Wine Pairing: Tarima Monastrell

a perfect pairing...

For this post I'm doing something a little different. I'm posting a perfect wine paring for my previous dish Eggplant Rollatini with Easy Arrabiata Sauce. This red wine is one that I discovered at Awakenings in Hyde Park. Steven and I frequent this coffee and wine bar. We've made friends there and brought many friends there as well. It's a great little place, most popular for it's coffee, but we love Jeremy (our resident wine connoisseur) as he's introduced us to many different wines. This wine is no exception. The perfect pairing for my previous post is a Monastrell by Tarima.

This is a Spanish wine that I'm pairing with my Italian inspired meal, but it really does work well. This wine is smooth and easy drinking, which is great with the spicy arrabiata sauce. It also has a dryness (not too much) that's really nice with the earthiness of the eggplant. Plus, it has a beautiful dark purple hue. All around this wine works well with my dish. It's available at grocery stores such as Whole Foods, but can also be found at W.G. Kitchen & Bar for a better price. Make my eggplant dish and try this wine. Cheers!

Eggplant Rollatini w/ Easy Arrabiata Sauce

cozy on up...

We are entering the days of comfort - over-sized sweaters, woolly socks, piles of blankets, and especially food. Baked pasta dishes, pot pie, stew, and more are just around the corner. This dish is completely comforting as well, but it's also a fake out. This dish is actually quite good for you because it's base is eggplant. If you don't love eggplant, this is a good dish for you to try out.

This is a great week night meal. It's quick and easy to make. Roasted eggplant slices are stuffed with a ricotta cheese mixture and baked in a spicy marinara sauce. Of course, comfort food isn't complete without ooey-gooey cheesy goodness. So, this dish is topped with both mozzarella and Parmesan. Cozy on up and make this dish. Here's how...

Ingredients - Serves 4
Rollatini
2 Medium Eggplants
Cooking Spray
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
1 (15 oz.) Container Ricotta Cheese
1 Egg, beaten
1/4 C Slivered Almonds, toasted
1/4 C Parsley, chopped, more for topping
1/2 C Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1/4 C Grated Parmesan Cheese

Arrabiata Sauce
Olive Oil
2-3 Cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
2 Bay Leaves
16 oz. Plain Jarred Marinara Sauce



Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Prepare two large baking sheets by putting a cooling rack on each. Set aside.

Cut the top and bottom off of each eggplant. Stand an eggplant up on its end and cut 1/2 inch thick planks out of each. Lay the planks on the prepared baking sheets. Spray with the cooking spray and sprinkle each slice with a little salt and pepper. Put the trays into the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes, switching the trays halfway through.

As the eggplant roasts, make the easy arrabiata sauce. In a sauce pan over med-high heat add 1 T olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Saute for 30 seconds then carefully pour in the jarred marinara, add the bay leaves, and reduce the heat to low. Continue to simmer until the eggplant is done. Remove the eggplant to cool slightly.

As the eggplant cools, make the ricotta filling. In a medium bowl mix the ricotta, egg, almonds, parsley, and a little salt and pepper. Mix well to combine. Set aside.

Put 1/2 C of the sauce in the bottom of a 2 1/2 quart baking dish. Lay a piece of eggplant flat, put a couple of tablespoons of the ricotta mixture on one end of the eggplant, then roll up. Place in the baking dish seam-side down. Continue rolling the eggplant until all of the ingredients are gone or the baking dish is filled. Be sure to pack the dish tightly with the eggplant.

Next, pour the sauce over the top. Sprinkle with the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Allow the dish to cool for 10 minutes before serving. Each serving is three rollatini. Enjoy comfort without all the guilt!

Eggplant Fries w/ Super Hot Sauce

restaurant remake...

This recipe was inspired by a dish I had at Zula Restaurant & Wine Bar in downtown Cincy. My husband, our friend James, and I all went to Zula last year for restaurant week. It's one of the newer restaurants in town and worth going to for a special occasion. On the menu were eggplant fries. But not just plain breaded eggplant, we are talking dusted with powdered sugar and served with hot sauce. We were intrigued to say the least, and after trying them, we were totally sold.

My recipe remake is a little different than what we had, but still tastes much like the dish at Zula. For starters, my eggplant fries are baked. By cooking the fries this way, I'm cutting down on the calories, but I promise, none of the flavor is lost. Another way my recipe differs is that I use a yogurt mixture and bread crumbs to coat my eggplant. It provides a different texture than the fries at Zula. Finally, my super hot sauce is a mixture of three condiments - I'm sure they make theirs from scratch at Zula - but, both are blistering hot. Try this restaurant remake and then go to Zula and compare. Here's how to make it...

Ingredients - Serves 6

Fries

2 Medium Eggplants (suggest graffiti)

2/3 C Nonfat Greek Yogurt

1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp. Onion Powder

1 tsp. Paprika

1 tsp. Kosher Salt

1/2 tsp. Black Pepper

4 T Lemon Juice

2-3 C Plain Breadcrumbs

2 T Powdered Sugar

Hot Sauce

4 T Sriracha

1-2 T Sambal Oelek

1 tsp. Tabasco Sauce

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Prepare two large baking sheets by placing a cooling rack on each of them. Set aside.

Cut the eggplants into fries: Cut the top and bottom off each eggplant. Then stand upright and slice the eggplant down the middle. Cut each of the halves length-wise once more, creating 4 planks. Next cut each plank into 4-5 long strips. Finally, cut the strips in half to create a fry shape. Each fry should be about 1/4 inch in thickness.

Setup your breading station: In a bowl combine the yogurt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Stir to combine all the ingredients well. Then pour the breadcrumbs onto a plate. Line up the cut eggplant, yogurt mixture, and bread crumbs next to each other. Place one of the prepared trays after the breadcrumbs.

Bread the eggplant: Dip a few eggplant pieces into the yogurt, shaking off the excess, then place them into the breadcrumbs. Sprinkle breadcrumbs all over the eggplant pieces, pressing lightly to help the breadcrumbs adhere. Shake off any excess and then place on the prepared tray. Repeat this process until all of your ingredients are used up.

Bake the fries: Put the trays into the preheated oven. Bake for about 14 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through the cook time. When the fries are cooked the eggplant will be tender and the breading will be crisp.

Make the super hot sauce: While the fries cook, combine the sriracha, sambal oelek, and Tabasco together in a small bowl. If you dare: taste to balance the mixture. The sriracha will add a bit of sweet heat, the sambal oelek a chili paste fermented style heat, and finally the Tabasco sauce will add fiery heat. Mix well and set aside.

Finish the fries: Put the powdered sugar into a fine-mesh sieve. Immediately after removing the fries from the oven, dust them with the powdered sugar. Remove the fries to a plate. Serve immediately with the super hot sauce. Enjoy this restaurant remake! Let me know what you think if you've had Zula's version and mine.