Eggplant Rolls

Eggplant and I are having real moment right now. I honestly think I have been eating one, in some way or another, just about every day for the last week or so. And no, I am not sick of them at all. But yes, I have been lazy about doing much other roasting or braising the old plant and just eating it straight into my mouth hole. But I guess sometimes my lazy ass wants more substance and also, it is nice to feed the mr something good too. I figured I should maybe do something a little more classy, more meal like, and might actually require a fork to eat it with. (I have a real tendency to eat with my hands, even the things that most people would probably say could not be eaten with hands. You should see me eat soup! Ha!) And so I prepared for us a feat of greatness (not really a feat, but great for sure). Eggplant roll ups.

These rolls are way more tasty and delicious then the effort it takes to make them. Really, they are super simple to make. Just a thick herby bean filling rolled up in eggplant and roasted in tomatoes. Sounds so good right? Well then taste even better. And then you can top that whole shebang with some fresh basil and everyone is all good to go.

So ok, I feed some to the mr for dinner because the goal was to fee us both with one dish, but I sure did eat more then half (like 3/4 of it) to myself. Without a fork.

There is no shame in my game.

Now to the eggplant rolls!

The stuff. An eggplant, an onion, some white beans, crushed tomatoes, a lemon, some thyme, oregano,and garlic powder, salt and pepper, oil, and basil. (I just pureed all my fresh basil into a paste so yeah).

First up, slice the eggplant lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick pieces.

Place the pieces on a baking sheet and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. It is ok if they overlap a little, we are just trying to soften them a bit. Stick into a hot oven.

Now chop up the onion.

Into a skillet it goes to cook up until soft and fragrant.

Eggplant, comes out of the oven all nice a pliable.

Now make the bean filling. Beans, onions, spices, juice of lemon, and a good crank of pepper and a pinch of salt go into food processor. Blend until smooth.

Gently grab an eggplant cut and cover one side with the bean mixture. Don’t skimp our but don’t add ore then you can roll up. And then roll it up.

Add a cup or so of sauce to a skillet or casserole dish, then place the rolls on in. Once all the rolls are in, cover with the remaining crushed tomato or marinara sauce.

Pop into hot oven to bake.

And then when the eggplant is tender and the sauce is all bubbly, pop it out.

Add some fresh basil (or basil puree) and grab that fork.

Nothing left for you to do beside eat it.

-C

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Eggplant Rolls

serves 3-5

• a medium to large eggplant

• 1 yellow onion

• 2 1/2 cups white beans (or one can)

• a lemon

• teaspoon each of thyme, garlic powder and oregano

• 3 cups crushed tomato or a simple marinara sauce

• salt and pepper

• splash of oil

• fresh basil (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Grab the eggplant and cut the very top off then cut slices lengthwise about 1/2 inch thick. You should get about 10-12 slices. Place the slices onto a baking sheet, overlapping a little if necessary, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, and place into oven. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the eggplant is just barely starting to soften and becomes pliable. Remove from oven and let cool a bit.

Meanwhile chop up the onion and place into a lightly oiled skillet. Cook for 5-8 minutes or until the onion starts to become translucent and fragrant. Once cooked, place into a food processor along with the beans (drained but keep the liquid),the spices, and the juice of the lemon. Pulse until smooth and if needed, add a few tablespoons of the bean liquid to loosen it up enough to blend. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Now to make the rolls. Grab cooled off piece of eggplant, lay it flat, and cover with the bean mixture. Not too much or too little, probably a bit less then 1/4 cup. Then roll the eggplant up. Either grab a skillet or baking dish and add about 1 cup of the crushed tomato or marinara sauce to the bottom. Place rolls as they are being made into the dish. Once you have filled the dish with the rolls, cover with the remaining sauce.

Place the rolls into the oven and bake for 30ish minutes or until eggplant is nice and fork tender.

Once baked, remove from oven, left cool for a few minute and then serve. Top with fresh basil (or basil puree) if you want.

Eat with a fork.

Split Pea Casserole

Just about every morning I wake up at the ass crack of dawn (actually its still dark out) make coffee, do a few things, usually read a bit while eating my breakfast and drinking my third cup of coffee, and start a pot of soup for lunch. All before 7am when I yell up to the mr. to get his butt out of bed.  I love it and I look forward to the mornings of me time.

So soup. I like to start the soup early and let it cook for a while. I start the soup, bring it to a boil, and then stick it on simmer with a ton of water. And then I am off for the day. The deal is that I leave, but the mr. leaves about an hour after I do and he will turn the burners off. And he has been so good about it. Sometime I might shoot him a text to make sure the burners are off, but most of the time I just trust.

Well about a week or so ago, I made soup, went about my morning. Upon my return home, before I even walked down the driveway, I could smell the burning soup.

 I rushed in just in time. The house was not on fire! But the pot of split pea soup… it was about to be. The pot consisted of about  three-inches of thick, burnt to a black brick, soup and about an inch of super thick burnt but still slightly green pea goop on top.

Now don’t judge me here, but that goop…. I ate it. And it was so good. I know, I sound kind of gross, but whatever I don’t care. That little bit of super thick burnt pea paste was some of the best burnt food that I have ever eaten.(I love burnt food)

So this casserole gets a bit of inspiration from that goop. No, it is not burnt to almost an inedible state, but it gets thick and a little crispy and is so so freaking good. This is one of those dishes that I will make and continue to eat even though I cannot possibly eat any more. It’s that good.

As for leaving the stove on while I am gone.. That's not really happening anymore.

The stuff.  Dried green split peas, some water, Italian spice blend as well as garlic and onion powder. Also salt and pepper, a bay leaf, carrots, an onion, a couple of potatoes, a chunk of cabbage, and a parsnip. All good, all of what I have in the fridge at the moment. 

Start by chopping up the onion and sticking it into a big heavy pot. Take all the spices and mix them together in a little bowl and dump half of them into the pot with the onion, the bay leaf and a splash of water. Place on medium heat and cook until the onions start to soften and the water has evaporated. 

After the onions have cooked a bit, add in the dried split peas and a bunch of water (split peas suck up water like crazy) Turn the heat up to high and bring the stuff to a boil then turn heat to a medium and place lid on pot. Let cook for a while, giving it a stir every now and then to make sure nothing is sticking and burning to the bottom of the pot

While the split peas are cooking, chop up all the veggies into mouth sized chunks and mix them together with the rest of the spices and toss them into a skillet or casserole dish. 

And the peas.. Once they are all falling apart, they are ready.  Now is also a good time to preheat oven. 

Dump the cooked split peas all over the veggie mixture and mix around a bit. Grab that last potato and slice really thin.

Top the veggies with the potato and sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

And into the oven it goes!

Bake until the veggies are all tender and the top is all crispy (about 35-40 minutes) and eel free to even stick under a broiler for an even crisper top.

Pull it from the oven when its ready and let it sit for a few minutes to set up a bit...

And scoop yourself a big helping and eat! All it needs is a fork (But mustard tastes so good with it too!)

Have a great Monday!

-C

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Spit Pea Casserole 

serves 3-4

• 3/4 cup dried green split peas
• 3-1/2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons Italian spice blend
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 yellow onion
• ¼ head of cabbage
• 3  white potatoes
• 2-3 carrots
• 1 big parsnip

Note… I used the veggie that I had on hand. So say you don’t like parsnips, don’t use them or want to add celery, go for it. Just make sure to have at about 4-5 cups of chopped up veggies.

Take all the spices and mix them together. Dice onion into little pieces and stick into a big heavy bottom pot with half of the spice blend, the bay leaf, a few pinches of salt and pepper, and a splash of water. Stick on stove and cook for a few minutes until water evaporates and the onions are fragrant and starting to soften. Now dump in the dried peas and 3-1/2 cups water.  Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and place a lid on the pot. Cook the peas, stirring occasionally, for about 45 minutes of until falling apart.

In the mean time, dice up the veggies (leave one potato to top with)into mouth sized chunks and stick them in either a casserole dish or a 12-inch oven safe skillet. Mix in the other half of the spice blend

Preheat oven to 375

Once the split peas are done, take the pot and dump into the chopped veggies and mix around. Take remaining potato and slice thinly. Top the casserole with thin slices of potato and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stick that bad boy  into the oven.

Bake for about 45-50 minutes or until the potatoes are crispy and the peas have thickened. 

Remove from oven, let rest for a few minutes, and serve it on up!