HUNGRY GERALD

HG has never enjoyed the Eggplant (or chicken) Parmigiana served at “red sauce” Italian restaurants. Mushy. Messy. Eggplant and cheese flavors lost in an ocean of inferior olive oil. Last night, BSK used a Jamie Oliver recipe for the dish as a starting point for her own creation. BSK grilled slices of eggplant in a cast iron pan. No oil. Sizzled the slices until lightly charred. Made a sofrito (sauce) of onions, garlic, olive oil, jarred tomatoes (from The Italian Corner in East Providence, RI) oregano, ground black pepper, basil and a dash of red wine vinegar. Put some sauce in an oval casserole pot. Layered the eggplant slices with sauce and slices of mozzarella. Topped it with more mozzarella and a dusting of parmigiana. Into the oven. Watched carefully until just done. Served with buttered penne and a green salad. Finally, a delicious Eggplant Parmigiana, non-oily with the eggplant keepings its integrity.

A pleasing collaboration last night by HG and Exquisite Maiko. Well, not exactly an equal collaboration since EM did most of the work and Lesley R. added to the effort. HG’s major contribution was a rich and spicy dish of Japanese eggplant. It started by HG peeling five small eggplants. Tactfully, EM took over and peeled the eggplants with precision. Better than HG’s clumsy work. The peeled eggplants were cut into cubes and browned in Canola oil. Removed from the pan and replaced with chopped garlic and thinly sliced onion (Lesley R. did this prep work. Once more, HG bypassed tedious labor saving himself to soar in the lofty climes of creativity). When the onion/garlic mix cooked down sufficiently, HG returned the eggplant to the pan and added judicious amounts of Chinese oyster sauce and fiery chile garlic sauce; soy sauce, sugar and water. Simmered for ten minutes and then received a gilding of sesame oil and smoked black pepper. Powerful flavors. Lots of leftover rice in the refrigerator. EM gently fried it with eggs, garlic, shitake mushrooms and carrot slivers. The parade dish was EM’s sole. This is the way EM brings the fish to heavenly heights. First, EM fries thin slices of garlic and Japanese seaweed in vegetable oil. The crisp brown chips of garlic and seaweed shreds are removed (They will reappear to top the cooked fish). EM gives the sole filets a quick sauté in the flavored oil. Then HG adds sake to the pan, covers it and allows the fish to steam to tender perfection. This is all done with EM’s characteristic swift dexterity. The happy diners were presented with a lovely platter of two and a half pounds of sole lightly dotted with the garlic chips and seaweed. Ample bowls of fried rice and spicy eggplant. Plus, baby spinach steamed by EM, Green salad followed. A perfect summer meal.

Yes, HG can eat (with appetite and judgment) but HG has learned (in later life) that HG can also cook. HG’s repertoire is quite limited. However, some of his dishes can be memorable. One that has received the BSK nod of approval is HG’s eggplant dish. HG browns cubes of Japanese eggplant in very hot vegetable oil. Removes the eggplant from the pan. Heats some more oil and softens a bunch of thinly sliced onion. When onion is soft adds lots of chopped garlic and stirs a bit. Then adds soy sauce, oyster sauce, some water, a spoonful or two of water, a sprinkling of sugar. Chili garlic sauce is added (use a generous amount if you want a blast of Szechuan heat). Eggplant goes back into the pan and it is simmered until the eggplant is tender and the sauce has thickened. Top it with ground black pepper, a drizzle of sesame oil and chopped scallions. HG likes to accompany it with BSK’s perfect white rice and crisp green salad.

It’s eggplant season. There are tiny, round eggplants on display at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market. Also, slim Japanese eggplants. BSK has been cutting up the little round ones into cubes and sauteeing them with chopped tomatoes, basil, olive oil and garlic. BSK adds chopped, fresh mozzarella for Pasta a la Norma, a favorite in Sicily. HG and BSK first tasted it on a sunny Sicilian terrace overlooking the beautiful ruins of a Greek temple. Unfortunately, Sicily is wholly associated in the American mind with the nefarious activities of mafiosi. Sure, that’s part of Sicily. What doesn’t get enough attention are the Greek ruins, the extraordinary architecture and street food of Palermo and Taormina, a city with some of the most spectacular sea views in the world. Okay, enough about Sicily, let’s get back to those eggplants: BSK also sautes slices of the round, seasonal eggplants for a nice accompaniment to grilled lamps chops. HG likes to roast the Japanese eggplants. Cuts them open and eats with a bit of Chinese hoisin sauce.Those big eggplants one finds in supermarkets throughout the year are full of water. Best use for them is HG’s Baba Ganoush. HG roasts these eggplants until they are soft. Scoops out the insides and mashes them with olive oil, loads of garlic, some finely chopped onion, Spanish smoked paprika, chopped parsley. Dusts them with Zaatar, that lovely middle eastern spice mixture. HG gets much much applause when the Baba Ganoush is served with a chunk of feta cheese, Kalamata olives and warm pita.

Pickled egglplant is a classic, Italian antipasti dish, the best example of which SJ discovered at G. Esposito & Son’s Jersey Pork Butchers. You can find a middle European version of chopped eggplant at Sammy’s Roumanian Steak House on New York’s lower east side. Very heavy on the garlic and best accompanied by shots of vodka from a bottle frozen in ice. HG’s all time favorite eggplant dish can be found at good Chinese restaurants that feature cooking from the Szechuan and Hunan areas. Sometimes combined with chopped pork, these eggplant dishes stoke the mouth flames with an abundance of hot chile and Szechuan peppercorns. Pass the cold beer…

Yes, it’s true. HG, the devoted carnivore, has become a veggie junkie. Dinner last night was HG’s garlicky eggplant caviar, a big platter of sliced radishes and baby white turnips. Ripe, sliced tomatoes with buffala mozzarella (okay, cheese isn’t a vegetable) and lots of basil and very good Sicilian olive oil. Tonight, HG and BSK will have a modest reprise of the turnip, eggplant and tomato appetizers. Then they’ll settle in with penne rigate mixed with a load of cauliflower sauteed in garlic infused olive oil. Tomorrow night plans call for kasha (buckwheat groats) mixed with farfalle (butterfly) pasta. The dish (known as kasha varnishkes) will be topped with fried onions and mushrooms. Greek yogurt on the side. Next night, BSK is contemplating haricots vert and fingerling potatoes in an Indian inspired cumin and mustard seed curry.

Blame the vegetable madness on the superb produce available at the Santa Fe Farmers Market. Star of the market is HG’s organic farmer neighbor Gary (known in the market as Mister G.). You’ve got to get to his stand early to stock up on his incomparable lettuces, escarole, fingerling potatoes, shisito peppers, radishes, turnips, arugula, parsley and many other good things. The knowing gourmets of the Land of Enchantment snap up Gary’s produce quickly.

HG doesn’t want to sound like a press agent for Whole Foods a.k.a. Whole Paycheck but the pricey grocer does deliver with some quality items. Namely the chicken, feta and spinach sausages. They are healthy and good. HG/BSK will enjoy them tonight over a mixed green salad. Accompaniment will be fast fried Santa Fe Farmers Market shishito peppers. Preceding will be sliced turnips and radishes (also from SF Farmers Market), feta cheese, olives and eggplant caviar (check out the David Lebovitz recipe on the Internet).