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Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Chatzilim V'Coussa B'Leben - Eggplant and Zucchini with Yogurt


It's very easy for me to get caught up in fussy, complex cooking. I enjoy the challenge, the rush of a perfectly smooth hollendase sauce that doesn't break, a successfully competed chiffon cake with its butter-cream and ganache. And then the house chores don't get done.

And then I remember how beautifully simple Mediterranean cooking can be, and I return to the recipes of grilled eggplant and tomato salads with feta cheese like coming home...

Right now, as I type, there is eggplant roasting in our oven for an eggplant and summer squash salad with yogurt, delightful with the lamb and tempeh I will soon place in the oven to roast alongside the eggplant. As the eggplant quietly turns itself into a confection of remarkably creamy, smokey depths, I am finally making progress on the assembly of bookshelves, the never ending clothes washing, and plans for applying to graduate school.

I have no doubts next weekend I will once again be found baking a cake requiring utterly inappropriate amounts of time and utensils. There is a time and place for the joy of all forms of cooking... and today I am grateful for the subtle ingenuity of my ancestors.





Chatzilim V'Coussa B'Leben - Eggplant and Zucchini with Yogurt

(Adapted from Joan Nathan's The Foods of Israel Today)

1 large eggplant
2 medium zucchini
Olive oil for brushing
1 cup fat free Greek yogurt
1/4 cup tahini
2 T lemon juice
1/2 cup diced tomato
1 T minced green chilies

~ Preheat your oven to 500 degrees, and place the oven rack to the second rung from the top.
~ Pierce the eggplant several times with a fork, and brush the eggplant and the zucchinis with olive oil. Roast the eggplant and zucchinis on a baking sheet lined with foil in the oven for 15 to 30 min, until they are very tender and beginning to collapse in upon themselves.
~ Allow the vegetables to cool, then slice the zucchinis in half lengthwise. Place the two sliced halves back together again, hold them over the sink, and squeeze gently to remove excess moisture. Chop all the vegetables coarsely.
~ Combined the chopped veggies together with all the remaining veggies in a large mixing bowl. mash with a fork or potato masher until you have a chunky salad that also works well as a dip... Season to taste with salt and pepper, chill in the fridge, and serve cold! Lovely with homemade bread...


1 comment:

  1. Wow, that's quite a name! I think I'll stick with calling it "eggplant and zucchini with yogurt". It sounds delicious. I just bought yogurt and zucchini today, actually. I can eat eggplant in small amounts, so I may have to make this!

    ReplyDelete