SEVENTY-ONE : RICOTTA CROSTINI
SEVENTY-TWO : SWEET-AND-SOUR BAKED EGGPLANT WITH MINT & RICOTTA SALATA
I know dishes from an Italian cookbook aren't exactly traditional, but I am taking any opportunity possible to cross off recipes, so today Thanksgiving went Italian! I chose a couple recipes I thought would fit nicely with the turkey and stuffing, and I think these were quite appropriate.
The crostini is very simple. Brush sliced baguette with parsley oil, toast, then top with a dollop of ricotta cheese, a sprinkle of salt and a drizzle of olive oil. I felt like being extra fancy, so I decided to make the ricotta myself. I've done it before with pretty good success and it's not a difficult thing. I did try a new method: heating the milk in the microwave instead of on the stove top. Everything went quite well except I somehow ended up with way less finished cheese than I expected.
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| fresh homemade ricotta |
So what if each crostini might have been shorted a little on toppings, they were still delicious. The soft, creamy cheese was perfect with the bite of the baguette and a little crunch from the sea salt. We had hours to wait until dinner so snacks were necessary and these disappeared quickly.
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| ricotta crostini |
Now to turn my attention to the sweet-and-sour eggplant. The simplicity of this dish has the 8 hour eggplant marinara beat by a mile! I prepped everything the day before so I didn't have to worry about it at dinner. But really, the prep for this dish is ridiculously easy. First make a simple caramel of sugar and water; let bubble until light amber. Stir in vinegar then a can of crushed San Marzano tomatoes, sliced garlic, olive oil and salt. This simmers 30 minutes, and it's done. Meanwhile, slice and roast 2 eggplants for 20 minutes until softened.
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| light amber caramel |
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| roasted eggplant |
Then today, just before the second turkey was pulled from the hot oil, I layered the eggplant in the bottom of a baking dish and smothered it with sweet-and-sour tomato sauce. That's it. Bake 20 minutes then sprinkle with grated ricotta salata and chopped mint. Done. Eat!
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| eggplant smothered in sweet-and-sour tomato sauce |
Now the stars of the evening were obviously the turkey, stuffing, gravy, potatoes... yummmmmm. But this was also an excellent dish. I will admit that my little scoop of eggplant almost disappeared under all the other amazing food, but I made sure to give it special attention. Really good. Not too rich which countered many of the other things on my plate. A subtle sweet-and-sour tang, not overpowering. I think this may be the best eggplant recipe in the book, taking flavor and convenience into account. Will be making this one again!
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| last bite.. who gets it? |
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