Celebrating summer vegetables – Emilia-Romagna style!

The farmer’s markets in Los Angeles are finally filling up with summer vegetables. Summer squash of all shapes and colors, Italian and Japanese eggplant, bell peppers of all varieties. And fresh summer vegetables are the perfect ingredient for antipasti platters.  This takes me back to our trip to Emilia-Romagna several years ago. This is unfamiliar food to most Italian-Americans.

Emilia-Romagna lies along the northern slopes of the central Apennines. Geographically and gastronomically, this is the heart of Italy. Its cities, strung along the A1 Autostrada to the northwest and the A14 to the southeast, have named some of the most famous foods associated with Italian cuisine: Parma its ham and cheese; Modena its vinegar; Bologna its cured meats. Perfectly situated between north and south, bordered by Milan’s Lombardia and Venice’s Veneto to the north, Toscana and Marche to the south, slices of Piemonte and Liguria to the west, and the Adriatic to the east, no region touches a broader mix of neighbors, cultures, and traditions.

Food is not Emilia-Romagna’s only claim to fame: just ask a car-lover where Ferraris are made, or an academic where the finest Italian universities began (in 1088, in Bologna).  And its cities are themselves gems of architecture, tradition, and culture that reward visitors with enchantment that extends far beyond the food that bears their names.

One of the advantages of being surrounded by some of the most amazing wine-growing regions in the world (Tuscany, the Veneto, Piemonte), is that Emilia-Romagna, with its broad flat valleys and north-facing hillsides, doesn’t really compete with its illustrious neighbors in viticulture. Mark and I always prefer local wines wherever we go in Italy, and we had some perfectly fine examples of the most notable Emilia-Romagnan wine, Lambrusco (but who can forgive Aldo Cella for ruining the concept of sparkling red wine forever??). But just as we were fine having Parmesan cheese and Prosciutto di Parma anywhere in Italy, in Emilia-Romagna wines from any of the surrounding regions—arguably the finest in the world, don’t forget—are perfectly acceptable.

Here’s two recipes to make a great summer appetizer plate. Serve with bread and sliced Italian meats like Prosciutto di Parma, Mortadella and Capicolla. These recipes are adapted from “The Splendid Table” by Lynne Rossetto Kasper of NPR-fame.

Pickling Ingredients:

1 quart of white wine vinegar

1 quart of water

1/2 bottle of dry white wine

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 big pinch of freshly ground pepper

3 tablespoons of fresh basil chopped

4 brightly colored bell peppers for example, 2 yellow and 2 red cleaned and sliced into 1/2-inch strips

1 small head of cauliflower broken into bite sized florets

Peeled pearl onions (Trader Joe’s sells frozen and pre-peeled pearl onions)

1/3 cup commercial balsamic vinegar (mass market balsamic vinegar works for this recipe)

In a large heavy bottom pot, add all the pickling ingredients. Bring to boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Add the peppers and cauliflower and cook for 2-3 minutes. Using a spider or large slotted spoon, drain and remove to a bowl.

Add the pearl onions and cook for 5 minutes. Again, using a spider or large slotted spoon, remove to the bowl containing the peppers and cauliflower.

Add the balsamic vinegar to the pickling liquid. Bring to a boil and turn off the heat.

Let the vegetables and the pickling liquid cool separately to near room temperature. Pack the vegetables into a large jar and pour over the pickling liquid. Seal the jar and refrigerate.

When cold, drain and serve. Refrigerate for up to 3 weeks. The vegetables will get better the longer they marinate.

3 large long Japanese eggplant – as straight as possible (I personally like the shape of Japanese eggplant because of the shape for grilling)

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

6 garlic cloves, minced

A big handful of chopped parsley and chopped basil

Salt and pepper to taste

Trim the eggplant ends and slice lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices (use a mandolin slicer to simplify this task)

Mix together all the remaining ingredients. Using a pastry or silicon brush, brush both sides of each slice of the eggplant with the marinade. Lay them on a large platter stacking as you go.

Cover with plastic wrap and let them marinate for 2 hours.

Heat an outdoor grill to moderate heat. Grill the eggplant for about 5 minutes on each side until golden brown.

Remove back to the marinade and brush any remaining marinade over the grilled eggplant. Cool to room temperature and serve.

Photo courtesy of Michele Becci – ouritaliantable.com