Tian of Eggplant, Tomato and Herbs

This gorgeous layered vegetable gratin requires 3 hours in the oven for its alchemy to work. A tian is an earthenware baking dish but you can use a small paella pan or any dish with a 10-cup capacity. The delicious liquid that accumulates in the dish can be used to make a vinaigrette. Serve the tian hot or at room temperature.

Ingredients:

- 1 large eggplant (about 1.5 lb), peeled

- 4 medium onions, about 1.5 lb

- 5 large ripe tomatoes, about 2 lbs

- 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

- 2.5 tbsp dried oregano

- 10 tbsp freshly grated Pecorino Romano

- 1/2 cup olive oil

Preheat the oven to 300 F. Slice the eggplant into thin rounds. Toss with one tbsp salt. Thinly slice the tomatoes. Thinly slice the onions, keeping the slices intact.

Arrange half of the eggplant in the bottom of a tian or paella pan. Top with an overlapping layer of half the tomatoes, and then half the onions.

Deviled Chicken Drumsticks

I know, it's chicken again, but at 90 degrees outside I was happy to get in and out of the kitchen as soon as possible. So I found this wonderful recipe that did not require any supervision, the product went into the oven and was done in under one hour.

I used:

• 6 chicken drumsticks
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 3/8 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
• 3/8 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1.5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in the upper third of the oven.

Pat chicken dry, then toss with mustard until evenly coated.

Stir together panko, cheese, cayenne, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. 

Drizzle with butter and toss. 

Dredge each drumstick in crumb mixture to coat

Arrange, without crowding, in a buttered large 4-sided pan. Roast until chicken is browned and cooked through, about 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature

I made some roasted bell pepper salad to go with it (roasted bell pepper, vinegar, vegetable oil, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper, everything left in the fridge for at least 3 hours)

 

And I added some roasted eggplant salad to serve

I am sorry the pictures are blurred, my daughter was patrolling around the kitchen, as the smell of the freshly baked chicken was unbearable ;). These moist and juicy drumsticks (with a slight kick) are perfect picnic food, since they're also terrific cold or at room temperature. Enjoy!

Young Eggplants Stuffed with Italian Sausage

For this Turkish-inspired dish I used a recipe in which I substituted the beef meat for Italian sweet sausages. It was a very flavorful and interesting twist!

- 4 small eggplants (baby eggplants are just fine)

- 0.8 lb Italian sausage meat (casings removed)

- 1 medium yellow onion

- 1 bell pepper (I used a red one)

- 2 cloves of garlic

- 1 large tomato (can be replaced with canned tomatoes)

- 4 tbsp olive oil

- 1 small bunch of parsley, chopped

- salt and pepper to taste

- sweet or hot paprika (optional)

Ratatouille

The ingredients:

It's better to use fresh tomatoes, but I did not have any available and I didn't like the ones at the store, so I decided for the canned version.