In my country (Armenia) we have many ways to prepare this wonderful
purple beauty. Here are a few dishes for you, hope you try them. I will
put few more recipes in the future.
first up the Dip or as we call it Babaganouch. In actuality there are two version.
version one: What you need
2 small tomato's chopped coarsely
1 small white onion chopped coarsely
4 garlic cloves minced
1 small green bell pepper coarsely chopped
1/2 lemon juiced
1/2 tsp salt, pepper, crushed dry mint
3 tbs olive oil, and chopped Italian flat parsley
1 large eggplant fire roasted, lithely peeled and chopped coarsely
In a bowel, combine everything and mix well. Chill and serve with
pita bread or crusty Italian bread.
Version two: What you need
1 large eggplant fire roasted, lately peeled and chopped coarsely
1/2 tahini (sesame seed butter)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 lemon juiced
1/2 cup olive oil
salt to taste
Combine all in a food processor and process on high for ten minute.
the dip should resemble a thick shake consistency. Use pita wedges
for scooping. enjoy
The next dish is an eggplant stew. Real simple and can be a side dish
or a main dish served with rice and salad.
What you need:
2 medium eggplant diced into 1 inch cubes (do not peel)
1 large onion chopped medium
1 green bell pepper chopped medium
4 cloves of garlic sliced
1/2 cup olive oil
salt to taste
In a pot, add oil and garlic. Lightly saute for the garlic to release
its flavor. Add onion and peppers. Saute till lightly brown. Add cubed
eggplant and saute on low heat for 20 minutes. Let cool before serving.
The Cauliflower
Cauliflower anytime
Growing up, grandmother made this cauliflower dish that till this
day, every time i make it, it taste like heaven. Very simple and
delicious.
What you need:
1 head of cauliflower, separated to bite size pieces
4 eggs, scrambled
1/4 onion, chopped
1 TB chopped fine, flat leaf parsley
2 TB corn oil
1/4 TS of salt and pepper
In a large frying pan, add oil and cauliflower pieces and fry on
medium heat till light carmelization appears, about 10 minutes
of frying. Add onions, salt and pepper. Let fry for 5 minutes more.
Add eggs, and and fry for 5 minutes, constantly turning and stirring.
Transfer to serving dish and sprinkle with parsley, and there you have
it, heaven.
Cauliflower soup.
I came up with this recipe just because i wanted flavor. See i had
this soup in a restaurant and it seemed it was missing flavor, not
seasoning but flavor. So i decided to give it some pizazz.
Want you need:
1 head of cauliflower, separated into small pieces
1 onion, chopped
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 TBS cream cheese
2 TBS olive oil
1/2 TSP salt, pepper, marjoram
1/4 TSP of red paprika
Heat oven to 400 degree temperature.
In a bowl, and cauliflower, onions, salt, pepper, marjoram, paprika,
olive oil and toss. Bake and roast for 30 minutes. Let cool and place
the roasted darlings in a food processor and proses till it looks
like a milk shake consistency.
In the mean time, while the beauty's are roasting, in a pot add milk,
sour cream and cream cheese, and on a slow heat warm them up and
set aside. Now add both together and gently mix for 2 minutes on
slow heat. The taste is very rich and creamy. You can serve with
toasted cheesy Italian bread.
ENJOY. SGM-B
taboulah
there are hundreds of ways to make taboulah. mine is my family's recipe. use as side dish or as salad.
what you need:
2 medium bunches of curly parsley, remove stems and chopped fine
6 stalks of green onions sliced small
6 medium roma tomato's diced small
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 cup bulger grain, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
in a bowl, add everything and mix well. chill for 1 hour and serve.
enjoy
Red cabbage salad
Very quick and simple recipe.
Red Cabbage slaw salad. What you need:
1 small red cabbage, shredded
2 TBS of apple cider vinegar and olive oil
1/2 TSP sugar and balsamic vinegar
In a bowl, add all ingredients and mix well. Serve chilled.
Italian salad (my version)
What you need:
1/2 head iceberg lettuce chopped
2 roma tomatoes, 1/2 white onion, green bell peppers
sliced and half mooned
20 pieces sliced peperoni Julian
3 TB olive oil
1/4 cup green olives with liquid
10 pieces peperchini peppers
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tsp Italian seasoning
In a bowel, place lettuce and top it with tomato's,
onions, bell peppers, olives, peperchini peppers,
followed by the seasons and olive oil. Now place
cheese in middle of the salad and garnish the Juliane
peperoni around. yummmmmmm
ENJOY. SGM-B
Mashed Potato's
OK, everyone knows how to make mashed potato's. Here's my
way of making it.
What you need:
5 medium potato's, boil for 30 minutes, diced with skin on.
4 TBS margarine
1/4 cup milk
In a bowl, add all ingredient's, mash them all, add salt
only if you need more, the margarine has salt already.
You can top it with many items to your needs. My favorite
are chopped Italian parsley, or fresh chives, or real
crumbled bacon, and lets not forget real homemade gravy.
ENJOY. SGM-B
LATKES (potato pancake)
6 Sm potato's peeled and shredded
2 eggs
1 lg onion chopped fine
1/2 cup pancake mix
1 tsp salt and pepper
3 tbs sour cream
1/2 cup oil
In a bowl, mix all ingredients, heat oil on high
tablespoon the mix in hot oil and tap lithely to
flatten. Cook 2 or 3 minutes on each side remove
and let drain on paper towel. Serve with apple
sauce or sour cream, a dab will do ya.
BLINTZE'S (or crepe)
1 cup potato flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbs melted butter
In bowl, blend all ingredients, cook like a crepe.
swirl to cover the pan cook for a minute
then turn and repeat. Use filling, like cream cheese
tri fold or roll and top it with sliced strawberry's
or blue berry's. The crepes can also be prepared
as rolled lasagna.
as a desert:
For cream cheese filling, in a bowl, you need 8oz
softened cream cheese, add 1/2 tsp vanilla extract,
4 tbs milk, 1 tbs sugar and 1/2 cup of thinly
sliced almonds. Mix all ingredients with whipping
action and that's it. You can also use cottage cheese
or thick sour cream as the filling.
For fruit topping, you choose the fruit like 1/2 cup
of sliced strawberry, peaches, blue berry's or any
other berry. Place fruit in small pan, add 1/2 cup water
and 1 tbs sugar, let the water and sugar boil till
sugar dissolves. Turn heat off and let the fruit rest
and its ready to use as a topping.
as a baked lasagna:
Make a simple lasagna filling by adding in a bowl
1 cup ricotta cheese, 10oz thawed frozen spinach,
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, 2 crushed cloves garlic,
1 tbs dry basil and parsley, and 2 eggs mix well.
Fill 1 tbs filling in a crepe, fold side to side
then bottom to top and repeat. In a lasagna dish,
add a thin layer of (1 cup) prepared pasta sauce,
arrange the crepes, add 1 more cup sauce top with 8oz
of shredded mozzarella cheese and bake (covered)
for 30 minutes in a preheat 375 degree oven.
KOOGALA or kougle as its known in many Baltic country's.
This is the second recipe that comes from Patricia Petkoonis.
Very simple, very tasty and very versatile.
What you need:
10 medium potato's. Do not peel. Shredded and place in cold water.
3 medium onions chopped fine.
1 pound bacon sliced in small bits
1 tsp salt and peeper
Fry the bacon until crisp (about 15 to 20 minutes) do not drain fat.
Add chopped onions and fry for 5 minutes more. Add salt and peeper
and set aside. Drain shredded potato's and place in a large bowl. Add
the bacon-onion mixture and mix well. Place the whole thing in a
lasagna pan pat down evenly and bake for 45 minutes in a (375 degree)
preheated oven. Let cool for 30 minutes and serve. Serve as a side dish
to any meal or for breakfast, with over easy eggs.
ENJOY. SGM-B