When the eggplants are cooked, pile them into a large bowl. Add the vinegar, ½ teaspoon salt, and lots of twists of pepper and toss to distribute all the seasonings. Add the tomatoes, scallions, croutons, and herb leaves and toss gently. Add ½ cup olive oil and toss. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Let the dish sit for a few minutes so the tomato juices soak into the croutons and serve at room temperature.
At the market Keep an eye out for the numerous varieties of Asian eggplants, many of which are about the size of small tomatoes or skinny cucumbers, with skins ranging from purple to green, striped, red, orange, and white. While the skin color will fade with cooking, using a variety of shapes makes a dish attractive.
Rigatoni and Eggplant alla Norma
The traditional Sicilian dish pasta alla Norma was named after a tragic character in an opera, but I like to think of Norma as an Italian grandmother who loves being in the kitchen. She’s the type of cook who can turn simple ingredients into something marvelous, like this quick dish.
» Serves 2
1 medium globe eggplant (about ¾ pound), cut into ½-inch-thick rounds, each cut across into ½-inch-wide strips
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
½ pound Italian sausage (mild or hot), bulk or with casings removed
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved if large
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried
½ teaspoon dried chile flakes
8 ounces rigatoni
½ cup finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese
½ cup crumbled ricotta salata cheese
Put the eggplant strips in a colander and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Leave for at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours to draw out the excess moisture. When it’s time to cook them, blot off the moisture and excess salt from the surface with a paper towel and give them a gentle squeeze to really wring out the water.
Heat a glug of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic. Cook slowly to toast the garlic so it’s very soft, fragrant, and nicely golden brown—but not burnt—about 5 minutes.
Shape the sausage into 3 patties. Add the sausage to the pan and cook, flipping a few times, until gently browned on the outside and almost cooked on the inside, about 5 minutes total. Break up the sausage into bite-size chunks. Scoop the sausage out of the pan and set aside.
If the pan looks slightly dry, add another couple of tablespoons of olive oil, bring the heat up to medium-high, and add the eggplant in a single layer (cook it in batches if necessary). Cook the eggplant, turning the strips as they become browned on each side, until they’re fairly tender and nicely colored all over, 6 to 8 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, oregano, and chile flakes and season with salt and a generous dose of black pepper. Cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan, until the tomatoes break down a bit and the whole mess gets nicely juicy and saucy, another 6 to 8 minutes. Return the sausage to the pan.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt until it tastes like the sea. Add the rigatoni and cook until al dente (1 minute shy of the time listed on the package). With a ladle or a measuring cup, scoop out about ½ cup of the pasta cooking water.
Drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the eggplant. Stir and cook for another minute or two so the pasta absorbs the flavors. Add the pecorino and toss. Taste and adjust with more salt, black pepper, or chile flakes, along with a few spoonfuls of the pasta water if needed to make the sauce cling to the pasta.
Pile into bowls, top with the ricotta salata, and finish with a drizzle of olive oil.
Braised Eggplant and Lamb with Yogurt and Spiced Green Sauce
I use lamb shoulder in this dish because the flavor is rich and the cut contains a lot of connective tissue, which melts into a fork-tender texture. Sometimes lamb shoulder is hard to find in one piece, but you can use shoulder chops and just cut the meat into chunks, provided the chops aren’t too thin. While the dish is cooking, make a batch of fresh flatbreads; you can serve the stew folded up in the bread—like the best gyro you’ve ever had. Or serve it with a big bowl of couscous and a tomato salad, perfect for a late-summer meal.
» Serves 4 to 6
Extra-virgin olive oil
2½ pounds lamb shoulder, cut into 1½-inch chunks
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1 medium onion (about 8 ounces), finely chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground coriander
¾ teaspoon dried chile flakes
1 bay leaf
2 pounds firm eggplant, preferably a slender variety with few seeds, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
4 cups Israeli couscous, or 4 Slightly Tangy Flatbreads, for serving
1 cup plain whole-milk or low-fat yogurt (not Greek)
¾ cup Spiced Green Sauce
Heat a glug of olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven (the pan needs to be large enough to eventually hold all the ingredients) over medium-high heat. Pat the lamb chunks dry with a paper towel and then add half of them to the pan. (It’s best to do this in batches because often lamb
exudes a lot of water, which would take too long to evaporate if you had the full quantity in the pan at once.) Season generously with salt and black pepper and sauté the lamb until it’s nicely browned on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes. Scoop the lamb out of the pan and set aside and repeat with the rest.
Reduce the heat to low and add a bit more oil. Add the garlic and cook gently for 2 to 3 minutes to soften and very lightly toast the garlic. Add the onion, season lightly with salt, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring and scraping the pan, until the onion is fragrant and soft and lightly golden, but not browned, 4 to 5 minutes.
Add the cumin, allspice, cinnamon, coriander, chile flakes, and bay leaf. Cook, stirring and scraping the pan so the spices get distributed and lightly toasted but don’t burn, about 1 minute.
Return all the lamb chunks and any accumulated juices to the pan and add just enough water to barely cover the lamb but not to drown it (about 1½ cups). Bring to a simmer, adjust the heat to a low simmer, cover, and cook until the lamb is approaching tenderness, yet still resists a bit when you poke it with a knife. Depending on your lamb, this could take 45 minutes or as long as 2 hours, so start testing early.
Add the eggplant to the lamb and fold to distribute. If the stew looks dry, add another ¼ cup water. Cover again and simmer everything until the lamb and eggplant are fully tender, 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the eggplant.
Take a taste of the lamb and the eggplant, along with some of the braising liquid, and adjust with more salt, black pepper, or chile flakes if you like. If it’s very liquidy or not concentrated enough in flavor, you can scoop out the lamb and eggplant and simmer the braising liquid for a few more minutes to reduce and concentrate it.
Serve the stew on couscous or on a piece of flatbread. Top with a generous spoonful of the yogurt and top that with the spiced green sauce.
Preserved Eggplant
Not your typical pickle, preserved eggplant is tangy but also lush from being preserved in olive oil as well as vinegar. Once you taste it, you’ll find so many uses for this versatile condiment. Make sure you keep this refrigerated.
» Makes about 1 quart
1 pound firm eggplant, preferably Asian, peeled
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup red wine vinegar
6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
3 sprigs rosemary
Extra-virgin olive oil
You’ll need a couple of widemouthed pint-size canning jars and lids. Wash
thoroughly and then sterilize in boiling water.
Whether you peel the eggplant is up to you and the tenderness of the slices. You can peel in stripes if you like. If your eggplant is slender, cut it into long halves or quarters. If your eggplant is round, cut it into thick coins or chunks. The shape is not critical.
Toss the eggplant with 2 teaspoons salt and tumble into a colander. Let sit for at least 2 hours and up to 8 if possible (if more than 2 hours, put it in the refrigerator) to pull out excess water.
Blot the eggplant pieces with paper towels to remove the surface moisture and excess salt. Put the eggplant back in the colander and press to squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Lay a double layer of plastic wrap over the eggplant and arrange some heavy cans or jars on top to apply more weight and press more water from the eggplant. Press for a couple of hours.
Blot the eggplant dry and put it in a bowl. Add the vinegar and toss to distribute. Pile the eggplant into the canning jars, layering in the garlic and tucking the rosemary sprigs upright into the jars.
Cover the eggplant with olive oil, tapping the jars to be sure the oil finds its way into the crevices. Seal the jars and keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. Let the preserves rest for at least 1 week before you serve them.
MORE WAYS:
Roll up savory meatballs: Finely chop the eggplant and fold into a meatball mixture of ground lamb, pine nuts, raisins, breadcrumbs, and crumbled feta.
Pair with grilled meats: Slice or dice the eggplant, fold it into the Classic Salsa Verde or the pickle version, and spoon over slices of grilled flank steak, lamb chops, or grilled chicken thighs.
Make a simple but spectacular pasta: Chop the eggplant and toss with cooked pasta, fresh oregano, chile flakes, ricotta salata, and loads of extra-virgin olive oil.
Sweet Peppers and Chiles
With a range of hues like a box of crayons, sweet peppers are one of the most vivid vegetables in the garden. Midnight black, chocolate brown, yellow, orange, and lipstick red, their colors are part of their appeal. And so is their flesh—crunchy when raw, and silky when roasted, peppers and chiles are just plain succulent.
Explore the sweet and the heat. Have some fun and sample whatever peppers look good. I find the biggest differences among sweet peppers are in the thickness and juiciness of the flesh rather than the flavors. Your basic bell pepper is predictably good, with a nice large cavity that’s perfect for stuffing. When it comes to sweet pepper varieties, however, I stay away from green. They are immature and haven’t developed enough sugars to balance out the harsher flavor compounds. I love green chiles but not green bell peppers.
Be ready to take a chance. When you get into hot chile territory, flavor and heat levels vary unpredictably. The variety will dictate the heat level to a degree, but once the plant is in the soil, it’s the boss, with most of the chiles moderately spicy, but with a few incendiary rogues. Growing conditions affect heat level, too, with hotter and drier weather generally meaning hotter chiles.
My favorite sweet pepper varieties include Lipstick and pimiento, which are thick-walled and meaty, and the scrawnier but ultrasweet Jimmy Nardello. On the chile side, a good Anaheim offers chile flavor without much heat, and poblanos are gorgeous, glossy, and British racing green, with a heat level that can range—unpredictably—from mild to searing. Their large cavity also makes them good stuffers.
Sweet peppers and chiles last several days in the fridge; and once you roast and peel them, they can last another 4 to 5 days covered in a bit of olive oil and kept cold.
Roast and peel. Sweet peppers and chiles are at their best when roasted and peeled. At West Coast and New Mexican farmers’ markets in the fall, you’ll see vendors roasting the chiles in big gas-fired rotating drums, which is so cool to see and smell, but at home, the broiler or an outdoor grill is your best bet: Heat the broiler or grill. Arrange peppers on a baking sheet and broil, turning occasionally, until the skins are blackened all over, 10 to 12 minutes. If using a grill, position the peppers on the grates directly over the flame. Transfer to a large bowl, cover with a kitchen towel, and let them sit about 15 minutes to steam and cool. This will allow the flesh to fully soften and the skins to be peeled off easily.
Once the peppers are cool, gently pull on the stem to release the core and most of the seeds and discard. Work in or over a bowl so that you capture all the sweet-smoky juices from the pepper. Peel or rub off the charred skin; it’s okay if a bit of skin still clings. Now open up the flesh and scrape out any remaining seeds. To tame the heat of a hot chile, slice out the ribs as well, which is where much of the heat resides.
Roasted Pepper Panzanella
A perfect lunch to eat outside in August, this bread salad will be at its peak of flavor and texture when the bread has had time to drink up some of the pepper juices, oil, and vinegar, but not so much time that the bread is totally mushy. To bring it on a picnic or to a potluck, pack up the torn croutons and mozzarella separately and toss them in at the end. Not eating meat? Leave out the salami.
» Serves 4
4 large red or orange bell peppers or other sweet, thick-fleshed peppers, such as pimiento (about 2 pounds)
½ small red onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
¼ teaspoon dried chile flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon savory (or more oregano)
¼ cup lightly packed mint leaves
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 ounces thinly sliced spicy salami (such as soppressata), roughly chopped
2 recipes Torn Croutons
4 ounces fresh mozzarella, preferably buffalo, torn into pieces
Heat the broiler.
Arrange the whole peppers on a baking sheet and broil them, turning occasionally, until the skins are blackened in spots and blistered all over, 10 to 12 minutes. (If you have another method for doing this, such as charring the peppers on the grill, feel free to use it.) Transfer the peppers to a large bowl, cover with a kitchen towel, and let them sit for about 15 minutes to steam. This will allow the flesh to fully soften and the skins to be peeled off easily.
Reduce the oven temperature to 400°F.
When the peppers are cool enough to handle, peel and seed them and then cut them into 1-inch-wide strips. Toss the peppers in a large bowl with the onion, garlic, vinegar, chile flakes, 1 teaspoon salt, several twists of black pepper, the oregano, the savory, and half the mint. Add ¼ cup olive oil, toss again, and set aside.
Add the salami and croutons to the large bowl and toss to mix. Let the salad rest for at least 15 minutes and up to 30; you want the juices from the peppers to soak into the bread. Arrange the salad on a platter and distribute the mozzarella on top. Shower with the remaining mint. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.
In the field That red chile isn’t a separate variety; it’s simply the green chile’s older sister. All fresh chiles, sweet or hot, start out green. As they mature, they develop their final color, usually red, but you’ll find yellow, orange, purple, and even chocolate brown cultivars. Don’t get too excited, though—as you cook the purple or brown ones, the color fades to greenish.
Peperonata
Peperonata is a staple in my home pantry and it should be one in yours, too. If only we had had this to slather on all of the grilled sausages during my Wisconsin childhood. In my version, I add a variety of cherry tomatoes near the end of the cooking process. The late addition brightens everything up and adds a nice texture. Plus, they look beautiful.
This recipe makes a big batch because you can serve peperonata on everything. In its simplest form, pile it on some grilled bread and go to town.
» Makes about 8 cups
4 pounds peppers, mostly sweet but a few hot are nice, too (use
a mix of colors and varieties, if possible)
Extra-virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
3 bunches scallions, trimmed (including ½ inch off the green tops), cut into 1-inch lengths
½ teaspoon dried chile flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds tomatoes (about half regular tomatoes, cut into chunks, and half cherry tomatoes)
1 tablespoon sherry, balsamic, or red wine vinegar
6 big sprigs fresh thyme or oregano, or a mix
Core and seed all the peppers. Cut them into slices, some thick and some thin, for the best texture. Set aside.
Heat ½ cup olive oil in a large pot such as a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook slowly to toast so it’s very soft, fragrant, and nicely golden brown—but not burnt—about 5 minutes.
Dump in all the peppers, half the scallions, and the chile flakes and season generously with salt and black pepper. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the peppers start to relax a bit, about 5 minutes. Add half the tomatoes (use the cut-up larger tomatoes here).
Cook and stir until the peppers and tomatoes get very soft, about 30 minutes. The tomato pulp should become a nicely thick sauce, and you should see the juices start to stick to the bottom and sides of the pan. Be sure to frequently scrape this up and down so that nothing burns and these delicious reduced juices get incorporated into the mix.
Six Seasons Page 22
