Have you noticed the numerous eggplant recipes on this blog? It’s fair to say that eggplant is one of my favorite things to cook. I love the silky texture it takes on after being properly prepared, the melt-in-your-mouth goodness. Of course, if you don’t prepare eggplant properly, it tends to be tough and bitter. Ugh. That’s why it’s essential you take the time to follow the preparation steps. They’re very easy, and only require you to work about 5 minutes of the time. For the rest of the 30 minutes, the eggplant just hangs out, doing its thing.

Most of the time, Eggplant Parmesan is fried. Yuck. I’m probably one of the few Americans who really cannot stand deep fried food, and I’ll probably take some slack for it, but I truly find it mostly disgusting. In my version of Eggplant Parmesan, I use a method I learned in The Sunday’s Moosewood Restaurant Cookbook. They have this phenomenal recipe for Baked Eggplant Sandwiches, and boy oh boy are they tasty! I prepare the Baked Eggplant Sandwiches, then make a more traditional Eggplant Parmesan out of them, using Parmesan cheese and tomato sauce. For this recipe, I also added spinach. If you’re not a fan of spinach, by all means, leave it out.

Ingredients:
1 medium to large eggplant
2 cups loosely packed spinach
12 oz mozzarella cheese, sliced
½ cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 jar marinara sauce, or your own homemade recipe
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 cup bread crumbs
2 eggs, well-beaten

Guidelines:

Slice your eggplant into slices about ¼-3/8 inch thick. Working in batches, lay the slices in a colander, lightly salting each layer. Once all the layers have been laid and salted, place a heavy object, such as bowl, on top of the eggplant. Let rest for 30 minutes. Salting and pressing helps break down the cell walls and release bitterness. Once the 30 minutes has elapsed, remove the bowl and gently pat dry the layers of eggplant, removing what salt you can.

In three pie pans or something similar, place the flour in one, the bread crumbs in another, and the eggs in yet another.

Take two eggplant slices, and sandwich a slice of mozzarella and a bunch of spinach in between them. Dredge the sandwich first in flour, then in egg, then in the bread crumbs. (Note: You will probably have leftover spinach; that’s fine, you’ll use it below.) Place the sandwiches on a non-stick baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the tops are golden and the cheese is melted.

Once the sandwiches come out of the oven, place them in a casserole dish, top with the marinara sauce, the remaining spinach, and the Parmesan cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or just long enough that the sauce heats through and the Parmesan cheese melts.

After the Crunchy Chicken Chinese Salad, I still had over half the bunch left. Luckily, Bok Choy keeps well… I decided to pair it with shrimp this go around, and came up with this Asian inspired salad. We’re salad lovers around here, if you can’t tell… So, I made this salad, and guess what? I STILL have Bok Choy left. What now??

Salad Ingredients:

Note: I don’t measure for salads. I throw stuff in a salad bowl until it looks balanced. That said, I’ll try my best to give you approximate measurements for feeding two people.

shrimp, about 15-20 small or 10 large
Bok Choy, about 5-6 cups
purple cabbage, shredded, about 1 cup
red pepper, 1 small- medium, diced
won ton wrappers for fried won-ton strips, see method below

Dressing Ingredients:

lemon juice, about ¼ cup
lemon zest (optional), from 1 lemon
peanut oil, about ¼ cup (use olive oil if you don’t have peanut oil)
rice vinegar, a couple tbsp.
fresh ginger, a 1-2 inch chunk, peeled and grated
brown sugar, a tbsp. or two, depending on taste
salt and pepper to taste

Fried Won Ton Strips:

Grab a stack of won ton wrappers, about 6-8, and cut them into strips. You should get 3-4 per square, and it’s easier to run your knife through the entire stack, not one won ton wrapper at a time. That way, you only make 3-4 cuts.

Fill a small fry pan ½- ¾ of the way full of canola oil or peanut oil. Heat over high until hot, then reduce the temp to medium or medium-high.

Working in batches, fry the strips. They take about 30 seconds per side before they burn, so don’t walk away from them!

Using tongs, remove the strips from the oil and drain on paper towels.

Salad Guidelines:

Start with the dressing, so the flavors have time to meld. Whisk the ingredients in a bowl and let stand until ready to use. Give it a final vigorous whisk before dressing the salad.

Prepare the won ton strips.

Cook your shrimp. If they are uncooked, they will take 3-5 minutes, depending on size. If they are previously cooked, you can warm them, or use them cold. Make sure they are de-thawed and the tails have been removed.

Wash and chop the Bok Choy. Place it in a bowl along with the shredded purple cabbage and the diced red pepper.

Dress the veggies with the salad dressing, and plate. Add shrimp and won ton strips to individual plates.

Wine Recommendations:

Washington State Riesling or a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

Ancho chiles are dark and fruity tasting. Rachael said they have a raisin flavor, and I’d have to agree. They are also very mild. I removed most of the seeds, but I have a feeling I could leave them in with no problems. If you’re at all sensitive to spicy foods, go ahead and remove them, however. For me, I could almost add heat to this dish, but it’s not necessary. The flavors are great, and you certainly wouldn’t want to overwhelm the dish with heat. But I digress…

My first attempt at making these didn’t go so well. Well, it went fine except for one thing—I forgot to make the enchilada sauce! Ha! I made sauce all right, but I added every last drop the chicken mixture, and it needed it. So, I needed to make another batch, but I didn’t have any more ancho chiles. We ended up eating those as quesadillas, and the next day, I went to the store to buy more anchos. In this case, the second try was a charm.

Important Note: I made homemade white flour tortillas for this, and I think that quality of tortilla is essential to the recipe. I’d steer away from traditional store-bought tortillas, but if you have a bakery or local restaurant that will make them and sell them to you, that’s an option. Otherwise, try making your own. It’s fun!

Ingredients:
about 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, shredded
6-8 dried ancho chiles
6-8 cups chicken stock
8 oz. Monterey jack cheese, shredded
1 oz. Queso fresca cheese, crumbled
1 cup red cabbage, chopped
1 cup green cabbage, chopped
2-3 tomatoes, chopped
1 avocado, cubed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. canola oil
homemade tortillas (see important note above)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. oregano
2-3 tbsp. cumin
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tbsp. cocoa powder

Guidelines:

Make or purchase some form of homemade white flour tortillas. They really do make a difference in taste and texture! Buy or make 16-20.

Bring a large pot of water to a strong simmer. Add chicken breasts and salt and pepper. Simmer for about 30-40 minutes or until chicken shreds easily. Remove from pot, let cool, and shred.

To make the ancho chile sauce, reconstitute the chiles in the chicken broth. Bring the chicken broth to a simmer (you can use the same pot you took the chicken out of, unless you want to prepare them simultaneously, just be sure to drain the water) and add chiles. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until chiles are softened. Remove from chicken broth, but reserve chicken broth. Let chiles cool, then remove stems and seeds.

Working in batches, blend the chiles with the chicken broth. Reserve half of the mixture for the enchilada sauce. The other half you will use with the chicken.

In a large sauté pan over medium-low heat, sauté the minced garlic in the canola oil until just fragrant. Add shredded chicken and half of the ancho chile sauce. Add half the oregano, cinnamon, cumin, and cocoa powder. Mix well and let simmer on low while you prepare the rest of the dish.

In a medium saucepan, heat the remaining ancho chile sauce with the other half of the herbs and spices. Simmer on low for 10-15 minutes, to let flavors marry. Keep warm.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. On individual plates, place one to two tortillas. Top each with a handful of cheese and a large spoonful of chicken. Place tortillas over the top and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until cheese has melted. Don’t spread the sauce over the top at this point. You don’t want it to dry out.

Once the plates come out of the oven, spread the ancho chile enchilada sauce over the top. Sprinkle with cabbage, the queso fresca, and chopped tomatoes and avocado.