Showing posts with label Leftovers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leftovers. Show all posts

Saturday, 8 February 2014

Eggplant parmigiana

Today I made a yummy eggplant parmigiana (or baked eggplants with parmesan) following my nonna's recipe. I just slightly modified it to use some leftovers of roasted chicken. Serve with green salad or pasta if you really wants some carbs - that was a no-no for me trying to manage my weight after a decadent holiday trip.


Follow the instructions and travel to Italy!



And because, we never waste anything in my kitchen - it's not that dinosaurs eat really anything though - tonight I made bruschetta with the leftovers of the eggplant parmigiana. Take a slice of bread (which was a leftover of a cereal loaf I made two days ago), spread the eggplants parmigiana previously chopped, add tasty cheese on the top, 8 mins under the grill and there you go!


Ingredients (4-6 serves)

- 3 eggplants, large, sliced in the length, between 0.5 and 1cm
- 3 cans of peeled tomatoes, finely diced, or lots of fresh ripe tomatoes
- 60 g parmesan, freshly grated
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 5 tsp of olive oil
- 10 basil leaves
- 1 tsp of sugar
- 1 tsp tomato paste
- salt and black pepper
- leftovers of roasted chicken, finely chopped (optional)


Instructions (~ 45 mins) 

Pre-heat the oven, fan grill at 180C.
1. Heat 1 tsp of olive oil and stir the garlic in.
2. Quickly add the tomatoes and pour 1 can of water in. 
3. Stir in the tomato paste and the sugar. Season and add the basil.
4. Leave it on medium heat until it had reduced by half.

5. Brush the eggplants with the remaining oil on each side and precook them either in a frying pan or in the oven at 180C.*
6. Stack one layer of eggplant, then tomato sauce, parmesan and chicken (optional) after the other. Finish with parmesan.
7. Put in the oven for 20-25 mins. If the top starts burning, add foil on the top (which I obviously forgot to do today, hence a black-ish top on my eggplants - fail!)

Enjoy with pasta or green salad!

Good to know...

* I prefer the oven for its time-efficiency and it's less mess in the kitchen. But I prefer in the frying pan for the taste. Just choose the option that suits you the best, at the end they will be good anyway.

Monday, 7 October 2013

Grapefruit and coconut chicken salad

Another great spring day - Summer is just around the corner! Here we are like busy bees in the garden: we started the herb patch, strawberry flowers are turning into small fruits, the raspberry plants are reviving and the earth of the veggie patch ready to get new seedlings. We already sow cucumber, zucchini, sweet basil, and lettuce in trays. Every day No.1 water his tray of veggies. I really enjoy watching him so excited about the sowing/growing vegetable process.
And you know what? while we were digging the ground, my little paleontologist even found a dinosaur bone. Yes a real one! He said that it would probably be a T-Rex arm. I did not make a picture so I was overwhelmed by the little stars in his eyes... love...

The garden kept us so busy all week end that I had very little time left for the kitchen. After a busy week end in the garden, nothing much was available in the pantry or the fridge. Leftovers of roast chicken, some grapefruits kindly given by a colleague - thanks! - and a need for raw veggies, all in a fresh mix that would suit an 11 month-old. Half an hour later we were all enjoying a fresh grapefruit and coconut chicken salad!