We had company for dinner yesterday. It's the end of June, so dinner should consist of some sort of meat on the grill, cool, crisp white wine, farm fresh veggies and fruit, and it should all be served al fresco, of course. Except we live in New England, and apparently this means being subject to November-like weather at the end of June. The temperature here yesterday was around 55 degrees, and there was a constant mist, like someone spitting on you. It's a good time. So, instead of the perfect early summer barbecue, I made two roast chickens. Winter comfort food in June.
To try and inject a little bit of summer in the meal, I made a summery appetizer, side dish, and dessert. Here are some tips:
- For the eggplant crostini, you'll need to cook the eggplant longer than specified in the recipe to get it soft enough to mush into the roasted garlic. I wound up sauteing the eggplant for a solid 15+ minutes.
- I did not add the parsley or the lemon juice to the eggplant mixture - it didn't need any additional flavoring in my opinion.
- I made roasted potatoes, but instead of the typical sprinkling of salt, pepper, garlic powder, etc., I used one of those dried herb dip packages that I always pick up at craft fairs but then forget to use. I used Jump, Chive, and Wail from the Dippy Chicks -http://www.dippychick.com/
- For one side dish, I sauteed slices of zucchini with garlic and cherry tomatoes in olive oil, then topped the dish with fresh sliced basil before serving.
- For dessert I sauteed fresh blueberries with sugar and a little water to make a blueberry syrup, the whipped up some fresh whipped cream mixed with maple syrup in my magic bullet. I topped the whipped cream with the blueberries and their syrup, then covered the mixture with crumbled ginger snap cookies.
The Appetizer - From the July issue of Gourmet.
Eggplant and Sun-Dried Tomato Spread
1 head garlic
6 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 1/2 pounds eggplant
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (3 ounces), chopped, plus 2 tablespoons tomato oil
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup chopped basil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Accompaniment: toasted baguette slices
1 head garlic
6 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 1/2 pounds eggplant
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (3 ounces), chopped, plus 2 tablespoons tomato oil
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup chopped basil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Accompaniment: toasted baguette slices
Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle.
Cut off and discard top of garlic head to expose cloves. Brush top of head with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil. Wrap garlic in foil and roast until tender, about 45 minutes. Cool to warm, then squeeze garlic cloves from skins into a small bowl, discarding skins.
Meanwhile, cut eggplant into 1/2-inch pieces and toss with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in a large colander. Let drain 30 minutes. Squeeze eggplant in a kitchen towel to remove liquid.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then sauté one third of eggplant until browned and tender, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Cook remaining eggplant in olive oil in same manner (in 2 batches), transferring to bowl.
Add 1 cup cooked eggplant to garlic and coarsely mash together. Stir into remaining eggplant with sun-dried tomatoes (without tomato oil), parsley, basil, lemon juice, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Season with salt and drizzle with tomato oil.
Cut off and discard top of garlic head to expose cloves. Brush top of head with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil. Wrap garlic in foil and roast until tender, about 45 minutes. Cool to warm, then squeeze garlic cloves from skins into a small bowl, discarding skins.
Meanwhile, cut eggplant into 1/2-inch pieces and toss with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in a large colander. Let drain 30 minutes. Squeeze eggplant in a kitchen towel to remove liquid.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then sauté one third of eggplant until browned and tender, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Cook remaining eggplant in olive oil in same manner (in 2 batches), transferring to bowl.
Add 1 cup cooked eggplant to garlic and coarsely mash together. Stir into remaining eggplant with sun-dried tomatoes (without tomato oil), parsley, basil, lemon juice, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Season with salt and drizzle with tomato oil.
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