Meat-Filled Vegetables (Delicious Dolma) - The Quintisential VB6 Dinner

Dolma means "stuffed" in Turkish, and I think this meal of stuffed vegetables is a quintisential VB6 dinner.  It is a vegetable-dominated dish that features a small amount of meat, some rice, and plenty of herbs.  Topped with garlic infused yogurt, dolma is a healthy, well-balanced, easy-to-prepare and very delicious non-vegan meal that represents the perfect compromise for the part-time vegan who is carefully watching his or her meat consumption.

I start with 1 lb. of high quality organic ground beef.  You can also use lamb, or a combination of beef and lamb.  To that, I add 1grated white onion, 1 grated juicy red tomato, a cup each of well-chopped fresh dill, mint, and Italian flat leaf parsley, 1/3 cup of uncooked long-grain rice, 1 clove of garlic (finely minced), and some salt and black pepper.  Combine.

For the vegetables, you will want about 15 of of your favorite in-season stuffable vegetables.  The most common choices are small, thinner skinned bell peppers, slender eggplants, such as Japanese eggplants, zucchinis, tomatoes, and stuffable leaves, such as cabbage and grape leaves.  Today I chose Japanese eggplants, round zucchinis (one of my favorite dolma vegetables), red and green bell peppers, poblano chiles (definitely not a traditional choice, but really delicious in dolma), and tomatoes.

I prepare the vegetables for stuffing by cleaning them and carefully removing (and reserving) all the tops.  I remove and toss the pepper seeds and membranes.  Next, I hollow out the eggplants, zucchinis, and tomatoes with my nifty vegetable corer, reserving all of the removed pulp to line the bottom of my cooking pot.  I also partially peel the eggplant, leaving long zebra stripes (pictured below).

Then I stuff all my vegetables.  And if I find I have any leftover stuffing, I just dig out another vegetable or two from the refrigerator.

Once all the vegetables are stuffed, I pull out a really big pot and line the bottom of it with all the pulp that I removed from the eggplants, zucchinis, and tomatoes.  Then I start layering the pot with the stuffed vegetables -- the firmest and heaviest vegetables go on the bottom, and the lightest and most delicate vegetables go on top.  I then add several pats of butter and about 2-3 cups of hot water mixed with 2 tablespoons of tomato paste.  Next, I sprinkle in about 1/2 teaspoon salt and place an ovenproof plate on top to weigh down the vegetables.  Finally, I bring the liquid to a boil, and cover and cook on a low heat until the meat is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, but not mushy.  It should take about a hour, but start checking for doneness after 45 minutes.

We love our dolma served with cooked bulgur on the side, and topped with a generous portion of creamy plain yogurt mixed with fresh minced garlic.  And a sprinkling of Turkish red pepper (pul biber) sets it off perfectly!

Ridiculously Good Oven-Baked Ratatouille

What I like most about this Mark Bittman-inspired Ratatouille recipe, is that the fresh vegetables are baked, not fried, thus making it more of a Tian of Provencal Vegetables.  It's absolutely delicious, and the recipe could not be easier!

I start with 1 Bermuda onion, 1 Anaheim pepper, 1 poblano pepper, 2 Italian eggplants, 2 zucchini, 2 Roma tomatoes, and 5 heads of garlic.  First, I slice the onion and peppers into long, thin strips.  Next, I slice the eggplant, zucchini and tomato lengthwise into 1/4-inch  slices, and finally, I peel and slice the garlic into very thin slices.

I also chop about 1/2 cup of Italian flat leaf parsley.

In a casserole, I start layering the vegetables, starting with half of the onion slices,...

... followed by half of the sliced eggplant,...

... followed by half of the sliced the tomatoes, half of the pepper strips, and half of the zucchini slices.

Then I add half of the sliced garlic and half chopped parsley, as well as sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste...

...and repeat.

I drizzle 1/4-cup of very good extra virgin olive oil over the top, cover, add a bit more salt and pepper, and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, pressing down the vegetables with a spatula every 1/2 hour or so until the vegetables are soft and completely cooked through.

The finished dish is divine, served hot, cold, or room temperature.  We love it along side rice or bulgur, and it also makes a great starter.

"Burnt" Smoky Eggplant Served over Arugula

Ubiquitous in Middle Eastern cuisine, the eggplant is a versatile and delicious vegetable, whether baked, broiled, grilled, roasted, or fried.   And my favorite method of cooking eggplant by far -- that is, burning it -- elevates the eggplant's flavor and rich texture decidedly.  I hope you will agree that this very basic interpretation of eggplant salad featuring the smoky aroma and taste of charred eggplant intermingled with the sharp, pungent flavors of garlic, mint, parsley and lemon, all served on a bed of spicy arugula, to be a truly memorable and flavorful eggplant salad presentation.  It represents the essence of what eggplant can be at its simplest and best!  

I start off with four Italian eggplants. Italian eggplants have a slender figure and sturdy skin, just perfect for burning.

I place all of the eggplants directly on the stove top burners with the gas set at medium low, and I allow the eggplants to roast slowly, turning often and in various directions.  Soon the kitchen is filled with the delicious aroma of charred eggplant.

The eggplants are done when their outer skin is completely burnt and flaky, and the entire eggplant is very soft to touch, from top to bottom.  This will take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the eggplants.  The finished eggplants should look like this.

Once the charred eggplant is cool, I carefully remove the skin and place the strips and chunks of eggplant pulp into a colander or strainer, and let it drain for at least an hour or more.  This step is often skipped, but ridding the eggplant pulp of extra water provides that rich velvety texture that makes eggplant salad so wonderful.

In the meantime, I assemble the remaining ingredients, including a lemon, a handful each of fresh mint and Italian flat leaf parsley, two scallions, 2 large cloves of garlic, a teaspoon of ground sumac, extra good olive oil, salt and pepper, and 3-4 cups of fresh arugula.  Sumac, with its tart, lemony flavor and deep reddish-purple color, really compliments the smoky eggplant, and can be found in any store that carries a Middle Eastern products and/or a wide-variety of spices.

Next, I place the strained eggplant on a cutting board and chop it all up like so.  Then I mince the garlic and fold that in, along with 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of very good olive oil,1 teaspoon of dried sumac, and salt and pepper to taste.

I adjust the seasonings, and when the flavor tastes just right, I fold in the finely chopped scallion, mint, and parsley, along with about a tablespoon of fresh lemon zest and a drizzle of olive oil on top, and I serve it over fresh, spicy arugula.

This eggplant recipe is equally delicious served as an appetizer or meze, accompanied by thin slices of crusty bread or toasted pita triangles for dipping.  What I love most about it is the way the smoky eggplant contrasts so beautifully with the fresh mint in this dish.