Stuffed Eggplant Balls
Romans call crispy little rice balls stuffed with mozzarella supplì, meaning “telephone wires,” because of the way the cheese filling forms strings when the balls are cut open. These eggplant “balls” stuffed with cubes of smoked scamorza (you can use mozzarella instead) are inspired by supplì. Stuffed Eggplant Balls are a delightful and flavorful appetizer […]
Sofia’s Eggplant Rice Timbale
I originally enjoyed this timbale while visiting the farm of my husband’s cousin near Agrigento, in Southern Italy. Eggplant, tomato sauce, and cheese were layered with rice accented with golden saffron. The timbale was baked in the old wood-burning brick oven early in the day, and we ate it for lunch at a big table […]
Romeo’s Stuffed Eggplant
One of the first Italian cookbooks I bought when I was just married was penned by Romeo Salta, a chef who owned a restaurant in Manhattan that was very famous at that time. Mr. Salta, an immigrant from Puglia, in Southern Italy, had learned to cook while working on luxurious Italian ocean liners before coming […]
Eggplant Towers
Obikà, meaning “Here it is!” in Neapolitan dialect, is a small chain of casual restaurants, both in Italy and abroad, specializing in fresh mozzarella. Almost everything on the menu includes the cheese. At lunch in an Obikà in Rome, I had this fresh take on a classic combination of ingredients: eggplant, mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil. […]
Three Cheese Eggplant Rollatini
Swordfish and eggplant, eggplant and swordfish,” I remember thinking the first time I visited Sicily many years ago. We seemed to be offered the same things at every meal. I was convinced that if Sicilians ate breakfast, they would probably eat swordfish and eggplant then too (actually, they prefer to eat gelato or granita). There […]