Tuesday's Tasting - Trader Joe's Eggplant Cutlets

Faithful readers, Tuesday's Tasting is back!

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you probably know that J can not have cheese or milk made from cow's milk. Sheep and goat's milk cheese are perfectly fine though. So when I picked up a box of Trader Joe's Eggplant Cutlets, I knew exactly what I was going to make, Eggplant Manchego! Well, that's what J and I are calling it. It is our version of Eggplant Parmigiana in which we substitute the parmigiana reggiano and mozzarella cheeses with manchego cheese, made from sheep's milk.

J helped out with this dinner by baking off the eggplant cutlets at 425 for about 15 minutes. I then layered the baked eggplant in a 9x9 Pyrex baking dish with Rao's Homemade Arrabbiata (Fra Diavlo) sauce and a mix of shredded manchego and midnight moon goat's milk cheese. I also sprinkled on some additional seasonings like oregano, crushed red pepper and garlic powder even though the sauce and eggplant cutlets were already nicely seasoned.

While I assembled the dish, I put on a pot of salted water for the pasta, Whole Food's 365 Organic Whole Wheat Linguine. Once the eggplant manchego was assembled, I baked it in the oven at 375 for about the time it took to cook the pasta, 12 minutes, just enough to melt the cheese and marry all the flavors together. I plated a nice helping of the eggplant manchego right on top of a nice sized portion of linguine and topped everything with some extra sauce. I also baked some homemade garlic bread in the oven along with the eggplant.

If you are looking for a quick and easy meal on a week night, I highly suggest you try out Trader Joe's Eggplant Cutlets. Whether you make eggplant manchego like me or want to make an eggplant parm sandwich, these eggplant cutlets are great. They cook up fast in the oven and come with 4-5 servings in the box. On your next trip to Trader Joe's you should pick up a box of these eggplant cutlets.

Whole wheat penne with sweet potatoes and leeks

Here is a real simple dish that you can serve up any night of the week. It's got lots of flavor, simple ingredients, and is good for you. The leeks practically melt into this dish, lending lots of mild oniony flavor. Next time I make this I'll probably wait until the sweet potatoes have cooked for a few minutes before adding the leeks, they really did practically melt away. I also added a cup of frozen peas a few minutes before the end, and skipped the nutmeg. Not on purpose though, I just forgot to add it. I finished off the dish with some grated pecorino romano. Did you know that pecorino romano is made from sheep's milk? It is. J can't have anything with cow's milk, it's an allergy, so parmesano reggiano is out. But sheep and goat's milk cheeses are alright, so we use pecorino romano on our pasta. The original recipe as seen in the February 2008 issue of Real Simple magazine can be found below. Enjoy!


multigrain pasta with sweet potatoes and leeks from Real Simple February 2008
hands-on time: 25 minutes | total time: 25 minutes | serves 4

12 ounces multigrain penne
4 teaspoons olive oil
3 leeks (white and light green parts), cut into half moons
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh sage, chopped
1 pound sweet potatoes (1 large or two small), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
3/4 grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring, until they soften, 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic and sage and cook 2 minutes. Add the sweet potato, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper and cook, covered, stirring twice, until just tender, 6 to 8 minutes.

Stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan or Romano and the reserved cooking water and simmer, stirring, until the potatoes are fully tender, 2 to 4 minutes.

Add the cooked pasta and nutmeg and toss.

Divide amount individual bowls and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan or Romano and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper.

Enjoy!