gennaro contaldo's aubergine parmigiana

You can look at redundancy in a couple of ways. Obviously it's a bit annoying and there is a constant underlying paranoia to finding a job. But there's positive angle as you get maximum family time, and you can have slightly more elaborate recipes for dinner. The silver linings outweigh the dark clouds.

After a day's displacement activity - although I at least got my CV sorted - tonight's dinner is a case in point: It's an experimental vegetarian dish from the great Gennaro Contaldo, with the added bonus of setting alarm bells ringing in Ana Louise's head as it's almost entirely made of aubergine, which is her kryptonite.

I've already let her down on the job front, it's been lashing down all day, and now I'm feeding her aubergine. However divorce is unexpectedly not on the cards as it's bloody delicious:

I have to say I'm mildly surprised, not simply because it was aubergine, but because before you bake it you fry the slices in egg, which looks bonkers. It tastes divine though; there's creamy cheese, a punchy tomato sauce and rather than soggy and sloppy, the egg plant is meaty and juicy. I hesitate to say this, but we'll definitely be having this again...

...because I over-shopped on aubergine at the weekend and there's another one in the fridge.

wine time
There's something interesting going on here as generally I'd look for a juicy Italian or Spanish red to match this hearty, bake. However the mozzarella and the aubergine really bring a creamy quality to it, so I think you're looking for something crisp and fruity, especially as we had it with salad. Delicious reckon a Riesling, but I wonder if that's too austere? I'd go with a New World Chenin, or a good Pinot Grigio. Boom.

sources
aubergine parmigiana - Gennaro Contaldo, Delicious, March 2012, p53

pasta with cherry tomato sauce

sources
pasta with cherry tomato sauce - Donna Hay, The Instant Cook, p58

tomato sauce & pasta

Post swimming class lunch for the milos.


He has a choice between plain pasta with gruyere, or tomato & rosemary sauce from the freezer. The cheese disappears in about three seconds before he faffs around with the tomato sauce. In true Victorian Parents style, we put it in the fridge for later and he goes to bed with no pudding.

He doesn't actually have pudding at lunch, but I feel we've sent a valuable message to him.