Islander’s former colleague, Luigi M., is from Sardinia. But he still cooks Italian food from the other neighboring island, Sicily, such as melanzane arrostite (grilled eggplant). He had a small grill in his condo patio and made this vegetable side dish for dinner when he invited us over to meet his wife and daughter.
Eggplants are abundant in Italy and the Mediterranean. So they are featured prominently in regional recipes. Since Highlander already was already planning to grill some meats, we decided to use the extra space for this Sicilian specialty and cook both the main and side dishes together.
For National Eggplant Day, make melanzane arrostite and its minty marinade. Buon appetito!
Recipe
(From Luigi M.)
For the grilled eggplant
2 large globe eggplants (around 1 pound each)
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
For the marinade
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup vinegar (red wine or balsamic)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoon mint leaves, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat the grill. Wash and dry the eggplants. Slice into ½-inch thick rounds. Brush some olive oil on both sides. Salt and pepper both sides.
In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the olive oil, vinegar, minced garlic and chopped mint leaves. Salt and pepper to taste. Pour over grilled eggplant rounds and allow them to absorb the marinade. Turn the pieces so everything is soaked.
Grill the eggplant slices for 3-5 minutes, then turn and grill for another 3-5 minutes. Transfer the pieces to a large casserole dish or baking pan. Garnish with extra mint leaves if desired. May be served hot or room temperature.
Notes
We did not have fresh mint on hand, so we sprinkled 1 teaspoon of dried mint leaves in the marinade. We garnished this dish with chopped cilantro for color and taste.
Islander thought that her graduate school classmate and friend, AAW, from Singapore was a “Crazy Rich Asian”. She did drive a BMW and had a vanity license plate, lived in a nice apartment off campus by herself and wore lots of designer dresses to parties. So when she went to study at AAW’s place, she was pleasantly surprised that the foods she cooked and served at our sessions were simple yet comforting, like fried rice. Of course, she threw in some shrimp for a little luxury! She shared the recipe with us and now whenever Islander cooks it, she is reminded of her generous college study buddy.
Add some riches to rice with shrimp, especially on National Fried Rice Day!
Recipe
(From AAW)
Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
3 cups jasmine white rice, cooked leftovers
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 cup cilantro, chopped
½ cup scallion, green parts only, chopped
2 eggs
Directions
Heat vegetable oil in a pan over medium-high and saute garlic for around 2 minutes. Stir in the shrimp and cook until pink. Add rice then soy sauce, breaking up any clumps of rice.
Add fish sauce, sesame oil, cilantro and scallions and stir-fry for about 2 minutes. Make a well in the middle of the fried rice. Add eggs in the pan and mix everything well for another 2 minutes. and serve hot on a platter. Garnish with extra shrimp, cilantro and scallions (optional).
Notes
September is also National Rice Month. Search our blog for more rice recipes.
As we continue to “cook our way through the calendar/countries” as a personal project to learn about international cuisines, we finally reached the last A country in the alphabet: Azerbaijan. Like its neighboring countries in Eurasia, rice is the staff of life. We tried an Azerbaijani pilaf recipe, which is similar to Indian biryani, and it was a delicious meal in itself. There are more than 40 plov recipes in Azerbaijan and this fruity one with chicken pieces is what we cooked to honor this country during National Rice Month.
Wash rice in a strainer till water runs almost clear. Set rice and strainer in a large bowl with water and 1 tablespoon salt. Let soak while preparing the fruit mix. In a skillet/pan, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Sauté the chestnuts for around 3 minutes.
Add the apricots, plums and dates. Stir fry for another 3 minutes. Add raisins and mix for another minute, being careful not to burn the fruits. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
In a large pot, boil 10 cups of water and the remaining 2 tablespoons of salt. Pick up the soaked rice from the bowl and add to the pot. Parboil for 7-10 minutes till the rice is ALMOST cooked (not too hard and not too soft as it will continue cooking with the fruit mix and chicken). In another large nonstick pot, melt 1 tablespoon butter over low heat and add the chicken but do not brown it.
Scatter onions evenly over the chicken and let it sit for a minute. Turn up heat to medium low and gently stir to mix. Add half the rice over the onion-chicken mixture. Then scatter the fruits over the top. Layer the rest of the rice over the fruits.
Tuck a few pieces of the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter into the rice. Cover with 2 paper towel or 1 dish towel before closing with the lid to prevent more moisture in the rice. Turn heat to low and cook for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, dissolve saffron in 3 tablespoons of hot water and mix until it changes color. Open the lid and pour it into the rice. Cover again with the towels and cook for another 25-30 minutes. Turn off the heat and take off the lid and towels. Ladle the rice onto a large platter or serve gently mixed in individual bowls.
Notes
We halved the original recipe and it still made a lot for the both of us. We shared some plov with our friends who were interested in tasting different ethnic cuisines and they really liked this rice dish.
Dia duit and aloha. Failte and
e komo mai. Greetings and welcome to HI Cookery! Highlander and Islander (HI) are gradually building this blog by attempting to "cook the calendar" with ethnic and eclectic recipes.
HI COOKERY 