Stuffed Baby Eggplants

On 12/08/2011 (Friday) at 3:20 pm by Benny.
Tiny Url for this recipe → http://tinyurl.com/3ha9njs

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Details

• Prep Time:
  10 min
• Cook Time:
  20 min
• Ready Time:
  30 min

Ingredients

• 4 baby eggplants

Filling

• 1/2 pound ground beef or lamb
• one cup chopped walnuts
• one cup chopped onions
• 2 cloves of garlic chopped
• one cup of cherry tomatoes or chopped tomato
• the scooped out insides of the 4 eggplants
• teaspoon of cinnamon
• oilve oil and a knob of butter
• kosher salt

Bechamel Sauce

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 tablespoons AP Flour
• 1 1/2 cup whole milk use hot milk for the recipe
• one egg yolk
• pinch of grated nutmeg
• tablespoon grated sharp dry cheese
• kosher salt to taste

Directions

First you need to prepare the eggplants by cutting off the top  third of each eggplant (lengthwise) and then scooping out the seeds and as much filling as you can. Leave about 1/4″ wall all the way around and be careful not to puncture through the skin  (see photo). Once all of them are cleaned and prepped, set them aside and prepare the filling.

In a hot pan, add the olive oil, knob of butter, ground beef (or lamb), walnuts, chopped onion, garlic, tomato, cinnamon  and a pinch of kosher salt. Cook everything together for about 10-15 min until the mixture comes together and thickens. Set aside to cool slightly.

Next, prepare the bechamel sauce by starting with a roux which simply combines the butter and flour together  in a sauce pan. Using a whisk, make sure that both are mixed well together and there are no lumps. Allow this to cook for a few minutes and then begin adding the hot milk into the roux a little at a time until it is all incorporated.

Remove from the heat then add a pinch of salt, the nutmeg and grated cheese and whisk together again. Add a little of this  milk mixture into the egg yolk to temper it (bring it up to temperature), and then pour this back into the pan with the rest of the sauce.  Continue to whisk until the mixture thickens and then check again for seasoning. Once thickened, set aside but keep this mixture warm.

Take each baby eggplant and spoon in your meat filling leaving a little indentation in the middle as you can see in the photos. Place them into your baking dish and then generously pour the bechamel sauce on top of each one and bake in a 400°F oven until the bechamel sauce is bubbling and golden brown on top, about 10 minutes or so.

Benny

90 Second Garlic Shrimp

On 13/09/2011 (Tuesday) at 3:55 pm by Benny.
Tiny Url for this recipe → http://tinyurl.com/6yv5m9y

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Details

• Prep Time:
  12 min
• Cook Time:
  2 min
• Ready Time:
  14 min

Ingredients

• 12-15 medium shrimp cleaned and devained, shells off tail on you can use large or any size shrimp just make appropriate portion for the pan you will use
• tablespoon finely chopped garlic
• pinch of chili flakes
• pinch of kosher salt
• squeeze of lemon juice
• teaspoon or small knob of butter

Directions

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE->   Garlic Shrimp in 90 seconds

You will need a small cast iron pan like I used or a small cast iron frying pan. It needs to be small as you want the shrimp to be nicely crowded in the pan as you will see it is important to the cooking process.

Now preheat your oven to 500 degrees and in the pan add about 1/2 inch of olive oil (I know it seems a lot but it will make great dipping sauce) now into the 500 degree oven for about 10-12 min or until the oil is starting to smoke.

It is VERY IMPORTANT to put the pan on a baking sheet or sizzle plate as you need this to make it safe and stable when removing from the oven as that oil will be searingly hot and remember never to touch the pan and use thick oven mitt when removing from the oven.

Now work quickly and carefully place the shrimp into the oil, (it will start to fry aggressively)  followed by the garlic, chilies and salt. Using tongs turn the shrimp around a few times until you see all sides of the shrimp are pink this will happen quick. Now add the knob of butter and give the shrimp another turn in the pan. Add a squeeze of lemon and a little parsley and you are DONE!

Enjoy with some crusty bread to soak up all that great garlic oil and butter while enjoying this moist and delicious shrimp.

Enjoy,

Benny