Archive for the ‘food’ Category
What’s Cooking Wednesday: Eggplant Balls
Yes, I said eggplant balls.
Think of these as . . . meatballs without the meat. Vegetarian meatballs? Aubergine croquettes? Balls o’ eggplant? Polpette di melanzane?
Whatever you choose to call them, I call them fabulous and this week’s What’s Cooking Wednesday recipe.
Yesterday was market day, which, ever since I got back from Sicily and a fabulous plate of Pasta alla Norma, has meant a handful of eggplants coming home with me.
I love eggplant balls without any kind of sauce, but you could certainly use a basic tomato sauce as a dip (such as this dipping sauce for fried mozzarella) or even something creamy like perhaps you’d use (although I don’t) for fried zucchini.
Also if you want to make them a little fancier, shape them wider and flatter instead of in balls. Either way these are *delicious* and also a great way to hide eggplant in something tasty.
Eggplant balls
(Polpette di melanzane)
[makes about 18 balls]
- 1 medium eggplant
- 1 1/4 cup breadcrumbs (put aside 1/4 cup for rolling before frying)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano/Grana Padano cheese
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil and/or parsley, chopped
- 1 egg
- salt to taste
- olive oil for frying
1. Put pot of water on high heat. When water reaches a boil, turn down the heat a bit, cut eggplants in half (and then in half again if you’re using the smaller, fatter eggplants like I do), leaving the skins on, sprinkle a good bit of salt into the water, and then add the eggplant. Let simmer for about 20 minutes or until they are tender.
2. Remove eggplant, drain, and pat dry, letting them cool before chopping them into small cubes, about 1/4 inch in size.
3. Put eggplant in large mixing bowl and add bread crumbs, garlic, cheese, parsley, basil, egg, and salt and mix well. If the mixture is too moist, add more bread crumbs.
4. Shape into balls and then roll balls in breadcrumbs.
5. Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium/high heat. When oil is hot, add eggplant balls one at a time without crowding them. Turn them often with a wooden spoon to make sure all sides get brown, which should take anywhere from 3-6 minutes.
Buon appetito!
what’s cooking wednesday: calabrian prickly zucchini
I hope you don’t mind, but we’re taking a break from Sicily to come back to Calabria for a moment.
Today’s What’s Cooking Wednesday recipe probably isn’t one you’re going to rush out and try, but I couldn’t let another week go by without writing about:
Prickly zucchini
Actually I didn’t even know that would be an acceptable name in English for them, but it was my guess, so that’s what I typed into Google, and found a post by Rowena at Rubber Slippers in Italy (Great blog! Go read it!) entitled: Prickly Zucchini from Calabria.
Bingo!
I asked around a bit here, and no one even knows the name of these spiny little things in Italian; in Calabrese they are “cucuzze spinusi” where cucuzze is a general name for zucchini/pumpkins and spinosi (spinusi in Calabrese) means spiny or prickly.
And because of Rowena’s commenters, I learned that our cucuzze spinusi are better-known as chayote, popular in many parts of the world, particularly Mexico. Also, Wikipedia tells me that the Italian name is zucca centeneria, but I’ll stick with cucuzze spinusi since no one around these parts would know what I’m talking about otherwise.
That same Wikipedia page gives some serving suggestions, which are basically all the things you’d do with un-prickly zucchini (yes, I was tempted to write “prickless”), but I’m going to share the way everyone eats them here–this according to a very informal survey at the local grocery store.
Fried Prickly Zucchini
Prickly zucchini
Flour
Salt
Olive oil for frying
So you’re probably wondering how to get the spines off.
First, these are real spines, not like the baby ones that prickly pears have. So first trim off the spines with a sharp knife and then peel it “come la mela” (like an apple) as P says.
Slice the zucchini to your desired thickness, discarding the innards along the way.
Mix a bit of salt with flour in a shallow bowl, and get dredging.
Fry them up until they’re a light golden brown (P left the ones in the photo in the oil *a tad* too long but they were still delicious), and you can taste your very first fried prickly zucchini.
Buon appetito!
“We Took the Cannoli”: Trip to Messina, Savoca, Tindari, and Palermo, Sicily
I’d love to give you a great recipe for today’s What’s Cooking Wednesday, but although my traveling buddy Cherrye and I are physically back from our Sicilian adventure, my mind, heart, and stomach are still in Palermo:
We took the cannoli. Get it?
And in case you wondered, no, you have not eaten cannoli until you’ve had cannoli in Sicily. They shouldn’t even be allowed to be called cannoli anywhere else. Seriously.
More details soon.
carrabba’s italian grill’s “profess your love” contest: win a trip to vegas!
OK Italian food lovers (and legal U.S. residents), here’s your chance to show just how deeply your passion flows and possibly win a trip to Las Vegas in the process.
That’s right! I said Vegas!
Carrabba’s Italian Grill recently announced the “Profess Your Love” contest in which Italian food lovers can submit a short love note to their favorite food or dish, expressing how it has made time with friends and family more special for a chance to win a variety of prizes, including a trip to Las Vegas.
One grand prize winner to receive the “Ultimate Love Escape” including:
• Airfare for two to Las Vegas
• A romantic dinner for two at Carrabba’s
• Tickets to The Beatles LOVE Show by Cirque du Soleil
• A two-night stay at The Venetian and private gondola ride
Nine runners up will receive dinner for four at Carrabba’s, an apron, and signed cookbook.
Entries can be submitted online here until March 31, 2008.
See official contest rules here.
Now Profess Your Love–and in bocca al lupo!
P.S. And although I’ve mentioned wanting to go to Vegas, if you win, I really won’t expect an invite. Really. Enjoy yourself. I’ll be fine. I’ll just go to the real Venice to spite you.
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[tags]Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Profess Your Love, Profess Your Love contest, contests, Las Vegas, Ultimate Love Escape[/tags]
What’s Cooking Wednesday: Pasta with Tuna and Lemon
Ever since I posted a recipe for Rigatoni with Tuna and Christine mentioned doing that sauce without the tomatoes, I’ve been wanting to try this “in bianco.” P finally gave the nod the other day, and boy do I love the results.
This is a super-fast dish (and easy easy easy), so you’ll want to put on the water to boil for the pasta before you even start cutting anything up. I did this with penne, P’s favorite short pasta, but you could do this with pretty much any kind of pasta and it would work just fine.
I’m going to try it with linguine next, in fact, since as I was eating this I realized it’s kind of a Poor Man’s Linguine with Clams.
Pasta with Tuna & Lemon
- 2 small cans of tuna packed in olive oil
- 1 small red onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 peperoncino, chopped
- fresh chopped parsley (save some for garnish)
- splash of white wine
- lemon juice (I used half a lemon)
- salt to taste
In pan, heat olive oil drained from tuna cans over medium heat. If your tuna isn’t packed in olive oil, use two tablespoons or so of the good stuff.
Add onions and garlic and sauté until translucent without burning.
Mix in tuna, parsley, and peperoncino. Let cook for a few minutes, then add the splash of white wine and let it cook off.
Add a small ladle-full of pasta water, squeeze the lemon juice into the mixture, and leave pan on the heat just long enough for the flavors to mingle. Add salt to taste.
Toss with pasta of your choice.
Told you it was easy.
Buon appetito!
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[tags]tuna, pasta, lemon, tuna with lemon, tuna recipes, pasta with tuna, what’s cooking wednesday, recipes[/tags]
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
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