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NVLife_SeptOct_2012

ken frank’s recipe The Adventurous kitchen bychEF kEn FRAnk EggPLAnTfor Two Otobacco, the potato and tomato. Like its cousin the tomato, it’s technically a berry becauseriginally from South Asia, eggplant has been cultivated since early civilization, though it onlyspread to the Western world about 500 years ago. It has a fascinating family tree, related to of the seeds. Visually, their diversity is impressive, too. They can be as small as a walnut or large as a football, and range from dark purple to creamy white in color, solid or striped. To taste every classic dish made with eggplant would be nearly impossible. We all know Ratatouille, Eggplant Parmigiana and Baba Ganoush, but it is found almost everywhere in some fashion—fried, stewed, roasted, grilled, rolled, stuffed, chopped or pickled. One of my favorite tricks with eggplant is “degorging.” Salting, rinsing and draining makes it taste sweeter, but more important, this changes the texture and reduces the amount of fat absorbed during cooking. SALTED EggPLAnT Peel and cut the eggplant into large 1-inch cubes. Toss in NAPA VALLEY wITh RomESco SAucE a bowl with the kosher salt to coat the cubes evenly and I large eggplant with cold water and blot dry on a towel. Sauté in olive oil Visit us today to enjoy ourspread them on a rack to sweat for 45 minutes. Rinse 2 Tablespoons kosher salt over moderate heat, turning them to get each side a nice distinguished wines, 1/4 cup olive oil golden brown. They will be sweet, soft and puffy when contemporary artwork done, like an eggplant pillow. Serve with Romesco Sauce and grated Manchego cheese. beautifully manicured gardens RomESco SAucE Core and halve the tomatoes, toss with garlic gloves, extra and an unparalleled 3 large tomatoes virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in 300 degree oven 4 cloves garlic for about 2 hours. In the same oven, roast the almonds Napa Valley 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and hazelnuts to a golden brown color, without burning experience. Salt and black pepper them. When the ancho chili has softened, scrape the 2 fire-roasted piquillo peppers inside of all its flesh and discard the skin and the seeds. Wine TastingReserve the flesh. When tomatoes are roasted, allow them 1 dried ancho chili, to cool and scrape the flesh from the skin as with the 10 - 6 daily soaked in hot water chili. 10 blanched almonds Place the tomato, ancho and piquillo pepper flesh in 5 blanched hazelnuts the blender with the roasted garlic. Puree until smooth. Peju Province Winery 1 cup extra virgin olive oil When smooth, add the nuts and pulse, while streaming 8466 St. Helena Hwy. Rutherford Ca 94573 1 Tablespoon sherry vinegar in extra virgin olive oil and the sherry vinegar. Do not 800.446.7358 - peju.com over-blend; the nuts should be slightly chunky. Verify and adjust seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. 68 w w w. n A PA V A L L E Y L I F E m A g A z I n E . c o m


NVLife_SeptOct_2012
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