1 large eggplant, sliced 1/4" thick
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and sliced in half
4 slices cooked ham
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon pine nuts
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat a tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and brown 1/4 of the eggplant. Repeat with remaining oil and eggplant.
3. Grease a large casserole dish or 4 ramekins large enough for the eggplant slices and layer eggplant, then chicken, then eggplant, then ham, and finally finishing with the chicken.
4. Combine the crushed tomatoes and yogurt and season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour over top of the eggplant mixture and garnish with pine nuts.
5. Bake uncovered for half an hour. Serve hot.

Makes 4 servings

8 small carrots
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon hot sauce
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ginger puree
salted water

1. Boil carrots in a large pot of salted water until fork tender, about 15 minutes.
2. Drain carrots and return them to the pot to dry up excess moisture.
3. Place the carrots in a food processor and puree, gradually adding the olive oil, vinegar, hot sauce, garlic, cumin and ginger.
4. Refrigerate mixture overnight. Serve with Dukka Croutons or pita bread.

Makes 4 servings

8 slices of whole wheat toast
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup coriander seeds
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Toast the almonds, coriander, cumin and sesame seeds individually in a large skillet over medium heat. Remove them as they become fragrant and lightly browned.
2. Grind these ingredients together with a mortar and pestle or in a spice grinder and set aside.
3. Cut toast into circles using the rim of a pint glass or similar. Reserve crusts for bread crumbs or discard.
4. Gently brush croutons with olive oil and press into the spice mixture to coat.

Makes 8 croutons

One of my favorite things about trying so many different ethnic recipes is picking up on so many of the similarities of certain dishes. Take this Egyptian Carrot Puree, for instance. It's essentially garlic, oil and an acid combined with a starch, much like Hummus (chick peas) or Skordalia (potatoes), but it still has it's own unique sort of flavor profile. I thought this was fantastic, coming just shy of being as delicious as hummus, which is one of my most favorite things to eat. The carrots give it a bit of sweetness and it effectively combines the flavors of cumin and ginger in a way that I haven't really been able to accomplish too well with carrots before.

By itself the carrot puree was a little tart, but when paired with Dukka Croutons, it was perfectly balanced. Dukka is apparently an Egyptian spice blend of toasted cumin, coriander and sesame seeds, which is basically an unbeatable combination. This was originally supposed to go with pita bread, but I figured I'd make croutons instead since I was out of pita bread and didn't feel like eating a bunch of carrot puree by itself. I now have a horrible craving for sesame snaps.

The main entree was Egyptian Chicken, which was actually more eggplant than chicken. This was apparent in the flavor, but there was sort of a battle for taste supremacy as I was never really sure if I should expect the dominant flavor to be eggplant, ham, chicken or tomato in each bite. For the flavor adventure I'd say this dish was a lot of fun, but it wasn't anything to wow about. The recipe could easily be far more fancy if you put everything in individual ramekins rather than a casserole dish like I did, but I've sold my ramekins for Montreal money and have to resort to such unpleasantries as unrounded eggplant dishes. I think that it would also make a very nice filling for a sandwich, which is likely what will become of the leftovers.