Pasta alla Norma

This is a recipe I was going to cook for my grandmother when she was visiting us, as she is on a restricted diet and can’t eat meat (or mushrooms, a common meat-substitute). I wanted to do something with eggplant then, but I didn’t make this dish because we had just had an Italian pasta dish the day before she arrived so, still determined to use eggplant, I made an Indian vegetable vindaloo and shahi paneer. But I digress…

I’m sure my grandmother would have loved this dish (I’m also sure just about anyone would love this dish). The eggplant gets salted and then microwaved (a technique I hadn’t come across before, but is actually brilliant for removing moisture from the eggplant so it browns well in the skillet and doesn’t soak up oil like a sponge). The sauce is fairly straightforward, with bold, assertive flavors coming from garlic, anchovies, red pepper flakes, tomato, basil and salty, tangy ricotta salata. Use a nice, big tubular pasta shape to complement the eggplant pieces and you’ve got a hearty but not heavy dish of less than 10 ingredients, ready in under an hour.

Pasta alla Norma

Total Time: 50 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant, cut into ½ inch pieces
• Kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 anchovy fillets, minced
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 pound ziti, rigatoni, or penne
• 6 generous tablespoons basil, chopped
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup shredded ricotta salata (or pecorino romano or cotija)

Method

• Toss eggplant in a medium-sized bowl with 1 teaspoon of salt. Line a microwave-safe plate with coffee filters, place eggplant on top in an even layer and microwave on high power for 10 minutes. The eggplant pieces should be dry and reduced in size
• Return eggplant to bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Heat another 1 tablespoon of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant and cook, stirring every couple minutes until well browned and tender, 10 minutes.  Once cooked, remove the eggplant from the skillet and set aside
• Turn off the heat under the skillet you used to cook the eggplant and add another tablespoon of oil to the skillet along with the garlic, anchovies, and red pepper flakes. Cook using the residual heat in the pan (so the garlic browns but doesn’t burn) for 1 minute. Return heat to medium-high and add the tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, until sauce thickens
• Meanwhile, bring a big pot of salted water to boil. Cook pasta until al dente, according to package. Reserve a half-cup of pasta water before draining the pasta
• Add the eggplant back to the skillet filled with sauce, and stir gently. Let simmer for 3 minutes. Add the basil, stir and season to taste with salt. Add the pasta to the sauce, and stir to coat, adding pasta water to loosen sauce and help it bind to pasta. Let simmer 1 additional minute until water is absorbed. Just before serving, stir in extra virgin olive oil and ricotta salata

Thai Basil Chicken and Red-Cooked Chinese Eggplant

I love Chinese supermarkets. The meat, seafood and produce are soooo cheap (not to mention all the Asian ingredients that would be otherwise super hard to find or super expensive). I got the ingredients to make this dinner for four people for about 20 bucks, and I still have leftover Thai basil and Thai bird’s eye chiles (which were like two dollars for fifty of them).

In this recipe, the basic but assertively aromatic and spicy Thai flavors of fish sauce, basil and chiles come together to make a ground chicken dish to complement jasmine rice. For a vegetable side with a bit more sauce to go with the rice, I picked out a Shanghainese recipe from rockstar chef Danny Bowien (of the Mission Chinese Food restaurants). He uses traditional (spicy bean paste, dark soy sauce, ginger) and nontraditional ingredients (anchovies, chiles de arbol) in this preparation that yields soft but not mushy eggplant in a fragrant, dark red-brown sauce packed with salty, savory flavor.

Thai Basil Chicken

Total Time: 45 min

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, tightly packed (use Thai basil with the purple stems, if you can find it)
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 6 Thai chiles, or 2 serranos, stemmed
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoons white vinegar
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or peanut oil

Method

• Pulse 1 cup basil leaves, garlic and chiles in food processor until finely chopped. Transfer 1 tablespoon of this mixture to a small bowl and add 1 tablespoon of the fish sauce, the oyster sauce, sugar and vinegar, stirring to combine. Set aside. Transfer remaining basil mixture to a heavy skillet or wok
• Pulse chicken and remaining 1 tablespoon fish sauce in food processor until meat is chopped finely. Transfer chicken to medium bowl and refrigerate for 15 minutes
• Stir shallots and oil into basil mixture in skillet. Heat mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until shallots are golden brown, 5-8 minutes
• Add chicken, stirring to break up pieces, until little to no pinkness remains, 2-4 minutes. Add reserved basil-fish sauce mixture and cook for another 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in remaining 1 cup basil leaves and cook until wilted, another 1 minute. Serve immediately, passing extra fish sauce, sugar and vinegar at the table

Red-Cooked Chinese Eggplant

Total Time: 45 min.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

• 5 Chinese eggplant, quartered lengthwise, cut into 3″ pieces
• 3 cups canola oil
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons Chinese chili bean paste
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 oil-packed anchovy filet, finely chopped
• 1 sachet of spices (5 whole cloves, 4 whole star anise, 2 pods black cardamom, one 4″ strip peeled orange zest, and 1 stick cinnamon, halved, wrapped in cheesecloth and tied with kitchen twine)
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1½ teaspoon Szechuan peppercorns, crushed
• 1½ teaspoon dark soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 2 chiles de arbol, stemmed
• 2 tablespoons Chinese cooking wine
• 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
• 3 cloves garlic, mashed
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped scallions, green parts only

Method

• Submerge eggplant in a bowl filled with ice water for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oil in a 14″ flat-bottomed wok over medium-high heat. Drain eggplant, dry thoroughly with paper towels, and add all to the oil. Cook until just soft and golden, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer eggplant to a bowl, cover with boiling water, and let sit for 3 minutes. Drain; dry with paper towels
• Discard all but ¼ cup oil in wok; return to medium heat. Add sugar; stir until sugar dissolves and mixture looks like separated peanut butter. Add 1 tbsp. chili paste, tomato paste, bay leaf, and anchovy; cook for 1 minute. Add sachet of spices, stock, 1 tsp. peppercorns, dark soy sauce, fennel seeds, and chiles; boil. Cook until reduced by half, about 15 minutes; discard bouquet garni. Add remaining chili paste, wine, fish sauce, and garlic; cook for 1 minute. Add eggplant; fold into sauce. Transfer to a plate; garnish with remaining peppercorns and scallions

Moussaka

As heavy as this dish looks, and as rich as it tastes, moussaka–a Greek casserole of eggplant, potato and seasoned ground lamb or (in this case) beef–is surprisingly light. This is definitely a labor-intensive dish, one that may best be made and assembled the day before it’s meant to be eaten. But when it comes together, with the creamy, cheesy bechamel combining nicely with the warm spices and tangy sweetness of the meat sauce, it can suddenly make all the effort seem worth it.

Moussaka

Total Time: 4 hrs

Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups plus 3 tablespoons  olive oil
• 6 bay leaves
• 2 sticks cinnamon
• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 pounds ground beef
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, plus more for dusting
• ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 (28-oz.) can whole peeled tomatoes in juice, crushed by hand
• 1½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 8 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 cup flour
• 4 cups milk
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 3 large eggplant, cut into ¼″-thick slices
• 5 medium russet potatoes, peeled, thinly sliced crosswise
• 1 cup coarsely grated Gruyère cheese

Method

• Heat 3 tbsp. oil in a 6-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Add bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, and onion; cook until soft, about 5 minutes
• Add beef; cook until all liquid evaporates and meat is browned, about 30 minutes
• Add tomato paste, 1¼ tsp. ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp. nutmeg, and cloves; cook until lightly caramelized, about 2 minutes
• Add vinegar, sugar, tomatoes, and 2 cups water; boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, covered partially, until almost all liquid is evaporated, about 1½ hours. Remove from heat; discard cinnamon and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper; set meat sauce aside
• Heat butter in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour; cook until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add 1½ tsp. salt, remaining cinnamon and nutmeg, and milk; cook until thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat; pour into a blender with eggs. Blend until smooth; set béchamel aside
• Sprinkle eggplant with kosher salt and let stand for thirty minutes, so water drains out. Wipe slices off with paper towels. Heat remaining oil in a 12″ skillet over medium-high heat. Dust eggplant with cinnamon; working in batches, fry in oil until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain; set aside. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes; cook until just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside
• Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread 1 cup béchamel on bottom of a 10″ x 14″ baking dish; sprinkle with ⅓ cup graviera. Spread potatoes over cheese; top with eggplant. Pour meat sauce over eggplant; spread remaining béchamel over meat sauce. Sprinkle with remaining graviera; bake until golden brown, about 1 hour. Let sit 10 minutes, then slice and serve

Szechwan Eggplant (with Yangzhou Fried Rice)

 

My first ever favorite restaurant was called Szechwan Garden…I was three years old. But to this day  (the restaurant went out of business years ago), I can still remember the sweet, sour and most of all, spicy, chile-flecked dishes typical of the Szechwan style of Chinese cooking. It was usually shrimp or fish filets that were bathed in this craveable sauce (I used to polish off these huge bowls of white rice just to mop it all up), as I wasn’t a huge fan of eggplant as a kid, but along with spicy green beans, this garlicky, incendiary eggplant dish is one of the most ubiquitous Szechwan dishes, available on almost any Chinese menu you’ll see. To put out the fire, I used leftover rice to perhaps its greatest use: fried rice. I added some diced shrimp, scrambled eggs, peas, shitake mushrooms and scallions to make the classic fried rice that most Americans (myself included!) are familiar with. I didn’t include a recipe, but basically, you stir fry the shrimp and scallions till just cooked, then scramble the eggs, then fry the rice and vegetables and sauce (a little oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil) for a few minutes, then serve. Simple.

Szechwan-Style Eggplant

Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes (20 minutes active)

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds eggplant (narrow Asian ones, if you can get them)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon garlic chile paste
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon of water
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced

Method

• Trim the ends off the eggplants and peel them. Slice the eggplants lengthwise into 2-inch long by 3/4-inch thick strips. Place the strips in a bowl, toss them with the salt, and set aside for 1 hour to draw out excess water.  Rinse the strips under cool water, drain, and pat them dry with paper towels

• In a bowl combine the soy sauce, garlic, ginger,  sugar, sesame oil, green onions, garlic chile paste, and rice vinegar.  Set aside

• Heat the vegetable oil in a wok over high heat until it is very hot.  Add the eggplant strips and stir-fry for 5 minutes or until the eggplant is soft and cooked through.  Add soy sauce mixture to the wok and stir-fry 1 additional minute.  Serve with fried rice, or steamed jasmine rice