Baked Eggplant with Cheddar Cheese

My and eggplant...we have a very complicated story between us, but I keep doing it as much as I can, especially when my hungry imagination is ready to add some spices that may challenge my first (bad) impression about it. 

This time, I wanted to test my new Zwilling, a present from a dear friend, and decided that, among other things that I am planning to prepare, eggplant is the easiest, affordable one. Especially when some spices, courtesy of Spice Kitchen UK, part of their Brand Ambassador Program are added. The result was surprisingly tasty, rich in flavors and made it into a good side dish for a milky-/cheese-based meal. I will only add some fresh cucumber and tomato salad, for a touch of freshness and call it a good meal! 

Ingredients

- 1 medium-sized eggplant
- 3 cloves garlic, finelly minced
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Fenugreek
- 1/2 teaspoon Berbere which are a combination of many spices, such as red chilli, garlic, black peppercorns, cardamom, onion. It also has fenugreek, but I personally wanted a stronger presence of this spice, therefore I added it as a separate ingredient too.
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 slices of Cheddar Cheese - you can also use Edamer Cheese and any other hard cheese variant.

Directions

Roast the eggplant on the stove at 250C, turning it on all sides at least for 45 minutes. Peel it well, careful to clean all the black parts. Slice it and put it into the baking pan. Warm the oven at 250C, at least 10 minutes before starting the baking. Add the lemon zest, the salt, the spices, the garlic. Be sure that you turn the eggplant on both sides to smear the ingredients properly. Add the cheese on the top.

Bake it for around 45 minutes. 

Serve it warm. The spices and the lemon zest add a complex, sweet-sour taste and consistency to the eggplant. 

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: Roasting: 45 minutes. Baking: 45 minutes

Serves: 2

Bon Appétit!

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Mozzarella Sandwich with a Special Guest Ingredient

Who doesn't fancy a good fat sandwich, as a post-training treat? Especially if you are longing for the an afternoon healthy yet consistent snack, finding the right combination of ingredients is a challenge I will always answer positively. Especially when it involves combining relatively unusual ingredients, such as fruits with cheese. What do you think, are you in?

I was inspired by the very talented Chanie from Busy in Brooklyn to dare to use the very complex persimmon fruit not only as part of a fruit salad, but also in a savory recipe. It was a right decision to do so.

Ingredients
- 1 fresh hamburger bun, halved
- 250 gr. Mozzarella cheese, sliced
- 2 tablespoons of fresh cheese or 2 tablespoon of goat cheese spread
- 1/2 avocado, sliced
- 1/2 persimmon fruit, sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon of za'atar

Directions

Spread the goat cheese/fresh cheese on the bun. Add a slice of Mozarella, a slice of persimmon, another slice of Mozzarella, the za'atar, the avocado and the other half of the bun. Feel free to make your own combination, but I would keep the Mozzarella and the persimmon in. If you love goat cheese - I personally do - it adds a strong taste to the cheese combination, as it does the za'atar, otherwise you need to find some ingredient which balances the sweetness/neutrality of the taste. Persimmon is moderately sweet therefore it needs some smoothly contrast.

You can also add a slice of tomato, instead of avocado, for instance, or some coriander/parsley leaves. Maybe I just need to continue improving my sandwich preparation skills. It makes it into a great afternoon threat and it is a lot of tasty fun for hungry active children too.

To be served fresh, with a glass of mint lemonade.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Serves: 2 hungry people

Bon Appétit!

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