Flatliners!

Strice di Focaccia con Melanzane, Ceci, Cipolla Rossa & Miele

Flatbread Strips with Eggplant, Chick Peas, Red Onion & Honey

No, don't worry- this isn't anything to do with that silly old movie! But it IS so tasty and fun that it might well just make your heart skip a beat for a second with its breath-taking yumminess! And yes, it is made of some last bits and pieces that needed to be cleared out of my fridge, before my old kitchen gets cleared out of my apartment!

So the recipes may be a little less complicated the next 2-3 days... but from Monday, next week, "Old Faithful" shall be no more-and hopefully, come Friday, I should be able to get back to my old tricks in a new setting!

After a stressful day, working late and finishing as tired as can be, supper this evening was more of a casual snack than a sit-down meal... but no less delicious for that matter! Eggplant, chickpeas, red onion and thyme with a drizzle of honey... what's not to like?

I started off by sautéing the eggplant slices in a little olive oil, with a little finely sliced garlic and salt and pepper to season. after 2-3 minutes of frying from each side, I added a little water to the frying pan, which soon evaporated away, but which produced enough steam to help get the eggplant cooked quickly, rather than it cooking for too long and ending up being too soft and falling apart.

Once the eggplant slices were down, I set them to one side to cool, and turned my attention to the red onion, which I sliced and sautéed in olive oil, with a pinch or two of sugar. I kept stirring and watching that the caramel didn't start to get too dark, which would have made the onion bitter.

After 2-3 minutes, I added some thinly sliced Spring onion and again, a little water. 2 minutes later, the water was gone, the onions were soft and they come come down from the stove! Next stop- chick peas!

The chick-peas were left over from the other night and were cooked- so all that we needed to do here was to warm them through and for the base, I used a pre-made pizza dough, which I cut into narrow slices of around 4"-5". I seasoned the chick peas with a little salt, pepper and thyme- and without wasting any more time, set about putting these yummy ingredients on top of my bread slices, ready for the oven, which I turned-on to its highest setting to get hot, hot, hot and ready for action!

I set out the eggplant first, as it had the largest surface area... even though these were tiny! Next, the chick peas, which I pressed down firmly into the dough, so that they would not simply fall off later and last but not least, the onion, all soft and juicy and delicious!

I baked the slices for around 15 minutes at the ovens highest setting, then added a light drizzle of honey and returned for a final 2 minutes under the broiler, until they were lovely and golden brown! Some fresh thyme leaves and last, tiny sprinkle of salt and the only last thing to do was to say to myself "buon apetito" and to enjoy! And I hope that you do too!