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Recipe of the Week: Eggplant Gratin
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds eggplant, peeled if white
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 large or 2 medium onions, sliced
- 4 large market eggs
- 1 cup milk or light cream
- 1 cup freshly ground Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 10 large basil leaves, torn into small pieces
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- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Lightly oil a 20
quart gratin dish. Cut the eggplants into rounds or slabs a
scant 1/2 inch thick. Salt if you wish and set aside
while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large
non-stick skillet, add the onions, and cook over medium
heat, turning frequently, until soft and light gold, about
12 minutes. Scrape into a bowl. While the onion is
cooking, beat the eggs with the milk; stir in the cheese,
vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon Salt, and some freshly ground pepper.
- If you salted it, rinse the eggplant,
then wipe up the water with a towel. Heat the remaining
oil in a skillet. When hot, add the eggplant and
immediately turn it in the pan until it the eggplant is
golden. This will take about 25 minutes in all, but you
don't need to stand over the pan. This is a good window of time
to make a quick tomato sauce for the dish or another part of the
meal.
- Season the eggplant with Salt and pepper
to taste, and then toss with the onions and basil. Put it
in the prepared dish and pour the custard over the top.
Bake until golden, firm and puffed, 30 to 40 minutes. Let
cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
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Asparagus with Poached Eggs and Parmesan
- 2 bunches of asparagus (about 40 spears)
- 8 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- Salt
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh parsley
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| Cut off the bottoms of the asparagus spears. ( To know how much to cut off, break on spear near the bottom and see where it snaps naturally. Using that as your guide, cut the bottoms of the rest of the spears in approximately the some place.)
Break the eggs into 8 individual containers, such as teacups, prep bowls, or paper cups. Prepare the poaching liquid for the eggs by bringing water plus the vinegar and 4 pinches of salt to a boil in a large, straight-walled, low-sided pan over medium heat. Meanwhile, cook the asparagus; bring salted water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the asparagus and cook it until it is as tender as you like it. Remove the cooked asparagus form the water with tongs, and set aside while you make the sauce.
To make the sauce, empty the water from the saucepan and dry it out, add the olive oil and heat it over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for about 1 minute, enough to take the raw edge off the garlic. Turn off the heat; then add the butter and swirl the pan. Add the lemon juice, parsley and salt and pepper to taste, and swirl the pan again to mix the ingredients. Put the asparagus back in the pan, add 2 tablespoons of Parmesan, and toss with the sauce to coat.
To poach the eggs, make sure the water is boiling, then slowly pour each cup of egg into the water. Let the eggs cook for about 2 minutes; then turn off the heat and remove the pan from burner. Meanwhile, divide the asparagus among 4 plates. Bring the plates of asparagus close to the pan of poached eggs, and place a folded clean kitchen towel next to the pates.
As quickly as possible after the eggs have cooked for 2 minutes, use a slotted spoon to fish the eggs, one at a time, out of the poaching liquid, blotting the bottom of the spoon on the towel to absorb excess moisture. Place 2 eggs, and sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan over the top. Serve immediately. ENJOY!!!! |
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Camilla's Damson and Crabapple Jelly
- 4 1/2 pounds chopped crabapples, windfalls are the best
- 4 1/2 pounds damson plums
- Juice of 3 lemons
- Sugar
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Place the crabapples and damsons in a pot and simmer for at least two hours. The fruit should be thoroughly pulpy. Take a piece of cheesecloth or jelly bag, mold it into a bowl large enough to fit the contests of the pot, then pour in the boiled fruit. Pick up each corner of the cheesecloth and make a "sack" containing the fruit pulp. Hang it from a hook over the bowl and leave it overnight.
In the morning, give the cheesecloth a little squeeze to see how much liquid is left in the cooked fruit. Text books tell you never to do this or you may get a cloudy end product, but we've found this to be not entirely true. In any case, you want to maximize the juice yield. Measure the juice and add an equal amount of sugar by volume, in other words, one cup of sugar for each cup of juice. Add the lemon juice.
Heat the mixture. Skim the jelly, pour immediately into sterilized jars, and seal. Store the jars in a cellar or pantry and consume within a year. ENJOY!! |
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Grilled Seafood Salad
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh marjoram leaves
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 12 ounces sea scallops
- 12 ounces squid, bodies only
- 3 ounces arugula leaves (about 6 cups)
- 2 carrots, peeled, cut into thin strips
- 1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
- 1 (15-ounce) can white beans (cannellini), drained, rinsed
- 1 large head radicchio, leaves separate
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Heat the oil in a heavy medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic, let it cook for 1 to 2 minutes and then add the herbs and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Cool to room temperature. Whisk in the lemon juice. Season the dressing with salt and pepper, to taste.
Prepare the barbecue (medium-high heat). Pat the scallops and squid dry with paper towels and thread them onto skewers. Brush them with 2 tablespoons of the dressing. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill the scallops and squid until just cooked through, turning once, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Cool completely. Cut the squid crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide rings.
Combine the arugula, carrots, bell peppers, and cannellini beans in a large bowl. Toss with 1/2 cup of the dressing to coat. Place 1 large or 2 medium radicchio leaves on each of 4 plates. Spoon the bean salad into the radicchio cups. Top with the scallops and squid. Drizzle the remaining dressing over the seafood and serve. ENJOY |
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