The heaviest cookbook I personal is Profumi di Sicilia, which I purchased from a secondhand bookshop in Tor Marancia the identical afternoon I twisted my ankle. The accident had nothing to do with the three.1kg e-book, which was already safely on the again seat of the automotive by the point I didn’t discover the kerb or the bike owner. Years on, and the scene repeats on me each time I see the cream cowl of not simply the heaviest, however perhaps probably the most good-looking cookbook on my cabinets. Written by the journalist Giuseppe Coria and first printed by Vito Cavallotto Editore in 1981, Profumi di Sicilia is an encyclopaedic exploration of Sicilian regional cooking – the smells, substances, recipes, folklore, trivia, traditions and origins. A major a part of the e-book’s nice magnificence is the pictures of substances, dishes and scenes by Melo Minnella, which saturate the pages with color and which seem in pairs each eight pages of textual content.
Damaged into many acquainted chapters and subchapters, with small line drawings – a snail, bowl, potato or flask – the a whole bunch of recipes are in paragraph kind, with many containing no portions in any respect – only a description of how you can put substances collectively to make X. Others, in the meantime, have particular portions included within the descriptive paragraph, however all the time with loads of leeway; Giuseppe’s means to evaluate when a reader/cook dinner wants basic recommendation and once they want particular portions isn’t just spectacular, however inspiring.
The nice variety of recipes for every ingredient, which run into one another in narrative fashion, additionally makes the e-book a superb, sensible supply of inspiration when you’ve an ingredient you aren’t fairly positive what to do with, and hope the answer includes issues you have already got in the home. Final week, that was aubergines, which are actually out there all yr, I do know, however that are at their finest from July to September (and in addition plentiful and, subsequently, good worth). Giuseppe has 25 aubergine recipes, and my favourites embrace braised in olive oil with potatoes and mint, as a part of a caponata with capers and pine nuts, and “in agrodolce”. This week’s recipe is a mixture of all three.
Giuseppe suggests honey because the dolce (candy) ingredient, alongside red-wine vinegar to offer the agro (or the bitter/acidic steadiness). Warming the 2 in a frying pan is right, as a result of there’s then loads of house to roll the roast aubergine wedges within the dressing earlier than including the capers, pine nuts and mint, which is a pure and feisty companion for the velvet texture of the veg.
Very like caponata and scapece, that is finest left to take a seat for no less than an hour earlier than consuming, turning the aubergine wedges a couple of occasions in order that they sop up the dressing. Candy-and-sour aubergines with capers, pine nuts and mint goes spectacularly nicely with lamb chops (mint sauce lovers will recognize this), in addition to with roast rooster or hard-boiled eggs. Alternatively, serve it alongside different room temperature dishes comparable to tabbouleh, chickpea and roast pink pepper, or a tomato salad.
Candy-and-sour aubergines with capers, pine nuts and mint
Serves 4
2 massive or 4 slender aubergines
Olive oil
Salt
2 tbsp red-wine vinegar
2 tbsp honey, or sugar
2 tbsp small capers
1 tsp pine nuts, or chopped almonds
1 handful contemporary mint leaves, left entire is small, ripped if massive
Pull the stalks off the aubergines, then reduce them into lengthy items (quarters or eighths, relying on the dimensions of the aubergines). Rub with the olive oil and a few salt (fingers are one of the best device for this), then organize on a tray and bake 190C (170C fan)/375F/fuel 5 for 25 minutes, turning two or 3 times, till golden, tender and wrinkled.
In the meantime, heat the vinegar and honey in a frying pan, tasting to ensure that it’s each candy and bitter to your liking. Add six tablespoons of olive oil and style once more. Add the roast aubergine in batches, turning till they glisten, then raise on to a serving plate, leaving many of the sauce within the pan.
Add the capers, nuts and mint to the sweet-and-sour sauce, warmth for a minute, then pour over the aubergines. Depart to take a seat for no less than half-hour, turning sometimes, earlier than serving.