In an unusual turn of events, I didn’t cook over the weekend. I went to bed last night feeling like a fish out of water and extraordinarily short on *checks notes* the will to live. When I woke up, I went straight to the kitchen to set myself up for some seriously good prep time after work. This week will be bangers every night!
But first, an empty-out-the-fridge casserole. Same as last time, I’m not going to list 18 different functions of tonight’s dinner like Dr. Bronner, only a few: dopamine, dopamine, dopamine, dopamine.
It’s leftover rice and pureed ratatouille, mixed together with grated Pecorino, pieces of soft and oily baked eggplant from last week, diced roasted red pepper, sumac, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, LOTS of parsley, one lonely green onion, fresh sungold tomatoes (halved), and big crumbles of Greek feta. Into my absolute favorite cooking vessel, coated generously with butter. Just imagine when I bake it later: all the little bits of vegetables caramelized against the edge of the dish, the rice soft and smokey in the middle yet crisp on the perimeter, the pleasing pop of salt and umami from the cheese and tomatoes!!! Maybe a dollop of Greek yogurt and julienned mint as garnish. On the side, a blood orange Spindrift.
That honestly sounds amazing!