THE SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY OF FRYING EGGPLANTS

   I recently was stranded in the country and the parental units had to come and pick me up. Well if thats not an excuse to fry some eggplant then I don't know what is. Sergio, the CSA farmer, gave us some gigantic eggplants this week. And if I have one special talent to save from the apocalypse it would be my frying technique. Eggplants are good for one thing, sopping up olive oil. How many times have I heard the lame complaint, "I hate the way eggplants soak up so much oil." Well what kind of oil are you using? I can put good extra virgin olive oil on anything and when its embedded in a spongy fat eggplant slice, it is fried heaven.

   The key to frying eggplant is first soaking the slices in salted water for an hour or so. Some people think it removes the bitterness but its really just osmosis in action: the movement of water from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration through a semi-permeable membrane, in this case sweet eggplant flesh. So the eggplant has lots of non-salty water in it. So when you put it into salty water, all that water in the eggplant wants to hook up with the salt on the outside so the water gets drawn out, making the eggplant perfect for frying. You know when water mixes with hot oil it can be a dangerous situation, so after I remove the eggplant slices from the salt water I get rid of the excess water by placing them on paper towels.

    Now its time to fry! You really should not fry in extra virgin olive oil because it has a low burning temperature but you don't want your eggplant to sop up canola or worse corn oil. Gross. So I create a blend of extra virgin olive oil with canola oil in order to raise the burning temperature of the extra virgin olive oil. Smoking oil is not good for the body. I do not use a thermometer when I fry. I heat it up, then when I feel like its right, I put in a little piece of bread or whatever I am frying in the oil and if it gets all bubbly and happy then its the right temperature. 

   You want to use at least an inch of oil because like I mentioned the eggplants just soak in the oil. When they get nice and golden on each side, remove from the oil, place on more paper towels, then (do not forget this step) salt them with sea salt while they are hot.

   So now you have all this fried eggplant, what do you do with it? Well philosophically speaking, the eggplants is the end, and the means to enjoying these oily beauties is either a nice red sauce or some good Italian Bread. 

   As my parents were driving up here I said, "Listen, I have some eggplant frying, we are going to need to figure out a sauce situation." Rocco arrived and was on it. His sauce is inspired by a tomato sauce he had in Tuscany but he made it Sicilian by adding basil. He fried some garlic in olive oil and added some peperoncino. Then he added some canned plum tomatoes and cut them up in the pan while they were cooking. He added some salt and pepper and after about 15 minutes added some fresh basil. It was done that fast and so delicious. 

   Mommy was like, "that sauce was so good." 

   Me: "how did he make that?" 

   "I don't know. I can't make sauce like that." 

   Its so simple, yet Rocco can really hook up a mean sauce in a hurry, like a magician while no one is looking. (And for the record, Mommy, who Rocco calls the "American Woman" makes a fresh tomato sauce that rivals Nonna's. Good thing Nonna has no internet access because what I just said was a major mala figura.) 

   And now its the moment we have all been waiting for. The marriage between the sweet fried eggplant and the delicious tomato sauce. The grated pecorino romano cheese is like the wedding band that bring the two flavors together in such delicious harmony for our bellies to enjoy. Good thing, Rocco has been complaining that his panza (It: stomach) is not fat enough.

Rocco's Birthday...and his rap video

    Rocco has been a major cranky pants since he came home from Sicily. Why? I don't know. My mom would say he's just being a curmudgeon. So we figured we'd throw him a little party for his birthday in my new apartment in Mid. Vill, Queens, home of every major cemetary in the tri-state area. 

    It was a lot of fun, Mommy, my brothers, Nonna and Cousins Pino and Roseanne came. Pino actually starred in a rap video with Rocco. Oh you didn't know that Rocco is a famous rapper? Well watch this video. You will be very happy you did. HERE'S THE LINK IF ITS NOT SHOWING UP HERE...

As for Rocco's Birthday menu, Mommy cooked up a storm as usual. She made her famous:

breaded shrimp with parsley, 

chicken cutlets (no THE BEST CHICKEN CUTLETS), 

a string bean and potato salad with red onion and,

the most delicious sausage and potatoes I have had in a while and trust me my life is not short on sausage-eating. 

Some sweet Long Island Corn (pronounced in guidonics: Lawnk Eyelint)

I made bread salad, a regular green salad and for dessert I made a Pineapple Upside Down Cake but instead of those corn syrup red cherries I put some fresh blueberries on top. Nice.

    And Roseanne, who lives in the most Italian area of "the Other Brooklyn" a neighborhood called Bensonhurst (more on "The Other Brooklyn" in another post) brought this giant platter of Italian Cookies. 

    These darn cookies are insanely delicious, all almondy and now in my freezer for when I have impromptu guests. Right, it just ends up being me eating these sweet frozen angels when I get home late!

SWISS CHARD FROM THE YARD AND MORE PANELLE

    The swiss chard I got as an infant plant from Rooftop Farms was really ready to go. The last chard recipe I made was simply sauteed with a runny egg on top. The chard itself is not how I remember eating chard, so I referred to Rocco, who is the only person who ever prepared chard for me, and I cooked it the way he does. It came out just as I wanted it to. 

    While I was rinsing the chard, I get a call from Nonna, who has her own cell phone by the way.

    "Jane (my name is Jen) I gotta the panelle, you want it?" 

    Faster than you can say mala figura I was at Nonna's house, ringing the door bell. And as usual she was buzzing me in, but the outer door was locked, so I couldn't get in. No problem. "Nonna!" I screamed up to her apartment. After a few moments, Nonna comes out onto her balcony. No true Sicilian doesn't have a balcony. I think they just shrivel up and die without one. 

    "Jane, you don't gotta the keys?" If I had the keys I would have already been up eating panelle, "Okay, Jane I come down." After a few falls and trips to the hospital, Nonna should not under any circumstances be climbing down the stairs, so I tell her to just throw the panelle down. Usually she then will go into the house and get a little rope and tie whatever it is it and reel it down, which is what I thought was taking so long. Before I know it she's at the front door and walks out carrying her cane, like its an accessory.

    "Jane, why you no gotta the key?" I haven't lived there in like 5 years.

    "Nonna, you shouldn't be walking down the stairs by yourself!"

    "Jane, I can walka downa the stair bya myself. I go out alla the time bya myself." She's a live one. I tried to calmly take the panelle from her, but it was more like ripping it out of her hands and shoving it into my mouth, while thinking, just one, you need to photograph this. It was so perfect, and Rocco was right, good panelle is a little greasy, which I have to admit my panelle was lacking. It had the right flavor but not enough grease seeped into it and all over my hands and the upholstery of the Jeep like this one. There are sometimes casualties involved in good panelle. Its a fact of life. 

    "Nonna, who made this?" 

    "Jane, you like? I getta the recipe. My friend-eh make-eh." The hunt to find this person is on. When I trap her, I will let you know. 

    I suspected it had eggs in it, but when I mentioned this to Rocco, after teasing me that I didn't leave him any, he literally had a fit that I even mention eggs in panelle. That would be a real mala figura according to him.     

Rocco's Swiss Chard

1-2 cloves of garlic sliced

peperoncino

extra virgin olive oil

1 fresh tomato, chopped

bunch of swiss chard, whole or chopped (give swiss chard a good soak, its gritty)

salt and pepper

Sautee the garlic and peroncino in extra virgin olive oil. Add the tomato and cook down a bit. Salt and Pepper. Add the swiss chard and sautee a few minutes. Salt and pepper. Cover and steam until soft.

ZUCCHINI AND MORE ZUCCHINI

     I have been eating a lot of zucchini, and its just the start of the season, so I need to start getting creative. My go to is either Zucchini Stew or Pasta with Zucchini. Yesterday, I had the most unbelievable Zucchini Puree from a little cafe in the West Village which I am going to try to recreate. It was outrageous. Here, I made a combination Rocco Nonna Zucchini Pasta. 

    Rocco will usually slice the zucchini really thin, then fry it and serve it over pasta in a spicy garlic and oil sauce. Its superb. 

    Nonna simply stews the zucchini with garlic for a lighter pasta dish. So I took the best of both worlds. 

     I made the stew as the base of the sauce, then combined it with a garlic sauteed in oil and peperoncino. The I topped it with some fried zucchini slices and ended up with a remarkably delicious zucchini pasta that is really nice topped with fresh grated romano cheese. It seems like more steps but in the end it was easier because frying 50 zucchini slices is time consuming. So while the stew is going you just fry up say 1/4 of the zucchini in slices and you still get that nice friedness with less frying toil.

OLD MAN OBSESSION

     Did I ever tell you I am obsessed with old men? Well, not in the dating sense just yet, more in a muse sense. It is a common theme in my personal portrait photography. Here is an awesome old man photo that Rocco posted on his blog. He posts a variety of photos on a daily basis but this one is so stand out. Sicilian Old Men are a super plus!

HAPPY 4th! 100th POST GIVEAWAY

     This may be my favorite photograph of ALL time, so I whored the image out, and put it on mugs, magnets, tote bags and t-shirts and am selling them on the Morta Di Fame Shop, at Cafe Press. 

      I also have a few other choice items, like the Morta Di Fame "Phonetics" assortment of t-shirts and the Morta Di Fame "Must Love Garlic" cap sleeve tee. I figure, in the name of consumerism, which should be called more aptly garbagism, that I should also have the opportunity to fill landfills! 

      In the name of garbagism, allegiance to the USA on this 4th of July, and to celebrate Morta Di Fame's 100th post, I am giving away a Morta Di Fame Rocco Mug!!!

    Nothing says, "I LOVE MY COUNTRY!" (and my freedom of expression) like Rocco flipping you the bird on a mug. This mug is perfect for the office when you can't say what you really want to say for fear of getting fired. I don't know about you, but this is a daily occurrence for me and sometimes I come very close!

    Here how it works: All you have to do to is answer the following question in the comment section of this post. Submissions will be accepted until July 7th, 11:59pm. No personal info is necessary, but you cannot post anonymously. I will use random.org to randomize the comments and the comment that comes up first will be the winner of the mug! (Then I'll ask the winner to email me their address for shipping.)

The Question: Does the smell of "garlic hands," (as the result of chopping garlic) turn you on or make you gag? Answer as simply or elaborately as you like.

Good luck! 

PASTA CON CAVOLO (KOLHRABI) - LOCAL CUISINE

    I am so excited to be adding a "Local" category to the blog because this week we received our first vegetable share from the Woodside CSA. Our farm is in Andover, NJ and our farmer, who I am excited to meet is named Sergio. What a great name! I was ramping up for an overstock of rhubarb but I was surprised to receive: radishes, lettuce greens, kohlrabi, spinach, collard greens, swiss chard and turnips. I was happily overwhelmed by the variety and possibilities. Rocco came over and prepared our first local dish, a kohlrabi pasta in a light garlic and tomato sauce. It was delicious! 

    Kohlrabi is known in Sicily as Cavolo and it looks like a big light green bulb with leaves like collard greens. 

    Everyone at the CSA was wondering if the leaves were edible. Rocco used the soft leaves in the sauce and the rest was for the Bearded Dragon Irwin's salad so the answer is yes. The sauce was so simple and wonderful. Even Mike liked it even though it was green, so you know it was good. Rocco delivered.

PASTA CON CAVOLO

1 large kohlrabi root sliced plus the leaves chopped

2-3 cloves of garlic chopped

1/2 C. tomatoes (fresh or canned) chopped

dash of peperoncino (hot red chili flakes)

2-3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

1/2 lb. fettucini pasta

    In a big pot filled with salted water boil the kohlrabi leaves and slices of kholrabi root until they are soft. Meanwhile in a sauce pan, add a couple of TBSP of olive oil and sautee the garlic, peperoncino and tomatoes until it forms a nice thick consistency. Season with salt and pepper. When the kohlrabi are soft, after about 15-20 minutes, add the pasta directly in the boiling pot of kholrabi with a handful or salt. Cook the pasta until al dente then drain and add everything back to the pot. Pour the tomato sauce over the kholrabi and season with fresh pepper and more extra virgin olive oil.

PASTA CON LE FAVE

The first webisode of Morta Di Fame was filmed this morning. Rocco procured some fresh fava beans and made fava bean pasta. It was an adventure, a challenge and an all-around crazy fun time. The video will take a minute to edit,  so in the mean time, I am blogging the old fashioned way since fava bean season is short.

 

Cooking with fresh fava beans can be time consuming because you need to shell them twice. First out of their pod, then out of their shell. The shell is edible and delicious but can be bitter when cooked. But if you have some patience and a partner, its not so bad. Once you have the fava beans shells, they are really easy to make a delicious sauce out of.

PASTA CON LE FAVE

Ingredients

3lbs. Fresh Fava Beans, Shelled Twice

1 small onion chopped

3 cloves of garlic chopped

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Bay Leaf

Olive Oil

1/2 C. fresh or canned tomatoes

In a heavy saucepan sautee the onions, garlic and bay leaf in olive oil. After a few minutes add the tomatoes then the fava beans. Season with salt and red pepper flakes. Add enough water to 

cover the fava beans. Bring to a boil, them simmer covered for 1/2 and hour to 45 minutes, until the fava are soft and the sauce has cooked down. Season with salt and olive oil to taste.

For the pasta, use fettucini and break it up into small pieces. When boiling in salt water also add some olive oil since this type of pasta tends to stick together. Cook until al dente and strain, saving some of the pasta water. Add about 1/4 C. of the pasta water, along with the pasta to the fava bean sauce. Enjoy!

(all photos ©Jennifer Galatioto)

ROCCO SAYS...

Notice how all Sicilian phrases precede the Italian. For Rocco, Sicily is the origin of civilization and the center of the universe. He even thinks that George Washington had Sicilian ancestors. If you take a close look, he did have a Roman, I mean Sicilian looking nose...

An email from Rocco:

"Bellisima,

I'm working on some more ideas for the blog. There is, for example, the adage that goes: "mancia e pensa a saluti" [Italian: mangia e pensa alla salute.] It literally means, eat and think about your health. Meaning that there is nothing more important than your health. Saying pensa a saluti is also used whan one wants to do something out of the ordinary like buying something expensive. In this way it means that you should go for it because nothing is as important as your good health. It sort of borders on the Sicilian's preoccupation and acceptance of death. Saying simply saluti -salute- is the most common of toasts. One word will do: health. 

There is another saying in Italian that goes: "quando si mangia non si parla" Literal translation: when you eat you,  do not talk. This is a very loaded expression because on it's first and obvious meaning it states that talking will interfere with eating, not to mention it may bring about the need of the Haimlich maneuver. Yet there is another rather hidden meaning referring to when a person is paid off - he has eaten - then he should keep his mouth shut. This applies to politics, the members of the inner core who have all eaten i.e. gotten fat from the many perks, should not spill the beans. Or, for that manner anyone who has been paid off sort of illicitly.

I hope that i have been helpful.
Love 
YD"

"EAT AND GET FAT" - ROCCO UNCUT

My father Rocco is a paradox. He will have you laughing hysterically and at the same time asking yourself what is this crazy guy saying? Half the time even my mom doesn't understand him. That is probably why they have been together for so long. Why is he incomprehensible to most? He does have an accent, which is a mystery since he has been living in the US since he was twelve years old. He mumbles. And its not quite clear if he is talking to you or talking to himself. He is not of this world, he lives on planet Rocco. But, it doesn't matter, its all about the delivery. Stay tuned for the cooking show. 

I made a very interesting discovery as an adult with the help of internet technology in the form of email. Over email, Rocco is an entirely different creature. Eloquent, engaging, and he surprisingly makes a lot of intelligible sense. There's no reason why he shouldn't; he is super educated, can discuss physics with Stephen Hawkings, who will be left perplexed, and he knows English grammar better than most English professors. And yes, he is still funny!

Here are some recent correspondence I had with Rocco:

A comment:

"My love, I'm glad you do not have my appearence. But, my stomach, ha, that is something else. 
In Sicilian I say "un mortu di fami" when I see a poor slob. Unfurtunately, I say that to all those who go on diets. A diet is not a word in my lexicon. Another Sicilian expression that appears in other Italian languages is MANGIA E FATTI GROSSI or EAT AND GET FAT. Che bella vita."

After asking Rocco to remember some other funny Sicilian/Italian phrases about food:

"Well, well....

1)  In Sicily we have the concept of a MAN OF THE STOMACH: OMU DI PANZA [in Italian Uomo di pancia] to describe a person who likes to eat well.

2)  We also had the concept that being fat is a sign of well being. So telling a person that he or she is, well, rather plump was a compliment. A husband who had a plump wife showed the world that he could afford to feed her well. The phrase: BEDDA E CHIETTA [In Italian: e' bella grassa] was a very nice complement that these days could give you a slap in the face or worse. 

3) LA TAVULA E' TRAZZERA, [Italian: la tavola e' un sentiero.] That means that A TABLE IS LIKE A ROAD where people get on and off so it is always in use and should always be ready for a meal.

I will try to come up with some more

Love 

YD"

Here's another:

"Carissima,

Yes, there is the expression: PANZA E PRESENZA  [Italian: pancia e presenza.] This refers to a person who is invited and brings nothing to the host. He only brings his stomach."

 

ABOUT THIS BLOG

"Morta di fame" is a hilarious phrase, especially when my father Rocco (above) says it in his perfectly crazy Sicilian accent. It literally means you're dying of hunger, but is used as an insult for someone who would do anything for money. 

This blog is a mash up of multicultural dishes, inspired by my family traditions and from growing up in Queens, NY, a place with some of the most ethnically diverse palettes in the universe.

As a child my father would proudly feed me pasta with sardines, broccoli rabe, mussels and any other food by which most kids would be horrified. Children are described as having their father's eyes, but my Dad still says that I have his stomach. Not in appearance, thank God!