A solid stew, new Em-i-lis Recipes is live

/

This wouldn't have knocked your socks off, but it was lovely. I cooked garlic, Aleppo pepper, cumin, coriander and cinnamon in a skillet for a couple minutes, added the zucchini and artichoke stems (that I'd not steamed), later added the tomatoes and artichoke hearts and just near the end, the roasted eggplant which I'd skinned and chopped. At that time, I stirred in a couple tablespoons of pomegranate molasses and served this with fresh feta and multigrain bread. Hearty, healthy and a nice homage to meatless Monday. And, I've got a little RSI going on, but Em-i-lis Recipes redux is live. Photos are being added to each recipe slowly but surely. Hope you like!

Meatless Monday: middle eastern ratatouille?

/

Looking around my fridge this afternoon, I found one lovely eggplant, 2 globe artichokes and some zucchini, all quite fresh and eager to be consumed. I thought about how much I love ratatouille when I'm eating out but almost never when I made it myself; I'm not sure why this is but I wonder if it has something to do with amount of olive oil used. I'm certainly not meek when it comes to glugs of EVOO, but as I'm still gun-shy in using the actual amount of salt all self-respecting Italians do (horrific if you're not expecting to see how much is dumped in! I about had a cardiac the first time I watched my sister cook after she'd lived in Florence for a while), I might also be relatively restrained when it comes to olive oil pouring. Hmm... Anyway, I decided against the traditional ratatouille's associated seasonings and am instead going in a middle eastern direction. The eggplant is roasting in its skin right now in the oven, I steamed the artichokes until al dente and have them resting in an acidulated bath and think I'll ultimately throw all that back together on a jelly roll pan with the squash, some garlic and a hefty dose of spices TBD but which definitely lead you down the Arabian v French path. Stay tuned.