Proud Italian Cook

Grilled Eggplant With Fresh Tomato Salad

April 20, 2023 by Marie Leave a Comment

I can’t think of a more enjoyable salad to make during the warm summer months ahead than this grilled eggplant with fresh tomato salad.

It’s fun to serve for picnics, BBQ’s and any of your upcoming parties you’re planning. All I can say is that whenever I make this and lay it out on a buffet table people gravitate right towards it, not only is it super delicious, it has a pretty presentation and as an added bonus it holds up very well at room temperature.

Grilling eggplant is so easy, just salt, pepper and olive oil both sides, place on the grill until tender with nice looking grill marks.

I like to look for medium size more slender eggplant rather than the rounder fatter kind, to me there’s less seeds, less bitterness. I also like to peel the skin off in strips, using a vegetable peeler go around the whole eggplant lengthwise making “zebra stripes”. If you take the skin completely off, the eggplant slices collapse and have no structure.

You can even grill up the eggplant the day before, then all you have to do is make your salad and assemble it all on serving day.

Fan your grilled eggplant unto a pretty platter and then proceed to make your fresh tomato salad. Mine consisted of sliced cherry tomatoes, chopped cucumbers, red onions, olives, feta cheese, parsley, basil and olive oil. Here’s were you can add your own twist on it, you can replace the feta with any special cheese you like, I’ve changed it up many times myself by using provolone chunks, fresh mozzarella chunks, or even those cute little mozzarella pearls

Once you make this grilled eggplant salad I think it will become a regular for you throughout the summer months.

Enjoy!

Leave a Comment Filed Under: Appetizers, Grilled Foods, Party Foods, Salads, Side Dishes, Summer Tagged: grilled eggplant, summer salad, tomato salad, vegetarian

Spring Asparagus Salad with Crispy Prosciutto

March 30, 2023 by Marie Leave a Comment

This asparagus salad is the perfect side to almost any main you prepare. The cast of characters are crunchy radishes, grilled or roasted al dente asparagus, goat cheese, nuts of your choice all sitting on a bed of arugula and spinach. Dressed and drizzled with a fresh lemon vinaigrette and then topped off with a garnish of crispy prosciutto chips.

Asparagus are in season now and at their peak in flavor, so now is the time to make this for your upcoming parties and get togethers.

The crispy prosciutto chips add a delicious finishing touch to this salad and gives it a wow factor and pretty presentation.

With Easter and Mother’s day coming up this could be your perfect side dish.

I hope you enjoy every bite!

Spring Asparagus Salad with Crispy Prosciutto

A spring side dish featuring asparagus that you'll enjoy over and over!

Author: Marie

Ingredients

1 lb. grilled or roasted asparagus, cooked very al dente so it still has a nice bite, then sliced in half lengthwise
A mix of arugula and spinach, enough to fill a pretty platter
3 or 4 thinly sliced radishes
4 oz. chevre goats cheese
3 Tbl. toasted hazelnuts or any nuts of your choice
4 or 5 slices of prosciutto that will be oven crisp and broken in half
LEMON VINAIGRETTE
4 Tbl. fresh lemon juice
12 Tbl. of olive oil
a dollop of Djon
salt and pepper

Instructions

Roast your asparagus at 375 for maybe only 5 minutes. The asparagus should not be mushy or limp. Let them cool and then slice in half lengthwise.
Lower temp to 350 and place the prosciutto on a parchment lined baking sheet, roast maybe 10-15 minutes, keep checking they could burn fast, ovens vary.
In a large bowl add the goat cheese and a couple of tablespoons of the vinaigrette, soften it up a little then toss in the sliced, cooked asparagus and coat well.
Add the greens, nuts and radishes tossing gently.
Place everything onto a platter and spoon more of the vinaigrette all over, as much to your liking.
Garnish the salad with the shards of crispy prosciutto that you broke in half.

Leave a Comment Filed Under: Salads, Spring Tagged: asparagus, crispy prosciutto, goat cheese

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Lemon Curd and Berries

March 14, 2023 by Marie Leave a Comment

Spring is around the corner with Easter, Mother’s day, Father’s day and summer in the near future. I can’t think of a better breakfast or brunch option than these lemon ricotta pancakes during the warm weather.

The lemon and the ricotta remind me of spring and time to lighten up, no more heavy winter foods.

The pancakes are enhanced by a dollop of lemon curd spooned on top that warms up with the heat of the pancake and mingles together with the maple syrup as you cut through them, the flavors are out of this world!

I chose to make 6 inch size pancakes, but you can certainly make smaller ones but I would suggest to double the recipe if your making them they’re that good! I yielded 6, six inch pancakes with this recipe.

The lemon curd is a must, don’t bother making it from scratch, there are some great store bought brands which are good quality and taste terrific.

Garnish with fresh seasonal berries and I promise you this will be a hit with your family and friends in the months to come!

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Lemon Curd and Berries

Fluffy texture bright flavor in these lemon ricotta pancakes.

Author: Marie

Serves: 6 -6 inch pancakes

Ingredients

1 cup of full fat ricotta cheese, if using deli kind let the moisture drain out, otherwise purchase a full fat variety that is typically located by the cream cheese, mozzarella area in a grocery store.
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole milk ( you definitely want the consistency of pancake batter, you might want to add a little more or less depending on how thick it is when mixed.)
2 eggs
½ tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
3 Tbsp of sugar
zest of a whole lemon
1 jar of lemon curd
fresh berries
butter for swiping the pan
powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

In a medium sized bowl add the drain ricotta cheese, then add in the eggs, milk, vanilla, lemon zest and whisk well to combine.
In a smaller bowl add the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt, whisk well to combine.
Now add the flour mixture to the wet ricotta ingredients folding gently with a spatula until you see no dry flour areas.
Heat up your pan, swipe with a little butter, like I said i made 6 inch pancakes so I poured about a third or so on the bottom and shook the pan to spread the batter evenly around.
I kept heat at medium and didn't flip until bubbles were showing up in the middle and edges of the pancake, you can peak underneath to make sure you see an nice golden brow, then flip over.
Give the other side a couple of minutes then place onto a wire rack instead of paper towels, you don't want them to get soggy.
Eat them warm dust with powdered sugar and serve them with a dollop of lemon curd on top along with fresh berries.