Rachael Ray’s Eggplant (Terung) Parm Stacks

 Enclosed some recipes which are good for our heart and healthy too. It is easy to cook, all we need is to improvise accordingly.

This eggplant dish puts a healthy spin on the deep-fried eggplant parm dinner that everyone loves. This eggplant is layered with roasted tomatoes and cooked dark greens. Easy to make, Rachael’s recipe limits salt and fat without sacrificing taste. 

Ingredients
Serves 4 to 6
6 Roasted Tomatoes with their juice, chopped
2 medium eggplants, sliced into 1/2 inch-thick rounds (about 2 lbs)
Salt
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
3 to 4 cloves garlic, chopped or thinly sliced
1 small chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped, optional
1 sprig fresh marjoram or oregano, leaves picked and finely chopped
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups panko (Japanese) bread crumbs
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/2 cup corn meal, a couple of handfuls
2 tsp fennel pollen or ground fennel seed, optional
Vegetable oil plus omega-3, for shallow frying
1 lb fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
1 bundle fresh green or red chard, washed, stemmed and shredded
Freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup fresh basil leaves

Directions
Set aside or prepare the roasted tomatoes. Salt the eggplant and drain in colander, 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a little extra virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic, chili pepper, if using, marjoram, salt and pepper. Cover the pan with a lid and sweat the onions 10 to 15 minutes, until very soft and sweet. Add the roasted tomatoes and stir, then let the sauce thicken 15 minutes, uncovered over medium heat. The mixture should be very thick.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. While the sauce cooks, make a breading station (3 sections) for the eggplant: flour, beaten egg, and bread crumbs mixed with cheese, corn meal and fennel. Coat the eggplant slices in order and arrange on a plate. Heat a thin layer of frying oil in a large heavy-bottom skillet over medium to medium-high heat and cook the eggplant 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Drain the eggplant on a cooling rack, wipe out the skillet and repeat. Sprinkle the hot eggplant with a little salt. When all of the eggplant has been cooked, wipe the pan clean again and heat 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in the skillet over medium heat, add the garlic and stir 1 minute. Add the greens and wilt them, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Turn off the heat. Build stacks on cooling rack placed over baking sheet: eggplant, chard, tomato-onions, basil leaves, mozzarella and eggplant. Place in oven 5 minutes to melt the mozzarella. Serve immediately.

Prep Time: 15 min
Inactive Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 15 min
Level: Intermediate

Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray from Cooking Channel's Week in a Day.

Art Smith's Red Bell Pepper Soup

If you have heart disease, even a small amount of fat in your diet can be a big problem. In Dean Ornish's plan to Reverse Your Heart Disease in 28 Days, only 10% of your diet comes from fat.

Chef Art Smith, who was once Oprah's personal chef, offers this delicious recipe to trim the fat from your diet with heart-healthy ingredients that will still tickle your taste buds. 

Bell peppers are loaded with vitamin C. This wonderful soup, with its Mediterranean flavor, showcases them with tomatoes, jalapeno pepper and basil. It is a perfect summer soup to make while these vegetables are in season. It can be served hot or cold.

Ingredients
Serves 4
8 oz red bell peppers, seeded and sliced
1 small Vidalia onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 1/2 cups strained canned tomatoes
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2 tbsp chopped basil
1 tbsp chopped rosemary or oregano

Directions
Place the red bell peppers, onions, garlic, jalapeno and tomatoes in a saucepan with the vegetable broth, and bring to a boil over medium heat. When the vegetables are tender, puree the mixture in a blender a little at a time. Cool the soup and add the fresh herbs.

Art Smith's Portobello Mushroom Napoleon With Balsamic Reduction (good for heart)

Ingredients
4 to 6 large portobello mushrooms
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 medium red bell peppers
1/4 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
2 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic
10 oz baby spinach
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tbsp minced parsley or basil


Directions
Preheat the over to 350 ° F. Remove the stems from the portobellos and wipe them clean with a paper towel. Place the mushrooms on a plate and brush both sides with balsamic vinegar.

Cut the bell peppers into quarters and spray them with nonstick cooking spray. Place the pepper quarters on a cookie sheet and roast them in the oven for 30 minutes. Combine the vegetable broth and garlic in a saute pan. Cook until the garlic is soft but not browned. Add the baby spinach and cook it until it is wilted. Season with salt.

Place the portobellos on a baking sheet, sprinkle them with the pepper and roast them in the oven for 10 minutes. While the mushrooms are cooking, place the remaining balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan or saute pan. Reduce the liquid over medium heat until the mushrooms are done.

Layer the spinach and then a piece of bell pepper on top of each mushroom, and place them back in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove the mushroom napoleons from the oven. Place them on plates with a spatula, drizzle each one with the balsamic reduction, and sprinkle with the fresh herbs.

Recipe from The Dr. Oz show