Matthew Fort - Eating Up Italy - Voyages on a Vespa

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MELANZANE SOTT’OLIO CON PEPERONCINO

Aubergines in oil with chilli

This recipe, like those on the following pages, comes from the redoubtable Signora Capello. They are all as typical of her as they are of Reggio or Calabria, but that is the nature of Italian recipes. They are particular to a place and to a person.

Melanzane are a great testament to the power of trade and war. They owed their ubiquity in Mediterranean cooking to the Turks, who introduced the tame variety to Europe from India, where the smaller, wild variety originated. This should make about two 1kg Kilner jars. The melanzane should be the long, purple ones, and preferably female (don’t ask). The inclusion of celery is a typical Sicilian touch.

5KG AUBERGINES

250G SALT

4 CLOVES GARLIC

2 STICKS CELERY

2 SMALL RED CHILLIES – THE SMALLEST, REDDEST ONES (DIAVOLLILI) IF POSSIBLE

EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

Wash, dry and then slice the aubergines into thin strips. Mix the strips with the salt and leave them for 48 hours.

Wipe off the salt and wring the aubergines out very thoroughly, squeezing out as much liquid as you can. DO NOT WASH (‘or you might as well throw them away’). Chop the garlic, celery and chillies.

Arrange the strips of aubergine in a jar in layers with the garlic, celery, and chillies in between, pressing them down to make sure that there are no air pockets. Cover with olive oil, pressing down again. Leave for 4 months at least.

SALMORIGLIO

Salmoriglio

There are no hard and fast versions of this sauce, which is brushed on to fish, meat and vegetables after grilling or roasting. This is Signora Cappello’s own trope. Variations on salmoriglio also crop up in Sicilian cooking.

290ML EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

JUICE OF 2 LEMONS OR EQUIVALENT OF WHITE WINE VINEGAR

2 TEASPOONS FINELY CHOPPED GARLIC

3 TEASPOONS DRIED OREGANO

SALT

Beat the olive oil in a bowl, gradually adding the lemon juice or vinegar. Then stir in the chopped garlic, the oregano and salt to taste.

INVOLTINI DI VITELLO

Stuffed veal escalopes

Makes 12

Lay out the escalopes on a work surface. Dust with salt and pepper. Mix all the remaining ingredients to make a stuffing, using enough olive oil to bind them. Distribute the stuffing among the escalopes, roll them up and secure each one with one or two toothpicks. Grill for 10 minutes, turning over from time to time.

12 THIN VEAL ESCALOPES

SALT AND PEPPER

12 TABLESPOONS BREADCRUMBS

6 TABLESPOONS CHOPPED PARSLEY

5 CLOVES GARLIC, CHOPPED

75G FRESHLY GRATED PARMESAN

OLIVE OIL

PASTA AL FORNO

Baked pasta

Serves 4

Heat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4.

Make the meatballs by mixing all the ingredients and forming small balls with the mixture.

Boil the rigatoni in salted water until cooked. Drain. Cut the aubergine into slices 1cm thick. Fry in hot oil until soft.

Grate the provola, slice the mozzarella, chop the ham. Cut the hard-boiled eggs into thin slices. In a baking dish put a layer of rigatoni. Place in order a layer of hard-boiled eggs, a layer of melanzane, and then a few meatballs. Cover with tomato sauce, cheeses and ham. Repeat until all the ingredients are used up. Scatter grated Parmesan over the surface.

Bake in the oven for about 25–35 minutes until the mixture is bubbling and the top is golden.

500G RIGATONI

1 AUBERGINE

OLIVE OIL

100G PROVOLA

1 MOZZARELLA

100G COOKED HAM

2 HARD-BOILED EGGS

400ML TOMATO SAUCE

100G GRATED PARMESAN

FOR THE MEATBALLS

450G MINCED BEEF

25G WHITE BREADCRUMBS

1 EGG

15G GRATED PARMESAN

PARSLEY, CHOPPED

1 CLOVE GARLIC, FINELY CHOPPED

WHITE PEPPER

PASTIERA

Pastiera

Serves 12

Sift the flour on to a work surface. Make a hollow in the centre and add the sugar. Chop the lard into small bits and add to the flour and sugar. Lightly beat the egg, egg yolk and vanilla essence together and pour into the centre. Using a fork, gradually mix the ingredients, drawing in the flour from the sides until the mixture comes together as a dough. Knead the dough with your hands until it is soft. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.

FOR THE PASTRY

350G PLAIN WHITE FLOUR

150G SUGAR

100G LARD

1 EGG

1 EGG YOLK

1 TSP VANILLA ESSENCE

Soak the flour in enough milk to moisten, with the cinnamon, lemon zest and ½ tsp of the sugar, for 15 minutes.

Put the ricotta into a large bowl with the rest of the sugar, the candied fruit and the milk-soaked flour mixture.

FOR THE FILLING

100G PLAIN FLOUR

MILK

1 PINCH OF GROUND CINNAMON

1 PIECE OF THINLY PARED LEMON ZEST

100G SUGAR

200G RICOTTA (PREFERABLY SHEEP’S)

250G CANDIED FRUIT, INCLUDING CEDRO AND PUMPKIN (SUBSTITUTE LEMON OR GRAPEFRUIT FOR THE CEDRO, AN OBSCURE MEMBER OF THE CITRUS FAMILY)

Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Boil the milk in a saucepan and add the cornflour. Cook over a gentle heat, stirring, until the cornflour has been thoroughly amalgamated and the milk has thickened. Let it cool down slightly before beating in the egg yolks. Add the orange flower water and mandarino. Fold the crema into the ricotta mixture. Beat the egg whites until they are stiff, and fold them into the mixture.

Roll out the pastry and use to line a 30cm flan dish. Pour in the ricotta mixture. Bake at 190°C/Gas 5 for 1 hour. Serve cold.

FOR THE CREMA

3 EGGS

200ML MILK

1 TEASPOON CORNFLOUR

2 TABLESPOONS ORANGE FLOWER WATER

2 TABLESPOONS MANDARINO LIQUEUR

REGGIO DI CALABRIA – VIBO VALENTIA – PIZZO – PIANAPOLI

Soppressata

The soppressata was fine grained and the colour of roses and spicy and sweet, with aniseed coiling through it.

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