What's in Season? Titina Goes Shopping--

This week in Titina's kitchen--bags from the State Farmers Market. Like most Italian cooks, Titina builds her meals around fresh, local ingredients. And as summer produce begins to fill the North Carolina Farmers Market in Raleigh, she's there several times a week.



What's this seasoned (and very picky) Italian chef buying this week? Ripe peaches, tomatoes and eggplants.



Titina loves eggplants. Brought to Italy centuries ago by the Arabs, this purple skinned vegetable is prized in the cooking of Southern Italy where the climate suites it perfectly.



"Use fresh," says Titina. Her eggplants never sit around in the frig. She salts and drains them for several hours--then whips them into something delicious.



Here's the link to her popular Eggplant Parmesan Recipe. Another cooking class favorite is Titina's Peperoni Saltati--a combination of summer eggplant, peppers, tomatoes and sprinkle of fresh basil. Here's the recipe.




Peperoni Saltati
Bell Pepper Saute


Ingredients:
2 large eggplants
3 red bell peppers (or 1 jar roasted peppers)
1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 cloves garlic
1 ½ lb. tomatoes; peeled and chopped or 1 can Cherry tomatoes
2 sprigs fresh basil; chopped
1 Tbsp. capers
8 pitted black olives; roughly chopped
1 cup croutons
Salt and pepper to taste


Serves 4; Preparation: 20 minutes; Cooking: 1 ½ hours; Level of difficulty: Medium


Cut the eggplant into cubes and the peppers into strips. Sprinkle with salt and place on a slanted cutting board to drain for 30 minutes.
Sauté the garlic in 3 Tbsp. olive oil over medium heat until garlic is a pale gold color. Add the tomatoes, basil, salt, pepper, capers, and olives. Cook over medium heat until the tomatoes start to separate.
Dry the eggplant and peppers with paper towels. Place the remaining olive oil in a large skillet and fry the eggplant and peppers a little at a time until golden brown. Once all of the eggplant and peppers are fried, place everything, including the tomato mixture back into the frying oil. Stir in the croutons and sprinkle with fresh basil.

Sweets for Easter and Beyond

This week in Titina's kitchen--wonderful smells of baking as half a dozen Pastiera Napoletana cooled on the counter. An ancient tradition in the Naples region where Titina grew up, these ricotta filled tarts have long been associated with Easter Italy.


Like Titina, Neapolitan cooks typically make the Pastiera a few days ahead to allow the citrus and cinnamon flavors to develop. Check out this previous blog post, if you'd like to make this spring-time classic at home.


Or consider something a little easier and lighter. Titina's Lemoncello Capri Cake is the desert she will be making when she returns to her classroom-kitchen on Monday night. Simple and delicious, it is made with olive oil and showcases the lemon favors her home island is famous for.


This cake would be fantastic served with some of the season's fresh strawberries.



Torta Caprese al Limoncello
Limoncello Capri cake


Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
6 eggs
1 ½ cup almonds
4 ounces white chocolate
¾ cup CapriFlavors extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon liqueur
1 fresh lemon, grated as zest or a few drops of lemon oil
¼ cup plain water


Preparation: 20 minutes; Cooking Time: 50 minutes; Level of difficulty: Simple


Grease a 9” or 10” pan with olive oil, sprinkle with flour, and line with wax paper. Cut up chocolate with a large knife very coarsely. Coarse cut almonds in blender, not fine. Set both chocolate and almonds aside.


Beat sugar and eggs together for about 4 minutes, and then add coarse cut almonds and chocolate very slowly. Add 1 Tbsp. lemon liqueur and the grated zest of lemon. Turn mixer to slow and slowly add the olive oil and water little by little. Pour mixture into pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 350F for 1 hour. Garnish as desired.