Roasted Eggplant, Chickpea, Goat Cheese and Wilted Spinach Salad

Miss Fats has been doing a damn good job of getting out to show you all the tasty eats across Chicago.  However this has resulted in her feeling a bit like this:

Miss Fats needed some veggie love to combat some of this ice cream bloat, but  does not believe in dainty salads.  So she turned (again) to the hearty winter salad.  This time she wanted some spicy Mediterranean flavors and tangy goat cheese action.  The result: a warm eggplant, chickpea and spinach salad.

This combo of ingredients sounded excellent to MIss Fats, however she is also damn lazy when it comes to dishes and many components.  So she condensed this recipe to use only one bowl and two baking dishes (or really only one if you have a baking pan bigger than hers).  You’re going to see her make some strange moves, but bear with her.  It’s damn good and less work.

Roasted Eggplant, Chickpea, Goat Cheese and Wilted Spinach Salad:
inspired by Roasted Eggplant and Smoked Almond Salad
4-6 servings (depending on if you have it as a side or big salad meal)

2 large eggplants, diced
3 cloves minced garlic
2 tbs olive oil + 1 tbs divided
1 tbs white vinegar
1 tsp paprika + 1/2 tsp divided
2 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 lemon
couple of pinches of hot red pepper flake (optional)
1 large bunch or bag of prewashed spinach
1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
goat cheese
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lay the diced eggplant out onto your baking sheets and salt.  Allow to sit while you make the marinade.  Combine 2 tbs of oil, 1 tsp of paprika, garlic, vinegar, coriander and cumin in a large bowl.  Using a paper towel or dish towel, blot off any of the extra water beaded up on the eggplant.  Toss eggplant in the marinade and spread on a baking sheet in a single layer. Roast in the oven for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure they’re not sticking.

2. In the same big bowl, throw in the chickpeas, remaining oil and paprika and a bit of salt and pepper (yeah, just let it hang out in that marinade residue).  Toss to coat.  Distribute into a single layer on a baking pan.  Once the eggplant has been roasting for 20 minutes or so, throw the chickpeas into the oven.

3.  Once you’ve hit that 40 minute mark and your eggplant is looking tender and slightly crispy, take the baking sheet out of the oven and just heap the raw spinach on top.  I know. It sounds weird and technically this spinach should be wilted on the stove or whatever.  But just do it: it’s fast, easy and allows the spinach to steam slightly in the spicy aromas of your roasting fest.  Stick your weird pan of eggplant and spinach back in the oven for about 10 minutes or until your spinach has essentially halved in sized (or more if you like your spinach more well done):

See so easy! No extra pans!

4. Remove chickpeas from the oven and squeeze the lemon over top.  Listen to that sizzle.

5.  Serve up by layering a big pile of your spinach, couple of scoops of eggplant and chickpeas.  Crumble that tasty goat cheese over top.  Drizzle with additional olive oil if you’d like.

This salad has a lot of flavor and Miss Fats recommends just throwing down a heaping portion for a healthy lunch or stuffing all the components into a pita pocket with a little greek yogurt for a more substantial, sandwich version.

Enjoy your veggie break, readers.  Because Miss Fats will be back with more indulgent food attack.

behold the powers of obachan

Miss Fats is getting REAL with you all.  For those of you who don’t know, Miss Fats has a magical Obachan who is the master of all things Japanese and delicious. Check her out taking on the BIG bento box at Fuji Sushi: (people, that includes salmon and chicken teriyaki, sushi, sashimi, a heaping pile of tempura, miso soup, salad AND rice.  girlfriend ate it all.)

Anyway, Obachan’s go to side dish—and Miss Fats’ personal vegi obsession since birth—is her crazy delicious spinach.  You may be thinking: cooked spinach? How good can that really be?  If you are, leave this site immediately and never show your face again.  Because if you knew anything, you’d know to NEVER question the magical powers of Obachan’s cooking.

Now for all you sane folks out there , you are in for a treat.  Miss Fats is sharing the simplest, most delicious spinach recipe ever.  Get ready for life to change.

Now I know “foreign” cooking can often feel daunting: what with all the crazy ingredients you have to track down. (Fuck you, Indian food.  Why are you so damn hard to make?!)  But Obachan’s spinach only requires one “foreign” ingredient: dashi.  Dashi is a staple soup base made of fish and is the secret to all things Japanese and tasty (well, that and Obachan wisdom). Most grocery stores carry it in the Asian foods section and its the key to pretty much EVERY Japanese dish out there.  AND if you take the time to buy it (it lasts forever!), Miss Fats promises to share other delicious recipes that make use of it!

Obachan Spinach Recipe: 

technically makes 4 side servings,
but once people taste this, its gone almost instantly.  double it. or triple it. just do it.

1 bunch of spinach (you can use pre-washed bagged spinach, but I prefer the stocky stem pieces AND tasty leaves)
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp dashi
2 tbs toasted sesame seeds

1. Bring large pot of water to a boil.  Roughly chop your well-washed spinach, if you’re not using bagged leaves.  You want all your stems to be in about 1 inch pieces, don’t worry too much about the leaves.  Throw the spinach in boiling water for about 1 minute, or until all the leaves have turned dark green and the water has begun to come back to a rolling boil. Drain spinach.

2. While the cooked spinach cools, mix soy, dashi and sugar in a microwave safe bowl.  Heat in microwave for about 10 seconds or until sugar and dashi dissolve.  Taste the dressing and add more of any ingredients to your liking.  (The flavor should be well balanced between sweet and salty, but feel free to alter based on your taste.)

3. Optional Step, but Highly Recommended: Lightly toast the sesame seeds in a small frying pan on medium heat just until the oil starts to release. Be careful not to burn! Using a mortar and  pestle crush the sesame seeds to release all their delicious oils and flavors.

4. Once spinach is cool enough, squeeze out as much of the water as you can and watch the giant pile of spinach you struggled to contain turn into a tiny ball.  Mix the squeezed spinach in with the dressing and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

So there you have it: the secret to happiness.  Arigato, Obachan!