This is actually an eggplant timbale…….but most people never heard of a timbale so I am calling this eggplant wrapped baked ziti because it is closest to that. A timbale might be layers of food or a combination of pasta, and or custard, rice, potatoes, eggs, cheese, meat, or vegetables held together with egg and usually baked and is traditionally covered with bread crumbs. A timbale is usually molded but also can be covered in pastry. Serving size is always difficult to judge because some people want a tiny slice and other people want a great big wedge. This made 9 (what I consider large) portions. I’ll post 8 portions.

Ingredients for around 8 portions

8oz of a tube shaped pasta – cooked in salty water, drained and set to the side

2 eggplants -peeled – sliced thin (I sliced most longways but slicing across is easier….it doesn’t really matter)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (I had to guesstimate this…I used an oil squirt bottle to oil eggplants lightly)

1 cup Localtelli cheese – shredded ( you can substitute any hard Italian cheese)

16 oz ricotta cheese (preferably home made and drained…if not a good quality one drained)

8 oz provalone cheese – I used slices and grated around half the cheese reserved (1/2 the provolone mixed with the other cheeses and the slices I used near the bottom (just under the eggplant.

2 eggs – lightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

Optional 1/2 cup green beans (mine were cooked and chopped up) (can substitute peas, a different vegetable like drained spinach, or a cooked meat)

2 Tablespoons fresh basil chopped

1 cup tomato sauce (preferably home made plus extra for serving)

non stick spray

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Either set oven to broil or heat up your grill but NOTE*****on an outdoor grill you will not be able to get your eggplant slices as thin…..so things will be slightly off. If you are broiling your eggplant slices you need to sprinkle them with oil and the smallest amount of salt and pepper (you hardly need any here because it condenses) Take the eggplant out when they look slightly charred and golden and set to the side.

All the filling gets mixed together in a big bowl….cheeses, eggs, black pepper, nutmeg, green beans, basil…(maybe a small amount of the tomato sauce….(I used a small amount so my pasta wouldn’t stick)

Spray springform pan with non stick spray. Line your pan with eggplant in a thin layer and have ends of eggplant hanging off the ends.

Then you put a thin layer of provolone above the eggplant. Next a thin layer of tomato sauce.

Filling goes in next.

Top the filling with a layer of provolone and a thing layer of tomato sauce. Top that with remaining eggplant.

Fold up the ends of the eggplant.

Springform pans usually leak so put a lined sheet pan under to collect to mess.

Spray some aluminum foil with non stick spray……Cover the dish spray side down so it doesn’t stick.

This goes on the middle rack of a 350 degree preheated oven for 90 minutes.

This needs to set up over night.

Cut serving size and reheat and serve with more sauce and extra grated cheese and maybe some crumbled tarallini crackers for some crumbs.

Enjoy!

A while back Fry’s had a sale on Avocados. I got a bag of 4 avocados that were small like eggs and stayed hard like rocks for about a month now. I figured I’d try to do something with them. These avocados were difficult to open up and I feared inedible but I made them tasty. I did a basic seasoned flour on them and then dipped them into egg and I had a cup of leftover take out rice so I sprinkled the rice on them. Baked them till crispy and whipped up a sauce. They came out tasty. I don’t know if this recipe will work as well on softer avocados. Mine came out almost like potatoes. If you find yourself with some hard avocados you might want to give this recipe a try. Ingredients for 2-4 avocado. Mine were unusually small avocados. My guess is that this recipe will make 4-8 servings depending on how much avocado that you want to eat. I think most people will eat a half avocado if they use very small avocado. I think most people would only eat a quarter of a larger avocado. This recipe worked well with small hard avocados so that is what I would suggest.

Ingredients for around 8 servings

4 small hard avocados – cut in half long ways, pit removed and scooped out of skin

3 Tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 eggs

1 cup of leftover take out rice

non stick spray

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (guesstimated…I just sprayed them with oil from my squirt bottle

3 Tablespoons tahini

1 Tablespoon white miso

1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 Tablespoon sriracha (I used Shark Brand that is very sweet and mellow)

1 Tablespoon Sambal (or to taste)

1/3 cup yuzu juice (I had this leftover but you can substitute a combination of fresh squeezed orange and lime juice)

Sea salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray baking sheet with non stick spray and set it to the side.

In a gallon zip lock bag add the flour, chili powder, salt, black pepper. Shake it to mix and add avocados. Shake gently to coat avocados.

Take out the avocados and pour leftover seasoned flour into small mixing bowl. Add the eggs to the mixing bowl and mix well. Coat each piece of avocado with the egg mixture. Then sprinkle the rice on both sides of each avocado and place on sprayed baking sheet.

These go in the preheated 350 degree F oven till crispy and slightly brown. (around 30 minutes)

Make sauce while the avocado are baking.

In a small mixing bowl combine the tahini, miso, vinegar, oil, sriracha, Sambel (to taste) citrus juice. Add black pepper to taste. I didn’t think mine needed salt but you might want a little more salt.

When the avocados get lightly browned and crispy take them out and serve with the sauce you’ve just whipped up.

Enjoy!

I wanted to do another butternut squash recipe today and found Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipe for five-spice butternut squash in cheesy custard. Incase you don’t know……Yotam Ottolenghi is one of the most talented vegetable chefs in the world so if you come across one of his recipes that it is worth doing. He’s a multi award winning and James Beard award winning cook book author, chef, and restauranteur. I rounded some of the ingredients slightly. Maybe the biggest change I made was to use the whole squash instead of half the squash……The original recipe puts half the squash in the middle of a cast iron pan and all the cheesy custard is all around. For this recipe the butternut squash is also cut into thick one inch slices with the skin that look attractive in the picture for Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipe but I hasselback cut mine and removed the skin.. I guess it really doesn’t matter how you slice it up. I was thinking that I wanted to use the whole squash. To me it seemed like the whole squash would be better in thin slices…..ANYWAY it comes out really surprisingly great! That Yotam Ottolenghi is a genius. Serving size is difficult to judge since all butternut squashes are different sizes and some people like small servings other people like large servings. I used a medium sized whole squash. I got around 6 servings.

Ingredients for around 6 servings

1 butternut squash – Cut in half longways and remove the seeds. Yotam’s recipe says to leave the squash. skin on and to cut into 3/4 inch slices and to only use one half of the squash. I used both halves, removed skin (precooked at 425F for 15 minutes and then did a hasselback cut. You do what you want.

5 large shallots – Peeled &. halved lengthwise. (I could only find small shallots so I used 9)

2 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil

I teaspoon 5 spice powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

3/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons chicken or vegetable stock

8 oz heavy cream

4 oz gruyere cheese – shredded (2oz +2oz)

5 yolks

2 garlic cloves ground to paste

2 teaspoons cornstarch

2 teaspoons white miso

1 1/2 Tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds

1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper

1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika

1/8 teaspoon 5-spice powder

2 Tablespoons olive oil

pinch sea salt

1/4 cup chives cut into 1/3 inch slices (I used scallions)

1 1/2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

Directions

Set the oven to 450 degrees F.

If you are following the way chef Ottolenghi did things then you are placing your squash in the middle of a cast iron skillet (skin up) with half the shallots. – If you are using the whole squash I suggest a baking dish.

In a small mixing bowl combine the oil, 5-spice powder, cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon salt, black pepper, Use a spoon and coat the butternut squash and shallots with this mixture.

This goes in the oven for 25 minutes or until the squash is tender but not falling apart. If you used small shallots like I did you might have to pull them out a little early like in 15 minutes. Note to self……Maybe a closer substitute for larges shallots might be small red onions….Take this out of the oven when squash is done

Turn down the oven to 325 F

in a sauce pan on medium heat heat up the stock and heavy cream together till simmering. In a medium bowl mix together 2oz of the shredded cheese, yolks, garlic, corn starch, and white miso. Ladle out a small amount of the simmering cream mixture into the yolk mixture. Add a little more….mix ….and add a little more maybe a couple more times. Then pour that mixture back into the sauce pot and whisk till the mixture is thickened. Pour the mixture around the squash. Top the custard with the remaining shallots. This goes in the oven for 15-18 minutes.

Put a small fry pan on medium low heat with the oil, sesame seeds, Aleppo pepper, sweet paprika, five-spice, pinch sea salt. Cook for two minutes. Let cool. When cool add the chives and lime juice.

A Special THANKS to Yotam Ottolenghi for sharing another Forking Amazing recipe!