Ahhhh… summertime… time for overindulgence!
Okay – not really. It’s the time to be eating lighter – enjoying the summer garden bounty. Alas, our summer garden hasn’t bountied, yet. So it’s Farmer’s market for eggplant instead of fresh-picked from our yard.
Eggplant is not a vegetable I grew up with. Probably the first time I ever ate it was at a restaurant named The Island. Circa 1973-74-ish. It was in the vicinity of 14th & Noe, although I can’t find an exact address for the place. The tables were all old dining room tables, the chairs all mismatched – as was the cutlery and dishes. Definitely put together on a shoestring and Goodwill. It was one of those hippy-dippy places with excellent food designed with the stoner in mind – and I did smoke a lot of pot back in those days! My first introductions to things like Ratatouille and Baba Ghanoush.
Since those thrilling says of yesteryear, eggplant has become a staple. There are scores of eggplant recipes on this site, nowadays – but one of my most favorite recipes will always be Little Gram’s Eggplant Appetizer.
Victor made a batch yesterday and we had it for dinner. I grilled a steak, sliced it, and we had steak and eggplant on baguettes. Totally delish!
Little Gram’s Eggplant Appetizer
Ingredients:
- 1 medium eggplant
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 3/4 cups halved or chopped green olives
- 3 cups thinned Italian tomato sauce
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 6 tablespoons vinegar
- 1/4 chopped Locatelli cheese
- 2 tablespoons capers
- fresh basil and mint
Cut eggplant in strips the size of French fries. Salt and let stand about an a hour. Dry on a paper towel. Deep fry in hot oil. Keep oil as hot as possible without burning. Add eggplant one at a time and keep adding one at a time to keep the oil at the same temperature. Fry each one until tender and cooked. Drain on paper towels.
To Make Sauce:
Parboil celery for ten minutes. Add olives and cook another five minutes. Drain all water out of the pot. Add the thinned tomato sauce and boil for ten minutes. Add vinegar and sugar. Cook for three minutes. Add cheese. Make it come to a boil and then turn off heat and allow to cool.
Pour sauce over fried eggplants. Garnish with fresh Basil and mint that have been sliced into very thin strips.
And just because, I made an Aleppo and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus.
A while back I canned a bunch of beans and was down to three quarts of chickpeas. Hummus is another one of those things I didn’t grow up with. It definitely wasn’t available at the corner deli. Now, it’s a throw-together dish.
Aleppo and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
- 1 qt cooked garbanzo beans
- 1 small jar roasted red peppers, drained
- 1/2 cup tahini
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tbsp aleppo pepper
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- S&P to taste
Place everything in a blender and process until extremely smooth. Taste, and add additional S&P, aleppo, oil, or whatever, to taste.
It’s definitely one of those recipes that you can do anything to – or with. We had it with pita crackers last night. Today, it may be a sandwich spread for lunch…
I’ve never been afraid to try something new – if I can get it past my nose – and have been pleasantly surprised at how many things I actually do like. There are a lot of things I’ll never make at home, but if someone else is making – I’m there to try.
It’s amazing how many great things there are out there…