working up an appetito
Top to bottom: Marinated Raw Eggplant, Marinated Eggplant, Marinated Sliced Eggplant with Thyme.
MARINATED RAW EGGLPLANT
makes about 1 pint
Eggplant are often salted and left to drain for a few hours to draw out some of their liquid. In this dish, the eggplant drain a particularly long time—it both rids them of any unpleasant bitterness and begins to “cook” or preserve the eggplant. They are then well primed to soak up the vinegary marinade. Use a good mellow red wine vinegar, if you can. We spoon this piquant eggplant and its flavorful oil onto crostini, and serve them with cocktails or a glass of wine.
4 small Japanese or other small, narrow eggplants (about 1 pound)
3 tablespoons kosher salt
2–3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
4 fresh basil leaves, torn
1 large clove garlic, thinly sliced
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Extra-virgin olive oil
Trim and peel the eggplant. Cut lengthwise into ¼-inch-thick slices, then cut each slice crosswise into ¼-inch-wide strips. Toss the eggplant with the salt in a colander. Set the colander over a bowl. Drain at room temperature for 24 hours.
Transfer the eggplant to a clean kitchen towel and squeeze dry. Discard the liquid in the bowl. Put the eggplant into a medium bowl, toss with the vinegar, and let it sit for about 1 hour to absorb the vinegar.
Add the basil, garlic, and red pepper flakes to the eggplant and toss well. Spoon the eggplant into a glass pint jar with a lid. Pour in enough olive oil to cover the eggplant, adding more if the eggplant absorbs the oil. There should be a layer of olive oil covering the eggplant. Cover the jar. Let the eggplant marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 week and up to 2 weeks before serving.
MARINATED EGGLPLANT
Eggplant, which is nearly flavorless until cooked, has the capacity to absorb big flavors. In this antipasto, the tender meaty eggplant is bright and vinegary—just the sort of dish we like to serve cold on a hot day.
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, cut 1 large eggplant into 1–inch cubes. Add the eggplant to the pot, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook until almost tender (it should still offer a little resistance when pierced), 6–8 minutes. Drain the eggplant, then pat the pieces dry with paper towels. Stir together ¼ cup really good extra-virgin olive oil, ¼ cup red wine vinegar, 1 minced garlic clove, ½ teaspoon crumbled dried oregano, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium mixing bowl. Add the eggplant and gently stir to combine. Adjust the seasonings. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or as long as overnight before serving.—makes 2 cups
MARINATED SLICED EGGLPLANT WITH THYME
makes about 1 pint
We prefer using the narrow, firm-fleshed Japanese eggplant for this dish rather than the larger bulbous variety—they have fewer seeds and because they’re smaller, the slices get soft throughout, rather than flabby.
4 small Japanese or other small, narrow eggplants (about 1 pound)
⅓ cup kosher salt
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
10 sprigs fresh thyme
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
Large pinch crushed red pepper flakes
Extra-virgin olive oil
Cut the eggplant lengthwise into ¼-inch-thick slices. Arrange them in layers in a colander set over a bowl, sprinkling each layer with salt. Set another bowl or a plate directly on top of the eggplant and weigh it down with some heavy cans. Let the eggplant drain at room temperature for 12 hours or overnight.
Remove the eggplant from the colander, discarding the liquid in the bowl. Rinse the eggplant under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.
Layer the eggplant slices into a medium glass or ceramic dish or a wide-mouth pint jar with a lid, sprinkling each layer with some of the vinegar, and scattering a few sprigs of thyme, slices of garlic, and some red pepper flakes between the layers. When the dish or jar is full, add enough olive oil to cover the eggplant, pressing down on the eggplant to submerge it.
Cover the dish or jar and let the eggplant marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 day or up to 1 week before serving.
PICKLED PEARL ONIONS
makes 1½ cups or 1 pint jar
We often make a double or triple batch of these piquant beauties—they’re simple to make and last for months in the fridge. We use them when we make ourselves a couple of icy cold Gibsons, or serve them as a condiment with fried chicken, pork chops, or even a big fat steak. They brighten any rich food.
10 ounces pearl onions, unpeeled
Salt
2 bay leaves
8 black peppercorns
1–2 cups red wine vinegar
Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the onions and cook until they are just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the onions in a colander or sieve. When they are cool enough to handle, use a paring knife to trim off the root end, then slip the onions out of their skins.
Put the peeled onions into a pint jar and season with a generous pinch of salt. Tuck the bay leaves and peppercorns into the jar and add enough vinegar to cover the onions. Cover the jar and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before using.
GREEN OLIVE, FENNEL & PARSLEY SALAD
serves 4–6
Bright green Castelvetrano olives, from Sicily, are ideal for this salad—they’re buttery-tasting, meaty, and easy to pit. Pressing on the olives with the side of a large knife pops the pits right out.
1 lemon
¼ cup good extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 fennel bulbs, trimmed and diced
1 cup green olives, pitted and torn in half
1 cup loosely packed parsley leaves, torn or coarsely chopped
Slice the ends off the lemon. Set the lemon on one of the cut ends and slice off the rind and white pith, exposing the flesh. Working over a salad bowl, cut along both sides of each segment to release it from its membrane, letting it drop into the bowl.
Add the olive oil to the bowl, season with salt and pepper, and stir together, mashing the lemon segments with the back of the spoon to break them up. Add the fennel, olives, and parsley to the bowl and toss gently. Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding more lemon juice, if you like.
MARINATED ZUCCHINI
serves 4
Every summer we plant lots of zucchini plants. One plant bears practically enough fruit to keep a small village happy for a summer, but we’re growing them mainly for their flowers. We pick only the male flowers, which don’t bear fruit and have long stems, to batter and fry. The female flowers are attached to baby zucchini, and we leave them on the plant until the zucchini are about four inches long. Then we harvest them, sometimes with the flower still attached. They’re full of green zucchini flavor—not mild and watery the way larger, mature zucchini can be. The grocery store often sells baby zucchini, which we buy when our gardens aren’t bearing any.
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ pound small zucchini, trimmed and halved lengthwise
Salt
½ clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Pepper
A small handful fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Working in two batches, arrange the zucchini cut side down in one layer in the hot skillet and cook until browned, about 3 minutes. Use a fork to turn the zucchini over, then cook them until tender, about 2 minutes, reducing the heat if the zucchini get too dark. Transfer the zucchini to a shallow dish and sprinkle with salt. Repeat with the remaining zucchini and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Whisk together the garlic, vinegar, and remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the vinaigrette over the zucchini and add the basil. Gently toss everything together and adjust the seasonings. Let the zucchini marinate at room temperature for 1 hour before serving.
MARINATED ROASTED PEPPERS
serves 4
Pile these meaty peppers on crostini or serve with pork chops (see Pork Chops & Marinated Roasted Peppers), grilled meat, fish, or fowl. Jarred roasted red peppers can be substituted, but they won’t have the same smoky flavor.
2 red bell peppers
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Juice of ½ lemon
¼ cup good extra-virgin olive oil
A small handful fresh parsley leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon capers, drained
Salt and pepper
Set the peppers on top of the burner plates on top of a gas stove. Turn on the flame to medium-high heat. Or, set the peppers on a grill over hot coals. Char the skins of the peppers, turning them as they blister and blacken all over. (You can also char the peppers in a preheated 500° oven. Put the peppers on a sheet pan and roast until charred all over.) When the peppers are done, put them into a bowl and cover them to steam, which softens the fragile charred skins so they are easier to peel. When the peppers are cool, peel and rub off the blackened skin. Pull off the stems, tear the peppers into quarters, remove the cores, and scrape the seeds away from the flesh (resist the urge to rinse the seeds away. You will rinse away the smoky flavor).
Put the garlic, vinegar, and lemon juice in a wide bowl. Stir in the olive oil, parsley, and capers. Season with salt and pepper. Add the peppers and turn them to coat. Adjust the seasonings. Let the flavors meld for 1 hour at room temperature before serving. The peppers keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
HARD-BOILED EGGS & TOMATOES BATHED IN A LEMONY DRESSING
serves 4–6
We like the nicety of serving our sliced tomatoes peeled. It makes them taste more tomatoey and tender. We don’t bother blanching them first to loosen the skin, we simply slice the skin off with a sharp knife.
Juice of ½ lemon
¼ cup good extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup packed basil leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon capers, drained
Salt and pepper
2 medium tomatoes, peeled, cored, and sliced
3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and sliced
Stir together the lemon juice, olive oil, basil, and capers in a medium bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Arrange the tomatoes on a platter, then arrange the eggs on top. Spoon the dressing over the tomatoes and eggs.
SALSA VERDE SPOONED ON HARD-BOILED EGGS
We keep hard-boiled eggs in the fridge so there’s always something to eat if we’re starving. But they’re most flavorful when freshly cooked and eaten at room temperature or when still slightly warm. Salsa Verde with Ground Almonds (below) is also delicious spooned over the eggs.
Combine 4–6 minced anchovy filets, ¼ cup minced fresh parsley, 2 tablespoons really good extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon chopped capers, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper in a bowl. Arrange 6 peeled, halved hard-boiled eggs on a platter. Spoon sauce on top. —makes 12 halves
SALSA VERDE WITH GROUND ALMONDS
The Genovese classic, pesto, is perhaps the greatest of all the green sauces. But fresh basil is harder to find as the weather turns cold. That’s when we make a sauce that’s a cross between pesto and salsa verde. We don’t mess around with machines much. We usually just mince, or mash, or push ingredients through a sieve rather than pull out the Cuisinart—it’s just how we are. But please feel free to process away! Try using a spice or electric coffee grinder to finely grind the almonds, but in 2 batches so they don’t turn into almond butter.
Put 3 anchovy filets, 2 tablespoons drained capers, 2 garlic cloves, ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, the leaves of 1 bunch parsley, and 2 cups arugula in the bowl of a food processer. Process until finely chopped, then add ¼ cup ground roasted almonds, and process while you slowly add ½ cup really good extra-virgin olive oil. Transfer to a bowl and float a few tablespoons olive oil on top to keep the salsa from turning dark. —makes 1½ cups
POACHED VEGETABLES WITH SAVORY ZABAIONE
serves 4
You’ve likely had the classic Marsala-infused zabaione as a dessert. In this savory version, we use a pretty white wine and serve it like a sauce.
FOR THE VEGETABLES
1 large russet potato
Salt
8 baby artichokes
8 baby zucchini, trimmed
½ pound string beans, trimmed
1 bunch Swiss chard, stems only, cut into 3–4-inch lengths
1 fennel bulb, cut into 8 wedges
Extra-virgin olive oil
FOR THE ZABAIONE
5 large egg yolks
½ cup Soave or other white wine
Salt and pepper
For the vegetables, put the potato in a medium pot of cold salted water and gently boil over medium-high heat until tender, 30–40 minutes. Drain, peel, and slice into thick rounds. Meanwhile, pull off and discard the tough outer leaves of the artichokes. Slice off 1 inch from the top. Peel the stems. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle boil. Poach the zucchini until just tender, 3–5 minutes. With a pair of tongs, transfer the zucchini to a tray lined with a clean dishcloth to drain and cool. Repeat the poaching process with the remaining vegetables in individual batches, transferring them as done to the cloth-lined tray, in the following order: the string beans, for 6–8 minutes; the chard for 4–5 minutes; the fennel for 6–8 minutes; and the artichokes for 8–10 minutes.
For the zabaione, choose a pot big enough to accommodate the mixing bowl you will use to beat the yolks. Fill with water to a depth of 2 inches (the bowl should not touch the water at all). Bring the water to a simmer. Put the yolks and wine in a large metal mixing bowl. Using a large balloon whisk, beat the yolks and wine together until frothy. Place the bowl over the simmering water over low heat and cook, beating constantly, until the zabaione thickens and falls into soft mounds, 1–2 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in salt and pepper to taste. This makes about 1¼ cups. Transfer to a serving bowl.
Arrange the vegetables on a serving platter and drizzle with olive oil. Serve the vegetables with a big dollop of the zabaione on each plate.