Spicy Aubergine and Broad Bean Filled Bread

This is...well, it is a very long post, with a very long recipe for something that is essentially a calzone with Middle Eastern flavours. The filled bread is excellent, and only worth the time as I was at home all day doing other things. I wouldn't attempt this on a weeknight if you work away from home, though it wouldn't be impossible provided you don't mind dining well into the wee hours of morning.

Last week, the local grocer had aubergine on sale for a dollar-and they were enormous. Really, enormous doesn't begin to express how mammoth these things were-so I bought two. I couldn't help myself. I used the first to make caponata, which we've been eating since Sunday. Today, I knew time was running out, so I prepared a number of slices into breaded cutlets for frying at a later point, wrapped them in freezer paper, and that was that. The remaining cutlets were pan fried for tonight's dinner. I could have made a lasagna, or a traditional calzone with tomato and cheese, but I also had a dozen red peppers to deal with (I swear, I'm useless in the face of reduced produce. It could be worse, I could be bringing home stray dogs, or orphans). I roasted those early in the day, before I was sure what would become of them. I rather like the results, but I am also rather wiped out from it all. The bonus is that I ended up with enough food to feed the boys over the next few days, without heating the oven in the forecasted warmer weather. These would be great at room temperature as well.

If you time this correctly, the dough will be ready when the eggplant is done frying-but you can always slow it down by sticking it into the fridge after the first rise. I'll post the recipe in the order I did it, but each part can be made well ahead-a day ahead if need be.

For the Red Peppers:

There are all manner of doing this, but I find this simplest. If you have a better method, feel free to use it.

Heat the oven to 425 degrees f. Clean 6 red bell peppers and leave in rather large slices. Toss with about 4 tablespoons olive oil, and spread on a baking sheet. Bake 30 minutes, then turn the slices and bake 10-15 minutes longer or until skins remove easily. Cool, remove skins and chill until needed.

For The Spice Paste:
Not quite harissa, but in that spirit.

1 tablespoon chopped, preserved lemon rind
1/2 tablespoon chopped preserved blood orange rind (skip it if you don't have it, or just use a bit of orange zest)
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
1 tablespoon crushed fennel seeds
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
1/2 teaspoon dried fennel
1 heaping tablespoon concentrated tomato paste (or a few tablespoons of the regular)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
More vinegar if needed to make a spreadable paste
Mix all together, cover and chill until needed. It may separate, but give it a stir and all will be well.

For the Dough:

2 cups warm water (lukewarm)
2 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon coarse salt
4-6 cups strong flour

Dissolve yeast in bowl with water and sugar. When foamy (about five minutes) stir in salt, and about 4 cups flour. Add more flour as needed to produce a dough that can be kneaded easily and is no longer sticky. Oil a bowl, place in dough, and let rise until doubled-about 1 hour).

Punch down dough and let rest 20 minutes before dividing in fourths and rolling out 1/2 inch thick.

For the Broad Beans:

I used tinned beans which I slipped out of their tough outer skins. Do this ahead, and set aside until needed.

For the Aubergine:

Peel and slice aubergine in rounds 1/2 inch thick. Layer in a non-reactive colander with coarse salt (about 1/2 teaspoon per layer). Let stand 30 minutes. Rinse each slice well, the dry between towels. Prepare three bowls, one with beaten eggs (about 3) another with plain flour, and a third with dry breadcrumbs (or Panko, or the Jewish Panko known as Matzo meal, or crackers, or whatever coating you prefer). Dust each slice first in the flour, then dip in egg, the coat with breadcrumbs. Remove to a plate. Any leftovers can be frozen for later use. You will need about 8 slices to make 4 breads. Keep chilled until ready to use. I find it helpful to coat them about 30 minutes before I am ready to fry as it helps the crumbs adhere better.

Heat about 2 inches of oil in a heavy pan. I used a mixture of corn oil (for heat tolerance) and olive oil (for flavour). Watch it so it does not smoke. Fry the slices over rather hot oil about 2 minutes each side. Drain on a metal rack over a pan. You can drain on paper, but they stay crisper on a rack.


Put it Together:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Dust a baking sheet with cornmeal or semolina.

Divide dough in quarters. Roll each section out and spread a tiny bit of the paste over the centre. Layer on a slice of aubergine, a few broad beans, and cover with a few slices of pepper. Be sure to leave room around all of this to bring up the sides and seal the bread. After the peppers, spread a bit more paste, then repeat ending with red pepper and paste. Bring up sides of dough, folding to seal-but do not pull too tightly-the dough needs room to expand. Place smooth side up on a baking sheet, brush with an egg wash of yolk and water, and scatter tops with a mixture of fennel seeds, cumin seeds, dried thyme, and sesame seeds. Pierce a vent with a sharp knife.

Bake the breads 30 minutes, the rotate the pan and bake another 10-15 minutes, or until done. Remove to a rack and then immediately cover with a dishtowel to keep the crusts soft and pliable. Serve warm, or at room temperature. They reheat well in a 200 degree f. oven. The microwave is OK as well, but the dough will be softer.

Makes four large breads (a single bread can easily feed two people with a salad). Serve with yoghurt.

Bread Roulade With Vegetables and Honey Mustard Baked Tofu

This sounds difficult, but it really isn't. If pressed for time, you could even make this with store-bought frozen bread dough, and already baked tofu. I won't rat you out. The filling should be prepared well ahead of time because you want it cold when filling the dough (this will prevent it splitting and spilling, as well as soaking into the dough too much. That's a good rule of thumb for calzones as well.

I had some fresh spinach, so I used it. I'd go ahead and use whatever vegetables you have. I wouldn't go out and buy fresh spinach just to make this. But that's me. I only added a handful anyway.

The recipe will make two very large loaves. When cool, wrap the leftovers in foil, and keep refrigerated. Re-heat, uncovered on a baking sheet in a slow oven. I have not tried freezing these. I'd be curious to see how the unbaked ones did in the freezer. Maybe next time.

You Will Need:

For the dough:

2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup warm water
3 teaspoons granulated dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 tablespoon salt
5-6 cups bread flour/strong flour

Dissolve the yeast in a small bowl with the water and sugar. Let stand until foamy. Heat the milk, butter, and salt over medium heat just until butter melts and salt dissolves. Remove and cool to lukewarm.

Add yeast to cooled milk in a large mixing bowl. Work in flour a cup at a time until you have a fairly stiff dough that can be kneaded without being too sticky. Knead until smooth. Place in a buttered bowl and let rise until doubled (about 2 hours). Punch down, let rise again until almost doubled (about 1 hour). Punch down, divide in two and let rest, covered 30 minutes.

Roll out and fill as directed later in recipe.

For the tofu:

1 block firm, or extra firm (NOT silken) tofu
4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons olive oil

Press the tofu dry between kitchen towels. Slice into four pieces and on a fresh towel, press out more moisture. Do this a few times (You'll run through about five towels) taking care not to crumble the tofu. Combine the marinade ingredients, and pour half in a shallow dish. Arrange the tofu slices atop marinade, and then spread the rest on top. Cover with cling film and let sit 30 minutes. Turn the slices and let soak another 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a baking sheet with foil (trust me on this-it makes a mess) and arrange the slices on it. Bake 30 minutes, then turn and bake another thirty minutes. Keep turning every thirty minutes until tofu is quite firm-this can take an hour and a half. Remove from oven, cut into tiny cubes, and let cool. Add to filling mixture below.

For the filling:

4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
6 medium carrots, finely sliced on the diagonal (or however you like, just keep them small)
1 cup chopped fresh, raw spinach
2 cups chopped fresh parsley (I really like cooked parsley-you can use less or omit it if you prefer)
1/2 pound mushrooms, trimmed and chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary (crumbled)
2 small bay leaves
Salt/Black Pepper

Heat the butter and oil in a large, heavy pot. Cook the onions, garlic, carrots, and spinach until soft. Add the parsley, mushrooms, and spices and continue to cook over very low heat until nearly mush. Remove bay leaves. Combine with cooked, diced tofu and cool completely (chilling is best) before filling dough. This can be prepared hours ahead.

To assemble:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously dust a large baking sheet with cornmeal.

Roll out each half of the dough into a large rectangle. From each half remove about a golf ball sized bit of dough for decorating the top. I'm not going to give you exact dimensions because it doesn't matter. You want the dough about an inch thick. After that, do as you like. Place the filling atop the dough leaving about 1 inch around the edges. Roll it up, pinch the seam closed and place on the baking sheet seam side down. Repeat with second roll.

To decorate, I cut out shapes and used fresh parsley, but you really don't need to do this. I made several slits in the top of each roll for venting. If you carefully lay the parsley around it that will help disguise the scoring. If you care. It is probably a sign of being well adjusted if you don't care. Obviously, I have character flaws that manifest themselves in the kitchen. Ahem. So decorate, or not as you see fit.

Brush with an egg wash (1 egg yolk plus 1 tablespoon water) Reserve any extra for brushing again after ten minutes in the oven. This will give it a deeper colour. Let rise another ten minutes or so while the oven heats, then place on the centre rack of the oven. Bake ten minutes, remove and brush again with egg wash. Return to the oven and bake another twenty minutes or so. The bread should be deeply golden and feel somewhat firm. A bit longer is always better than underdone, so if in doubt, let it go a while longer.

Cool on a rack for a few minutes before cutting. Serve warm.