Bucatini con Melanzane Spappolate -- Pasta in Chunky Eggplant Sauce

Our My Kitchen My World destination for the month of September is Italy and we are focusing on regional Italian cuisine.  I adore Italian foods and love learning more about the different regions of countries everywhere so I was very excited to give this a go.  I have a few regional Italian cookbooks and used the book, Rustico -- Regional Italian Country Cooking for this cooking quest. One recipe that immediately caught my eye was Bucatini con Melanzane Spappolate from the region of Calabria, right at the toe bottom of the boot of Italy...

I happened to have all of the ingredients on hand, including two lovely eggplants that my mom brought over from her garden. This was the first time I've ever had an eggplant sauce like this, with the eggplant essentially  mashed up -- spappolate is derived from spappolare which means to crush, mash, or pulp in Italian. This ended up being a delicious lunch that I wouldn't hesitate to make again, I think the sauce would be delicious with any pasta and also wonderful with spaghetti squash, which I plan to make it with next time.

Bucatini con Melanzane Spappolate 
Bucatini in Chunky Eggplant Sauce
adapted from Rustico -- Regional Italian Country Cooking by Micol Negrin

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped (I used roasted garlic cloves, smashed)
3/4 pounds eggplant, peel on, cut into 1/4 x 1/4 x 3-inch strips
2 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced (I used 1 pound of canned imported San Marzano tomatoes, and forgot to chop them, just ended up mashing them in a potato masher)
1 teaspoon minced oregano
12 basil leaves, torn
1 pound bucatini (long hollow spaghetti type noodles, also called perciatelli from what I've read)
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese


Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch saute pan over a medium flame. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds, then add the eggplant, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and the pepper.

Cook, stirring often, for 25 minutes, or until soft.

Crush the eggplant with a fork into a coarse puree while it is still in the pan, then add the tomatoes and oregano and cook 5 minutes more.

Stir in the basil and keep the sauce warm.

Meanwhile, bring 5 quarts of water to a boil. Add the bucatini and the remaining 2 tablespoons of salt and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. (Side note -- my pasta box said cooking time was 11 minutes for al dente, so be sure to taste test the pasta before you drain, you do not want it underdone, mine had to cook for about 12 minutes and was still plenty al dente!)  Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.

Toss the bucatini and sauce in a bowl.

Dilute with enough of the reserved cooking water to coat the bucatini and serve hot, dusted with the Pecorino.

If you are an eggplant / tomato / pasta fan, I bet you would enjoy this southern Italian dish too! Can't wait to browse through my cookbooks and try some more regional Italian cuisine!

Tuscan Baked Eggplant -- Melanzane alla Parmigiana

This dish is my contribution to I Heart Cooking Clubs February Potluck, and boy is it a yummy one! This recipe is from Tessa Kiros' cookbook Twelve featuring seasonal Tuscan cuisine. The photo in the book is very enticing and I've been wanting to make this dish since my first flip through of the book. I adore eggplant parmesan and this is pretty much the Tuscan version of that. I like it just about any way it is prepared, and if it on a menu while dining out, it is always my first pick.

Melanzine alla Parmigiana
Baked Eggplant with Tomato, Mozzarella, and Parmesan Cheese
Tessa Kiros - Twelve

3 medium eggplants / aubergines, cut into 1/8 inch thick slices
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
5 ripe tomatoes, skinned (I used about 10 smaller Roma tomatoes and did not skin then, just pureed the finished sauce with the immersion blender) or a 14 ounce can of peeled tomatoes, chopped
about 10 basil leaves, torn (this is where I was sad I didn't have my basil from my outdoor herb garden anymore and had to use dried, which was fine really, does anyone know if you can grow basil year round indoors?)
flour for dusting the eggplants
oil for frying
10 and 1/2 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/4 inch slices (I used shredded)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Recipe preface: Every Italian home cook has a slight variation of this classic dish.

Cut the eggplant slices and put them in a colander. Sprinkle with salt and leave for about 30 minutes to allow the bitter juices to drain away.


Preheat the oven to 350.

To make the tomato sauce, heat the two tablespoons of olive oil in a sauce pan. Add the garlic and as soon as you begin to smell the garlic, add the tomatoes and half of the basil. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the tomatoes have melted into a sauce. I then pureed the sauce with an immersion blender.

Rinse the eggplant slices and pat dry with paper towels. Lightly dust both sides with flour.


Heat enough oil to come up 1/2 inch up the side of a saucepan. I did this in my electric skillet, which is my favorite way to fry things lately. Heat the oil and fry the eggplants in batches until golden brown on both sides, add a little more oil if necessary. Doing this in the skillet meant about 3 batches, whereas if I had used a smaller fryer / pan it would have taken a lot longer, since the skillet has such a big surface area. Transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the oil. The thin fried eggplant slices were so yummy at this point!

Spoon a little of the tomato sauce into a square or round oven dish of roughly 12 inches. Wish I had a round dish, I ended up using an oblong pyrex dish that was probably a touch too big. Cover with a layer of eggplant slices.

Add a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce...

then a layer of the mozzarella cheese.

Add some basil. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Repeat to use up ingredients.

Put into hot oven and bake for 20 - 30 minutes or until the top is lightly golden and crusty.

Cool slightly before cutting into servings. Serve hot or at room temperature.

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This was so delicious, I think I could eat eggplant parmesan every day and never tire of it. If you are an eggplant parmesan fan I would definitely recommend giving this a try, even if you are on the fence about eggplant, this recipe might win you over. For me the main difference between this and most eggplant parmesan dishes I've made is that there is not breading, which at first I was a little skeptical about, but the flour dusting does its job and there is such a great eggplant flavor in this dish that I didn't even miss the usual bread crumb breading, which I must admit, I usually love :)

New Orleans Fried Eggplant Sticks

I made this delicious eggplant appetizer a while ago and have used this recipes many times since, these are so good! The batter and frying method also makes wonderful breaded eggplant slices to use with eggplant Parmesan type dishes. I found this one here at foodnetwork.com, thank you to Emeril for this wonderful recipe :)

New Orleans Fried Eggplant Sticks
Emeril Lagasse

6 cups vegetable oil -- for frying
1 large, long eggplant (about 2 pounds) -- I used two smaller ones
1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon Essence, recipe follows
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 cup powdered sugar

Heat the oil in a large, heavy saute pan to 360 degrees F. I used my large electric skillet for the frying, makes it easier since it has an automatic temperature control knob.

Peel the eggplant and cut in half lengthwise. Cut each half into 1/4-inch thick slices (like long French fries).

Toss the slices with 1 teaspoon Essence and the salt to coat evenly.

Season the flour with the remaining tablespoon of Essence. Beat the eggs and milk in a shallow bowl.

Lightly dredge the eggplant slices in the flour to coat, shaking off any excess. Dip the coated strips into the egg wash, then back into the flour. In batches, fry the eggplant strips in the hot oil until golden, turning with a long-handled spoon as they cook to brown evenly, about 2 minutes.

Remove the eggplant to a paper towel lined plate to let cool very briefly before serving, these are nice and crunchy at first, but do get soggy kind of quickly, from the eggplant I think.

Put the powdered sugar in a small decorative bowl for passing at the table.

Dip in powdered sugar as you eat.  I just lightly dusted them with the powdered sugar.

 

Emeril's Essence Seasoning Spice Blend

 

 

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container. Yield: about 2/3 cup

                                                ~~~~

I absolutely loved this recipe and it is now one of my favorite ways to prepare eggplant, I don't do it too often since they are fried, but they sure are yummy.  The seasoning blend does make these a touch spicy so I decrease it when making these for the kids, but I'm sure most adults would like the kick. It definitely has that "bam" factor :)  The powdered sugar was an interesting addition and if you like spicy savory sweet all combined, which I do, you will love it.  

I think these would be a great appetizer for a Cajun dinner -- but make sure you serve these hot right after they come out of the fryer because they do get soggy kind of quickly, that's just the nature of the eggplant in this recipe. If you give this a try I hope you like it, if you are an eggplant fan, I'm pretty sure you will!

Rigatoni with Tomato, Eggplant, and Ricotta

This delicious dish was my pick for I Heart Cooking Clubs theme of the week: Peasant Food.  Pasta is so inexpensive and easy to store in the pantry that it is always on hand at my house. Sometimes I go a little crazy buying fun shapes or fancy imported pastas, but for this dish I used good ole rigatoni that you can find at any supermarket; and, just maybe, right in your own pantry :)  

The kicker that really makes this dish "peasant food" is that the eggplant was free since it was from my garden!! Now, take the word garden lightly here, this was actually my first year planting any vegetables, and I just had a few plants in a small area next to my back porch.  The kids were excited to plant the vegetable plants and loved harvesting our teeny tiny crop.  Our very first garden consisted of one zucchini plant, one summer squash plant, two eggplant plants (only one of which produced), one acorn squash plant, and one jalapeno pepper plant -- that only produced one unedible gnarly little pepper.  Anyway, it was a fun experience, along with our first herb garden which we also planted this year, and we will probably try gardening again next spring.  On to the recipe...

Penne Rigatoni with Tomato, Eggplant, and Ricotta

Tessa Kiros -- Apples for Jam

1 small eggplant

salt and freshly ground pepper

5 tbsp olive oil

1 large garlic clove, peeled and squashed a bit

1- 14 ounce can tomatoes

3/4 of 1 - 16 ounce package of penne (I used rigatoni)

1/4 cup salted mature ricotta or finely grated parmesan cheese (I used 1/2 cup of regular ricotta, I can never find the hard ricotta, ricotta salata I believe it is called, and this is peasant food, right? so I used what was on hand even though it changed the recipe a little)

3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (thank you, herb garden!)

Cut the eggplant into slices about 1/4 inch thick and about 1 inch across. Toss them into a colander, sprinkle with a teaspoon of salt, and leave them for about 40 minutes to drain off any bitter juices.

Heat half the olive oil with the garlic clove in a smallish pan over medium low heat until you can just smell the garlic. Add the tomatoes and season with some salt and pepper. When it comes to a boil, lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, until it all melts into a sauce. Break up any bits of tomato with a wooden spoon as you stir. Keep warm.

Rinse and drain the eggplant pieces and pat them dry with paper towels. Heat the remaining oil in a nonstick frying pan (I used my electric wok) and saute the eggplant over medium heat until it is crusty and golden in places on the outside but still soft inside.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water, following the package instructions. Drain, keeping a cup full of the water.

Put the paste in a large serving bowl. Add the eggplant, the tomato sauce, cheese, and parsley and mix together thoroughly, adding some of the pasta cooking water in the pasta seems dry. Serve immediately.  Serves 4.

I made this for lunch one day when my four year old and picky husband were home. I absolutely loved it, I think it is a wonderful recipe and would make it again for sure, and use extra eggplant since that was my favorite part.  The eggplant was amazing, I don't know if it was because it was homegrown or the preparation but this was the tastiest eggplant ever, and I adore eggplant! My four year old liked this but didn't love it.  I was very surprised picky husband was even game for trying this one, he hates most pasta but I think he was trying to be nice, anyway, he is not an eggplant fan, but said that this was the best eggplant.  He did not like the pasta...oh-well.  If you like pasta and eggplant, this is a winner recipe for sure :)

I'm sending this along to  HoneyB at The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch for Presto Pasta Nights #236, thank you for hosting, HoneyB!

My Kitchen My World -- Turkey

Time for My Kitchen My World's second country for April -- Turkey! There are so many delicious sounding Turkish recipes on the internet that I had a hard time deciding what to make. I love eggplant and pistachios, so when I saw this recipe for Turkish Rice Pilaf with Eggplants and Pistachios, I knew I would have to give it a try.

Turkish Rice Pilaf with Eggplant and Pistachios

from Ashbury's Aubergines

1 pound eggplant (2 or 3 small, 1 medium)

1 tablespoon salt

1 cup rice, preferably basmati (or some other aromatic, long-grain rice)

1 medium onion

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup raisins

1 1/2 cups water

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon dried dill (or 1 tablespoon fresh dill)

1 teaspoon salt

1 whole tomato, peeled and chopped, or 7 to 8 ounces canned crushed tomatoes

16 to 19 ounces canned chickpeas, drained

1/2 cup pistachios, shelled

Trim and discard stem end of eggplant. Cut unpeeled eggplant into 1/2-inch cubes and place the cubes in a colander. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of salt, tossing the eggplant to coat it evenly with the salt. Set in a sink to drain.

Put the rice in a large bowl and fill the bowl with water. Swish the rice around and drain it. Repeat several times until the water runs clear. Cover the rice with water and set aside.

Chop the onion into 1/2-inch dice. Combine in a large saucepan with olive oil and cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions have softened.

Rinse eggplant well with running water and press it firmly in a cloth towel to squeeze out excess moisture and dry it well. Add it to the pan and increase heat to high.

Cook eggplant and onions together, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain the rice and add it to the pan.

Chop raisins a little (don't be too obsessive about it) -- I love that the recipe author tells you not to be too obsessive :) -- and add them to the pan with 1 1/2 cups water, cinnamon, dill and 1 teaspoon salt. Put the top on the pan, lower heat to simmer and cook 15 minutes, or until rice is tender and the water is absorbed.

Meanwhile, peel and core tomato, then chop into 1/2-inch dice. Five minutes before the rice is cooked through, add tomato and chickpeas and stir gently to combine. When the rice is done and the dish is heated, spoon into a serving bowl or onto individual plates. Top with pistachio nuts.

Makes 2 to 4 servings as a main dish, 6 servings as a side dish.

I thought this was nice little lunch dish, I loved the flavor and texture combinations, there was a lot 'going on' in this dish. As for changes, I had to add more liquid for the rice to cook though, and left out the onion. I look forward to trying some more Turkish recipes, I bookmarked quite a few while finding this one. Be sure to visit My Kitchen My World and see what delicious dishes everyone else picked for Turkey :)

Coconut Curry Eggplant with Cashews -- Tyler Florence Fridays

This week for Tyler Florence Fridays I made Tyler's Eggplant in Curry Coconut Sauce and loved it! This is a three part recipe where you make your own ghee and curry powder along with the eggplant, but I skipped the curry powder and just used some from my spice rack (that had pretty much the same spices anyway, just already ground up). I did make my own ghee for the first time and that was pretty interesting...

Eggplant in Curry Coconut Sauce

1/2 cup ghee, recipe follows
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 tablespoon curry powder, recipe follows
1 cup unsalted cashews, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
2 cups vegetable broth
8 baby eggplants
1 cinnamon stick
1 dried red chile
Salt
1/2 lemon, juiced
Mint leaves, for garnish

Heat 1/4 cup of the ghee in a large pot over medium flame, add the onions and sprinkle with the curry powder. Cook and stir for a few minutes until the onions are soft. Add the cashews,

shredded coconut, coconut milk, and vegetable broth.

Bring up to a simmer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the eggplant.

Cut the eggplant into chunks. Heat the remaining 1/4 cup of ghee in a deep skillet or Dutch oven and add the eggplant.

Cook and stir until the eggplant gets charred and sticky.


Puree the coconut sauce with a handheld blender, until it’s pretty smooth. Pour the sauce over the eggplant and toss in the cinnamon stick and chile. Season with salt, to taste, and simmer for 15 minutes until thick. Give a squeeze of lemon to brighten the flavor, garnish with mint leaves, and serve with steamed basmati rice and/or flat bread.

Ghee:

1 pound unsalted butter

Put the butter in a heavy saucepan over moderate heat, swirl the pot around to ensure that it melts slowly and does not sizzle or brown. Increase the heat and bring the butter to a boil. When the surface is covered with foam, stir gently and reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting.

Gently simmer, uncovered, and undisturbed for 45 minutes, until the milk solids in the bottom of the pan have turned golden brown and the butter on top is transparent. Strain the ghee through a sieve lined with several layers of cheesecloth.

Silly me first tried to do this with just a small mesh strainer but I had to redo it since the milk solids slipped through.


The ghee should be perfectly clear and smell nutty; pour into a glass jar and seal tightly.

This was my first time making ghee so I hope I did everything right!

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

Curry Powder:

2 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon cardamom seeds
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
2 dried red chiles, broken in pieces, seeds discarded
1 tablespoon turmeric

Toast the whole spices (coriander, cumin, fennel, cloves, mustard, cardamom and peppercorns) and the chiles in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, shaking the pan often to prevent them from burning. Toast for a couple of minutes until the spices smell fragrant. In a clean coffee grinder, grind the toasted spices together to a fine powder. Add the turmeric and give it another quick buzz to combine. Use the spice blend immediately, or store in a sealed jar for as long as 1 month.

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Changes I made to the recipe were to skip the onion and add some onion powder (not an onion texture fan), and not puree the coconut cashew sauce before adding it to the eggplant, I figured I'd like a chunkier sauce and it turned out perfectly. I do think I could have used less ghee, it seemed a little too much at the end when the 1/2 cup total kind of seperated, but oh-well. I was so surprised that even my kids liked this! I will be making this again but adding lots of other veggies along with the eggplant. I served it over some Mahatma imported Basmati rice which was delicious. I was only wishing I had made some naan to go with the meal. The leftovers were great as well and I was missing this dish when we ran out :) I can't wait to make this again!