Summer is coming soon (at least in this hemisphere). That means the arrival of great fresh vegetables, which for me, often get celebrated by making one of the amazing European roasted vegetable dishes. Among my favorites are:
France: Tian/Ratatouille. https://dgourmac.wordpress.com/2013/09/05/from-the-sublime-to-the-ridiculous/
Italy: Cianfotta https://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/cianfotta-neapolitan-style-ratatouille
Greece: Briam/Tourlou. http://thegreekvegan.com/tourlou-tourlou-briam/
Spain: Escalivada: https://food52.com/recipes/31025-escalivada-catalan-roasted-vegetables
In anticipation of this season, I decided to make Cianfotta last night, as a way to utilize the eggplant in the refrigerator which was beginning to show its age. I’ve tried two or three versions over the years, and you can find them in previous posts by entering “Cianfotta” in the search box on the top right side of any of my blog pages. The one I made yesterday was a recipe from Katie Parla’s book, Food of the Italian South (see link above).
This dish braises the vegetables (added sequentially, based on their cooking times) very slowly in their own juices, so they are tender and easily digestible when done. I usually accompany it with a nice, crusty country-style bread. A slice or two of my Tartine bread, toasted, did the trick. Katie’s version is similar to the others I know (Viana LaPlace, Verdure, and Arthur Schwartz, Naples at Table), only a bit simpler and quicker to prepare. Note that ingredients can be modified from time-to-time, depending on preferences and availability.
For wine, I normally choose a rosé or red wine from the country matching the dish.
Wishing you a marvelous, tasty, healthy summer.
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