Layered Vegetable Torte

This is another dish from one of my favorite cookbooks, How to Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman. I deviated slightly from his original recipe by adding caramelized onion and fresh mozzarella to the layers, dusting the top with some grated parmesan, and serving the torte warm. It was good, but for all the effort I put into it (roasting eggplant, peppers, and zucchini separately, and caramelizing my own onions), I had wanted it to rock my world. So, I don't really see myself making this again anytime soon. But if you dig tedium and waiting, this recipe is for you. I will share the recipe as it is written, but it does lend itself well to freestyle interpretation. You could use herbs other than basil, for example, or do a fall version with squash, sweet potatoes, or other root vegetables.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium eggplant
• 4 medium zucchini
• salt
• 4 red bell peppers, roasted and cleaned
• 1/2 c. EVOO, or more as needed
• freshly ground black pepper
• 20 or so fresh basil leaves, some torn or chopped for garnish
• freshly grated parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)

1. Peel the eggplant if the skin is thick or the eggplant is less than perfectly firm. Cut it and the zucchini into 1/4" thick slices; salt the eggplant if time allows. (See recipe for Mashed Eggplant with Garlic and Mint for instructions on salting.) Cut each roasted pepper into thirds or fourths and set aside.

2. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Smear 2 (or more) baking sheets with 2 tablespoons olive oil each. Lay the eggplant slices on one sheet and the zucchini on the other in a single layer. (You may need to work in batches, cooking the eggplant on 2 baking sheets and then cooking the zucchini.) Sprinkle with some salt and pepper (if you did not salt the eggplant) and drizzle or brush another couple of tablespoons oil over each sheet of vegetables. Roast until the eggplant and zucchini are soft, about 15 minutes for the zucchini and 20 minutes for the eggplant.

3. Coat a deep pie dish with some oil. Layer a third of the eggplant slices into the bottom of the pan, covering the bottom (trim the eggplant pieces if necessary), then layer half the zucchini, peppers, and basil, sprinkling each layer with a bit of salt and pepper; repeat the layers, ending with eggplant.

4. Put a plate or other flat object (you want it to distribute weight evenly across the top of the pie) over the top of the pie and weight it down with a large tomato can or something similar. Let rest at room temperature for at least an hour or in the fridge for a day, then remove the weight. It can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days before being served. (Put it on a large plate or platter, as juices may be squeezed out.)

5. Serve at room temperature or heat it in a 325 degree F oven until warm, about 30 minutes. Garnish with chopped basil and parmesan and cut into wedges to serve.

Makes 4-6 servings.

NOTE: To add cheese to the torte, after step 3 bake the pie in a 325 degree F oven until hot (you want the cheese to melt into the vegetable layers), about 40 minutes.

Greek night!

When the weather starts to turn warm, I like to have the occasional Greek night. This mostly consists of salads, dips, or other dishes that are fine to have sit at room temp for a while and hold up pretty well over a couple of days of lunchtime meals. To be perfectly honest, most of these dishes are not truly Greek, but Mediterranean-inspired doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, now does it? The great thing about most of these dishes is that you can really adjust these to your own taste buds... Love feta cheese--just add more. Not big on red onion, dial it back a little, or leave it out entirely.

This particular night's menu consisted of fattoush, htipiti, tabouleh, hummus, and roasted carrots. (No, I do not know how to cook for 2, but I am working on it.)

This post has both the htipiti and roasted carrots recipes. Both require very little effort. Posts to follow on the fattoush and tabouleh.

Htpiti

Ingredients:

2-4 roasted red peppers* (or one really large jar)

sprigs of thyme

1-2 T finely chopped red onion or shallot

olive oil

feta cheese

salt & pepper

Method:

• Chop up the red peppers pretty finely.
• Pull the thyme leaves off of about 2-3 sprigs.
• Mix pepper, thyme, onion, in a small bowl.
• Add 1-2 T olive oil, feta cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with warmed pita bread.

*Note: Yes, you can take the time to roast your own red peppers, but for whatever reason I wasn't in the mood this particular night. I find the ones in the deli section just fine and way less hassle. If you're roasting your own I'd probably do 2-4 peppers, depending on their size.

Roasted carrots with cumin seeds

This dish couldn't be easier. I love the smoky flavor that the cumin seeds give off when they roast up. I know I saw this in a magazine somewhere, but at the moment my recall is failing me.

Ingredients:

1 pound of carrots, washed, peeled and cut in to large chunks

1-2 tsp. cumin seeds

Salt

Olive oil

Feta cheese

Method:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
• On a cookie sheet toss together carrots, cumin seeds, with enough olive oil to coat, and sprinkle with salt.
• Roast the carrots for about 30 minutes, or until you start to get some nice caramelization. I usually do a toss after 15 minutes or so.
• Remove from oven and top with crumbled feta cheese.