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A -really- different recipe from !

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The shockingly delightful, yet elaborate, outcome of a random ingredient challenge! Lots of fun, and an undoubted experience. Its name means "scaffolding" in French. It was just all that came to mind with a series of layers with varying textures all going vertically.

So, I had to come up with a "Lunch" meal item that consisted principally of kidney beans, strawberries, ricotta, swiss cheese, and eggplant. I was a little bit turned off to the immediate concepts that arose in my head. Sure, a salad would be easy, but it'd be little more than lazily dressing up the ingredients in a cobbled up or, at best, composed heap. Salads are not my thing, even if the only contest I ever participated in -was- a salad contest (OT: my crew did pretty awesome). So, I ran to the other commonplace lunch item: a sandwich! I wanted to show these ingredients off, so an open-face was what I had in mind. Perhaps skipping bread altogether! Here we've got a thin, false saganaki basing a bed of garlic bean mousse, sea salt roasted "fillets" of eggplant, lightened by a whipped basil ricotta and brown butter topping, sauced with a white wine strawberry reduction. It's presented upon some scrapped leek leaves.

Please understand that this is intentionally a production and isn't really a homestyle meal like I often try to share. It's pretty strange and very experimental, but in my opinion it was a real symphony of rather complementing flavors.



Sea Salt Roasted Eggplant:

1 medium eggplant, cut into 6 slices, ~1/2" thick
Olive Oil to thoroughly drizzle
Sea Salt (A smoked sea salt variety would be amazing here, try it!)

Oven temp = 350°F / 175°C

This is the simplest but longest-cooking component. It adds a nice meat stand-in with its texture and flavor.

To combat eggplant bitterness, salt the slices and allow to sit out for 20 minutes, then drizzle with oil. For a sharper flavor, oil them then salt. The important thing is to salt heavily, as much as your diet or palette guides. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until tender.


Strawberry White Wine Reduction

1 C. Sliced Strawberries
1/2 C. White Wine (I just used some cheap Chablis)
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp. Black Pepper
The Juice and Zest of one lemon

Providing the main cutting, acidic note to this dish, the reduction is not to be ignored. It also has a vibrant shade of red to offer to presentation!

Combine these in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer, allow to simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until reduced by about half in volume.


Garlic Red Bean Mousse

1+1/4 C. Dark Red Kidney Beans (From Can, Drained, Reserving 1/4 cup liquid)
1 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter
1/2 tsp. Sriracha Sauce (eyeballed measurement)
2 Cloves Garlic, Crushed
2 Bay Leaves
1 egg, separated (shell pasteurized used)

A delicious base for the rest of the flavors, this mousse is savory and wholesome, yet light.

In a small fry pan, combine the beans, liquid and butter over medium heat, stirring until the beans are coated with the now-melting butter. Add in the sriracha, and garlic, and bay leaves. Up the heat to high heat and stir rapidly until excess liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaves, and puree the beans using a stick blender, mashing and blending the beans to reach a mostly smooth texture and dark pink color. Add in the egg yolk once the bean puree is cool enough to hold comfortably in-hand. In a separate bowl whip the whites to form stiff peaks and fold these into the bean mixture gently until well incorporated and fluffy. Set aside.


Browned Butter and Ricotta Spread

1/4 C. Unsalted Butter
1/2 Tbsp. Basil Leaves, Dried
1/2 C. Ricotta Cheese (Part skim used today)

Very simple yet appreciated in flavor, this nutty, toasty, sweet spread adds a pallet cleansing element in each bite that lightens up the salted bite of the eggplant and tang of the reduction.

In a small saucepan, melt then brown the butter with the basil leaves crushed and added to it. Cook gently over medium heat. After reaching a golden brown hue, remove it from heat and cool to reach a softened texture. In a small bowl, whip the ricotta cheese using a stick blender until completely smoothed and lightly fluffy, about 90 seconds. Separately whip the soft browned butter to a light, fluffy consistency, then fold the ricotta and basil butter together. Keep chilled until use.


False Saganaki Using Madrigal Swiss

1/4 pound Swiss Cheese, Sliced (thickness ~1/8 inch)

This is oddly straightforward. The goal is to create two thin, toasted crisps of cheese as a stand-in for bread in the open-face sandwiches.

Heat a skillet to medium-high heat and place slices of cheese into the pan, overlapping and stacking them to create a pane of cheese about 3x6". Toast this until the cheese cleanly comes free from the skillet with a golden brown coloration and crisp texture, 60-90 seconds. Flip and repeat on the other side. Plate immediately with the other ingredients. (See Plating)


Plating

On dinner plates, layer each cheese crisp (optionally on some leek greens as pictured) with half of the red bean mousse, three "fillets" of eggplant, half the basil ricotta butter, and half of the strawberry reduction. Garnish with light aromatics like scallions, chives, or citrus zest strips.

Serves two!

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Allergy warning – please read all recipes carefully and be aware of any allergies or sensitivities that may affect your health and well-being