Mediterranean Salad

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant, sliced into 1/2" thick pieces

3-4 heirloom tomatoes

3 bell peppers (red, green and yellow)

1/2 medium red onion, sliced thinly

6-8 Kalamata olives

1-2 tablespoons capers

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar

Salt

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Place eggplant rings in large pan and bake until ready.  Remove from oven and keep them in a jar with some olive oil for few hours. Grill the peppers and let sit until cool enough to peal. Cut up them and the tomatoes into bite-sized pieces. Thinly slice red onion and mash it with some salt and 1 tablespoon of Balsamic vinegar. In large salad bowl toss together baked eggplant rings and peppers, tomatoes and onions with olive oil and the rest of Balsamic vinegar. Add Kalamata olives and capers, and toss again. Season to taste with salt. Sprinkle with the finely chopped parsley.

Peach Tarte Tatin

3-4 medium unpeeled peaches, quartered, pitted

½ cup strawberry (optional)

1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar

1/2 stick (70 g) unsalted butter

1 vanilla bean, scrape the seeds out or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Fresh juice from a half of lemon

½ packet of “Lady Fingers” (about 11-12 biscuits) or Challah bread or brioche

1-2 tablespoons of melted butter

Use an 8-inch-diameter non-stick round cake pan or skillet with 1 1/2-inch-high sides

Preheat oven to 375°F. Cook sugar in the small non-stick skillet. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase the heat. Quickly stir in unsalted butter, fresh lemon juice and vanilla. Stir well. Remove from heat. Place unpeeled peach quarters, skin side down, in concentric circles atop caramel in cake pan, covering caramel completely. Add some strawberries. 

Bake until peaches are just tender about 40 minutes. During the baking cover the pan with aluminum foil for 20 minutes after - remove the foil. Take out the cake pan from oven. On the top of baked peaches arrange 11-12 biscuits. Fill the gaps with crumbs. Brush the biscuits with melted butter. Bake the tart until is deep golden, about 25 minutes more at 375°F. Allow the tart to cool in the fridge before flipping it over. Cut around edge of cake pan. Place a large platter over the cake pan. Using oven mitts, hold cake pan and platter firmly together and invert, allowing tart to settle onto platter. Carefully lift off cake pan. Warm before serving. Cut the tart into wedges and serve with whipped cream. 

Tip: To unmold it easily, warm up the bottom of the pan a few seconds over high heat – Thank you, Bruno Albouze.

Gennaro’s Zesty Orange Rice Cake

1.7 litre milk

1 vanilla pod

½ lemon, zest only, in large pieces

200g / 7oz  sugar

300g / 10½oz Arborio rice

5 large free-range eggs, separated

50ml / 2fl oz orange liqueur

40g / 1½oz raisins

1 orange, zest only, grated, plus extra for serving

 

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Grease and line a 24cm/10in loose-bottomed cake tin with greaseproof paper. Place the milk, vanilla pod, lemon zest and sugar in a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the rice and simmer on a medium to low heat for about 20–25 minutes, until the rice is al dente and has absorbed the milk but still has a creamy consistency. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Remove vanilla pod and lemon zest. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and liqueur until creamy. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed. Add the egg yolk mixture to the cooled rice, then fold in the stiffened egg whites, followed by the raisins and orange zest. Pour in the prepared tin and bake in the oven for one hour. Serve Gennaro's Orange Rice Cake warm or cold, sprinkled with some powdered sugar and a little extra orange zest to finish.