So, a few months ago it was pancakes. Apparently now it’s eggplant sauce/spreads. But this recipe is actually one of my go-to dinners, even when eggplant and tomatoes aren’t busting out all over the farmers’ markets. When something is good, it’s good! And I’m one of those people who find it comforting to return to the same meal, rather than boring. When I was in graduate school in NYC, living on my own and not really much of a cook, I ate one of two things for dinner about 5 days a week: either broccoli and rice, or tomato soup with couscous. Seriously. It may not come as a surprise that my dad has eaten the same breakfast for 45 years or so. How about you? Do you go back to certain recipes again and again, or are you a change-it-up chef? With young kids, you may not have much choice, although my children will declare a particular food their favorite, eat it non-stop, then just as abruptly decide they don’t want it any more, ever.  Shades of Bread and Jam for Frances.

I first found this recipe in a Jamie Oliver magazine. You probably know him from “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution” series, but he’s got a Martha Stewart-like empire in the UK. He still seems pretty down-to-earth and he has a bunch of kids with silly names, so he should appreciate the pitfalls of child-friendly cuisine. Even my eggplant-phobic Mr. B (6) eats this sauce happily, albeit without knowing what’s in it. Less said, better fed!

I’ve made this sauce many times, and about half the time I realize I only have a sliver of Parmesan left, or no fresh basil or something. I wonder, is it the hallmark of a good recipe that if you leave out one of the (few) ingredients it’s still good, or is that a bad sign? Well, either way this one is a keeper in our house, and I bet you’ll be going back to it over and over too.

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Eggplant tomato pasta sauce
Adapted from Jamie Oliver Magazine

This recipe makes a lot of sauce, enough to coat one package of pasta and fill all four of us up and still leave enough for another pound of pasta somewhere down the line. Any pasta shape will do; the original recipe calls for linguine but I like tubular pastas just as much with it. Don’t forget to reserve some of the pasta water to thin out the sauce – any saucy leftovers also make a great spread with crackers.

Ingredients

Makes enough sauce for about 2 pounds (1 kg!) of pasta.

• 1 medium eggplant
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 small (14 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• a handful of basil leaves, sliced into ribbons
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving (about 3 oz)
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

• Peel the eggplant and if it’s very seedy, take out the fluffy seedy parts as best you can. Cut into half-inch cubes.
• In a large skillet, warm the olive oil over medium heat and add eggplant. Cook until it’s starting to get some nice brown color, then add the garlic.
• Put the pasta water on to boil at this point.
• Add the can of tomatoes and the basil to the eggplant; swish a little water around the tomato can and splash it in as well. Then add the balsamic vinegar and let everything simmer for 5 minutes or so.
• In a food processor or with an immersion blender, puree the sauce until it’s just short of smooth. Stir in the grated Parmesan. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• To serve, reserve some of the cooking water from the pasta to thin out the sauce to your preferred consistency, and grate some more cheese over the top to make it extra fancy.

 

Some of you have been concerned that recent recipes have been too healthy and light. Well, fret no more, friends. This one suffers from no such delusions: it’s rich and oh my, it’s good.

Both kids are back in school as of this week, and we’re still working out the schedule in its various daily permutations. (Is there some school rule that says that no day can be like another?) One thing that has made things dramatically easier is getting lunches together the night before, especially by cooking a little extra at dinner to tuck into the lunchbox for the next day.

This recipe is so good, though, we were lucky to have any leftovers at all – you’ll catch yourself swiping bites that were meant to get packed away. And while it’s true that this dish, which is essentially macaroni and cheese with a kick, isn’t going to get on anyone’s low-calorie list, it will surprise you how rich and creamy it tastes with a pretty small application of cheese.  Bet your kids will gobble it up, and you will too!

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Daddy’s special mac & cheese

You can serve this pasta dish two ways – just noodles and sauce, à la Kraft, or give it an extra sprinkle of cheese and slip it under the broiler to get a crunchy top. Equally good, just take your pick!

Ingredients

Makes enough for two kids’ dinners with enough for their lunches the next day

• 5 oz (140 g) pasta, any shape
• 2 strips bacon or turkey bacon
• 2 oz (55 g) firm cheese such as cheddar, grated, plus more for topping

Method

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions (time depends on the shape of your pasta).
• Meanwhile, fry the bacon in a large skillet until crisp; if you use especially fatty bacon, you may want to pour off some of the grease.
• When the pasta has finished cooking, drain it, reserving one cup of the cooking water. Dump the pasta into the pan with the bacon; add the cheese and toss to coat.
• Add the pasta water, a little at a time, until you get the saucy consistency that looks right to you. We used the whole cup.
• You can serve it as is, or, if you prefer a crispy crust, slide the pasta into an ovenproof dish, top with more cheese and broil until the top is toasted and bubbly. Yum!

 

You will find this in hardly any cookbook, despite the fact that grenadir mars is a very common dish in Central Europe.  It is made very often and served with pickles or green salad. It is very easy and fast to make and it is very customizable to suit your palate – feel free to experiment with this recipe by adding more or less of any of the ingredients.

It is hard to know where this meal originated. The name (“March of the grenadiers”) can tell us that it might have been invented to feed soldiers during the monarchy. The other hint is that this food used to be made very often in military kitchens all over Eastern Europe.  Plenty of my older friend who had to serve the military reported that they got tired of Grenadir mars after serving the army for 2 years. Even so, it’s one of the most favorite meals in central Europe.

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Grenadir mars – Potato pasta

Best served with pickles any kind or with “head of lettuce Central European style” (recipe coming soon) . If you can’t get pasta squares, you can break a lasagna sheet into little squarish shaped thingies. Also you can try the version with smoked Spanish paprika for an interesting variation.

Ingredients

Makes 4 portions

• 3 medium onions
• 3  Tbs vegetable oil
• 1.5 pounds of potatoes
• 3 cups of pasta squares or other flat pasta
• 1tsp salt

Method

• Peel the potatoes, cut them into half-inch cubes and boil them until soft (cca 8-10min) and drain them.
• Dice the onions; heat about 2 Tbs vegetable oil,  and saute the onions with the salt over a medium low fire. You have to be careful not to burn the onions. The idea is to make them release their juices and get them translucent. Sometimes when the onions are frying too fast I add couple of table spoons of water.
• While you saute the onions cook the pasta to al dente, and drain. Toss with a Tsb of vegetable oil in order to prevent the pasta clumping.
• And now the big finale ! Once onions are translucent higher the heat and add the potatoes. Fold the onions over the potatoes and saute for another 5-7 minutes. Lower the heat, add the paprika and fold again. Add the pasta fold and you are done. Once you add the paprika do not saute too long, because paprika tends to get bitter.
• DO NOT FORGET TO SERVE WITH PICKLES !

This is one way Hungarians use cabbage with sugar. The other famous dish is cabbage strudel. Despite the fact that you use sugar in the meal, it is a main course. The combination of cabbage, sweetening, pasta and black pepper might seem weird, but it works together pretty well. Thumbs up for the imagination of the inventor of this dish.

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Cabbage and Pasta Squares

We don’t have a grater or food processor, so I used a good old knife and chopped the cabbage as finely as I could. While the meal looks a bit “rustic” it did not lose anything in quality. If you can’t find pasta squares you could make them by breaking up a lasagna sheet or tagliatelle.

Ingredients

Makes 4 portions

• 2 lbs of grated cabbage
• 1 lb pasta squares
• 3 tbs sugar
• salt
• 3 tbs vegetable oil
• ½ tsp black pepper

Method

• Grate the cabbage, salt it and let it sit for at least 30min
• Heat up the oil in a pan and add the sugar. Caramelize it.
• Squeeze the juices from the cabbage and start to fry it. Add the pepper.
• While frying the cabbage cook the pasta
• Once the cabbage is brown you can add the cooked pasta. Fry it for another 3-4 min.
• Enjoy