Roasted eggplant bacon pasta

Even though Joao and I are not vegans or vegetarians, most of our meals revolve around vegetables, and there are several occasions when we eat vegan or vegetarian lunches and dinners – it has been like this for many years now and it happened very naturally. We both love vegetables and I am always searching for new ways to prepare them.

I like pretty much all veggies except for sweet potatoes, and Joao does not like cauliflower, but he loved the cauliflower balls I made the other day. I guess it is just a matter of making vegetables interesting, instead of simply boiling them in water. Roasting is one of the cooking methods I use the most and it seems to make all vegetables delicious.

I still cook beef and chicken sometimes – once a week, tops – and I like to use a little bacon here and there, occasionally, for flavor, or to enhance a dish that is based on vegetables. This pasta has a very meaty texture because of the eggplant, and the bacon just makes it more interesting – the saltiness matches the roasted eggplant perfectly, and the tomato makes everything moist.

I made this recipe on a Saturday for lunch and we devoured it with some crusty bread – it is rather simple and does not call for many ingredients, but the result is very tasty.

 

Roasted eggplant bacon pasta

own recipe

 

1 medium eggplant (380g), diced in 2.5cm (1in) cubes

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

180g fusilli or other short pasta of your preference

4 slices of bacon

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 large ripe tomato, deseeded and finely diced

2 tablespoons dry white wine

 

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil.

Place the eggplant on the foil, drizzle with the olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast for 15 minutes. Toss the pieces around, carefully not to pierce the foil, then roast for another 15 minutes.

In the meantime, cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente.

Heat a large nonstick frying pan over high heat and add the bacon, cooking until crispy and the fat is rendered. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute – do not let it burn or it will turn bitter. Add the tomato, season with salt and pepper (go easy on the salt because of the bacon) and cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes release their juices, 2-3 minutes. Add the wine and cook for 1 minute. Add the roasted eggplants and stir well.

Drain the pasta, reserving ½ cup of the cooking liquid. Add the pasta to the sauce and cook for 1 minute – if sauce is too thick or dry, add some of the reserved pasta water and stir – I did not have any fresh herbs at home, but do add fresh basil if you have some at hand.

Serve immediately.

Serves 2

Apple yogurt cake

I have been in love with Epicurious’ yogurt cake ever since quarantine started: versatile and delicious, easy to make – no need to wait for the butter to soften when you feel like baking! I have made this recipe in several different ways and all turned out wonderful: marble cake, orange with chocolate sprinkles, lime with poppy seeds, Rangpur lime with coconut…

When I found two small apples in my fridge that had been forgotten there for weeks I immediately knew I wanted to make cake with them, and I did not think twice to decide on which recipe I would use. A little bit of cinnamon, the classic pairing with apples, and the cake perfumed the entire apartment. The cake turned out moist, very tender and absolutely delicious.

My heart belongs to citrus flavors, as you know, but this apple cake won me over – of all the versions I have made, it was the tastier. My husband, who definitely does not have a sweet tooth, saw the cake cooling on the counter and asked me for a slice, while it was still hot from the oven – he told me he could not resist the smell. At that moment I knew this recipe was a winner and a keeper.

 

Apple yogurt cake

slightly adapted from Epicurious, again

 

1 ½ cups (210g) all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon table salt

1 cup (200g) granulated sugar

¾ cup (180g) plain yogurt – I used sheep’s milk yogurt

½ cup (120ml) vegetable oil – I used canola

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 small Gala apples (100g each, weighed before peeling and coring), peeled, cored and diced in 1cm pieces – I used two apples that had been completely forgotten in my fridge for weeks

 

Preheat oven to 180C/350°F. Lightly brush a 6-cup capacity loaf pan with oil, line it with baking paper and then brush the paper as well.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, yogurt, oil, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Fold in reserved dry ingredient – if batter is too lumpy, whisk for a few seconds – do not overmix or the cake will become tough. Stir in the apples.

Pour the batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a skewer or toothpick inserted into center of the cake comes out clean.

Let cake cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Carefully and using the paper as a guide, remove cake from pan and transfer to the rack to cool completely.

The cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

 

Serves 8

Anthill shortbread

My nephew loves anthill cake and because of that last December I bought a large bag of chocolate sprinkles – he was visiting me every week and we would bake the cake together. It was a lot of fun.

The pandemic came, so did the need of social distancing and the anthill cakes became a thing of the past. Sometimes I see the huge jar of sprinkles in my cupboard and I miss those Saturdays with my nephew so, so much. I wanted to find a way to use up the sprinkles in other recipes, and decided to add them to cookie dough.

These shortbread cookies are simple, yet delicious: crunchy when you bite them, then they melt in your mouth. I baked the first log of dough at the same day I made the recipe, then froze the other log for some other time. Last Sunday my husband wanted something tasty to go with his espresso and we were out of cake; I turned the oven on and baked the other dough log – freshly baked cookies for the super cold day we were having. 

Anthill shortbread

slightly adapted from Annie Bell’s brown sugar shortbread

 

200g unsalted butter, chilled and diced

50g light brown sugar

50g granulated sugar

300g all purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon table salt

6 tablespoons chocolate sprinkles

3 ½ tablespoons whole milk, cold

 

For sprinkling over the dough logs:

1 ½ tablespoons granulated or demerara sugar

 

Place butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer and mix until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs – at this stage there will still have large pieces of butter. Add flour, salt and chocolate sprinkles and mix again until mixture is sandy. With the mixer on low, add the milk, gradually, just until a dough starts to form – you might not need to use all the milk.

Divide dough in half and place each onto a large piece of baking paper. Shape dough like a cylinder, using a ruler to help, as Martha does here. Refrigerate for 4 hours, or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.

Unwrap one of the dough logs (keep the other in the fridge) and brush it lightly with water. Sprinkle with half the sugar, spreading it evenly. Slice the cylinder into 1cm-thick rounds. Place onto the prepared baking sheets 5cm (2in) apart and bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden around the edges. Remove from the oven and cool in the sheets over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully slide the paper with the cookies onto the rack and cool completely. Repeat the process with the other log of dough and sugar.

Cookies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Dough can be frozen for up to 2 months.

Makes 40

Cauliflower balls and feeling nostalgic

I have been feeling nostalgic lately, thinking of my mom a lot. Some ingredients and foods remind me of her so much, it is impossible not to think of her and of some moments of my childhood. Cauliflower, for instance, is something that immediately takes me back to the past, it is as if I could almost hear my mom telling me “eat the little trees, my dear, for they are very good for you”. Cauliflower, to me, will always be “little trees”.

As much as I love these little trees, I’ll admit that sometimes they need a little push when it comes to flavor: cauliflower can be pretty bland depending on how it is prepared. It is not the case with these balls: they are delicious! Very flavorful, crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside.

I served these balls as part of a meal with rice, beans and cooked kale, but they would be wonderful to nibble on with a cold beer. By the way, I recommend adding a few drops of Tabasco to the balls when eating them – they taste even better.

 

Cauliflower balls

own recipe, inspired by these lentil patties

 

400g cauliflower, cut into florets – a little more than ½ small cauliflower

salt

½ small onion, finely diced

1 egg, room temperature

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley leaves

½ tablespoon olive oil

¼ cup finely grated parmesan

¾ cup breadcrumbs – I used homemade

freshly ground black pepper

 

Place the cauliflower in a large saucepan and cover with water. Heat over high heat and when the water starts to boil, add a pinch of salt and cook until cauliflower is tender, about 10 minutes. Drain well, then refresh under cold water until cauliflower is cool. Drain again and chop finely. Transfer to a large bowl.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil, then brush with olive oil

Add all the remaining ingredients to the chopped cauliflower and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. With a handheld mixer, process half the mixture (use a food processor if you don’t have a mixer). Stir well, then shape small balls with your hands using 1 ½ leveled tablespoons per ball. Place the balls into the prepared pan leaving 2.5cm (1in) between them. Bake for 15 minutes, then carefully turn the balls. Bake for another 15 minutes and serve.

Makes about 22 – we ate half of the balls on the day I made them, and I froze the rest for some other time

Buttermilk pound cake - perfect with a cup of coffee (or tea)

Because of the recently acquired habit ofcoffee breaks at home, I have been searching for good cake recipes on my books and on the Internet – I no longer remember the last time I had stayed in my couch for hours bookmarking cake recipes: for a good while, my main focus was savory recipes only, with a cookie or a brownie recipe here and there for the people at the office.

I felt like having a slice of plain cake, simple, but with a tender texture. When I saw Sydney’s photos I knew I had to bake that buttermilk cake! It was exactly what I wanted, and the photos were mouthwatering. I immediately marched to the kitchen to remove the butter from the fridge.

Her recipe does not specify the size of the loaf pan, but I knew that mine would not fit a batter made with 3 cups of flour. I downsized the recipe slightly to make a smaller cake and loved the result. My husband told me that the sugary crust was the best part of the cake, while to me it was the very tender middle part.

I used Frangelico to perfume the cake – I love using booze in recipes – but go for vanilla extract if you don’t want to use alcohol (Sydney does not use anything in her cake). I have been thinking of making this cake again, adding orange zest and Cointreau in the batter – yum!

Buttermilk pound cake

slightly adapted from this lovely blog

 

2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon table salt

2/3 cup (150g) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup (200g) granulated sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 ½ tablespoons Frangelico – optional; Amaretto would be delicious as well. If not using liquor, replace with 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

½ cup (120ml) buttermilk*

 

For sprinkling over the cake:

1 tablespoon granulated or demerara sugar

 

Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 6-cup capacity loaf pan, line it with baking paper leaving an overhang on the two larger sides, and then butter the paper as well.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, at least 4-5 minutes – the more you beat these ingredients together the better the texture of your cake will be.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating each in until adding the next, scraping down the sides of the bowl several times during the making of the entire recipe. Beat in the Frangelico (if using).

In low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk in two additions (start and finish with the dry ingredients). Mix until incorporated, but do not overmix.

Transfer batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with the sugar and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until golden and risen and until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 30 minutes, then carefully lift the cake using the paper and transfer to the rack to cool completely.

Cake can be kept in an airtight container for up to 5 days, but I thought that it started to dry out slightly after day 3 (we ate it anyway). :D 

* buttermilk is not sold in Brazil, so I made a homemade version using whole milk and lime juice

 

Serves 8-10 slices