Day Two Ninety Two - Sunday Dinner for one

Gosh this weekend flew by didn't it?

For tonight's blog, I thought I'd provide you all with a quick recipe for a home cooked meal I made for myself tonight -- quick sauteed tomatoes with eggplant, black olives, chick peas, shallots, EVOO, Grana Padano cheese, bay and sage leaves, crushed red pepper flakes and oregano. I had my saute with a side of egg whites for protein but I think that in actuality it would be an excellent topping for pasta or couscous or a filling for lasagna or an accompaniment to polenta. It's the sort of melange of flavors that is rustic and comforting without being too overwhelming or upfront.

To start off, chop up one shallot and place it in a pan with some EVOO over low heat to get it caramelized. While the shallot is on the stove, chop up some baby cherry tomatoes and de-pit the olives, place this to the side. For the fresh sage and bay leaves, roast in the oven at 250 for ten to twelve minutes with some EVOO. Next up, chop up the eggplant and drizzle a little bit of EVOO and sea salt over them, toss them on a stove top grill for about five minutes a side till they get a nice light char and are somewhat cooked, not all together cooked through, but cooked enough that they will cook just as fast as the other ingredients in the saute. Moving onto the chickpeas, I like to use dried chickpeas that have been soaked for eight hours and then cooked for an hour however should you not feel like you have that sort of time in you, feel free to go with the canned version.  Once that shallot is golden brown, add all of your ingredients to the saute pan, except for the grana padano, that goes in last. Cover the saute pan and let all the flavors meld together over low heat. Let it cook for about fifteen minutes till there is a luscious sheen to the mixture with that rustic homey-ness I was referring to previously. Now is time to add a nice healthy grating of Grana Padano cheese and then mix together until the cheese melts into your veggie mixture -- warming, comforting and delish. It's the perfect sort of meal for a chilly Sunday night home alone with a glass of red wine.

Have a good night folks!