Another week has rolled in...

Everything goes in circles, and here we are at the beginning of another week. I had a half-working, half-relaxing weekend, as I had to deliver a translation for Sunday morning. I just wonder if anyone was really there to receive it on Sunday.
Therefore, I took some time off yesterday and spent a really relaxing day.
But as a consequence, probably, I spent a crazy morning in the kitchen today: first some amaretti cookies (I had tones of leftover eggwhites from Daisy cake), then while I was making Kefir bread, I decided to use a small part of the dough to make a pizza - just one word: GORGEOUS. Hopefully, I'll get to show you some of the results soon.

I was keeping this recipe for eggplant rolls for a few months. I'd buy some eggplants and then they'd end up in something else. Or, something that happens frequently, I'd forget them in the depths of my fridge until they were no good any more.
Finally got my hands on them and found the time to prepare them. I'm glad they were not a flop like some of the cookie recipes that I've tried recently.
I knew I had to like them, I love eggplants, chickpeas and zucchini. The recipe is quite easy and quick to make. And they can be served warm or completely cold, which is always a good thing, considering that I never know when to expect my husband home for dinner.
They are just great either as an appetizer or side/main dish, whatever you prefer.




Eggplant, Chickpea and Zucchini Rolls


1 eggplant
1 zucchini
200 g precooked chickpeas
1 shallot or small onion
1 clove of garlic
1 lemon
1 teaspoon of coriander seeds
Extra virgin olive oil
salt, oregano

Slice the eggplant lengthwise into 2-3 mm thick slices.
Brush them with a little oil on both sides and then grill in a hot grilling pan a couple minutes per each side (until you can see the grilling marks).
When they are done, salt them just slightly and set aside to cool.
Chop the shallot finely and saute it with a few TBspoons of olive oil, on medium heat, until it softens and gets translucent.
Add the zucchini cut into tiny cubes and the finely chopped (or pressed) clove of garlic. Saute everything for 2-3 minutes, then cover and cook on low until the zucchini is soft.
Add the chickpeas (drained from their liquid if using the canned ones), the oregano and salt to taste, and cook everything for 5 more minutes stirring frequently.
Let it cool, and then add the finely grated lemon zest and pureé everything with an immersion blender. Add a tablespoon or two of olive oil if the mixture is too thick.
Squeeze the juice from a whole lemon and mix it well with 2 TBspoons of olive oil, a bit of salt and the crushed ground cardamom seeds. Stir until the cardamom has released its scent.
Spread the chickpea mixture over the eggplant slices and roll them up.
Place the rolls on a serving plate and pour the lemon cardamom dressing over them.

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Involtini di melanzane con ceci e zucchine


1 melanzana lunga
1 zucchina
200 g di ceci precotti
1 scalogno
1 spicchio d'aglio
1 limone
1 cucchiaino di coriandolo
Olio extravergine d'oliva
sale, origano


Tagliate la melanzana per il lungo a fettine spesse 2-3 mm. Spennellatele con un po' di olio e grigliate su una piastra ben calda per un paio di minuti per lato. Salatele con un pizzico di sale e lasciatele raffreddare.
Rosolate la cipolla tritata con un paio di cucchiai di olio extravergine d'oliva. Unite la zucchina tagliata a dadini piccoli e l'aglio tritato. Saltate tutto insieme per qualche minuto, coprite la padella e lasciate cuocere a fuoco basso finché la zucchina diventi morbida (5 minuti circa). Unite i ceci alla zucchina, salate e aggiungete l'origano. Lasciate insaporire per ancora 5 minuti mescolando ogni tanto.
Lasciate raffreddare un po', poi aggiungete la scorza grattugiata di limone e frullate tutto fino a ottenere una crema, se vi sembra troppo densa, aggiungete uno o due cucchiai di olio EVO.
Spremete il limone e versate il succo in un bicchiere, aggiungete 2 cucchiai di olio EVO, un pizzico di sale e il coriandolo pestato o macinato. Amalgamate bene tutto finché il coriandolo avrà rilasciato il suo profumo.
Spalmate un po' di crema di ceci sulle fettine di melanzana e avvolgetele formando dei rotolini.
Serviteli irrorati con la salsa di limone e coriandolo.


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Rolnice od patlidžana sa slanutkom i tikvicom


1 duguljasti patlidžan
1 zelena tikvica
200 g kuhanog slanutka (može iz konzerve)
1 glavica luka ljutike (ili manja glavica običnog crvenog luka)
1 češanj bijelog luka
1 limun
1 žličica sjemenki korijandera
maslinovo ulje
sol, origano


Narežite patlidžan po dužini na kriške debljine 2-3 mm. Malo ih nauljite sa svake strane pa ispecite na gril tavi (ili teflonskoj) par minuta sa svake strane. Kad su pečene posolite ih s mrvicu soli i ostavite da se prohlade.
U međuvremenu sitno nasjeckajte luk i popržite ga na umjerenoj temperaturi s par žlica maslinovog ulja, da odmekne i postane staklast. Dodajte češnjak protisnut kroz tijesak ili sitno nasjeckan, i tikvicu nasjeckanu na male kockice. Nastavite dinstati 2-3 minute sve skupa, a onda poklopite i kuhajte pokriveno na slaboj vatri još oko 5 minuta (ili koju minutu više) dok tikvica ne odmekne.
Dodajte ocijeđeni slanutak tikvici, malo posolite, dodajte origano i kuhajte još sve skupa 5 minuta da se okusi prožmu. Ostavite da se prohladi, a onda dodajte sitno naribanu koricu limuna i sve skupa izmiksajte štapnim mikserom ili propasirajte, dodajući po potrebi još 1 ili 2 žlice ulja (ako vam je pregusta smjesa).
Pomiješajte u čaši sok od limuna s 2 žlice maslinovog ulja, malo soli i mljevenim ili smrvljenim sjemenkama korijandera. Miješajte dok korijander ne pusti svoj miris.
Premažite kriške patllidžana pripremljenom kremom od slanutka i tikvica i smotajte ih u rolnice. Složite ih na tanjur za posluživanje i prelijte umakom od limuna i korijandera. Po želji ukrasite vlascem (a možete i svaku rolnicu ukrasno zavezati vlascem) i poslužite s kruhom.