Once in a while I have to go back to classical French cooking. I was not trained in French cuisine. I am a gourmand not a gourmet. What I learned from cooking, I did from experience, coming from a Latino culture where good food and drink is paramount. So, I enjoy dabbling in the French cannon with its rich sauces and elegant inspired creations. Within this vein, one of my favorite dishes is eggplant au gratin. I love this eggplant and mushroom combination replete with cream and butter and delicate spices. This is a special dish for a special occasion. Oh, what the hell, for any occasion where you want something out of the ordinary. During this time of pandemic, what better way to affirm the joy of living and eating well.

Note that for this dish, you can use whatever mushroom desired. I use a combination of white button mushrooms and portobello. But I’m sure the dish will go well with shiitaki, crimini, chanterelle, porcini, whatever. I do insist on fresh mushrooms. This time around the canned variety just won’t cut it. I’m not being elitist, just practical.

EGGPLANT AU GRATIN

Ingredients:

1 pound eggplant
Salt to taste
½ pound fresh mushrooms
Juice of ½ lemon
1½ tablespoons flour
½ cup milk
¼ cup heavy cream
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Few drops of Tabasco Sauce
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons bread crumbs
3 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425º.
2.  Peel eggplant and cut into 1-inch cubes, more or less. Drop cubes into boiling salted water and cook about 5 minutes or just until done. Drain well.
3.  Meanwhile, slice mushrooms. You should have about 3 cups. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add mushroom slices. Sprinkle with salt and about 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Cook, stirring, until wilted and juices come out. Continue cooking until liquid evaporates. Set aide.
4.  Melt 1½ tablespoons butter in a large saucepan. Add flour, stirring with wire whisk. Add milk and cream, stirring rapidly with whisk. When blended and smooth, add salt and pepper to taste, remaining lemon juice, nutmeg and Tabasco to taste. Stir in mushrooms and eggplant. Stir in egg. Spoon mixture into baking dish (preferably 8X10″ pie plate or cast-iron). Sprinkle with a mixture of bread crumbs and cheese. Dot with tablespoon butter.
5.  Bake for 30-40 minutes, and then brown under broiler for a couple of minutes.
   Yield: 4-6 servings.

This dish is nothing more than lightly boiled spinach seasoned with sesame oil, garlic, cumin, coriander, and cinnamon. But once you taste it, you”ll think it’s manna from heaven. The recipe is from my second cookbook,  The Pharaoh’s Feast (Four Walls Eight Windows). Published in the UK under the title, Feasting with the Ancestors. The title says it all. It’s a compendium of cooking throughout the ages and how it changed our world view. 110 simple recipes starting from the dawn of time to the present. The Arabic section of the book is particularly interesting. While in medieval times, western man was dining on rancid mutton and half cooked vegetables, in  the Persian Empire they were dining on truffles from the Arabian Desert, cakes from Egypt, steamed couscous from Baghdad, and savories cooked with spices from India and China

Throughout this time, one gourmet reigns supreme, al-Baghdadi (the whole name is Muhammad ibn al-Hassan ibn Muhammad ibn al-Karim al-Katib al-Baghdadi).  His cookbook, dating from the 13th century, defined Persian cooking.  The problem with al-Baghdadi is that his recipes are, by and large, highly complex in terms of the spices used. There are recipes which include sumac, taro, murri, and coriander juice.  So, it was great to come across this offering which doesn’t go to town with numerous ingredients and cooking techniques.  al-Baghdadi  put this dish under the heading of “relishes.”  It’s simple and delicious. For a vegetarian, this is the best dish you’ll have. And if you’re not a vegetarian,  you”ll savor it just as much.

My friends, eat like your a sultan tonight. The accompaniment to this dish is rice or couscous. I served it with pilaf rice. But whatever side dish you use, this simple spinach dish will be unforgettable.

ISFANAKH MUTAJAN

Ingredients:

2 to 2½ pounds spinach, stems removed, washed, drained, and chopped
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Parboil the spinach for 1 to 2 minutes in a large pan of boiling salted water. Drain and squeeze dry.
2.  Stir in the sesame oil, add the garlic, and mix.
3.  Transfer to a serving dish, sprinkle with the cumin, coriander, and stir to mix.
4.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and serve.
   Yield: 4 servings.

Still on lock-down, and still experimenting with varied cuisines. I know. Most of us are home, enclosed by four walls, perhaps with kids and spouses demanding attention—and what the hell is for diner tonight? Or, perhaps, you just have time on your hands until the all clear. And you’re told you have to eat healthy in order to fight this coronavirus thing. That means a good veggie dinner—that even the kids will like.

Indian cooing is ubiquitous with regard to vegetarian dishes. They invented the thing. So I go back to the Indian repertoire. And cauliflower and peas is one of my favorites. It’s quick, delicious and nutritious. What more can you ask for? The normal accompaniment to this dish is white rice. Now, genuine Indian steamed rice is a little different from, let’s say, our Nuyorican  or even Mediterranean version. They don’t spice it up like we do, so that it complements the heat in an a spicy entrée. Here’s a basic recipe: Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in large pot.  Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1 cup washed and drained rice. Add 1 tablespoon butter, stir and cover tightly. Simmer for 20 minutes. If, at the end of that time, the rice is not yet completely cooked and there is no water left in the bottom of the pan, add 4 tablespoons of warm water and cook, covered, for another 10 minutes.  The rice should feel soft and fluffy.

Note that in this recipe you can use either fresh shelled peas or frozen. If using fresh shelled peas, they are added first (as noted in recipe). If using frozen peas, the are added later (again, refer to recipe)

CAULIFLOWER AND PEAS
(Ghobi Aur Matar)

Ingredients:

1 medium cauliflower, about 1 pound
3 tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon black or yellow mustard seeds
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
Salt to taste
1 cup fresh or frozen shelled peas
¼ teaspoon cayenne
¼ teaspoon coriander powder
¼ cup water
Juice of half a lemon

Instructions:

1. Separate the cauliflower into individual small buds or flowerettes. Wash, drain and set aside.
2.  In a small wok or frying pan, heat the oil over medium flame. Add the mustard seeds and the cumin seeds. When the mustard seeds have stopped popping and the cumin seeds have turned brown,  add the cauliflower pieces, turmeric and salt. Sauté the cauliflower for 5 minutes. Reduce heat and cook, covered, for another 5 minutes.
3.  Uncover the pot and add the fresh shelled peas, if using, at this point, and the rest of the spices. Stir and mix together.  Cook, covered, for 5 minutes. Add the water and frozen peas, if using, at this point, and cook for 10 more minutes. Remove from heat and squeeze the fresh lemon juice over the vegetables. Mix once and serve with white rice.
   Yield: 4 Servings

My wife’s favorite vegetables is peas. I can take ’em or lave ’em. My favorite veggies are broccoli and mushrooms. However, when a good sweet pea recipe comes my way, I’m game. The dish given below attracted me because of its ingredients. I would say it’s probably Indian nature in nature. It calls for caraway, coriander, and mustard seeds. Which convinces me the recipe hails from the sub-continent. The only thing missing is cumin. But, if you want to make it even spicier, you can add cumin. This is a quicky recipe as well.  Start to finish: 15 minutes.

Th underlying ingredient for this dish is butter. In Indian or Pakistani cuisine it would be ghee, a clarified butter where all the milk solids have been removed.  And, if you want, you can make it that way. Ghee is made by heating sticks of butter on the lowest flame possible. Letting it cool for 5 minutes or more, then straining through a piece of muslin cloth and storing in a jar.  Yet I’ve discovered that regular unsalted butter will do as well. For convenience, this is what I use.

Rice would be the regular accompaniment  to this dish. But this time around I added a grain that I’ve come to appreciate: millet. This is a staple that hails from Asia and Africa, and is used not only as a food source for humans but as a fodder food for animals. In Akira Kurosawa’s classic, the Sever Samurai (not the Magnificent Seven movie, which was its cowboy western version) the poor villagers who hire the samurai to protect them from a bandit army, feed the heroes millet, the only food they have.  The samurai eat it, but still dream of meat, and lamb, and pastries. That being said, miller has a nutty flavor which toasting enhances. Simple recipe: toast a cup of millet in a skillet or pan over medium heat 4-5 minutes until the grains are golden brown and become fragrant. Add 2½ cups boiling water or stock, bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook, covered, until liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Fluff with a fork when done, and serve with the peas.

BUTTER-SPICED PEAS

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
½ teaspoon paprika
10 ounce sweet peas
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. In a medium pan or skillet, melt butter over medium heat.
2.  Add caraway seeds, coriander, mustard and paprika. Cook, stirring frequently, until toasty and fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.
3.  Add peas and sauté 3 to 4 minutes, or until just tender. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.
   Yield: 4 servings.

This recipe came about because of a wine I had just acquired. I belong to a wine club (Leithwaite’s Wine) and they had sent me a Greek wine, but made in Lodi, California, no less. It’s a Koroni Cabernet Sauvignon 2018. This gorgeous wine is produced by the Koroni family, who emigrated from Greece to Canada in 1959, and thence to California in 1966.   And they brought with them four generations of wine making expertise from Koroni, their hometown in Greece.

The wine is everything I admire in classic Cabernets: deep-colored with rich current and black cherry flavors. Naturally, I had to pair it with Greek cuisine, which I love. What came to mind was Melitzanes Yemistes, or Stuffed Eggplant. This is no ordinary stuffed eggplant.  Along with tomatoes, and onion, it contains olives, anchovy fillets and cinnamon. As an accompaniment, I included rice with fides noodles, Pilafi me Fides. Back in Spanish Harlem, my mother would cook with fideos, fine noodles that she added to soups. I was pleasantly surprised that in Hellenic cuisine, fideos can be added to rice. It gives the grain a unique crunchy structure.

Oh, yes, the above make a great vegetarian dinner

So, for a treat tonight, cook this glorious meal and imagine you’re in Athens or Crete, or Mykonos, or Santorini. And if you can’t find a Koroni, any good quality wine with do, or even beer. The quest is to enjoy the meal—and you will.

STUFFED EGGPLANT
(Melitzanes Yemistes)

Ingredients:

2 medium eggplants (about  ¼ to ½ pound each)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1 pound tomatoes, rinsed and chopped
2 cloves garlic
½ teaspoon salt
1 bay leaf
1 2-inch stick cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
12 black olives
8 anchovy fillets

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Remove stems and caps from the eggplants
3.  Heat the olive oil in a large pan or skillet, add the eggplants and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Remove from the pan. Cut in half lengthwise and carefully scoop out the pulp, leaving a thin shell. Chop the eggplant pulp coarsely.
4.  Heat the butter in the same pan or skillet. Add onions and cook until golden. Add the tomatoes and eggplant pulp and cook for 10 minutes.
5.  Crush the garlic cloves with the salt. Add to the tomato mixture, along with the bay leaf, cinnamon stick, pepper, parsley, and cook for 10 minutes more.
6.  Fill the eggplant shells with this mixture. Garnish each shell with 3 olives and 2 anchovy fillets. Bake for 10 minutes and serve with rice with fides (recipe below).
   Yield: 4 servings.

RICE WITH FIDES
(Pilafi me Fides)

Ingredients:

1 cup long grain rice
½ cup crushed fideos or vermicelli
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried chives

Instructions:

1. Rinse rice in water until it is clear and all the starch is gone. This is what they call in Pennsylvania Dutch Country as “Washing in Several Waters.”
2. Combine the rice and fideos and sauté in the butter in a 2-quart saucepan until golden brown. Add the chicken broth and chives. Bring to a boil, cover tightly, lower heat and simmer 20 to 25 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.
3. Fluff with a fork and serve.
Yield: 4 servings.

Today it’s Eggplant Agrodolce. A little history first. Agrodolce (“Ah-gro-dol-cheh”) is a sweet and sour sauce of Italian origin.  Traditionally, it’s made by reducing vinegar and sugar into a sauce. Flavorings may be added such as wine, fruit, or nuts. Some claim that even chocolate may be included. I’ve never use chocolate but, who knows? In Italy, agradolce is served over rigatoni or other wide noodles and, sometimes, lamb. In my recipe I’m paring it with broiled eggplant.  My wife claims this is the best eggplant recipe she’s ever tasted. And, Holly, my beloved, is a nuanced critic. She takes her cuisine seriously. And if she says it’s the best, then it is. No argument.

Let me add that the French, not to be outdone, have their own version of the dish, aigredoux. I’ve never tried the French version, but I assume it’s just as good.

This time around, I served the dish with couscous and avocado. If desired, you can use any favorite grain or, as noted, pasta.

EGGPLANT AGRODOLCE

Ingredients:

4-5 baby eggplants, rinsed and sliced in halve
Olive oil, divided 2 tablespoons each
¼ and ½ teaspoon salt, divided
½ cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons raisins
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

Instructions:

1. Preheat broiler to high. Meanwhile, combine 2 tablespoons olive oil and ¼ teaspoon salt. Brush the eggplant halves on both sides with this mixture. Set aside.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the remaining  2 tablespoons olive with ½ teaspoons salt, red wine vinegar, honey, raisins, garlic, and cayenne pepper.  Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced to ½ cup, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat, discard garlic, and cover.
3. Broil eggplant slices, turning once until softened and slightly charred, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl or serving dish, drizzle with the agrodolche sauce, and toss to coat. Sprinkle with the chopped mint and serve.
Yield: 4 servings or more