Polpette di Melanzane - Eggplant "Meatballs"

Many people go through their whole life without ever tasting or wanting to taste a dish made with eggplant. Some because they just never had eggplant growing up, some because they simply are not curious enough eaters, some because they had it made improperly the first time, didn't like how it tasted or how it looked, and never went back. But if you like eggplant, you will love these.    

They aren't really "meatballs" because they have no meat in them, they just look like meatballs and can be used in place of them in pasta dishes. Polpette di melanzane or purpette di milangiane in Calabrian dialect means little balls of eggplant. You could also call them eggplant fritters. Crunchy on the outside, soft inside with a savory aroma and taste. Delicious alone or served with a simple marinara sauce for dipping. They are perfect as part of an antipasti plate, part of a tapas meal or with pasta and tomato sauce. Leftovers are good for a late night snack or even breakfast the next day. No kidding!

One large eggplant should make about 15 - 20 balls depending on how you roll them.

Ingredients

1 large eggplant

1/3 cup pecorino cheese plus more for serving - preferably Locatelli brand

1/2 cup unseasoned coarse breadcrumbs - home made is best from ciabatta or similar bread pulsed in a food processor - don't use panko or the fine Progresso type in a canister.

1 egg yolk

3 cloves of garlic minced

Nice handful of fresh basil leaves chopped

Olive oil to drizzle on cut eggplant and for frying
50/50 Olive oil/Canola oil for frying

Salt and Pepper

Marinara sauce

Preheat oven to 350. Cut the eggplant in half and score the top. Place on a cookie sheet. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast for half an hour. 

The eggplant will be soft and easy to scoop out of the skin. Put the eggplant meat on a cutting board and chop finely. Add a pinch of salt. 

Scrape the chopped eggplant into a sieve over a bowl and let drain for half an hour. You want it to have some moisture so it holds together with the dry ingredients but not too wet.   

the chopped eggplant, pecorino cheese, basil, garlic, egg yolk, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Mix together and roll into balls - a little smaller than golf balls.

Fry in olive oil or a 50/50 olive oil and canola oil blend. 

Polpette done and ready to eat. Crunchy on the outside and soft inside. The aroma of basil, garlic and pecorino coming off them is awesome!  

Pasta with Salmon

This has become one of our favorite ways to have salmon and I want to share it. What could be better - delicious buttery salmon and pasta paired with these happy flavorful ingredients - capers, fennel, tomatoes, onion, chili pepper, anchovy and white wine! I based it on Gennaro Contaldo's recipe for Salmon Tagliatelle. 

Watch the video here - Salmon Tagliatelle

Ingredients  for two people with leftovers, double or triple, as needed, for guests

1/2 lb Salmon filet skin removed

6-8 Cherry tomatoes cut in half

1/2 Sweet onion sliced thin

2 Anchovy filets

1/2 Fresh chili pepper sliced

1 tablespoon Capers rinsed

1 tsp Fennel seeds crushed

Nice handful of fresh chopped flat leaf parsley

Olive oil

2 tablespoons white wine

Juice of half a lemon

Salt and pepper

1/2 box Spaghetti, Linguine or Tagliatelle

Options - add 1/2 a fennel bulb sliced thin

Procedure

- Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta. When it comes to a rolling boil, add a tablespoon of salt.

- In a pan, in a little olive oil, saute the capers, anchovy filets and chili - about 2 minutes

- Add the onion and fennel seeds or sliced fennel - saute for about 3 minutes

- Add the tomatoes and a little of the pasta water - saute for about 3 minutes

- Add the pasta to the boiling water in the pot

- Slice the salmon crosswise into 1/4 -1/2 inch thick slices and add to the pan with the capers, onions and tomatoes. Cook for about 3 minutes adding the white wine and parsley. Season with a little salt and pepper. Then turn down the heat to low. The salmon will break up into chunks as it cooks but don't overcook it

- When the pasta is almost done, add to the pan and stir together with the salmon and other ingredients to finish cooking. Squeeze and add the lemon juice.

Plate up and drizzle with some nice extra virgin olive oil and enjoy. 

Cucuzze Frittelli - Zucchini Fritters

Zucchini fritters are another summer treat. These things are addictive and easy to make. If you need to make a bigger batch for a party, a picnic or family gathering, use the ratio of ingredients and simply bump up the amounts.

Ingredients

one large zucchini or two medium - shredded 

1/4 cup plain bread crumbs

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup pecorino cheese

1 egg

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

salt and pepper
Optional - crushed red pepper flakes to taste

Shred the zucchini and squeeze the water out then let drain in a colander. 

Shredded zucchini with the bread crumbs, the flour, the pecorino cheese, egg, flat leaf parsley, fresh basil, salt and pepper and red pepper flakes if using.

Mix it all together, it will look like a thick batter 

Pan fry in a little olive oil

Serving suggestion, a side with pan seared salmon and Israeli couscous. Or alone as part of antipasti, party food, picnic food, etc.

Springtime is Ramp-Time

Oh boy, Ramps!  Ramps are fragrant plant cousins to onions, garlic and leeks and while they can be described as having an oniony/garlicy/leeky taste, they have a flavor all their own that can be strong and will stay with you. Here's what they look like -

Most people have never heard of ramps let alone eaten one. Because they are not grown commercially and must be foraged for and harvested by hand, they aren't found in the big supermarket chains. They are only available for a brief month or so in the Spring, growing wild in the Appalachian mountains. Many communities where ramps are plentiful hold ramp festivals and ramp cooking competitions this time of year. All of these factors add to their allure and mystique. Basically food nerds and hillbillies - and I use those terms affectionately - are the only people who really have any idea what ramps are and what to do with them. But if you have a good farmers market anywhere close by, check regularly through the Spring to see if they've brought some in. They are a treat.

To get you started, here is a link to an article that will surely wet your appetite for ramps, aptly titled "Recipes That Will Make You Love Ramps" from the Huffington-Puffington Post :

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/01/ramp-recipes_n_1428780.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000034 

When we would drive to Pittsburgh to visit my parents we go through West Virginia. On the way we liked to stop at Kirkwood Winery in Summersville, West Virginia. Among the wines they produce is Appalachian Ramp Wine. And why not? It's a cooking wine, not a drinking wine. Pretty interesting stuff - http://www.kirkwood-wine.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8&products_id=4

And here is a pictorial recipe of how we've made linguine with ramps and olives -
   
Linguine with Ramps and Kalamata Olives
1 pound dried linguine
20 - 24 ramps
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup kalamata olives, roughly chopped
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/2 cup coarsely grated Pecorino Romano

Pitted kalamata olives

Chopped

Cut the leaves off the ramp bulbs

Rosemary and Flat Leaf Parsley

Chop up a few of the ramp leaves

 While the linguine is boiling, saute the ramp bulbs in olive oil and butter until starting to brown, .

Add the olives and the chopped ramp leaves

Add the linguine, rosemary and parsley and a little of the pasta water

Sprinkle with Pecorino cheese and enjoy!!!

And ramp pizza - with sautéed ramps, hot Italian sausage, roasted grape tomatoes, ramp leaves and ricotta cheese.

Pasta Con Le Sarde

Pasta con le sarde - Pasta with Sardines - is a classic Sicilian dish made with fresh sardines, fennel, onion, pine nuts, golden raisins and toasted bread crumbs. If you really want to get hardcore, add a few anchovy filets, a tin of sardines and some ground fennel seeds to the sauce!  We do. The pasta of choice is bucatini, which is dressed with the sauce then served with a good sprinkling of seasoned homemade bread crumbs and topped with a pan fried sardine. Yes, there are some strong flavors but don't let that scare you, just jump right in. This is one very tasty seafood dish and perfect for Christmas Eve!

Note: If you haven't had them, fresh sardines are a light sweet buttery fish, similar, in my opinion, to trout which you could substitute here if you can't get fresh sardines.

Ingredients (for 2)

1 Fennel bulb, diced - reserve the tops

1 medium onion diced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 fresh or frozen whole sardines, cleaned and bones removed

1 4 oz tin whole sardines in olive oil, drained and coarsely chopped

3 tbsp pine nuts, toasted

1/4 cup golden raisins chopped
I teaspoon ground fennel seeds 
2 anchovy filets in oil - optional

1 large pinch of saffron, soaked in 2 tbsp white wine

1/2 box of bucatini pasta, if you can't find it, substitute with spaghetti
1 cup milk
Flour to coat the sardines for frying
Olive Oil as needed
Salt and pepper - taste along the way for seasoning. But go easy on the salt, this dish has a good amount in the ingredients
White wine - Pinot Grigio, Soave or Sauvignon Blanc

Directions

Clean the fresh sardines -

Rosetta Costantino's web site http://cookingwithrosetta.com/ 
Rosetta shows how to clean fresh anchovies. Use the same technique for sardines -

Open each one out flat and pull out the central bones along with the head.  Wash and shake dry then soak in a bowl of milk.

Note: If you can't find fresh or frozen whole sardines, use trout filets and pan fry as with the sardines.

Make bread crumbs from good crusty country bread in a food processor to a coarse texture. Then toast in a frying pan with olive oil. Make about two cups.

Start the pasta water to boil at some point during the steps below -

Wipe the pan clean and heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil (add more if needed) over medium heat. Add fennel and onion and cook, stirring, for about 15 minutes or until softened and slightly caramelized.

Add garlic and and anchovies - stir for 2 minutes.

Add saffron with the wine it was soaking in and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Stir in the raisins.

Add the canned sardines and break up with a wooden spoon 

Add ½ cup hot water from the pasta pot and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a separate pan heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Remove the sardines from the milk and dredge them in seasoned flour, shaking off excess. Cook, turning halfway, for 3 minutes or until crisp and golden. Set aside.

The pasta water should be boiling by now so add a tablespoon of salt and the bucatini. Dip out and save a cup of pasta water. 

When the pasta is almost done, add it to the pan with the sauce and stir through adding the pine nuts and the fennel fronds. Use the saved pasta water as needed to the sauce if it seems too dry.

Serve on plates and top with the bread crumbs and the fried sardines.

Drizzle each serving with a little olive oil.

Here a couple videos showing variations of this dish - 

Making a Timpano

A timpano is a fairly complicated and time consuming layered "lasagna-like" dish from southern Italy. It is encased in a pasta shell and baked in an enameled or steel bowl. And as Primo explains in the movie Big Night, it is filled with "all the most important things in the world". The timpano they create is one of the "stars" of the movie. As you will see, a timpano is a big deal reserved for a big night.

 The timpano scene from the movie - "Big Night" - 

Here is our timpano!

 

Like lasagna, there are different versions of what goes into a timpano. We based ours on the timpano in the movie. The recipe is in Stanley and Joan Tucci's book "Cucina & Famiglia". These are the kinds of ingredients that should (but not limited to) be included - ziti or penne, Italian sausage, soppressata or salami, meatballs, mozzarella, ricotta and pecorino cheeses, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, garlic, basil, marinara sauce, olive oil. You could add these vegetables, or sub the meat with, grilled eggplant,fennel or zucchini, roasted peppers, onions, mushrooms. The outside crust is formed from hand rolled homemade pasta dough.

Here are pics and guidelines on how we made our timpano –

This is not an actual "recipe" because a lot depends on the size of the bowl you are using and what you want to include in the filling. Just start with the ingredients list below and use your own judgment as how much of each ingredient to prepare and what seasonings you prefer. The amounts are approximately what we used for the size bowl we had. Yah, I know, that's not much help from us, is it? Look at it this way, better to err to the side of having a little too much. If you have extra sauce, meatballs, sausage, cheese, eggs or pasta put them in the refrigerator to have with something else. The important thing is have fun with this. So be sure to have a glass of wine (or two...) along the way.  

Ziti or penne - 1 box
Italian Sausage - hot, sweet or mild your choice - 3 links
Mozzarella shredded - 2 cups
Hardboiled eggs cut into pieces - 4 eggs
1 " Meatballs - 25 to 30 +   you know you are going to want to munch on some...
Pecorino Romano cheese - 1/2 cup
Roasted Roma tomatoes - 2 lbs
Ricotta cheese  - 1 1/2 cups

For the pasta dough - 3 cups all purpose flour, 3 eggs, 1/2 tsp Kosher salt, 2 tbs olive oil, 1/3 -1/2 cup water. Mix together, knead, wrap in plastic wrap set aside.

For the marinara - everyone has their own favorite way to make marinara sauce, use yours. You'll need about six cups worth. Two to mix with the ziti and three to use to  spoon on the plate to sit the slices of timpano in.

For the roasted tomatoes - cut the Romas into chunks, put in a glass casserole and add garlic, lemon zest, rosemary, olive oil, salt & pepper. Roast at 400 degrees for about 30 - 40 minutes, stirring half way.

Building the layers:
1st layer - 1/3 of the ziti mixed with marinara sauce
2nd layer - 1/2 of the sausage
3rd layer - 1/2 of the shredded mozzarella
4th layer - 1/2 of the hardboiled eggs cut into pieces
5th layer - 1/2 of the meatballs
6th layer - 1/2 of the pecorino cheese
7th layer - 1/2 of the roasted Roma tomatoes
8th layer - 1/2 of the ricotta cheese
Repeat so there are two layers of each but end with a  third layer of ziti and sauce.

   

You have to have something to cook the timpano in. An enameled or stainless steel bowl is perfect. The enameled pot we used came from Lisa's uncle Ed, who, thanks to being a pack rat, had an old enameled bowl that was just right. It measured 9" x 7" x 4". Stainless steel mixing bowls are easier to find and come a variety of sizes. 



Oven roasted Roma tomatoes

 

 Little 1" meatballs

 Italian sausages cooked and sliced

Marinara sauce



With a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a disk. Measure the bowl you will be using – add together the diameter of the top, the diameter of the bottom and twice the height. and you will get the diameter of the dough disk you will need. In our case it was 24”:  7 + 9 + (2x4) = 24.

 

Grease the inside of the bowl well with butter and lay the dough in.

Ziti and marinara sauce first

 

Roasted Roma tomatoes

Ricotta cheese

Sausage

Hardboiled eggs

Meatballs

 Begin and end with the sauced ziti

Fold over the pasta to cover the top

 

Cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes then remove, cover with aluminum foil and back in for 20 more minutes.

When done, should look like this. Let it rest for about 20 minutes.

Lay a cutting board on top of the timpano, hold on to the handles and the board and carefully flip over. It will now look like this, unless you've dumped it all over the kitchen floor... 

Remove the bowl.  Ahhhhhhh!

To serve,set a slice of the timpano in a pool of marinara sauce.



Yes, Primo, "all the most important things in the world."