Sicilian Eggplant Caponata

4 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
Stalk or so of celery, chopped (optional)
Handful kalamata olives, chopped
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp capers
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 or 2 tbsp tomato paste
1 or 2 eggplant, peeled, cubed, dried
Salt, pepper to taste
Red pepper flakes, fresh basil and/or oregano to taste (optional)
Toasted pine nuts (optional)

Dry eggplant thoroughly by salting cubes, tossing, and letting drain in a colander for 30 minutes. Squeeze and press excess moisture out with paper towel.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and fry the dried eggplant cubes.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in another, non-reactive pan. Caramelize onions with celery for about 10 minutes over medium-high heat; add garlic in the last 1-2 minutes of caramelization. Add olives, capers, sugar and stir for another minute or so. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, and vinegar; stir over heat until thickened. Add fried eggplant, combine well. Season with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and fresh herbs. Top with toasted pine nuts.

Personal Note: Made this because Robert spied some eggplant at the grocery store and oohed and aahed; it was an impulse purchase (plus, it replaced the okra I wanted to make but isn't in season now for the fancy vegetable of the week). I have never made caponata before, but this looks and smells pretty good. I doubt it will be as delicious as the roasted eggplant and orzo dish I made last month, though...

This is an amalgam of the bevy of recipes I found scouring the internet, which explains why much of it is worded clumsily and has rough estimates for measures. It's interesting how wild the variations on this are...sometime I might try it with some anchovy, green pepper, or who knows what else. There's even a version with octopus!

I want to send it to my mom because she loves eggplant but dad hates it, so she never gets to eat it. People online claim caponata is a dish even people who dislike eggplant like. Here's hoping!

I don't really know how to eat this...it's sort of relish-y, but also like bruschetti topping. And it seems like it'd be tasty topping and stuffing a baked pasta dish, or maybe even on top of penne. Hmm...

Cube Steak Parmigiana

Ready in 1-2 hours
Difficulty 3/5
Serves/Makes 6

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/3 cup saltine crackers, finely crushed
1/2 teaspoon basil
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon oregano, divided
3 slices mozzarella cheese, halved
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
6 (4 ounce) cube steaks

Directions:
In three shallow bowls, combine flour, salt and pepper; beat egg and water; and combine parmesan, saltines and basil. Dip steaks in flour mixture and egg mixture, then roll in cheese mixture. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium high heat. Brown three steaks on both sides.

Remove to a greased 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Repeat with the remaining steaks, adding additional oil as needed. Bake, uncovered , at 375F for 25 minutes.

Drain any pan juices. Combine the tomato sauce, sugar, garlic and 1/4 teaspoon of the oregano. Pour over steaks. Bake 20 minutes longer. Place mozzarella cheese on steaks. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and remaining oregano. Return to the oven for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Personal Note: Made this tonight during Robert's band practice to get rid of the cube steaks in the fridge. I've never heard of this and have no idea if it will turn out any good, but it's something to do, right? And super easy, if a little fake...

Pasta with Butter, Sage, and Parmesan

Pasta with Butter, Sage, and Parmesan

If you eliminate the sage, kids will love this dish. (There are homes in Italy where pasta with butter and Parmesan is the equivalent of pabulum.) But most grown-ups prefer the sharper edge that sage provides. Like many others, this sauce can be prepared in the time it takes water to boil.

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
20 or 30 fresh sage leaves or about 1 tablespoon dried whole sage leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 pound cut pasta, such as ziti or penne, or long pasta, such as linguine or spaghetti
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the sage,salt, and pepper. Cook until the butter turns light brown, about 10 minutes.

3. Salt the boiling water and cook the pasta until it is tender but firm. Spoon 2 or 3 tablespoons of the pasta cooking water into a warm serving bowl. Drain the pasta and toss in the serving bowl with the butter, more pepper, and half the Parmesan. Pass the remaining Parmesan at the table.

Personal Note: If you make this with the dried sage, either cut back on the amount or use more butter and let it cook slowly for a bit longer...it will be bitter otherwise. You can use less bitter herbs anyway, if you have fresh ones on hand to get rid of--I've used rosemary, thyme, and basil and they all worked fine for me. It's important to lightly brown the butter--it'll give the non-sauce some dimension, a sort of nutty almost "sausage-y" flavor and aroma. Robert walked in when I made it thinking I was cooking up breakfast sausage! Some days I just want a bowl of buttery pasta with no complicated other flavors. It's like comfort food.

Pasta Puttanesca or Working Girl's Pasta

Pasta Puttanesca or Working Girl's Pasta

Jamie Oliver

This is a pasta dish that Gennaro Contaldo used to make for our staff dinners when we worked at the Neal Street Restaurant in Covent Garden in London. In Italian this is called "pasta puttanesca," which basically translates as "whore's pasta"! I wanted to know why, as I'd never heard of this before. Maybe it's because the dish was cooked very quickly, with no effort involved, or maybe it's something the local prostitutes used to eat at home--who knows?!

But this is the way my darling Gennaro taught me to make it. He comes from the Amalfi coast, where fresh tuna would have been available. If you can get hold of some, it will make the dish much more luxurious and an event to eat. But if you can't, then canned will do.

4 servings

Ingredients:
A handful of fresh basil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Extra virgin olive oil
Two 8-ounce tuna steaks, chopped into bite-size chunks, or 2 cans of good-quality tuna, drained
14 ounces penne or spaghetti
8 anchovy fillets
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 handfuls of soaked capers
A handful of black olives, pitted and roughly chopped
1 to 3 small dried chiles, crumbled to your taste, or 1 fresh red chile, deseeded and finely sliced (Personal note: When I don't have any, I use a liberal dose of red pepper flakes)
2 handfuls of really ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
Optional: a swig of white wine
A handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped


Smash the basil to a pulp with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the lemon zest and juice and 2 good lugs of extra virgin olive oil. Mix this up and either rub over your chopped-up fresh tuna or mix with your broken-up canned tuna and allow to marinate.

Get a large pan of salted boiling water on and cook the pasta according to the package instructions. As soon as you put the pasta on, put 3 or 4 good lugs of extra virgin olive oil into a large frying pan and put on the heat. As the pan starts to get warm, add your anchovy fillets and allow them to fry and melt. At this point add your garlic, capers, olives, and chile and stir around for a couple of minutes. If you have used fresh tuna, add it to the pan now with all of the marinating juices and sear it on both sides. When done, add the tomatoes and a little swig of white wine if you have some. If you have used canned tuna, add it to the pan at the same time as the tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then simmer for around 5 minutes, stirring regularly with a spoon, breaking the tuna up into smaller pieces. What you don't want to do is overcook the tuna so it goes tough. You want it to be soft and silky. Correct the seasoning carefully with salt and pepper.

The pasta should now be ready, so drain it in a colander, reserving some of the cooking liquid. Toss the hot pasta with the hot tuna sauce, add the parsley, and mix well. You may need a few more lugs of olive oil and a spoonful of cooking water to make the sauce nice and loose.

Spaghetti Carbonara

Spaghetti Carbonara

Show: Taste (1996 TV Food Network)
Yield: 4 servings

1/2 pound piece of pancetta
4 cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 large eggs
1/4 cup freshly grated Romano
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
a liberal grinding of pepper
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 pound cooked spaghetti, drained and hot

Cut a 1/2 pound piece of pancetta. Crush and peel the garlic up. Put the garlic in a small saute pan with the extra virgin olive oil and saute until it turns deep gold. Remove the garlic from the pan and put in the strips of pancetta. Cook them until they begin to crisp on the edges. Add the wine. Cook the wine down for 2 minutes.

Break the eggs into a pasta serving bowl, Beat them lightly with a fork. Then add the Romano, Parmigiano-Reggiano, pepper and parsley. Mix thoroughly.

Add drained, hot pasta to the bowl and toss rapidly to coat the strands well. Add the pancetta and wine. Toss again and serve immediately.

Personal Note: I also like this pasta dish a lot. I don't know that the following food folklore is true, but I've been told this dish originated during World War II when GIs were in Italy with their rations of eggs and bacon. They asked locals what they should do with it to make it tasty and apparently the answer was Pasta Carbonara. It's like breakfast pasta. Yum. And don't be afraid of the raw egg thing--as long as you've got the pasta you're adding to it very hot as well as the hot pancetta cooked in oil, and the egg has been beat sufficiently, the heat is enough to cook the egg just right. Again, yum.