Roast Veggie Napoleon

This hearty dish is very satisfying despite containing almost no fat (except for the cheese, which you can adjust by using less), no starch, and no meat. You could serve it with a side of chicken cutlet or perhaps some mild polenta, but I think anything else would seem like an afterthought, a needless addition. Perhaps, for a meal, you could start with an aromatic chicken and rice soup because it's light, and won't fill you up before this course.

3 medium zucchini
1 eggplant, peeled
tomato sauce (jarred pasta sauce is fine)
Manchego, grated finely
olive oil
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350.

I think it's not necessary to peel the zucchini because the skin gets so soft, but the eggplant skin can be a bit tough, so I get rid of it. Thinly slice the eggplant and zucchini into long strips. To make the napoleon look fancier, you can get a super-thin slice by using a mandoline. I don't have a mandoline (yet), so my napoleon looks pretty rustic:


Brush a bit of olive oil on each side of the strips, arrange on a roasting pan so that nothing overlaps, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast on the top rack about 20 minutes or until eggplant is tender, turning once to cook evenly.

When veggies have cooled enough to handle, you can start the napoleon. You can do these individually, or as one casserole; it's up to you. I recommend another roasting pan with sides, so no juices drip. Begin with a thin layer of tomato sauce. Sprinkle a bit of Manchego. Lay down eggplant and zucchini strips. Cover with a thin layer of sauce. Repeat until you have no more left, and finish with a generous sprinkling of Manchego. To make this lower-fat, just alternate layers of sauce with layes of the roasted veggie strips, and put the cheese on only at the end.

Bake at 350 about 20 minutes, until cheese has melted throughout and is browned and bubbly on top.

Easy Ratatouille

This dish is so simple to make and requires so few ingredients that it hardly bears the need to write the recipe down. However, there are a couple of reasons why it's helpful to have a guide, and the main one is that cooking eggplant can be a pain in the ass unless you do it right. I suggest par-baking to eliminate cooking time and also to cut down on the grease. Also, traditional recipes call for green bell pepper, but I think that this has too sharp a flavor, and prefer to use red, orange or yellow pepper for a bit more sweetness.

2 small to medium eggplants
1/2 pint grape tomatoes
1/2 to a whole red bell pepper
1 shallot, minced
2 - 3 cloves garlic, pushed thru press
1 medium zucchini
14 oz. (1/2 large can) crushed tomato
olive oil
pinch of rosemary
large handful of fresh basil, shredded


Preheat oven to 375. Slice the eggplant into thin disks. Brush both sides lightly with olive oil, and arrange in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake on middle rack about 20-25 minutes, turning once midway through, until disks are tender and the oil has been absorbed.

While eggplant is baking, slice zucchini into thin coins, then quarter. Dice bell pepper, and halve the grape tomatoes. Mince the shallot and open canned tomato.

In a large, deep saute pan, saute shallot and garlic in about 1 tbsp olive oil until shallot is soft and translucent, about 7 minutes. Add another tbsp olive oil, then the zucchini, bell pepper and tomatoes. Cook about 4 minutes, stirring frequently. By now the eggplant should be done, so take it out of the oven, let cool a couple of minutes, and then cut up the disks into at least quarters, to make smallish, bite-size pieces.

Add eggplant to mixture and saute for about 2 minutes, then add the crushed tomatoes and rosemary. Stir frequently while cooking another 10 minutes. (This is the time to open the wine and pour the first glasses. I recommend a pinot noir, or even a muscly rose, if it's summertime.)

One minute before serving, stir in the shredded basil. You might want to reserve a tiny bit to throw on top when you plate the meal.

I like to serve this with mashed potatoes and roasted fennel. You can use the same cookie sheet for the fennel as you used for the eggplant, and use a little spray oil to keep it from burning. Roast about 15 minutes, and sprinkle a large spoonful over the mashed potatoes, but not on the ratatouille. The fennel and potato work beautifully together, especially if you mash the potatoes with heavy cream and a respectable amount of butter!

Zucchini-Potato Latkes

This is a great side dish for summer, especially if you serve a cold soup such as gazpacho with it. You can amp up the protein quotient of the soup if you throw in a bunch of chick peas, and then you have a complete meal!

2 glasses good red or white wine, depending on the season and heat of the day
1 med-large zucchini, grated
2 med. red potatoes, grated
½ med yellow onion, finely diced
1 sm handful fresh parsley, minced
2 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
about 1/3 cup seasoned Italian bread crumbs (Progresso)
salt and pepper to taste
spray oil (preferably olive oil – I use Pam)

Pour a glass of wine. Drink it while grating and mixing. Grate the zucchini, sprinkle with salt, toss, and let sit 7 minutes. Press liquid out through a sieve. Grate the potatoes and rinse with cold tap water. Sprinkle with salt, toss, let sit 7 minutes, and press liquid out thru sieve.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs, yolk, and parsley, plus some salt and pepper. Mix zucchini, potatoes, and egg mixture in a large dry bowl. Resulting mixture should be pretty wet and gloppy. If it isn’t, add another egg. If it seems too wet, sprinkle in more breadcrumbs.

Pour another glass of wine. Drink while cooking. Heat a nonstick skillet and spray liberally with oil. Form patties in the pan with a spoon. Each should be no more than about 3 inches in diameter. Fry about 4 minutes over med to med-high heat, then turn and cook another 3 minutes. Check occasionally to make sure it isn’t burning. You want to fry it slowly enough so that the potato is cooked through; this might be aided by covering the pan. Collect all patties in a heated dish in the oven until all the mixture is used up. Serve with salt and sour cream or applesauce.