Poetry will happen later, as

Poetry will happen later, as I am not sure what to post. I have a couple of contenders. As for a recipe, I offer my eggplant parmesan recipe, because I am frequently astounded at how many people louse up this wonderful dish. I made it for the family last Saturday, and was reminded how pleasing it is to have a plate of rich, flavorful eggplant, fried in olive oil, sauced and baked with two kinds of cheese.

Melanzane parmeggiana is not a quick dish. It is not difficult, requiring no special skills (no eggwhites to be whipped by hand and folded into pastry cream, for instance), but it takes time and patience. It is one of those dishes that can be assembled a couple of days in advance, though.

A brief note on eggplant. A member of the nightshade family (related to tomatoes and potatoes), the eggplant’s foliage is toxic, while the fruit is completely edible. Because nightshade poisoning cuases pain, fever, and madness, the Romans called the plant the mal insana, hence the Italian name melanzane. The French term, aubergine, comes from the Arabic. The peculiar term "eggplant" comes from the resemblance of the white skinned variety to a goose egg. In England you may encounter the term Aubergine. I have not encountered it in person, but I have in literature, so it could have been a literary affectation, or an archaism. I hear that the English have even learned how to cook eggplant these days.

One of the unfortunate characteristics of the eggplant is that as the fruit ages, it gets bitter. I think that when people say, "I don’t like eggplant" they have had a bitter, old eggplant. There is a cure for this bitterness, though. When the eggplant is sliced, sprinkle salt on the cut sides, and allow it to sit for at least 20 minutes. Then, when you are ready to use it, wipe the moisture off with paper towels. The slices will then be seasoned and will not be bitter. For this recipe, you will want to make the slices very thin (use a deli-slicer, if you have one). This is actually one of the secrets to a good melanzane parmeggiana, one I learned from eating it at Trattoria Mama Tina in San Francisco (which has been gone for years): the thinner the slices the better.

[For other eggplant recipes you can simply slice the eggplant lengthwise, score the cut sides, and sprinkle with salt. You will have to wait 40 minutes, but it should work just as well as on slices]

The sauce is important, as it must be a little more acidic than a usual red sauce. I am offering this meatless version, but three ounces of finely chopped pancetta are a great addition. It is optional, however.

A good sauce begins with carrot, celery and either onion or shallot. Start by finely dicing a large carrot, a large stalk of celery and a medium onion (or the equivalent amount of shallot). Put a scant handful of dried porcini mushrooms in a bowl and cover with boiling water. In a (preferably cast iron) sauté pan, heat up two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over medium-low heat. If you are using pancetta, add it now and gently fry. Add the onion, fry for a minute or two and add the celery and carrot. Fry until highly aromatic (anyone even vaguely approaching your kitchen should get hungry). Add a pinch of fresh, finely chopped thyme leaves, a can of crushed tomatoes (I actually prefer Pomí in the cardboard cartons from Italy. When I worked in a food lab, we did a taste test with many different brands and Pomí was our first choice, hands down. If you cannot get Pomí, try 6 in 1 from Escalon, California, or Trader Joe’s crushed tomatoes), a bay leaf, a cup of strong, dry red wine (you can let your taste direct you. I typically use inexpensive but good wines, like a Vestini Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. They can be fruity or not, but should not be too heavy on the tannins, although you can correct for that), and the strained juice from the mushrooms (reserve the mushrooms, rinse them, chop them, and add them in, too). Let the sauce simmer, adding water or wine to keep it moist. As it gets close to assembly time, add sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, and a dash of balsamic vinegar. Taste. It should be fairly tart, but not so tart that it hurts!

Wipe the extracted moisture from the eggplant slices, and fry in extra virgin olive oil (you can thin with some peanut oil if you are trying to cut costs). You should not have so many that they cannot be in one single layer with some maneuvering room around them. Make sure that the oil stays hot, but does not smoke. Add oil as needed (eggplant soak it up). Do not let the slices burn, but they should turn golden brown with brown spots. Remove them from the oil, and let them drain on paper towels.

When the slices of eggplant are fried, you are ready for assembly. First, put a light coating of sauce at the bottom of your baking dish. Then put down a layer of eggplant slices. Put a thin layer of sauce over that, followed by a layer of freshly grated WHOLE MILK mozzarella. That skim-milk stuff will not do! Then put a layer of freshly grated Reggiano Parmesan (accept no substitutions – it MUST be the real thing from Italy. Romano will not do. If you have to cut costs use Argentinean Reggianito, but it is better that you skip on something else and use the real KING OF ALL CHEESES). Crack some pepper over it, and grace it with another thin layer of sauce. Continue, building layers in this way until you are out of eggplant. Make sure that the top layer is cheese! Put the dish in a preheated 375 degree oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and browning.

Serve with a mixed green salad (or just radicchio, arugula, and dandelion greens), lightly dressed, a sweet French baguette (in the Bay Area ACME is the way to go), red wine (cabernet if it is cold outside, a lighter Tuscan red if it is warm), and San Pelligrino sparkling mineral water. Remember to say Grace, because God is very merciful to allow us to eat Italian food, unworthy though we may be! We don’t want to be ingrates.

For music recommendations to go with this meal, well, I will post those later.

Posted by erik at March 27, 2003 2:55 PM | TrackBack