I’m not that crazy about eggplants. The only way I like to eat them is in parmigiana di melanzane, fried or in caponata. That was until I tasted my auntie’s recipe during my last visit in Piedmont. I never would have imagined I’d like eggplants like this.
She added a simple ingredient that is unrecognizable when you taste it, but it brings the eggplants to life, anchovy paste. I know for a fact that many of you don’t like anchovies but before turning up your nose try this dish.
Eggplants made this way are also a good condiment for your pasta and if you prefer you can also add some tomato sauce in your pasta dish.

Ingredients:

2 eggplants, about 1.5 lbs./g. 700
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. anchovy paste or 3-4 small anchovy fillets
3 small cloves of garlic
apple vinegar
sea salt

Instructions:

1. Cut the eggplants in cubes, salt them and place them in a colander,  with a weight on them, for about 20-30 minutes. If you use the sweet and light violet eggplants avoid the salting part.
2. Heat up the 1 Tablespoon oil in a non-stick skillet, add the garlic and let it sizzle until you smell its perfume.
3. Add the eggplants and cook on medium high heat for about ten minutes then add the anchovy paste or anchovy fillets and when well combined drizzle the eggplants with the vinegar.
4. Turn the stove to medium heat and cook the eggplants until tender or to  the consistency you prefer. If they get too dry add few spoons of water.

My husband cultivates a wonderful vegetable garden for us but its tomatoes stand out above the rest. We not only have a huge harvest but our tomatoes grow perfect and without using any chemicals. Our vegetables are 100% organic and every year we’re blessed by these unbelievable sweet fruits.

I brought these tomatoes to my auntie during my last visit in Piedmont and she prepared this monochromatic salad. I always like to arrange and balance colors in my dishes so I was little but disappointed when I saw this one, but not when I tasted it.  These two vegetables complemented themselves with bursting flavors.
My tomatoes are the bull hearts  variety which have beefy consistency and few seeds. The red bell peppers had thick and sweet flesh.

Ingredients:

1/2 red bell pepper about 5.2 oz./ g. 150
2 big tomatoes about 10.5 oz./ g. 300
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt to taste

Instructions:

1. Slice the tomatoes and cut the bell peppers in pieces.
2. Salt to taste, a drizzle of olive oil and mix well. Serve.

Every summer I’m buried with tons of fresh zucchini from the garden, which I love, but after a while it gets difficult to find new recipes and making them the same way too often is just plain boring. I start the season by frying the first flowers then I add them in risotto, or in frittata, the zucchini are also employed in many different dishes like grilled or rolled in ricotta cream. Lately I started preparing parmigiana di zucchine, I’ll post the recipe soon. Once I’ve made them all a number of times though I just  need something new.

My auntie from Piedmont saved me this year with this simple dish that I just can’t make enough. It takes about 15 minutes to prepare and a minute to eat. The first time I tasted them I loved them but I couldn’t figure out which herb she used. I asked if she added garlic which she didn’t and I would have swore she did because they were so flavorful. In the end she explained that she put an herb called “cerea” that grows everywhere even between stones in the sidewalk. In Italian is called, santoreggia, Savory in English. Oh, she also put in one basil leaf.

It’s true that you don’t need much to prepare a healthy and tasty dish and this is the proof. I hope you can find Savory herb, my auntie gave me a small plant in a pot to plant in my garden.

Ingredients:

1 lb. zucchini, preferably baby zucchini
5-6 zucchini flowers
a small twig of savory
one basil leaf
1 Tbsp. olive oil
sea salt to taste

Instructions:

1. Cut the zucchini lengthwise in four parts  and then in pieces to get the desired length. Remove the pistil from the zucchini flowers.
2. Heat up the oil in a non-stick skillet and add the zucchini, the savory and the basil leave.
3. Cook for about 10 minutes and then salt to taste. Continue cooking until zucchini reaches the consistency you like. I prefer them when they’re still a little bit crunchy. If they get too dry add few spoons of water.

This dish is so simple that I didn’t even want to publish it. I decided to do it only because it’s so good that I  would feel guilty not sharing it with you.
The other day I bought green asparagus from a local  farmer. The lady told me they were just picked. They were in fact firm and crunchy.
I was thinking about preparing a frittata or a risotto when she asked me if I had ever tried to grill them, the answer was, no I’d never tried. She kindly explained me how to prepare them and as soon as I got home I tried her recipe right away. They were so good that I ate a whole pound of asparagus by myself. I couldn’t believe how tasty they were.
I didn’t grill them on the barbecue but on an iron skillet instead. A grill pan will work well too.
I checked grilled asparagus online to see if it was a common dish and found many recipes that use butter, lemon peel and herbs. I prefer to use few ingredients that don’t cover the asparagus flavor but rather enhanced it. I only used extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.  The secret is of course to use really fresh asparagus.

I’m thinking about having these grilled asparagus as a side dish on Easter together with grilled lamb chops.

Ingredients:
1 lb. fresh green asparagus
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive
1/4 tsp. sea salt and 1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Serves: 4

Instructions:
1. Trim the asparagus core ends by holding each end and bending it gently until it snaps. If your asparagus are thick and their skin is tough, peel off the skin on the lower part of the stalk with a potato peeler.
2. Place the asparagus on a serving plate in one layer.
3. Drizzle the oil over the asparagus and  then roll them until well coated. Sprinkle with salt and pepper then roll them again.
4. Heat the grill pan and when hot place the asparagus on it. Turn them every minute or so to grill them on all sides.
5. I prefer them barely cooked and still firm.

Notes:

My mom used to make me this dish when I was little and even then I would devour  it until there wasn’t any left. I’m an artichoke lover and when autumn arrives I start eating artichokes and continue until spring when we make Torta Pasqualina, which  is the center piece of my family’s Easter menu.

To tell you the truth I was a little bit intimidated by cleaning artichokes, but once I tried I realized that my worries were overly exaggerated. When I make this recipe I purposely make more than I intend to eat so I can use them the next day in a risotto or in a cream of artichoke soup.

Ingredients:

4 Roman artichokes
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon
sea salt to taste
1 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley

Makes: 4 servings

Instructions:

1. Prepare a big bowl of water cut a lemon in half squeeze the juice in the water and put half of the lemon in too. This will prevent the artichokes from getting dark as well as your fingers.
2. Cut the stem from the artichoke and peel it with a knife until you reach the softer and greener part of it. Cut it into smaller pieces if it’s too long and let it soak in the water. Not everybody likes artichoke stems because they’re a little bit bitter, but I like to use them too.
3. If your artichokes have little thorns use kitchen scissors to cut the throned tips on all of the leaves.
4. Discard the outer and harder leaves until you reach the softer and lighter colored inner leaves (about three layers).
5. Cut the top of the artichoke and discard it. Slice the artichoke in half lengthwise and with the knife eliminate the choke from its cavity. Cut each half  in two or three slices, depending on the size of the artichoke. When sliced place the artichoke slices in the lemon water. Repeat the same procedure with the rest of the artichokes.
6. In a non-stick pan heat 2 Tablespoons of oil then add the 2 garlic cloves and the artichokes. Mix them on medium heat and salt to taste. When their liquid starts to evaporate use a little bit of water, better if warm, at the time so they keep cooking but they stay soft and don’t burn.
7. I usually cook them for 15-20 minutes but it’s up to you to decide how you prefer them.
8. When almost ready sprinkle them with chopped parsley, mix them for few minutes and serve.

I’ve never been a fan of cooked carrots. Actually I still have nightmares about the plain boiled carrots I was obliged to eat in kindergarten. They were so terrible that I stopped eating carrots until I went to college. This recipe is in fact adapted from the dish my roommate used to prepare when we were studying. We didn’t have much time for cooking back then and these carrots were tasty, healthy and most of all fast.

I’d completely forgotten about this dish until few years ago when I was searching for some side dishes to serve on Thanksgiving day. My husband, the American of the family, always wants the traditional recipes he used to eat when he was young. I prepare him all the classics, but I also like to add a new dish every year. These carrots are  now considered a classic for our Thanksgiving dinner.

Ingredients:

8 medium carrots, about 28oz., g. 800
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tsp. raw cane sugar
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tsp. olive oil
sea salt to taste

Instructions:

1. Trim, peel the carrots and slice them 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick.
2. In a non-stick or a thick bottom stainless steel pan melt the butter and oil. Add the garlic, the carrots and mix until well coated. Sprinkle them with the sugar and mix in.
3. Add a little bit of water at a time, about 1/4 cup, to the carrots and let them simmer at medium heat mixing often. Add more water as needed.
4. Carrots are ready to serve when they are soft but not mushy and the liquid is almost all evaporated. It takes about 15 minutes.

The first time I tasted this dish was in a restaurant in Calabria and I practically ate the whole serving tray by myself. I asked the owner what the ingredients were and he told me potatoes, bell peppers and tomatoes, but if you tasted it you would have thought there was a secret ingredient. I seriously didn’t believe him. The next day I went to the vegetable market and bought the local bell peppers which are really different from typical peppers. They are round, flat and really small. The flesh is not so thick as typical bell peppers, but they’re much more flavorful than their cousins. I made them and surprise surprise they tasted just like at the restaurant.

When I’m in Verona I use regular green bell peppers and the dish is really good too. This year though I saved some seeds and I’ll try to grow the Calabrian bell peppers in my garden.  They will certainly lack the strong Southern Italian sun, but hopefully they will have some of that wonderful flavor and aroma.

This dish is usually prepared in an iron pan so the potatoes get roasted and a little bit charred. I used a nonstick pan, but I let the potatoes get golden brown first and then I added the peppers and tomatoes. I also added few spoons of water at the end to soften up the peppers. It’s up to you to decide how you prefer your potatoes. I like them cooked through but still firm so they maintain their shape and don’t fall all apart.

Calabrian bell peppers and potatoes

Ingredients:
14 oz./ g. 400 potatoes
10.5 0z./ g. 300  green bell pepper. I used Calabrian bell peppers
7 oz./ g. 200,  fresh tomatoes or canned tomato chunks
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
sea salt to taste

Instructions:
1. Peel and cut the potatoes in chunks. Heat up the oil in a nonstick skillet and add the potatoes. Cook them on high heat for about 10 minutes mixing them often with a wooden spoon until they get golden brown.
2. Wash the bell peppers, discard seeds and membranes and cut them into 1/3-inch (1 cm.) strips. Peel the tomatoes, remove the seeds and cut them in chunks.
3. Add the bell peppers and tomatoes to the potatoes and cook  the vegetables at medium heat for about 30 minutes or until done. Salt to taste.
4. If the vegetables get too dry you can add few spoons of water.
5. Serve the dish warm or at room temperature.

Zucchini is a delicious and versatile vegetable to have in the garden, but if you ever plant them you will quickly discover that the plants produce an enormous amount of fruit. My relationship with them always starts out pleasantly with zucchini flowers and the first small delicate zucchini. It’s a wonderful time of year with fried flowers and fresh zucchini grated into salads. Then the summer heat sets in and the plants start producing like crazy and I almost dread going out to pick them for fear of how many will be there stalking behind the leaves waiting for me. I can’t make enough baked, steamed, in tegame, grilled or stuffed zucchini to use them all.

This year I’ve had so many that I’ve been using just about every zucchini recipe that I have or can find. This particular appetizer won’t help much if you are trying to do away with your oversupply of zucchini, however if you have fresh ones it is an absolutely delicious way to enjoy them.
Fresh firm zucchini just picked from the garden, sliced thinly and filled with a cream of ricotta and chives.

Ingredients:

1 medium zucchini
2 cups ricotta, I prefer sheep milk ricotta
1 Tbsp. milk (optional)
2 heaping tsp. minced chives* and some whole chives for tying.
1/4 tsp. white pepper
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Instructions:

1. Wash the zucchini and cut them lengthwise using a potato peeler.
2. In a bowl combine ricotta, oil and pepper and whisk until smooth and creamy. If the cream is too dry add a bit of milk.
3. Gently add the chopped chives and mix them with a spatula or a wooden spoon until well combined.
4. Spread the ricotta cream on the zucchini slices and roll them up. You’ll need about a tablespoon each depending on the size of your zucchini.
5. Place the prepared zucchini rolls on a serving dish and tight each roll with a chive.
6. Refrigerate them for at least 30 minutes and serve.

Note:
* I prefer to cut the chives with a scissor rather than chop them with a knife, it’s easier and faster.

Ripe tomatoes filled with creamy goat cheese, diced tomatoes and flavored with fresh herbs like chives, basil, arugula or spiced up with Calabrian red hot chili pepper. The combinations are endless but it’s important to find the right  cheese. In Italian this particular goat cheese is called, “caprino” and you can find it in most grocery stores. Make sure it is in fact made with goat milk as often it’s written caprino cheese but  made with cows milk instead.

I buy mine from a local farmer every Saturday where a producer comes down from the mountains with a wide variety of goat cheeses. The caprino cheese is just produced the day before. This fresh cheese is much better than the one that I  find at the store even if they’re both good.

I like to eat these filled tomatoes as a light meal but they can also be served as an appetizer decorated with the herbs used in the fillings. Just a few minutes to assemble the dish and your healthy refreshing meal or appetizer is ready.

For this recipe I used the herbs found in my garden, but you can also vary the filling by adding some black olives, chopped cucumber and chives, chopped dried tomatoes and oregano.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup fresh caprino cheese
4 ripe tomatoes, 2 inch diameter*
1/2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/8 tsp. sea salt
a  few strands of chives
2-3 basil leaves
2 wild arugula leaves
red hot pepper powder

Instructions:

1. Cut the top of each tomato. Discard the juice and the seeds. Eliminate the core from each tomato top and cut the remaining pulp in small cubes, you need 1/3 cup. If the pulp isn’t enough use some from an extra tomato.
2. Sprinkle the inside of each tomato with sea salt and place them bottom up on a plate. Leave them for about 15 minutes  allowing the salt to eliminate the extra liquid.
3. In the meantime soften the goat cheese using a spatula. Add the oil, salt and tomato cubes and mix gently.
4. Divide the cheese cream in four to prepare the different fillings.
5. Add about 1/4 tsp. minced chives to one part. Add 2-3 finely chopped basil leaves to the second. Add 1/2 tsp. chopped arugula to the third.  Add a good pinch of red hot pepper to the fourth.
6. Fill each tomato with a different filling and top each of them with the same herb you used in the filling. For the chili pepper filling if you don’t want it too spicy sprinkle paprika on top instead.
7. Refrigerate the tomatoes for an hour and serve.

Notes:
Use any size you want just adjust the filling accordingly.

Other goat cheeses from the producer where I buy mine.

Parmigiana di melanzane is a classic of the Neapolitan cuisine. Other Italian regions claim to have the paternity for this dish but they’re only responsible for creating new versions of original. It’s true there are numerous versions of the parmigiana di melanzane and different methods on how to prepare the eggplants and the sauce, not to mention the ingredients to use. I think that every family in Naples has its own version.

Let’s start with the eggplants. In the classic recipe they have to be fried, and here lies the debate, if they have to be floured or not before frying. Purists says they don’t have to be, and this is how I prepare them too, but some recipes not only flour the eggplants they also dip them in beaten eggs before frying. Some people add slices of boiled eggs or slices of non smoked ham. My Neapolitan friends use provola instead of mozzarella because is less liquid. Others use mozzarella but add some lightly beaten eggs to absorb the liquid when cooking, I use this method too. As for the tomato sauce some prefer to buy plain tomato sauce because it’s thick and less liquid. I like to prepare my own with fresh ripe tomatoes, adding a little bit of oil and onions, not everyone adds onions.

This is one version of parmigiana di melanzane

Ingredients:

4 big eggplants, about 3-1/2 pounds
10 oz. Italian mozzarella
1-1/2 cups freshly grated Italian Parmesan
2 medium eggs
6 fresh basil leaves
olive oil for frying

For the tomato sauce:
35 oz. ripe plum tomatoes such as San Marzano or Roma or canned
1/2 small white onion chopped, about 1/2 cup
a good pinch of sea salt

Instructions:

For the tomato sauce:
1. Cut the skin across on the bottom of each tomato. Heat up a pan with water and when hot, though not boiling, add the tomatoes. Leave them for half a minute and then remove them and place them in a bowl filled with cold water.
2. Peel the tomatoes and eliminate the seeds and the excess liquid.
3. In a pan warm up 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and add the chopped onion. Cook until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook the sauce for about 30 minutes.
4. Pass the sauce through a fine vegetable ricer or use a hand blender.
5. Cook the sauce for 5 more minutes and set aside.

For the parmigiana:
1. Cut the eggplants lengthwise, about 1/4 inch thick. Place them in a colander, salt them and leave them for 1 hour. Rinse off the salt and dry them.
2. Heat up olive oil in a frying pan, then add the eggplants and fry them, 2-3 minutes per side.
3. In a baking dish spread few spoons of tomato sauce then layer the eggplants making sure they overlap a little.
4. Sprinkle the Parmesan and cover it with a layer of mozzarella.
5. Drizzle the mozzarella with few spoons of lightly beaten eggs.
6. Repeat this step until you’ve come to the last layer of eggplants.
7. Cover the last layer of eggplants with the tomato sauce and a drizzle of olive oil. You may sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top if you like.
8. Cook in a preheated oven at 400° for about 40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes:
For a lighter version you can grill the eggplants instead of frying them but you won’t have the same result.