Adapted from Madison, D. Vegetarian cooking for everyone. (1997). New York: Broadway Books. p. 472.
My Comments: After a summer hiatus, I hope we’re back into the routine of cooking together — lots of salads lately.
So, there I was with a giant eggplant from our CSA. Adrien & I have different views of eggplant: I would happily eat it several times a week and he only wants to eat it when it is heavily disguised. As we were going through all our cookbooks, Adrien found this recipe and since he found it, I figured there was a better probability he’d like the result.
I substituted wontons for homemade pasta dough. I would have purchased a sheet of pasta dough, but that seems to be an item only found at our local Whole Foods. I also did not make the simple tomato sauce. If you have the time and want to follow the recipe suggestions exactly, feel free – but this unadorned version was very tasty!
Ingredients (for everything but the tomato sauce)
1 pound eggplant, peeled and thinly sliced
Vegetable or olive oil as needed
1/3 cup walnuts
1 cup ricotta (I used part skim)
1/2 cup grated pecorino Romano (plus extra for garnish)
2 eggs beaten (I left these out)
2 TBSP chopped basil
2 TBSP chopped parsley
4 tsp chopped mint
Salt and freshly milled pepper
1-1/2 lbs fresh pasta (made or purchased) OR wonton wrappers
Freshly made simple tomato sauce if you desire)
Method
1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Brush both sides of the eggplant slices with oil, set on a sheet pan and bake until browned on the bottom (about 20 minutes). Turn and brown the other side – about 20 minutes more.
2. Grind walnuts in food processor, then work in the eggplant until fairly smooth. Remove the mixture to a bowl and add the cheeses, eggs (I did not use these), and herbs. Season to taste with sal and pepper. Set aside to cool.
3. Meanwhile either make the pasta dough and fresh tomato sauce if you are using it.
4. To form agnolotti, roll out the pasta dough and cut out 3-inch circles with a fluted biscuit cutter. If you are using wontons (as I did), go directly to step 5.
5. Place filling on one half of a circle OR wonton, brush edge with water, fold in half and press together. If you are using the circles, you should then use fingers to bend the half-circle to form a crescent.
6. Cook them in gently boiling salted water for 4 or 5 minutes. Scoop onto a platter interspersed with the sauce (if using), basil and additional grated cheese.
Serves 4 to 6.
Nutrition information from Calorie Count on About.com.
585 calories, 9.9 g fat (sat. 2.7 g), carbs 100, fiber 6.1
Four Nights A Week 