Ingredients:

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, coarsely grated

Directions:

Lay de-boned and butterflied leg of lamb on a flat surface; sprinkle with lemon pepper, tarragon and rosemary; set aside. Place croutons in a mixing bowl, pour chicken broth over mixing well. Set aside. In a medium sized skillet heat butter over medium heat and saute onions, celery and garlic until translucent stirring often. In another bowl blend eggs, parsley, basil leaves, spinach and parmesan cheese. Add the onion and spinach mixtures to the croutons blending well. Spread evenly over the butterflied leg of lamb. Starting on the long side of the leg of lamb, roll up as tightly as possible and truss with kitchen string. Place stuffed rolled lamb leg seam side down on a shallow baking pan. Insert a meat thermometer in the thickest portion of the meat; roast uncovered at 325° until thermometer registers 130°. If you prefer more well done meat, roast it longer. Remove from oven to cool 5 minutes. Slice 1-inch thick and serve.

Wine recommendation: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot

black pepper

Directions:

If you have time to spare, put the cut eggplant in a colander, toss with lots of kosher salt, put the colander in a sink or bowl and weight the whole thing for an hour. This will leach some of the excess, slightly bitter liquid out of the eggplant. If not, don’t worry, it is fine as is.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, fry the eggplant, onion, and rosemary in the canola oil, tossing occasionally. The eggplant will absorb all of the oil. Don’t give it any more. It is greedy and you have to show it who is boss. If you didn’t salt the eggplant in step 1, add 2 teaspoons of kosher salt now.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil.

When the eggplant is tender, push it to one side of the skillet and add the olive oil in the clear space. Put the garlic and chili flakes in the olive oil and stir-fry for a minute, then mix them in with eggplant, along with the olives.

Boil the pasta until just shy of al dente. Reserve one cup of the pasta water and then drain the pasta.

Return the pasta to the pot over medium heat, and add the eggplant mixture, scraping the pan to get all the good flavor. Toss well and add a bit of the pasta water to get a slight sauciness going. Taste and adjust the salt as needed.

Turn off the heat and mix in the tomatoes.

To serve, portion in to individual bowls and top with hand-torn basil and parsley, a grind of black pepper.