Eggplant Salad

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One of my favorite vegetables is eggplant (available all year).  So simple to prepare and a delicious side or meal.

I like to grill eggplant with a drizzle of olive oil and fresh mint.  In this recipe, I cubed one eggplant (leaving the skin) and grilled in the oven (10-15 minutes), until tender.

In a bowl, add some chopped fresh basil, pitted kalamata olives (1/2 cup), 1/2 cup of julienne sun dried tomatoes.  Add a pinch of red chili flakes (optional), drizzle extra virgin olive oil (or 3 tbsp.).  Squeeze a fresh lemon and rind 1tbsp. of lemon.

Mix and ready to serve!  A perfect side for your favorite grilled fish, chicken or meat.  Adding goat cheese for a vegetarian meal is also delicious!

a presto,

maria

 

Ancient Calabrese Secret....Melanzane Sott'Olio

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Brava! My first jar of Melanzane Sott’Olio (Pickled Eggplant). It is not an easy task when unwritten family recipes end up in a game of charades+pictionary and a series of made up words. Here’s an example of a made up word: frip e frappi – it gets scary when you know exactly what they are referring to. I started writing down all of these ancient Calabrese secrets before they become extinct like the dialect!

But seriously, there are a few different recipes to pickled eggplant. Some do not boil the eggplant whereas others will marinate with white vinegar/water. Others will cut the eggplant in strips or rounds – my family refers the strips to the same size of fringi friti (french fries).

Ingredients:

4 large eggplants
2 tablespoons salt
1 cup white vinegar
2 garlic cloves, chopped
a few pinches of red chili flakes
2 tbsp. fresh mint chopped (optional)
2 cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil or enough to heavily coat

Preparation:

Peel eggplant, cut in half and slice into finger length pieces approximately 1/4″ thick (fringi friti). Place in a large bowl, add salt and stir thoroughly.

Boil a large pot of salted water and add vinegar. Add the eggplant when the pot is boiling for approximately in ten seconds “frip e frappi” turn them over for another ten seconds.

Drain the eggplant in collander. Shock them by adding cold water to stop cooking. Let stand for about two hours.

Squeeze and wring out all excess water from the eggplant using hands. Add the eggplant in the bowl and place a plate with a weight (I wrapped a brick in a towel) and placed on the plate. It helps to get any excess water removed. Check it periodically within a 24 hour period. Remove excess water.

Add the strained-drained eggplant to another bowl. Add olive oil, chopped garlic, oregano, red chili flakes and chopped mint (optional). Taste and add salt, if necessary (it should be a little salty). Place in jars and cover with additional olive oil. Close jars tightly. Store for 2 weeks before serving.

This is great for antipasti, sandwiches or with crusty bread. Anything goes …. whatever you like. Growing up, we used to eat melazane sott’olio served with cured salciccia, cheese and tomato salad. Don’t forget: A nice glass of red wine !

a presto,

Maria

Mafaldini with Eggplant and Zuccini

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My friend Elena in Rome prepared this pasta dish and it was so delicious. Only in Rome can you find uniuqe pasta shapes (and yes, use your imagination) and they already thought of it! I couldn’t find this pasta shape but it’s a short version of the malfalde, rectangular size double side-curled.

This is the perfect time of year to use your local vegetables and add to your light tomatoe sauce to bring out of the fresh flavours. Elena added lightly sauteed cubed eggplant and thinly sliced zuccini.

Simple, fresh and delicious!

“Stairway to Heavenly” Eggplant!

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How can you tell I’m a fan of eggplant or Led Zepplin? I now made eggplant two days in row. It reminds me of a Seinfeld episode when Steinbrenner had an obsession for eggplant calzones! I didn’t make calzone’s but I made a delicious eggplant parmigiana with a red chili-roasted garlic-caper twist!
2 large Eggplant
1 fresh mozzarella, sliced (10-12 slices)
2 cups of tomotoe sauce or 16 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
3 heads of garlic
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 tablespoon capers
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 teaspoon pesto, optional
Preheat the oven at 350 F
Heat a grill pan or a grill to medium high. Meanwhile, cut the eggplant (leave skin and seeds) lengthwise (cut 1/4 inch thick). Each eggplant should yield approx. 6 slices. Salt and pepper (each side) immediately to avoid the sensitive fresh to turn brown.
Spray the grill with a vegetable spray or brush the grill with vegetable oil. Add the slices to the grill pan and turn each side after 5 minutes, total cooking 10 minutes.
Heat the tomatoe sauce in a small pot over low. Optional: add pesto. Tip: I keep a container in my freezer and will scoop 1-2 tsp. and add directly to the pot. I didn’t have fresh basil to add to the sauce and thought a little pesto would give it a touch!
Layer a 9-by-13 baking pan with 1/4 cup of tomatoe sauce. Add eggplant and top with mozzarella, capers, tomoatoe sauce, and parmigiano cheese. Repeat one more layer.
Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from over and let it set for 10 minutes. Top with the roasted garlic (don’t forget to drizzle the oils from the garlic) and ready to serve! The sweetness of the garlic plus the heat of chili and saltiness of the capers created the perfect ‘stairway to heaven’ly Eggplant!
Roasted Garlic:
Peal a few layers of the garlic bulb skin, making sure that the bulb is intact. With a knife, cut off 1/4 of the top of the clove, explosing the individual cloves of garlic. Place the garlic heads in a double layer of foil wrap and create a little dish (no mess remember). Drizzle each garlic head with olive oil and season with a litle salt and red chili flakes. Bake for approx. 20 minutes (next to the parmigiano!) or until the garlic are softened and golden. Remove from oven and set aside for 15 minutes.

roasted garlic

Tip: I wrapped six individual pieces for freezing. It will be perfect when I get my Steinbrenner cravings!

ps – I had a piece for breakfast with a poached egg on top!
enjoy,
maria

The Unpretentious Eggplant

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Eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables and one that I never tire!
They were on sale at the local fruit stand and bought four large eggplants. Tonight, I needed to be creative …… working with two ingredients: eggplant + garlic.
preheat oven at 450 degrees
2 eggplant
3 garlic heads
1/4 tsp. red chili flakes
1/4 tsp. dry oregano
Sea salt
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 clove fresh garlic chopped
Cut the eggplant (leave skin and seeds) lengthwise (cut 1/4 inch thick). Each eggplant should yield approx. 6 slices. Either spray the baking pan with a vegetable spray or drizzle the pan with olive oil and 2 teaspoon of salt. Then layer the eggplant and bake for 10-12 minutes on each side.
Roasted Garlic:
Peal a few layers of the garlic bulb skin, making sure that the bulb is intact. With a knife, cut off 1/4 of the top of the clove, explosing the individual cloves of garlic. Place the garlic head in a baking dish or cut a double layer of foil wrap and create a little dish (no mess remember). Drizzle each garlic head with olive oil and season with a litle sea salt. Bake for approx. 20 minutes or until the garlic are softened and golden. Remove from oven and set aside for 15 minutes.

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In a bowl, squeeze the roasted garlic and give it a little squeeze to let all of the oils and juices come out! Slice the eggplant in cubes and slices and add to the bowl. Add the red chili flakes, oregano, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, and sea salt to taste.
I served the eggplant with grilled chicken. It was light and flavorful. The flavors of the roasted garlic and fresh garlic marinated in the eggplant was a nice combination. See how we stretched two ingredients……
Leftover tips: add the eggplant to your favorite tomatoe sauce and top over your favorite pasta!