Sally Maraventano's eggplant recipes

Rigatoni alla Norma

This dish was named in honor of the Sicilian composer Bellini, for his opera “Norma.” We were served Rigatoni alla Norma at La Battiata, a wonderful family-owned ristorante at the gates of the Piazza Armerina in Sicily. Hanging on a sign below the restaurant name was the phrase Cucina Casalinga, which means “homestyle cooking.” This delighted me because it is also the name my cooking school.

TOMATO SAUCE (CAN BE MADE AHEAD OF TIME)

¼ cup of olive oil

½ onion chopped

2 garlic gloves, minced

1 28-ounce can of crushed plum tomatoes or 1-1/2 lbs fresh, peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

4 basil leaves, torn

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and garlic, and sauté until translucent. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper and basil and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Sauce can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for six months.

PASTA AND EGGPLANT

2 eggplants, thinly sliced

salt

2 cups or more of olive oil or vegetable oil

1 pound of rigatoni pasta

1 cup of grated Ricotta Salata or 1 cup of freshly grated Romano cheese

1. Sprinkle the eggplant with salt, weigh it down with a heavy pan, and let it stand for 30 minutes in a colander. Drain and pat thoroughly dry.

2. Pour the oil into a large, deep, heavy skillet and deep-fry the eggplant until it is golden on both sides. Drain well on paper towels and set aside.

3. Cook the pasta in 6 quarts of boiling water, to which 2 tablespoons of salt has been added, until al dente (about 7 to 10 minutes). Drain, and toss with the Tomato Sauce. Top each serving with eggplant slices and some of the Ricotta Salata or Romano cheese. Pass additional grated cheese at the table.

Caponata

(Sicilian Eggplant Relish)

Caponata -- capunatina in Sicilian -- is a wonderful sweet and sour relish that my grandmother made every Sunday as part of the Antipasto course we ate before our dinner.

 

3 ripe, medium-sized eggplants (about 2-1/2 lbs)

salt (to sprinkle on eggplant)

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus 1/3 cup pure olive oil

2 large onions, coarsely chopped

4 stalks celery, coarsely chopped

1 12-ounce can of crushed tomatoes or tomato puree (or 3/4 lb. fresh, peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes)

3 fresh basil leaves, slivered

1 teaspoon of salt

½ teaspoon of pepper

¼ cup of capers, drained and rinsed

1 cup of small green olives, pitted and sliced

1-1/2 tablespoons of sugar, or more to taste

scant ¼ cup of red wine vinegar

1. Remove the stems from the eggplants and discard. Cut unpeeled eggplant into ½-inch cubes and salt liberally; drain in a colander with a heavy weight, such as a pot or a glass mixing bowl, on top for 1 hour to allow the bitter juices to drain off. Rinse off salt, squeeze well, and dry with absorbent paper. Set aside.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet; add onions and celery, and sauté covered for 5 to 8 minutes until slightly softened. Pour in tomatoes, add basil, salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add capers and olives and cook for 5 minutes longer. Set aside.

3. In another large skillet, sauté the eggplant in 1/3 cup of hot olive oil, adding more oil if necessary to prevent sticking (eggplant absorbs a lot of oil as it cooks). After 15 minutes, transfer the sautéed eggplant to the skillet with the onion-and-celery mixture, stirring until evenly mixed.

4. Sprinkle the mixture with sugar, pour vinegar over, and stir. Cover and simmer slowly over low heat for 10-15 minutes. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours, or up to three days. The flavor improves with time. Serve warm or cold as an antipasto, a salad, or a topping for crostini. Caponata may be frozen for up to three months.

Both recipes from 

Festa del Giardino

A harvest of recipes and family memories

by Sally Maraventano

http://cucinacasalinga.com/

Mary Kimblerlin's squash recipes

WINTER SQUASH PIE

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cup butternut squash, cheese squash or sugar pumpkin puree

2/3 cup packed brown sugar or maple syrup

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

½ teaspoon salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup whipping, light cream or half & half

1  9 inch pie shell, partially baked and cooled*

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients together and beat well.

Pour mixture into pie shell and bake for about 1hour or until the center of the pie is almost set.  Cover rim of the pastry with strips of aluminum foil if it becomes too brown

before pie is done.

Transfer pie to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.

*baked at 400 degrees F until almost done, not completely browned

N.B. Best to use glass pie dish 

DELICATA SQUASH with SHALLOTS and SHERRY*

1 large delicate squash (about 1 ¼ pounds)

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

¼ cup dry sherry

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 cup shallots, thinly sliced (2-3 large)

4 teaspoons fresh sage, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Peel the squash, leaving the green areas in the crevices.  Trim the ends, cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out and discard the seeds.  Slice each half crosswise ½ inch thick.

Over medium-high heat, melt 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil and 1 Tablespoon of the butter in a skillet..  Add the squash in a single layer and cook, without moving it, until the squash begins to brown, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat if the butter begins to burn. Flip and brown the other side. Transfer the squash to a baking dish and repeat this process until all of the squash is browned. Arrange all of the pieces of squash in the baking dish in a single layer. Sprinkle the squash with 2 Tablespoons of the sherry, salt and a few grinding of black pepper.

Over medium heat, add the remaining olive oil and butter to the skillet. Add the shallots and sprinkle them with a pinch of salt (1/8 teaspoon). Cook shallot, stirring frequently, until they turn a deep golden brown on the edges, about 3-5 minutes.  Do not burn them. 

Remove the skillet from the heat and immediately add the sage and the remaining 2 Tablespoons of sherry.  Gently stir the shallots and sherry together, scraping the browned bits on the bottom of the skillet. Sprinkle the shallots and sherry over the squash.

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake until the squash is tender, about 25-30 minutes. Serves 4.

*Original recipe from Fine Cooking Magazine, November 2008

 

N.B. Delicata squash’s skin is yellow or cream colored with dark green strips.  The skin is thin and edible.  Therefore, unlike butternut squash, it does not have a long shelf life. It usually lasts only two weeks at room temperature. Its taste resembles a combination of corn and lemon zest. Its favor intensifies when roasted or sautéed. This squash also can be roasted with root vegetables or steamed and then tossed with balsamic vinegar and toasted pine nuts.