EGGPLANT BALLS, THE PERFECT FINGER FOOD.

These eggplant balls are perfect for finger food at your next summer party, or as an entrée for any summer meal. Eggplants are at their peak right now, being the sweetest and most delicious they can be during the year.
This is the simplified and lighter version of a recipe I had in Calabria, earlier this year. The ones I enjoyed in my Southern holiday were bigger – the food size is always bigger in Southern Italy – and had a heart of Caciocavallo cheese that melted in my mouth, burning my taste buds.
Eggplant is another incredible ingredient that demonstrates, once again, that Italian cuisine has always been welcoming ingredients and cultural influences all over the world.
Cultivated in Southern and Eastern Asia since prehistory, it reached the countries of the Mediterranean thanks to the Arabs. This is indicated by the numerous Arabic and North African names for it, along with the lack of the ancient Greek and Roman names.
While the cultivation of this solanaceous plant took root in Southern Mediterranean in the Middle Ages, it was only introduced in Central and Northern Italy after the unification of Italy in the second half of 19th century.
Pellegrino Artusi, the author of the first book of Italian cuisine of a unified Italy in 1891, The Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well, is the first to exalt this versatile vegetable.
“Forty years ago,” he writes in his recipe 399, “one hardly saw eggplant or fennel in the markets of Florence; they were considered to be vile because they were foods eaten by Jews. As in other matters of greater moment, here again the Jews show how they have always had a better nose than the Christians.”

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cooking Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 60 minutes | Yield: Makes 4  servings.

Ingredients

  • 2 medium globe eggplant (about 1 pound – 800 gr.) (peeled and cubed ½ inch thick)
  • 2 medium eggs
  • ½ + ¼ cups breadcrumbs (100 gr.)
  • 1 cup grated Pecorino or Grana cheese (100 gr.)
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp fresh flat parsley, finely chopped
  • marine salt and black pepper to season
  • 1 + ½ cups sunflower oil (300 ml.)

Instructions

 

Boil the eggplant cubes in salted water from 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Check with a fork when they are soft. Drain the cubes and set aside to cool.

Squeeze all liquid from eggplant through the strainer and transfer the eggplant to a food processor. Add parsley, eggs, cheese, garlic, season with pepper, and pulse.

Scrape down sides of bowl, and blend again until smooth. Test to check if salt is needed, if so, add it and pulse again.

Grease your hands with oil, take a tablespoon of the mixture and form a ball using your hands.

Heat the oil in a deep frying pan over medium heat and fry the balls. You can also spread a bit of olive oil on parchment and bake them instead of frying.

Move to a serving dish and serve.



OCTOPUS SALAD WITH POTATOES

This is an extremely fresh way to be introduced to octopus. This salad is ideal to be served in a hot summer day, above all if you are back from the beach.

Italy has an incredibly wide range of fish and seafood, and as many recipes to cook them. Throughout the country, Octopus is a favourite dish. It is an extremely clever animal, but unfortunaly for it, its meat is extremely tasty, low in fats, but rich in good cholesterol, like prawns and other crustaceans.

I was introduced to the joys of octopus quite late – in my mid-20s – by some friends from Civitavecchia who came to visit with some of them, caught by their father. These cephalopods live in rocky coasts. Hailing from the sandy coast of the northern Adriatic coast, I had never seen it. In these past few decades, Italy has been discovering the cuisines of other regions, and it is common to see it in seafood restaurants all over Italy.

When the octopus is fresh, it is extremely tough. The new way to deal with the problem is provided with technology. (see recipe). The old way, that is quite grisly for my taste, has been turned into a touristic show in the old Harbour of Bari. It consists of pounding the octopus on the rocks for hours. Another technique consists of beating it with a stick until the color changes from red to white. Then it is washed in a basin on a tilting stool until it curls. For more info look here.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cooking Time: 1 hour + 25 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour + 35 minutes | Yield: Makes 6  servings.

Ingredients

  • 1 octopus 1 medium, 3 ½ -4 pounds, thawed (1½-2kg),
  • 2 celery stalks, cut roughly
  • 1 onion, cut roughly
  • 2 tbsp black olives
  • 3 potatoes, medium
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 handful flat parsley leaves
  • flaky sea salt and black pepper
  • 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions

In a pot boil the potatoes for about 20-30 minutes.

In another one join the octopus, cold water, salt, celery, carrots and onion. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until octopus is tender, about one hour.Important note: in order to stay soft, octopus should not suffer thermal shock: leave it in the water until it is room temperature.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into bite-sized pieces, do the same with octopus.

Combine olive oil, lemon juice, parsley and garlic and blend them using an immersion blender.

In a large mixing bowl, gently combine the octopus and potatoes with the dressing. Season with salt and pepper and add the olives.

It should be served tepid. If you prepare it some hours ahead it should be kept in the fridge and then put it in the microwave.

Freezing and then thawing the octopus breaks down the toughness in the cellular structure of the flesh. It is the best way to soften it; otherwise, it would be rubbery.

In Italy frozen octopus is sold already cleaned of the guts, still you need to discard the eyes and the beak.