Finally spring has arrived. Not that we had an extreme winter this year, it was abnormally warm the whole winter. And now it is too warm for April; last Thursday it was 31 degrees C here in Florence!
This weekend seeing the beautiful sun I decided to benefit from it and did 4 machines of laundry, all dried out under the sun in a few hours. I love the smell of laundry dried in fresh air. In the winter I hang them on a rack in the attic or put some small pieces on the radiators (my husband doesn't like it, but it is quite fast to dry socks and stuff), which create a lot of humidity in the house..
Yesterday I also did some gardening, planted some new flowers in pots and put them in my front balcony, planted some herbs and placed them in the rear balcony which my kitchen opens to. I also changed the pots of some flowers and my daughter helped me. She likes playing the gardener with her mother :-)
We opened our barbecue season as well yesterday: a big piece of beef-steak as high as two-fingers, the way traditional bistecca alla fiorentina is supposed to be, cooked rare, delicious Tuscan sausages and the inevitable eggplant prepared as my father-in-law prepares it. We like inviting our friends to barbecue in the summer and we always prepare our special eggplant. Everybody loves it. Now I will give you the recipe of this delicious and easy way of enjoying eggplants.
You need eggplants, better if they are the purple short and fat type, fresh basil or mint leaves, some garlic boats, white wine vinegar, sea-salt and extra virgin olive oil.
Cut the eggplants in their length without pealing off their skin. The slices should not be too thick (they wouldn't be cooked well on the grill), and neither too thin (they would get burnt immediately). The right thickness is about 4-5 mm. Place the slices side by side on a pan, layering them with sea-salt. Leave them aside for some time so that the bitter liquid of the eggplant comes out. Then wash off the salt, squeeze them slightly and dry them completely placing them between two clean kitchen towels and pressing over a little. Next, place the dried slices again in a pan, pouring some extra virgin olive oil on each layer making sure that each slice gets oil on it. While the eggplants are getting barbecued cut the garlic boats in thin slices and put in a deep bowl. Add the basil/mint leaves and the vinegar. The grilled slices of eggplant are put in this vinegar-garlic-basil/mint mixture and mixed a few times before they are eaten so that each slice soaks in some vinegar. Buon appetito! :-)
mmmmmmmm guzelmis patlican barbecue ben patlicani aslinda sevmem ama boyle butun o sevimsiz tadi gidiyor, guzel begenildi :) dix points ;)
ReplyDeleteI wasted my childhood hating eggplant! I am in love with it now. But olive oil is a must. This look nice! Thanks father-in-law! I will make it ASAP. :o)
ReplyDeletethe altar of Zeus, the opper God in the Greek Mythodology, in Turkey?
ReplyDeleteNow I know why the Greeks want their land back..)))
The house of Ataturk in Greece?.. So, what should we do, exchange some land? :P
ReplyDeleteElifcim, I cannot think of a kitchen without eggplant :-) I love it in all the shapes and preparations. If you have some original recipes of eggplants, do include them in your blog. I would love to try them!
ReplyDeleteMy mother prepares eggplant salad similarly. First bbq, then peel and make a paste, mix with chopped fresh tomatoes, spring onions, herbs (parsley, dill, whatever you like), garlic, olive oil.
ReplyDelete