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.

Jamie Oliver, the young English chef and restaurateur, came to fame with a provocatively titled cookbook, “The Naked Chef.” It had nothing to do with nudity (or naturism) but rather cooking with fresh, easy to get ingredients in a simple but savory manner. Since then, Jamie has built an empire. Many restaurants and many more cookbooks. His line of foods are sold in supermarkets throughout Canada. They range from pasta to sauces and sausages and chickens. BSK bought a Jamie Oliver spatchcocked chicken (marinated in lemon juice and spices) at the meat counter of Sobey’s in the Prince Edward Island town of Montague. Very convenient way of getting a good dinner on the table in record time. While BSK roasted the bird, HG made a bowl of smashed PEI potatoes (using SJ’s butter-sour cream-mustard-garlic scapes recipe). BSK steamed a batch of fresh local yellow beans. Handsome Haru acted as sous chef and chopped garlic scapes (received an ample supply from Noel and Yossi Martonovich’s Ocean Mist Farm.) Splendid meal. Haru had a much anticipated root beer float for dessert. It did not live up to his unrealistic expectations. HG was happy with strawberry rhubarb pie (from Montague’s Juice Box restaurant) made a la mode with vanilla ice cream. No overindulgence for BSK. Just red wine and a modest green salad.