Eggplant Noodles with Grandma's Cucumber Salad

So I guess man (using the German Mann, or neutral gender "one") cannot live on steak alone. Luckily there are foods like eggplant! Eggplant is one of those veggies (fruit, berry, whatever) that I never think to cook unless someone else suggests it. And then I love it. This recipe comes from Alton Brown and is an interesting take on eggplant parm. He cuts the pasta into noodles and quick-fries all the ingredients up. On his show, cooking time was 1 minute, but I found 3 minutes total worked much better. Also, I didn't have cream, so I made more of a quick white-sauce in pan.

I found some nice looking lettuce and a huge english cucumber at my local farmer's market, so I thought one of my grandmother's old recipes would be a perfect accompaniment. Simple, easy to make, but the flavors blend beautifully and offset the savoriness of the eggplant pasta well. This is a great dish to bring to picnics. Although it uses dairy, the combination of using evaporated milk and the vinegar/sugar mixture makes it hold up quite well. While my grandma probably wouldn't stand for it (and luckily she doesn't read my blog yet), I have also added strawberries and tomatoes to the cucumbers to vary the flavor. But it doesn't need it; the dish is great on its own!

The odd coincidence in these two dishes is both REQUIRE the cooking technique "purging." What is purging? It's using salt on the surface of a food to draw out the moisture that would otherwise prevent it from cooking correctly. I used two separate methods for the dishes, however, detailed below.

Eggplant Pasta with Parm Tomato Sauce
(reprinted with edits from Food Network)

Ingredients

• 1 medium-large eggplants
• Kosher salt, for purging
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon chile flakes
• 4 small tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon butter
  
• 2 tablespoons basil chiffonade
• 2 tablespoons cup freshly grated Parmesan

Method

Peel each eggplant leaving 1-inch of skin at the top and bottom unpeeled. Slice the eggplant thinly lengthwise, about 1/4-inch thick. Evenly coat each slice with the salt and purge on a sheet pan fitted with a rack for 30 minutes. Rinse with cold water and roll in paper towels to dry. Slice the pieces into thin strips to resemble pasta.

In a large saute pan heat the oil. Add the garlic and chili flakes and toast. Add the eggplant "pasta" and toss to coat. Add the tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes. Mix flour and milk together. Add flour/milk mixture and increase heat to thicken sauce. As sauce thickens, melt in the butter. Finally add the basil and Parmesan and toss to combine. Season with pepper, no salt needed as the eggplant will have residual salt from the purge. Serve immediately.

Grandma's Cucumber Salad

Where as for the eggplant it worked just to sweat out the water, for cucumbers I've been taught putting them on papertowels helps sap away the moisture. Plus I don't rinse them, so much of the salt goes into the final salad.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp vinegar (grandma uses white distilled; I used rice vinegar)
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 small can evaporated milk (regular milk can work as well, but half the two above ingredients and use one cup milk)
• cucumber (above dressing could handle up to 6 cups of cucumbers, but the more cukes/dressing, the longer it should rest before serving)
• Salt and paper towels for purging

Method

1. Startby mixing sugar and vinegar. This will take some time to dissolve, so just stir with a fork every few minutes
2. Meanwhile, chop cucumbers as fine as you can get them. If you have an adjustable mandolin, this works great. If yours isn't adjustable, chances are the slices will be too thick. Paper-thin is the goal.
3. Purge cucumbers by lying them out flat on paper towels. It is alright if they overlap. Salt liberally and cover with more paper towels. At this point I just roll the whole thing up, and stick it out of the way until I'm ready for them (at least twenty minutes)
4. Once vinegar and sugar is dissolved thoroughly (mixture should be cloudy but not grainy), puncture two small holes in the top of the can of evaporated milk. Whisking constantly, slowly add the milk. If you go too quickly, it can curdle. Once blended, add the cucumbers, cover, and refrigerate. Can be served immediately, but I like to let the flavor develop overnight when possible.

The whole point of this dinner was supposed to be a nice surprise for Laa when she got home since it was a deadline night. She surprised me by almost beating me home and wanting to cook with me! So I made the filling for a rhubarb and goat cheese cream tart, but she made the crust and put it all together. A happy accident that we used basil as a garnish, and found out that the flavor was amazing!

Edit: Requested Tart Reciple

So by popular demand, I'll put up the tart recipe. I have to say that although I greatly enjoyed it, it wasn't up to Laa's pâtissier level of approval. The crust was amazing, and you can find her recipe for her standard pie crust here (simply divide smaller and bake first in greased muffin tins; careful, they'll be delicate). I was in charge of the filling, though, and it still had the raw edge of goat cheese moreso than the delicate balance of a cream filling. Any who, here it is:

Dio's Rhubarb-Goatcheese filling

Ingredients

• Two stalks rhubarb (about 2/3 pound)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup Orange Juice
• 6 oz. cranberry-orange goat cheese (what, your local vendor doesn't have this? Okay, night before add 1 teaspoon orange zest, 2 tablespoons cranberries and a teaspoon oj. Blend well, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and refridgerate. Cream cheese CAN work, too, but you'll lose much of the complexity)
• 1/4 cup milk

Method

1. Take rhubarb, peel roughest bits and chop into half-inch sections. Add to medium sauce pan with 1 cup sugar and a quarter cup orange juice. Cook down over medium heat until rhubarb softens and releases juice. stirring occasionally. Transfer to mixing bowl and put in fridge for half an hour.
2. Once slightly cool, crumble in goat cheese (and other ingredients if using regular goat cheese or cream cheese), add milk and blend on medium until smooth, about two minutes. Put in refridgerator for another half an hour, or until it thickens and cools completely.
3. Spoon into prepared tart shells, garnish with a sprig of basil or basil whipped cream (recipe to follow! Extract day should be coming soon!), and serve immediately.