GRILLED EGGPLANT WITH LEMON, YOGURT, POMEGRANATE AND MINT

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

11.04.09-GRILLED_EGGPLANT

8 small (4-inch-long) eggplants, trimmed, split in half, flesh scored
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons tahini or smooth peanut butter
juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons ground cumin
handful of fresh mint leaves
1 pomegranate, cracked open and seeds dug out
1 red Thai chile, sliced

Put a large grill pan on two burners over medium-high heat or pre-heat an outdoor gas or charcoal grill to medium. If you’re using an outdoor grill, take a few paper towels and fold them over several times to make a thick square.  Blot a small amount of oil on the paper towel, then carefully and quickly wipe the hot grates of the grill to make a non-stick surface.

Put the eggplant halves on a big platter or sheet pan.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle on both sides with salt and pepper.  Put the eggplant slices on the grill and cook until golden, 4-5 minutes.  Then turn and continue cooking 4-5 minutes more until nicely browned on both sides and soft and creamy.

Meanwhile, put the yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, the cumin, and salt and pepper into a blender and puree until smooth.  Taste for salt and pepper.

To serve, spread the yogurt sauce over the bottom of a serving platter.  Shingle the eggplant halves on top and garnish with the mint, pomegranate seeds, and sliced chile.

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BUTTERMILK PIE WITH WHIPPED HONEY CRÈME FRAICH

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

11.03.09-BUTTERMILK_PIE

Yield: 6-8 servings

Time: 2 hour 15 minutes

Pie Shell:

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1/2 cup cold water

Pie Filling:

1 stick of unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 large eggs, separated

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups buttermilk

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Begin by making the pie shell.  Add flour, sugar and salt to a food processor and pulse until well combined.   Drop in cold butter cubes and shortening and continue to process until you have the texture of coarse breadcrumbs.  Add cold water and process until the dough comes together in a large ball.   Turn the dough out onto a floured, flat surface and gently knead a few times until the dough is smooth and consistent.  Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and set it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to rest.

Once rested, roll the dough out into a circle slightly bigger than your 10-inch pie dish.  Roll disk of dough up around your rolling pin then unroll it out on top of your pie dish, gently pressing it in around the insides of the dish.  Trim any overhang and discard.  Cover with a piece of parchment and fill with pie weights.  Bake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes or until the pie crust is set and just firm.  Remove weights and cool.

Drop the temperature of the oven to 325 degrees F.

In a kitchen mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy and pale in color.  Add egg yolks, buttermilk, lemon juice and nutmeg and mix – scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula.  Add flour and continue to mix until just combined.  In a clean mixing bowl whisk egg whites until you get stiff peaks.  Gently fold egg whites into buttermilk mixture, half at a time then pour into pie shell.  Bake for 35-40 minutes until the pie is set – you don’t want any color.  Cool and serve with honey crème fraiche.

HONEY CRÈME FRAICHE:

16 oz crème fraiche

2 tablespoons honey

Whisk crème fraiche in a kitchen mixer on high for 45 seconds until it tightens up slightly.  Fold in honey with a spoon so it is just mixed but you can still see swirls of the honey.

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