#33 Piglia li marigani he falli bene nectare he bene mondare
sutilmente; poi pone a focho uno pocho de aqua he falli dare uno
bollare; che siano tagliari in quarti he pone in quella aqua uno
pocho de sale, he non li lassare bullire pui che doi Pater Noster;
poi cavali for a sopra uno tagliero he falli sugare; poi infarinali he
frigeli; et como li harai friti, scola for a quasi tuto lo
olio; poi piglia una spica de aglio he pistala bena cum uno
quarto de quisti marignani; he poi habi uno poco de rigano de quello
se mette sopra le alice, he pistalo cum lo aglio cum uno pocho de
pane, pipero, saffrano he sale; poi distempere tute queste cose insieme
cum agresto he cum uno pocho de aceto; poi getta ogni cosa insiema
in la padella a frigere un pochetto; poi meteli in
piatti he manda a tavola cum specie fine.
Eggplants (#33)
Get eggplants and wash and peel them well, then
set a little water on the fire and bring to a boil; cut them into quarters
and add a little salt to the water; do not let them boil more than two
Our Fathers; then take them out onto a cutting board and let them drain;
coat them in flour and fry them; when they have fried, drain off almost
all of the oil; get a clove of garlic, gind it up with a quarter-piece
of the eggplants; them get a little oregano, of the sort that is put on
anchovies, grind it up with the garlic and a little bread, pepper, saffron
and salt; then distemper all of this together with verjuice and a little
vinegar and throw everything together in the pan to fry a little;
then dish it out and serve it with mild spices.
NICCOLO'S RECIPE
Serves 5-6 bring 2 quarts water/2 tsp. salt to boil
1½ lb. Eggplant (2 large)
3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ tsp. Black pepper
5 Tbl all purpose flour
1 tsp. Dried oregano
8 thrds saffron, crushed
olive oil for frying
¼ cup breadcrumb
1 tsp. salt
mild spice mixture
3 Tbl. Verjuice
1 Tbl white wine vinegar
Peel eggplants and cut into eighths lengthwise. Place in the boiling water for the duration of two "Our Father" prayers, approximately 1 minute. NO LONGER or your eggplant will get too soft. Drain in colander immediately and let drain for a few minutes. Toss pieces in seasoned flour and place in heated olive oil to fry until just golden. Remove and drain on paper towels. Remove all but 2 teaspoons of the oil. Take one piece of one eggplant aside and grind with garlic cloves, add breadcrumb, pepper, saffron and salt (this piece of eggplant needs be well cooked to be mushy). To this mash, add verjuice and vinegar. Add back to pan to heat. Add a touch of oil and/or verjuice to loosen this if needed. Add eggplant pieces back to pan, toss to coat and heat through. When well mixed, allow to heat for a couple of minutes, then serve on a platter with a mild spice mixture sprinkled over.
NOTES: In an attempt to minimize the bitterness, I used young Japanese
eggplants. It didn't help as much as desired. If one wants to remove the
classic bitterness of the eggplants, then salt and drain them first. The
recipe does not instruct this, so judge your patrons for their taste. I
recommend eighths instead of quartering because the size of modern eggplants
is likely a good bit larger than the medieval ones. Even cooking will be
better if cut smaller. Cook NO LONGER than the time listed to avoid making
mushy eggplants; they will continue to cook while draining. Be sure to
cook the pieces the second time to make the mashing piece(s) soft enough.
Use a
mortar and pestle, masher, potato ricer, or food mill to grind up eggplant/garlic.
It needs to be exceedingly fine to be a sort of sauce for the vegetables
when it is done. I used Fine Spice Powder from Le Menagier de Paris, as
it is as good a mild spice blend as any, and the spices were all readily
available to this region as well.
ORIGINAL TEXT & TRANSLATION
Scully, T. (2000). Cuoco Napoletano - The Neapolitan
Recipe
Collection:
a critical edition and English translation.
Ann Arbor:
University of Michigan Press.)