catalan' pesto

from the Spaniards and whipped an Italian version of my own. ~~~

Fig Nut Torte cake and Gluten Free

I dare you to challenge this scrumptious gluten-free FIG and ALMOND cake.

Not long ago, I posted about the wondrous fig fruit

...going dry and into its sweeter state.

I had shared one of my very favourite versatile

recipes for dried Figs Bathing in Port.

Today, I'll share with you an experiment that was

etched from a mini saga between Stella and myself

on baking gluten-free and solely with one flour type! ~ ~ ~

Searching for STRAWBERRY FIELDS

En route towards the outskirts of Montreal, Québec...

strawberry fields are plenty this time of year.

Plenty...usually yes...
or, it could depend on where you end up.

Our outing proved to be a little more 

exploratory than we could have imagined.~~~

SEAFOOD Splurge with ARTICHOKE Salad

A lunch splurge...on smoked salmon, lobster and sparkling wine.

How could I not label this as the splurge...

and maybe, not for the reasons you may be imagining.~~