Two members of our illustrious cyber brood paid Zari and me the honor of a visit this Sunday past. We men cooked and the women ate. I suppose that’s how it should be. I made a garbanzo bean salad and an eggplant casserole thingy using lavosh. At the end of it all, I was instructed to post my recipes here. Resistance being futile, here they are:
Eggplant Something Or Other
To make this dish I used a 16” long ceramic roasting dish. It can, however, be done in whatever you have. You’ll just need to adjust the quantities and cooking times. I’ll describe the marinara sauce I made, but, of course, you can use your favorite.
Ingredients:
For the sauce
(2) 28 oz. cans of peeled plum tomatoes (chunkily puréed)
(2) tbs of tomato paste
(6) cloves of garlic (sliced)
(4) bay leaves
(1) tsp of crushed fennel seed
Dried parsley
Dried basil
Chili flake
Paprika
Salt pepper
Olive oil
For the casserole
(2) Medium size eggplants (Sliced thin into rounds and then purged)
(1) lb mozzarella (sliced thin)
(2) cups grated parmesan cheese
(5) sheets of lavosh
Flour
Corn oil
Salt
Pepper
Preparation:
The sauce: Cover the bottom of your favorite sauce pot with olive oil and sauté the garlic and chili flake lightly. Toss in the puréed tomatoes and season with the remainder of the ingredients. If the mixture is too thick, use a little water to thin it out. Bring to a gentle boil then reduce the heat and let simmer for about 20 minutes. (It will finish cooking in the casserole.) Set aside.
The casserole: Fry the eggplant slices in the corn oil. Just coat them lightly in flour once. No seasoning needed, especially if there is salt left in the slices from the purging. Spread some of the tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan. Line pan with lavosh and cut the edges to shape. Depending on the size of the lavosh sheet, you may need two pieces to cover the pan. Put down a layer of eggplant slices, daub with sauce, sprinkle generously with the parm, lay mozzarella slices on top. Repeat twice (lavosh, eggplant, sauce, cheeses – lavosh, eggplant, sauce, cheeses.) Cover with tinfoil, bake in oven heated to 350º F for 50 minutes. Remove tinfoil and bake another 10 minutes or until the top looks the way you like it. Let stand for 20 minutes and then eat.
Garbanzo Bean Salad
This one was shot from the hip so I’ll do my best to recreate the recipe.
Ingredients:
(2) 15 oz. cans of garbanzo beans
(2) Persian cucumbers, diced large
(1/2) cup shredded carrot
(1) dozen grape tomatoes
(1) peperoncino (or as many as you like)
(2) tbs chopped onion
(1) clove chopped garlic
(1) tbs onion powder
(1) small bunch of dill (half for the salad, half left whole for the garnish)
(1) tsp of capers
(6) tbs of olive oil
(2) tbs of apple cider vinegar
(1) tsp of Dijon mustard
Salt
Pepper
Preparation: First, make your vinaigrette/marinade in a deep bowl by mixing the vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper and onion powder together, then slowly drizzle in and whisk the olive oil until you have a consistent marinade. Drain and rinse off the beans. Toss them and everything else into the marinade except for the tomatoes. I also added a little liquid from the peperoncini and from the capers. Let marinate for 2 to 3 hours, tossing gently every so often. Scoop the mixture out into a serving bowl and leave the excess marinade behind. Cut the grape tomatoes in half and toss in just before serving. I decorated the top with some orange slices and whole dill weed … just to be fancy shmancy.
Now, somebody promised pictures ...
) It was a delightful day and I was thrilled to be invited.
We don't see much of you here anymore Gary. I hope that you will be able to visit with us a bit more frequently. 
