Parmigiana di melanzane? Typical Sicilian!

Yummy, yummy! It's time of one of my favourite dishes, eggplant Parmesan, also known as parmigiana di melanzane.
Despite its name, the word "parmigiana" does not derive from that of the Parmisan cheese but is the Italianization of the Sicilian dialectic word "parmiciana" which are the slats of wood composing the central part of a shutter and overlapping in the same manner as the slices of eggplant in the dish. It seems that parmigiana is a heritage of the Greek and Arab dominations in Sicily as it recalls the Greek moussaka and the Arab tiani.
It's way of cooking differs from area to area so, as usual, I post my family recipe.

Ingredients
serves 4 pax

4 medium/big size eggplants
200 gr pulped tomatoes
1 small onion
1 clove of garlic
2 eggs
100 gr of mortadella (or ham)
basil
salty ricotta cheese (or Parmesan)
extra-virgin olive oil
salt

1. Slice eggplants about half a centimeter thick (you should slice them lenghtways), pour eggplants in layers into a bowl filled with cold water covering each one with salt and let them rest for about 30 minutes. Then, stir and let them rest again for about 10 minutes on a dishcloth.

2. Use a frying pan, pour some olive oil and start frying the slices of eggplants on both sides until they get brown. Let each slice dry on a blotting paper.

3. Prepare the tomato sauce: cut the onion and the garlic finely up, pour some olive oil into a pan and brown them, then add pulped tomatoes and let everything cook for about 15 minutes until it thickens. Add salt and basil as you like.

4. In a oven-proof dish start arranging the fried slices of eggplants in layers and be careful not to place one on another if possible. Pour some tomato sauce along the first layer spreading it evenly and grate some salty ricotta cheese (or Parmesan). Add a new layer of eggplants and cover them with slices of mortadella or ham. Proceed with layers alternating one with tomato sauce and ricotta cheese/Parmesan with another with mortadella or ham until you reach 4 or 5 different layers.

5. Beat the eggs and cover with it the last layer of eggplants. Preheat the oven at 200°C for about 10 minutes, then put the parmigiana into the oven for about 30 minutes until the eggs get a brown ring.

6. You can serve it warm or better let it rest and serve cold. Before serving, you can decorate it with some tomato sauce, flakes of ricotta cheese/Parmesan and basil.

Tricks & tips:
- use the long oval eggplant, dark purple in color, and be careful to choose the ones with the right consistency as they should be not too soft nor too hard
- to increase taste, you can add some mozzarella or caciocavallo cheese between layers
- grill the eggplants for a savour but light version of parmigiana but please, first cook it as per my recipe, you will taste (and appreciate!) the difference!

Buon appetito!

© Text and pictures by Doriana Briguglio

Palermo & Panelle

I love panelle!

It happens quite often for me to go to Palermo, both for business or go and visit friends.
I was in Palermo a couple of days ago. I like this city a lot and I shoudn't say that! You have to know that the two cities, Catania and Palermo, are ancient rivals. And I'm from Catania!

Palermo is an amazing capital, so full of culture and history and monuments and food!

Between a kind of Sicilian street food and a Sicilian fast food, when you say panelle you immediately figure Palermo. Panelle are one of those Palermitani specialties you can easily everywhere around the city. Traditionally food for poor people, nowadays panelle are widely meant as a type of starter or appetizer. They can become a quick and tasty snack for lunch when used to fill a sandwich.

I can't resist and everytime I'm in Palermo I buy some raw to bring, fry and eat at home.
I went and see a very good Palermitano friend of mine and asked his mum to give me her panelle recipe. It is not a very easy recipe but it s worth to try!

Panelle
serves 4 people

1 lt of water
350 grams of chickpeas flour
some fresh parsley
seed oil
salt

1. Salt the water and put it into a pan. Add little by little the chickpeas flour, stiring slowingso to avoid becoming lumpy.

2. Put the pan on the ring and add the parsley, previously cut finely. Continue stiring until all water is soaked and the flour moves away from the pan.

3. Turn off the ring and slowly pour the flour on a moistened top (marble is better). With a wet spatula strecht it out so to get a uniform surface of about 3 mm.

4. Let it cool.

5. Cut the mixture into small squared pieces of about 9/10 cm per side (you can give them any shape you like but just remember to have small pieces), put them into a fryng pan plenty of hot oil.

6. When fine browned (both sides), put them out and lay them down on a plate covered with blotting paper. Salt and serve warm alone or in a sandwich. You can add some lemon drops: delicious!

Buon appetito!

Picture: "Palermitani Panelle" © Doriana Briguglio

Zucchini, potatos & tuma cheese sformato

Mine is preatty a big family. I have 17 first cousins from my father's side that makes more or less 45 if we consider wives, husbands and children. We are very close and now and then organize family reunions to spend time together.


Last Saturday I had about 16 out of 45 for dinner.


But this was not a planned one, we just decided on Saturday morning after a few quick phone calls to wish each other Happy New 2009!


My menu choice always starts opening the fridge: I had just bought some fresh green zucchini and I decided to use them somehow.


I imagined zucchini with potatoes, so I just had to figure out the best recipe and shape.
This is a brand-new recipe I want to share with you and just one of the 5 courses served that night.

Zucchini, potatoes & tuma cheese sformato

serves 8 persons (regular course)

3 zucchini, medium/big size
8 potatoes, medium size
tuma cheese OR emmental cheese (or any other kid of tasty stringy one)
1 egg
2 spoons of parmesan cheese
dried mint
parsley
extra virgin olive oil
salt


1. Use a deep pan to boil 4 whole potatoes. When you manage to easily slip the fork in, potatoes are ready. Strain them and let them cool.


2. Peel the potatoes and cut them in pieces and put them into a bowl. Mash them, then add the egg, parmesan cheese, parsley, a bit of salt and mix all together.


3. Wash and slice the zucchini (about 5 mm each), wash and slice the potatoes (about 5 mm each).


4. Use a pie-dish and make a first layer of about 1 cm with the potato mixture, so to have a close and regualr bottom. Add alternatively a layer of zucchini with a layer of sliced potatoes. Between the layers, remember to pour drops of extra virgin olive oil, dust salt and dried mint.


5. On top, add the sliced cheese. Bake into the oven at 180°C for about 20 minutes. Serve it warm.

Buon appetito!

Picture: © Doriana Briguglio

Cauliflower sformato: when your husband hates cauliflower and you don't!

My husband Enzo hates cauliflowers.
To tell the truth he hates eating whatever is green colored, that means most of the vegetables, which is a problem for me since I really love them!

These are real problems for a couple! The only way to solve this kitchen issue is to find the right way to cook them and let him think he's eating something else.

What to do with cauliflowers? What Enzo really hates is their consistency. So, the easiest solution was to make a change to my mom's sformato di cavolfiore (cauliflower flan).

Preparing the flan (serves 2/3 persons)

1 big cauliflower

1 egg

5 spoons of Parmisan OR Grana Padano cheese

150 grams of fusing cheese (at your choice)

4/5 slices of ham

2 spoons of salt

extra virgin olive oil

2 spoons of breadcrumb

1. Wash carefully your cauliflower and cut it into several pieces, be sure to cut not only the flower but also a bit of stalk.

2. Use a deep pan, fill with water (water must cover every piece of cauliflower) and put the salt(taste the water now and then and adjust with more salt if neede). When it begins to boil, dip the cauliflower and let it cook until you easily manage to penetrate the stalk with a fork. Strain the cauliflower until it completely loses the water.

3. Put the cauliflower into a bowl and mash it with a fork. Add the egg and the parmisan and mix all ingredients. If the cauliflower has been correctly strained, you will get a thick consistency.

4. Use a small/medium pie-dish (the size actually depends on how big the cauliflower is) and with a serviette soaked in olive oil moist the the whole internal surface of the pie-dish. Then, do the same with the breadcrumb so to cover all sides.

5. Ideally divide the cauliflower mixture into two parts. Create a first layer of mashed cauliflower (about 2 cm), a second layer with the slices of ham, a third one with the cheese and a fourth one with the rest of the cauliflower.

6. With a fork creates your own decoration. Add some parmesan cheese on the top and bake it into the oven at 180°C for about 25 minutes.

Let it rest for a couple of minutes, don't tell your husband what dish it is and serve it preatty warm.

"Not bad, taste very good, I think I can eat it once again", Enzo said.

Yes, what a success!

Picture: © Doriana Briguglio