aubergine and green
There’s no doubt these days that I yearn to identify with the ancestors of my 4 grandparents. When I wake up in the morning, I instantly begin my wanderings – in the realm of food, travel, and “want to know” this, that and just about every other thing. My profile description, should I wish to try to write it, would be as the “heart of a peasant, the soul of a wanderer and the mind of an inquisitor”. In this vein, I could easily spend my days sprinkling feed around to my free-range chickens on a rustic farm in Tuscany with a headscarf and apron as adornments (as long as I could make unrestricted day trips to Firenze)…………. Here’s what whets my appetite:
When I awoke this morning, very early, for the second Saturday in a row, the show Globetrekker was on the Create Channel. Last week it was a history of English Architecture. I loved it so much but was so sleep logged that I returned to watch the re-run in the afternoon. This morning when I awoke there was a show on Sicily, which sadly was almost over. I forced myself to awaken and then sadly they truncated the show in the middle of a discussion of the famous ceramic studios on the island. I know where I will be later today – and searching for a way to download the entire program. If you have not seen this series, try to tune in. It is so very well done.
My fascination with Sicily really awakened in earnest a few years ago when I was lucky enough to visit Taormina for a few days as part of a trip to Rome, Positano and then Taormina while my son was studying in London. Now, you don’t have to work hard to get me gushing about the feeling I get whenever I step off a plane in Italy, but when we arrived in Catania and when I first rode up the hill into Taormina proper I was enchanted. The panoramas there are remarkably beautiful and we sat outside on the terrace at the Grand Hotel Timeo and had a cocktail and visited with Mt. Etna in the distance.
Mt. Etna as seen from the terrace at Grand Hotel Timeo
Pinch me, will you? No, no, please don’t wake me up. Visiting towns such as this are like stepping out of reality and into a bonafide fairy tale for me. Don’t get me started. Someday I hope to see all of the rest of this storybook island, inch by incredible inch. Go ahead and fall in love with the pictures from this post: https://kitchen-inspirational.com/2013/05/18/surprising-taormina-sicily/
Well anyway, last week I got to writing about the indelible impact of bakeries on my psyche. In that post I commented about the cookie my paternal grandmother made for us on countless occasions, her Taralli. When I think about my Mom and my maternal grandmother, I think of their recipe for Pasta Fagoli. Both of these recipes have deep peasant roots (where scarcity of resources is the mother of invention) with which I totally identify and, how I crave them to this day. How I spend my days and what I dream of making and do make all took root from them. Seems like all roads lead from there.
Yesterday, I had to make a do-ahead dinner and had an inspiration based upon my dear Mom’s Lasagna recipe. Gone are the days that I could inhale more than my fair share of that decadent dish (well, I can still inhale it but then I’d have a profile I couldn’t live with). But, I can improvise, based on a more comfortable “today’s standards” and still keep many of the key flavors but have it be pasta-free, over-loaded with veggies and a comfortably small quantity of a lighter protein – in this case, chicken.
Here’s my recipe and the results, according to the peanut gallery served, were “cosmic”. You’ll note that this remains a relatively high caloric dish in that it does contain a fair amount of cheese. But, the flavors are amazing and there’s no pasta and you’re really consuming a 2/3 to 1/3 veggie to chicken ratio. Well, that’s my rationalization anyway…….
ZUCCHINI, EGGPLANT AND CHICKEN LASAGNA – (not my Mother’s Lasagna)
3 -4 small eggplant
3-4 small zucchini
1 lb thin sliced boneless chicken breasts 2 tblsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small container (15 oz) part skim ricotta cheese
2 small packages fresh mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated pecorino romano cheese
1 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp freshly groung black pepper
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 full bulb fresh garlic
1 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into chiffonade
2 eggs
1 quart homemade or store bought marinara sauce
Preheat oven to 375F.
In a large skillet heat 2 tblsp extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes on each side and set aside to cool completely.
Heat a large (4 1/2 qt) stock pot filled 2/3 full with water with 1 tsp salt to boiling. With a mandolin if possible, slice the zucchini and eggplant to about 3/8″ thickness. Blanch in batches for about 1 minute or until just softened and drain on paper towels.
In a large bowl mix together the ricotta, 1 small ball of the mozzarella, grated, 1/2 cup pecorino, the parsley, salt and pepper and Italian Seasoning until well blended.
Slice the chicken breasts on the diagonal lengthwise into 1″ strips.
In a large oven-proof baking dish, spread 1/2 cup marinara sauce on bottom with an offset spatula. Arrange a layer of eggplant strips followed by a layer of zucchini. Spread a thin layer of the ricotta mixture over all with the offset spatula. Sprinkle half of the basil over. Drizzle a scant layer of sauce over. Top with a layer of the sliced chicken breast. Repeat the vegetable, cheese, basil and sauce layers until finished and the dish is filled almost to the top. Slice the second ball of mozzarella into thin slices and arrange over the top of all. Spread another layer of sauce over all and top with the remaining 1/2 cup romano cheese. Break apart the bulb of garlic and spread the garlic cloves around the dish evenly.
Bake covered for 1 hour. Remove top and return to oven for 15 minutes or until the cheese is lightly browned and crunchy. Remove from oven and let sit for 10-15 minutes. If you are preparing early in the day you can let the dish cool to room temp and set in the refrigerator and re-heat later. If the dish is too watery after baking, remove the excess liquid with a baster. Slice carefully with a serrated knife. The lasagna is actually more “set” on the second day after having been refrigerated over night.
Enjoy with a large mixed green salad, a loaf of crusty bread and your favorite dry red wine!