3/3/10 Mediterranean Dinner
We gathered at the home of Diva A for a grand Mediterranean Dinner. On the menu: Tilapia with eggplant caponata, caesar salad, orzo salad, bread, and baklava. Of course a few bottles of wine were enjoyed by all! A rousing success!
Eggplant Caponata
1 large eggplant peeled and cut into 1/2″ cubes
1 Tbs kosher salt (less if you’re using table salt)
1 red bell pepper
1/4 c golden raisins
1/4 c olive oil
1 small onion chopped
1/2 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 tsp fresh thyme
3 Tbs balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs drained capers
1 clove garlic minced
1/4 c leaf parsley, stems removed and chopped
Put the cubed eggplant in a colander and sprinkle with 1 Tbs kosher salt. Toss to coat and leave it over a bowl to drain for an hour.
Grill or broil the bell pepper until the skin is charred then wrap in foil until cool. Trapping the steam like this makes it much easier to remove the skins. When they are cool, peel the pepper and remove any excessively charred bits. Slice into thin short strips. (I used roasted red peppers from a jar, and just made sure to really squeeze them to get rid of the juice so the whole thing wouldn't be watery.)
Place raisins in a small bowl; cover with hot water. Let stand 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
When the eggplant is done salting, rinse in a bowl of cold water to remove excess salt. Squeeze the eggplant with your hands to wring out as much moisture as you can.
Heat the olive oil over medium heat and saute the onions until until they are translucent and just start turning brown around the edges. Add the eggplant, peppers and thyme. Add tomatoes, squeezing out excess liquid if necessary. Add salt and pepper to taste, stirring until the eggplant is very soft and starts to lose its shape.
Add the balsamic vinegar and capers and stir until there is no liquid left. Take off the heat and add the garlic, raisins and parsley. You can serve this immediately (with crusty bread) but it tastes even better the next day.
I served it under tilapia filets, pan seared in a little olive oil and butter.
![Picture](/uploads/3/9/1/6/3916068/6306932.jpg)
Baklava:
- 1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
- 1 pound chopped nuts
- 1 cup butter
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup honey
- Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.
- Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut whole stack in half to fit pan. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.
- Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
- Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.
Notes from Diva N:
the recipe doesn't specify what kind of nuts. i used walnuts, although i saw recipes calling for pecans or pistachios too.
it doesn't tell you to melt the butter. but you should. and you should follow the instructions on the phyllo package for defrosting it - keep in mind that you'll need to start defrosting that an hour or 2 before you actually need to use it.
Greek Orzo Salad
Ingredients
Calories: 348 | Total Fat: 10.2g | Cholesterol: 22mg
Notes from Diva EM:
This recipe claimed it made only 6 servings, but all 5 of us had generous portions and I had plenty for lunch the next 2 days. I made it the night before and immediately used the marinade. Otherwise, I followed the directions.
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked orzo pasta
- 2 (6 ounce) cans marinated artichoke hearts
- 1 tomato, seeded and chopped
- 1 cucumber, seeded and chopped
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1 (2 ounce) can black olives, drained
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. Drain artichoke hearts, reserving liquid.
- In large bowl combine pasta, artichoke hearts, tomato, cucumber, onion, feta, olives, parsley, lemon juice, oregano and lemon pepper. Toss and chill for 1 hour in refrigerator.
- Just before serving, drizzle reserved artichoke marinade over salad.
Calories: 348 | Total Fat: 10.2g | Cholesterol: 22mg
Notes from Diva EM:
This recipe claimed it made only 6 servings, but all 5 of us had generous portions and I had plenty for lunch the next 2 days. I made it the night before and immediately used the marinade. Otherwise, I followed the directions.