The point of this dish was to take a classic Bolognese and make it with the meat of ruminants: goat, lamb, and beef. To add to the rumination, we also used goat milk instead of regular milk and a Pecorino for finishing off the dish. We love a lot of tomato flavor, but it is up to you how much you will want to add.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter or goat butter

1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped

1 stalk of celery, peeled and roughly chopped

½ onion, peeled and roughly chopped

½ lb ground lamb

½ lb ground goat

½ lb ground beef

1 cup white wine

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup goat milk

1 cup grated pecorino romano

400 g dried fettuccine or tagliatelle

Salt and Pepper

Chop the vegetables in a food processor until almost a puree, but with still a bit of texture.
Heat up the oil and butter in a heavy bottomed sauce pan.
Add the vegetables and sweat until translucent. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the ground meats and stir. Cook until the meat is well browned. 
Pour in the wine and simmer until the alcohol has evaporated.
Add the tomato paste (you might have to adjust the quantity according to how tomato-y you would like it to be) and the milk and bring to a simmer. Cook at a very low simmer for about an 1 hour.  Bolognese sauces can take anywhere from 1-6 hours.  The longer the better, but 1 hour will produce a delicious sauce just the same. 

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the pasta according to the instructions on the package. Before you drain, scoop out about 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Drain the pasta and pour back into the pot. Pour in the cooking liquid to moisten the pasta and prevent if from clumping. Add the meat sauce and toss well.
Serve with the fresh pecorino on top.

These are attractive and light, making them perfect for a healthy weeknight meal. We like the De La Estancia brand of organic polenta, which is made in Argentina.  http://delaestancia.net/

3 cups broth + 1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup quick cooking polenta

1 baby eggplant

1 jar roasted red peppers

4 tablespoons zeytin ezmesi or another olive tapenade

Olive Oil

a few shards of Parmesan or Pecorino cheese

Bring the broth and oil to a boil, and stir in the polenta.  Whisk until thick.  When the mixture is thick, pour it into a square baking dish, loaf pan, or 2" baking tray lined with wax paper.  Smooth over the top to distribute evenly and allow to cool.  When completely cool and set, flip onto a cutting board, remove the paper, and slice into squares.  The best would be to have 4 thick squares, but you should just make-do with what you have in your kitchen. 

Meanwhile, slice the eggplant across horizontally into 1/2" thick rounds.  Brush lightly with olive oil and bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, turning over half way through. 

Heat up a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a grill pan (or saute pan if you don't have), and grill the polenta squares on each side.  Top each with a thin layer of olive paste, baked eggplant, a layer of roasted pepper, and a couple shards of cheese.  You can bake these if you want the cheese melted, but we like them as is also. 

Makes 4 polenta squares. 

Note: You can buy Turkish olive paste from http://www.kitchencaravan.com/recipe/whole-wheat-rigatoni-olive-paste

Casseroles are a great way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers. We combine leeks and eggplant, which are often paired together in Greek cooking, along with fusilli pasta and turkey meat for a comforting, yet healthy dish. We use the Mastiha resin as a spice in this dish.  Although it is optional, it is a fun spice to add to your International pantry, and adds a unique nuance to the dish. See note below for details.

Olive oil (about ¼ cup total)

2 large or 4 small leeks, dark green parts removed

1 medium eggplant

1 clove garlic

2 tablespoons of butter

3 tablespoons flour

2 cups vegetable or chicken broth, boiling

½ cup grated Manchego cheese

200g cooked fusilli pasta

1 ½ cups leftover turkey meat

½ teaspoon ground Mastiha powder* (optional)

Salt and Pepper

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Cut a slit down the length of the eggplant. Peel the garlic and slice vertically into thin slivers. Insert the garlic pieces into the slit in the eggplant and lightly brush all over with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Bake the eggplant in the oven for about 45 minutes, or until it is completely cooked through and the flesh has shrunken in from the skin. It should look deflated and sink when you poke it with a fork. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. When the eggplant is cool enough to handle, scrape out the flesh into a sieve set over a bowl and drain of the excess liquid. Transfer to a bowl, along with the garlic and a pinch of salt, and fork mash it until it is well blended.

Meanwhile, slice the leeks in half lengthwise. Rinse out the dirt well, making sure to get in between each layer. Slice the leeks in thin strips horizontally across.
Heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sweat the leeks until cooked through and completely soft, seasoning with some salt along the way, about 15 minutes.
You can make the vegetables up to 1 day ahead of time and keep them in the fridge.

Once you have your leeks and eggplant ready, you are ready to put the dish together.
In a medium-sized pot, melt the butter and once it begins to froth a little, add the flour. Stir the flour and butter on medium-low heat for a couple of minutes, without letting it brown, to cook off the flour flavor. This mixture is called a roux.
Slowly pour in the boiling broth, whisking it into the roux as you pour. Once the broth is all in there, keep it at a simmer and let it thicken and reduce slightly. Add the grated cheese, followed by the prepared eggplant and leeks, pasta, and leftover turkey meat. Season with salt and pepper and Mastiha, and stir everything together. Pour into a 9x13 inch casserole dish and top with the grated Parmesan.
Set under the broiler for about 5-10 minutes until the Parmesan melts and browns.

Serves 8-10 people.

* Mastiha is a resin from the island of Chios in Greece. It has a lovely piney/camphoric flavor that goes beautifully with eggplant and leeks. You can purchase it at mastihashopny.com

Sicily was under Arab rule for 400 years. The Arabs greatly improved the agricultural methods and introduced many crops to this fertile Mediterranean island. They also left many culinary traditions, one of which is the love of stuffed foods. This dish is for eggplants and red peppers stuffed with couscous, another Arab-Siculian legacy, which is seasoned with typical Sicilian ingredients. This may look long, but once you get the gist of what is going on it is quite easy. Feel free to increase the proportions of ingredients if you are feeding more people. We also encourage you to adapt the recipe to what you have on hand: substitute raisins for currants, salt and oregano for the Middle Eastern spices, and add capers and parsley if you do so please. You may also just want to use eggplants or just red peppers. If you use just red peppers, you may want to add some diced pepper where you would add the eggplant flesh in this version.

Olive oil
1 tablespoon raw shelled pistachios
1 tablespoon pinenuts
1 baby eggplant
1 red bell pepper
1/4 cup yellow onion, small dice
1 clove garlic, finely minced
Pinch cumin, coriander, and cinnamon
1 tablespoon finely chopped anchovies, or 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon dried currants
2 tablespoons mint, finely chopped
½ cup couscous
¾ cup vegetable or chicken broth, brought to a boil
Optional: 1 tablespoon bread crumbs + 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese

Heat up the oven to 375°F.
Slice off the top of the eggplant. Trim the tip of the bell pepper (you don’t have to take off the whole top). Slice both vegetables in half lengthwise.
Slice a cross-hatch pattern across the inside halves of the eggplant. Use a paring knife to slice away the white veins and seeds of the pepper.
Brush both vegetables with olive oil, inside and out, and place face down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the flesh of the eggplant is soft. Remove from the oven, and when the eggplant is cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh, while keeping the outer skin in tact.
Roughly chop the flesh.

Heat up a few tablespoons of olive oil in a sauté pan over a medium high flame. Add the pistachios, and after about 1 minute add the pine nuts. Toast in the oil until light brown. Transfer the nuts to a plate and reserve.
Add the onions to the oil and sweat until soft, seasoning with a little salt along the way. Add the minced garlic and season with the spices.
Stir in the anchovies, lemon zest, currants, mint, and mix everything together well.
Tip in the couscous. Make sure the couscous is well mixed with the ingredients in the pan, and pour over the boiling broth. Stir and cover with a lid. Let steam for 5 minutes.
Scoop the couscous into the vegetable shells and top with either our Red Pepper Sauce, or simply garnished with mint.

Serves 2 people.