Time: 10-15 minutes

Serves: 8-12 as an appetizer

Inspired by: One of women in my book club, Nancy Beth Garrett, made something very similar to this recently with a pesto sauce from Trader Joes. I couldn’t stop eating it and stuffed myself before dinner!

Ingredients

• 2, 14 oz cans cannellini beans (white kidney beans), drained
• Juice from about ½ a lemon
• 1 garlic clove – crushed
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 bunch basil
• 2-4 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
• ½ teaspoon salt

Preparation:

Pesto – Wash and dry basil leaves; put into food processor and chop a bit first. Add olive oil, crushed garlic, grated fresh Parmesan and salt. Chop/blend well. Pour the pesto into a bowl or jar to store (you will only use some of it).

Dip – Without cleaning the food processor, add the beans and 1-2 teaspoons of lemon juice and pulse chop to your desired consistency OR instead, you can just hand mash this in a bowl. Unlike when I make hummus, for this dip I like the beans to keep some texture and lumps, but you can also make this very smooth and creamy. If you want it to be smooth and creamy, continue the rest of this with the processor. Otherwise, put the mixture so far in a bowl, add 2-3 tablespoons of pesto and mix by hand. Add a little at a time and taste to get it to desired intensity. Add additional pesto oil, salt or lemon juice as desired. Garnish with drops of basil oil, basil leaves or flowers.

Notes: Serve with crackers, pita bread or raw veggies such as celery and carrots.  You can skip a step and purchase your favorite pesto sauce instead of making your own pesto oil.

Wine Suggestions: Yummy with light, crisp whites and aromatic whites such as Grüner Veltliner, Sancerre, Albarino, Verdejo, Chablis or other lightly oaked White Burgundy. Although I’ve heard that Cabernet Sauvignon is a good pairing with Pesto, and I can see how that could be the case, I think the whites are much better matches flavor and weight-wise for this fairly light dip.

Time: 45-75 minutes (10-15 minutes to make once the eggplant has been cooked and cooled)

Serves: 10-12 as an appetizer

Inspired by: When I began cooking my theme was often “Mediterranean” because I always loved the foods prepared by my Armenian grandparents. I thought some sort of eggplant dip was something I should at least try to make. I found one in an Armenian cook book and then began modifying it slightly as I made it more and more often. I especially love the flavors of this when the eggplant is grilled and gets a bit charred – it adds a fabulous smokey flavor.

Ingredients:

• 2.5 lbs eggplant
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4-6 tablespoons plain yogurt
• 4 tablespoons Tahini
• 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 small clove garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ½ bunch parsley, minced (garnish)
• Fresh pomegranate seeds (garnish)

Recipe:

• Slice eggplants in half lengthwise, score the face with a knife and brush each face with olive oil.
• Put eggplant face up on cookie sheet and place under pre-heated broiler (40-60 min at about 350), or grill eggplant face down over medium heat (20-30 min). Cook until thoroughly cooked – slightly charred outside and soft on inside.
• Cool.
• With spoon, remove eggplant from the skin and mash thoroughly (can do this in a food processor).
• Then add the Tahini, yogurt, lemon juice, garlic and salt and continue to mix well until creamy.ly.
• Spread the dip in a large, round platter. Sprinkle with parsley or garnish with parsley sprigs. Dribble with olive oil (optional). It’s pretty if sprinkled with fresh pomegranate seeds.

Notes: The grilling/broiling step is the key to this recipe as it makes the eggplant taste rich and smoky. This can keep for a couple of days but the garlic flavor gets stronger each day so if you don’t plan to eat right away, use a little less garlic.

Wine Suggestions: Any white or light red works well with this dish as well as other middle-eastern “mezzas”. Try a creamy white such as a rich California or Australian Chardonnay, and for crisp – try a Chablis or other unoaked White Burgundy, Sancerre, Gruner Veltliner or a Spanish Verdejo. Also a light red with a bit of oak tannin such as a Red Burgundy or Rioja is a good accompaniment if you go heavier on the garlic.

Time: 30-35 minutes active, 4.5 – 8.5 hours total. Approximately 15 minutes to prepare marinade, 4-8 hours for marinating, 5 minutes to skewer, and 10-15 minutes to grill.

Serves: 4

Inspired by: This is probably the most common Armenian marinade for chicken, beef and lamb. My family used this marinade for kabobs when I was growing up and would add bell peppers, onions and tomatoes to the kabobs to make them yummy and beautiful.

Marinade Ingredients:

• ½ cup olive oil
• ½ cup lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon marjoram
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ cup chopped onion
• ¼ cup snipped parsley

Other Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 – 2 pounds chicken
• 1 onion, cut into pieces that are easy to skewer, tossed in olive oil
• 1 bell pepper of each color, cut into pieces, tossed in olive oil
• Optional: cherry tomatoes, tossed in olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1/2 lemon

Preparation:

• Mix all of the marinade ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
• Cube the chicken and add it to the marinade. Keep in the refrigerator for 4 – 8 hours.
• Skewer chicken and veggies and grill at about 400 approximately 5-6 minutes each side – you should see grill marks – check to ensure it is cooked through – with metal skewers and fairly high heat – it will cook fast. Even though they look pretty to put the chicken and veggies on the same skewer –  for more cooking control, it is easier to skewer the onions together, the bell peppers together, the chicken together, etc.
• Remove the chicken and veggies from skewers into a serving bowl. Toss with freshly chopped parsley and drizzle with lemon juice for the perfect final touch.

Notes: This is great with any meal, but nice to incorporate into a mediterranean-themed meal such as hummus or baba ganoush as a starter, and served with armenian rice pilaf and greek salad.

Wine Suggestions: This will go well with creamy, crisp or aromatic white such as a California Chardonnay, White Burgundy or Sauvignon Blanc, or a light bodied red such as a Pinot Noir or Red Burgundy. We found a simple Rioja that also pairs well. I especially love this with a very lemony, high-acid White Burgundy.

Time: Approximately 4-6 hours total to prepare and cook; 2 hours to make the arrabbiata sauce, pesto, and cut/marinate/grill vegetables, 30-45 minutes to assemble lasagna, and between 1-3 hours to cook (depending on whether it’s fresh or frozen).

Serves: Approximately 30 main course servings (2″ x 2.5″ x 5″).

Inspired by: My friend Rikke Johansen brought “individual” grilled vegetable lasagnas to a party at my home once that were amazingly delicious! I know she slaved all day over making fresh pasta for them, homemade sauces, and my favorite ingredient was the surprise layer of grilled sweet potatoes that were very subtle in the dish, but added a unique flavor and awesome texture! Reviewing her recipe and a few other similar ones, I concocted this one. It’s a dish full of beautiful flavors! It also makes great leftovers for about a week if kept wrapped well in the fridge. I also love that it can be made the day ahead of a party and sit one night night in the refrigerator covered before being cooked.  My friends with kids love that it can be made in smaller batches and then wrapped well and put in the freezer for whenever it is needed.

Supplies: Ceramic or glass baking dishes that are 2.5-3 inches in height. 3 makes cooking easier.  This quantity of ingredients yields about 300 square inches of lasagna. I use a 10 x 15 inch dish, a 9 x 13 inch dish and an 8 x 4 dish.  If you plan to freeze them for small meals, consider using several small baking dishes. Lastly, you will be grilling a lot of veggies – a large grill will save time!

Arrabbiata Sauce Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 small onions, finely chopped
• 8-10 garlic cloves, minced
• 5, 28 oz cans organic fire roasted crushed or diced tomatoes with juice
• 3-4 teaspoons dried basil
• 6 teaspoons of red pepper flakes (this gives it a great kick; reduce this to 2 teaspoons if you don’t like too much heat)
• Salt to taste (approximately 1 teaspoon)
• 8 large portabella mushrooms chopped into 1/4 inch pieces (for a meat version use 3-4 pounds of your favorite Italian sausage – for parties I often make both  – I get 4-5 portabellas and 2 pounds of Italian sausage – cook them separately, split up the finished arrabbiata sauce and add them in to make two different sauces.

Pesto (see ingredients and recipe)

Filling Ingredients

• 3 lbs sweet potatoes – peeled and cut lengthwise into ¼ inch slices
• 8-10 medium zucchini – cut lengthwise into ¼ inch slices
• 1 large or 2 medium eggplants, cut into ¼ inch slices
• Approx. ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• Approx. ¼ cup balsamic
• Approx. 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons pepper
• Fresh pasta lasagna noodles – enough to give you three layers in your pan sizes (900 square inches if you are sticking with the quantity of this recipe). This can be tricky because the packages usually only tell you the weight. My favorite fresh pasta shop closed so I’ve been purchasing pasta carried by Whole Foods from the Pasta Shop in Oakland. Each 12 oz container has 3 sheets that are approximately 12 x 12 each so I get three containers and end up with some extra. The leftovers can be cut into ribbons for pasta and frozen to keep longer as well.
• 3 lbs coarsely grated fresh mozzarella cheese
• 2 lbs ricotta cheese
• 2 lbs coursely grated fresh asiago cheese (I often use a pound each of fresh and aged)
• 1 cup of grated parmesan or manchego

Preparation:

• Start with the arrabbiata sauce. While it is simmering, make the pesto, sauté the portabellas, and prepare and grill the vegetables.
• Arrabiata Sauce: Heat the olive oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onions and cook until soft and translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomatoes and the remaining ingredients and simmer uncovered until the sauce is thickened and slightly reduced, about 1.5 hours. Adjust the seasoning to taste. Cover and set aside.
• Portabellas: For a “meatier” lasagna, chop up your portabellas in 1/4 inch pieces, sauté them with olive oil and a bit of salt (smoky salts is nice), until they release most of their water. Add them to the Arrabbiata sauce when it is finished. If you are using Italian Sausage, just break up the sausage into small pieces while you are sautéing it and brown it a bit.
• Pesto: Make pesto according to recipe and set aside until ready to assemble lasagna.
• Cut and Marinate the Vegetables: Prepare a small bowl with a mixture of equal parts olive oil and balsamic. Cut the vegetables according to the ingredient list above. Long thin slices is easier to grill than a lot of small pieces. Use your hands to lightly and quickly coat veggies with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and pile them onto cookie sheets or something easy to carry them to your grill.
• Grill Vegetables: Grill in batches, until they are tender and browned. Besides adding that beautiful flavor that comes from grilling, your main goal of grilling is getting them to release a lot of their moisture so when the lasagna cooks it will have a perfect moistness and will not end up sitting in a lot of water. At times I’ve thought I’ve overcooked some of the vegetables and they still turn out well in the finished product.
• Assemble Lasagna:
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In one bowl, combine your grated asiago and parmesan cheeses. In another bowl, blend your ricotta cheese with 1/2 cup of the pesto (or enough so that it gives it a nice flavor without being overly salty).
• Layer 1: Spoon 1/2 of the arrabbiata sauce onto the bottom of each baking dish.
• Layer 2: Single layer of lasagna noodles so they do not overlap.
• Layer 3: Single layer of grilled sweet potatoes so they do not overlap.
• Layer 4: As equally as possible, spread the ricotta mixture combined with pesto. Sprinkle a handful of mozzarella over the top.
• Layer 5: Layer of lasagna noodles.
• Layer 6: Layer of zucchini.
• Layer 7: Layer 1/2 of the mozzarella
• Layer 8: Layer of eggplant.
• Layer 9: Layer 1/2 of the asiago/parmesan mixture.
• Layer 10: Final layer of lasagna noodles.
• Layer 11: Spread the rest of the arrabbiata sauce.
• Layer 12: Sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella and asiago/parmesan cheeses – pack it all down at this point if necessary to keep it all from overflowing the pan.
• Top it all off by drizzling pesto over the top. This is a fairly salty mixture so you can also reserve a bit to top off again when you are eating if it needs more, or to spread on some warm bread to accompany the lasagna.

Cook Lasagna from Fresh: Preheat oven to 350. Cover the lasagna with aluminum foil, place your dish on a cookie sheet in case there is some spill over, and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until it is bubbling and golden brown (20-30 minutes longer). Let the lasagna rest for 10 minutes before serving, and if you’d like, drizzle again with some of the remaining pesto oil. Or put a “smear” of pesto on the plate under each piece you serve.

Pre-Baked Grilled Vegetable Lasagna

Cook Lasagna from Frozen: Preheat oven to 400. Cover the lasagna with aluminum foil, place your dish on a cookie sheet in case there is some spill over, and bake for approximately 120 minutes. (Add 20-30 min if not completely hot all the way through). Remove the foil and drop temperature to 350 and continue baking until it is bubbling and golden brown (20-30 minutes longer). Let the lasagna rest for 10 minutes before serving and if you have it, drizzle with pesto oil.

Notes: Using fresh ingredients (pasta, cheeses, sauces, and fresh organic vegetables) is what makes this dish so good.

Wine Suggestions: Italian! Any Sangiovese-based wine from Tuscany such as a Brunello di Montalcino or Rosso di Montalcino. If you like something less expensive and a bit more rustic try a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. While Barolo is typically paired with heavier and spicy meats, the spiciness and grilled flavors in this lasagna would probably also be yummy with older Barolo with some age that has had some time to soften. Anything too tanic might class with the spice.

Grilled Vegetable Lasagna

As I’ve been posting many of my favorite recipes, I realize that I will not once recommend a heavyweight red with any of them – I’m thinking of wines such as a big tannic Cabernet or Syrah or a very ripe and high alcohol Zinfandel. It’s not that I don’t drink these wines – I do! And I often do with the recipes I’m including on this site. I just can’t suggest them as the best “pairing” for the foods. Heavyweight wines like these often completely overpower the food. They really go best with a burger or steak – something with a good amount of fat and protein and salt. Syrah can often be gamey and pair well with gamey meats. Zinfandel is usually fantastic with barbeque.

Mostly I think you should drink what you love! But, if your goal is to learn more about wine and try to bring out the best in your wine and food at a meal, then following some of the pairing recomendations make sense.

Whatever you do – enjoy your food, enjoy your wine, and make every meal a celebration!

Cheers!

K

Time: 15 minutes

Serves: 8

Inspired by: I’ve always loved the ingredients in a Greek salad – in any way, shape or form as long as there is not raw onion (which is fairly common). I especially love it with a lot of crunch (romaine, cucumber, bell peppers),  large chunks of tomato, feta. I also often simplify the dressing to just olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Salad Ingredients:

• Romaine lettuce chopped into easier to eat strips (6-8 large handfuls)
• 1/2 bunch Italian flat leafed parsley – de-stemmed – just keep the leaves
• Additional greens (optional – I prefer to add more green)
• Organic on the vine or cherry tomatoes – chopped into chunks and lightly salted and peppered
• 1/2 English cucumber, or Persian cucumber, sliced lengthwise and then sliced and lightly salted
• A few slices of petite bell peppers (optional)
• 4 oz of feta cheese in 1/2 inch chunks

Dressing Ingredients:

• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove crushed garlic
• ¼ cup white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon tarragon (optional)

Preparation:

• Mix the salad dressing ingredients in a shaker.
• Toss the romaine and parsley in a large salad bowl with about half of the dressing – enough to coat the leaves well.
• Add the rest of the salad ingredients and toss lightly/carefully – adding additional dressing if needed.

Notes: I love this with curry chicken kabobs or with grilled or blackened salmon, blackened chicken, or spicy grilled shrimp.

Wine Suggestions: the vinegar in the dressing often makes wine pairing difficult for salads. Champagne is a great way to go as a first course with a salad, or go with another high-acid white wine such as a White Burgundy. If you serve this as a side dish with spicy chicken or fish, check out those recipes for additional pairing suggestions.