Check out these great recipes!
Summer is eggplant season!
Whether you are a novice or an old pro, try one of our favorite summer eggplant recipes below. Farmers Markets, produce stands and everyday grocery stores are bursting with eggplant this time of year. Look for smallish ones as they have less seeds. You can also find lots of interesting shapes of eggplants in markets today-whether the Sicilian, Japanese or standard globe shape. Experiment away!
When preparing your dish, cut and salt your eggplant for 30 minutes. Wipe off the accumulated moisture and blot with a paper towel to dry. This technique will remove some of the bitterness. And when frying, try using grapeseed oil, if you can find it. It has a very high smoke point which will prevent the eggplant from soaking up too much oil while frying.
Here are links to the recipes! Let us know how you do….
Roasted Eggplant Parmesan (Parmigiana di Melanzane)
‘Ooooh, they have parmigiana di melanzane on the menu’ said I, mouth watering, sounding somewhat surprised as if I hadn’t…
Real-deal Sicilian Caponata
Our recent trip to Sicily really has touched my heart. An island of five million people where Michele and I…
Grilled-then-Marinated Eggplant
As September begins it is hot in Los Angeles–really hot–after a relatively mild earlier summer. Though the thermometer 🌡 is…
Vegetarian Stuffed Eggplant
I hated eggplant as a kid. So did my sister, Michele. Any attempt on my Mom’s part to get us…
Summer’s End: Roasted Eggplant with Tomatoes and Burrata
Oh glorious summer – how I hate to see you go (excessive heat, tornados, hurricanes and floods aside :-)). Summer…
«Frico’» – Fried-and-cooked Potatoes and Zucchini
Late October in central Italy means that summer vine crops are finally giving way to autumn’s earthy vegetables. Chard, cauliflower…
Sicilian Stuffed Eggplant: Melanzane Ammuttunate
If you have been following us for a while, you know how much we love eggplant – stuffed, fried, baked…you…
Eggplant-Wrapped Veal Meatballs
I received a cookbook as a birthday present from some work colleagues back in 1992. It’s by Jo Bettoja and…
A Late Summer Harvest: Timballini di Melanzane
As the heat of summer fades to the cooler chill of fall, my garden harvest begins to slow. The last of…
Summers’ Sultry Solstice: Eggplant Ricotta ‘Ravioli’ with Summer Tomato Sauce
SUMMER!!! How I love thee!! There is nothing like the garden bounty of a midsummer’s day. I just returned home…
Melanzane in potacchio
I’m still on my eggplant kick, so here’s a crazy-simple recipe especially for those first-time eggplant cookers. This recipe and…
Caponata alla Siciliana Revisited
I’ve been on an eggplant kick lately. It’s summertime and eggplant are everywhere in the farmer’s markets and grocery stores.…
(Even Lighter) Classic Eggplant Parmigiana
I have spent the better part of the last month thinking about making this eggplant parmigiana. I frequent a local…
My Eggplant Fries Obsession! #ouritaliantable #basuperfoodies
I know it has been a few weeks since my last post but I have a good excuse – really.…
Pollo con melanzane (Chicken with eggplant, tomatoes and pancetta)
As we continue our Calabrian adventures, I’ve been cooking with the aid of the excellent cookbook, My Calabria. This is…
Pasta ‘Ncasciata (Baked Pasta with Eggplant)
In Calabria, vegetables are king—especially in summertime. Every meal headlines the fresh vegetables that are in season, while meat or…
Celebrating summer vegetables – Emilia-Romagna style!!
The farmer’s markets in Los Angeles are finally filling up with summer vegetables. Summer squash of all shapes and colors,…
Roasted Eggplant Parmesan – The eggplant harvest continues
While my brother Joey and Mark toodle around Puglia for two weeks, I am stateside thinking up creative ways to…
Polpettine di vitello in umido di melanzane (or ‘Cooking while lost in translation’)
I have to confess that I have a guilty pleasure (ok, maybe more than one but only one that I…
My Lesson in Food Photography: A Roasted Tomato and Eggplant Soup Photo Shoot
I have been trying to get more creative with my food photos. I am fortunate to have great light in…
The Eggplant Meets The New Vitamix! The Result: Cheesy Eggplant Mousse
Things have been a bit hectic in my world over the past few weeks – house filled with wonderful guests…
Blogging from the Treadmill: Pasta with Grilled Eggplant and Radicchio
So very excited! I have been reading report after report about the perils of sitting all day at your computer.…
Italian Pickled Vegetables (Verdure in Scapece)
“Vedure in Scapece” is a summer dish from Naples found in Italian delis all over America. It’s the go-to recipe…
Sunday Comfort Food – Baked Eggplant with Ricotta and Marinara Sauce
After just returning from a week in Beijing for work, I was really craving some familiar Italian flavors. And with…
Chicken Stemperata: Stemperata di Pollo
The basic combination of olives, carrots, other vegetables, mint and hot pepper is a dressing for tuna and rabbit in…
Roasted Eggplant Antipasto
Just arrived back home from a great weekend at brother Joey and Mark’s sunny retreat in LA and was starving…
Gratin di Melanzane e Pomodoro: Eggplant and Tomato Gratin
Due to all the rain earlier in the season, almost all my tomatoes ripened at the same time so I…
Bruschetta with Caponata
So many people I know don’t like eggplant. I didn’t like it as a kid either. But besides childhood pickiness,…
Spring’s First Pick (Le Primizie): Sardinian Stuffed Eggplant
It has been a busy week outside now that spring has arrived! In the summer, I have a little farmstand…
Opera Night: Divine ‘Pasta alla Norma’
It’s Opera Night here at Casa Becci! I have been dying for a heaping plate of ‘Pasta alla Norma’ –…