I was very lucky to eat all kinds of great food this past year. I traveled and taught a writing class in Italy. I went to a wedding in India and flew home through Hong Kong, where I took an incredible food tour. And I had so many memorable meals at friends’ homes and my own table throughout the year.
Many people expect this list to be a round-up of show-off dishes I ate at fancy (read expensive) restaurants. But more and more, that is no longer what excites me. I prefer home-cooked food or discovering dishes at smaller, more casual restaurants that teach me something about a new part of the world or a new technique.
Italian ‘meat’ balls with a surprise
The first “best bite” does exactly that. I was traveling in Puglia, Italy, and went to the stunning Baroque town of Lecce. We walked the narrow, winding streets and fell in love with Lecce. Several friends had suggested we eat at Mamma Elvira.
The menu listed polpette di melanzane, and I asked the waiter about it: eggplant meatballs? “No meat,” he explained. “Just eggplant,” and he gave me a smile that let me know I had to give it a try. The meatballs were crispy and crunchy on the exterior, but the interior was almost silky and creamy. Perched on top of a tomato sauce, they were some of the best (non)meatballs I’ve ever eaten. I came home and tried to recreate the dish and, while they may not be exactly like the ones at Mamma Elvira, I was thrilled with the results.
Eggplant meatballs (polpette di melanzane)
There’s everything to love about these meatless eggplant and ricotta meatballs. They are creamy, almost meaty in the center, with a crunchy exterior. The meatball mixture can be made several hours ahead of time and cooked just before serving, or you can prepare them about an hour or two beforehand and keep them warm in a low 250-degree oven. They are delicious on their own, but even better served on a shallow bed of tomato sauce. You could also serve them with pasta, polenta, or warm crusty bread.
Don’t make the meatballs more than an hour or two ahead of time or they will lose their crispy texture.
Makes about 25 one-inch meatballs
Ingredients
- 1-pound globe eggplant
- 2½ tablespoons olive oil, plus about 2 tablespoons for cooking
- 3 cloves finely chopped garlic
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary, or 1 teaspoon dried and crumbled
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried and crumbled
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano, or 1 teaspoon dried and crumbled
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 large egg
- About ¾ cup panko or breadcrumbs, plus 1 cup for rolling the meatballs
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ⅓ cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 cups tomato sauce, homemade or your favorite bottled variety
- Grated Parmesan cheese for serving
- Warm crusty bread or pasta or polenta, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Using a sharp knife, cut an “X” on either side of the eggplant. Place the eggplant on a cookie sheet or sheet of foil and place in the middle of the oven. Bake for around 20 to 40 minutes, until thoroughly deflated and soft when you insert a small sharp knife into the center and the sides. Remove and let cool. (Alternatively, you can place it on a hot grill and grill, flipping from side to side until deflated and soft.)
- Once the eggplant is cool enough to handle (about 5 minutes or so), use your fingers to peel off the skin and discard the peel. Let the eggplant rest for at least 30 minutes (or overnight) to drain any bitter juices; discard juices. Cut the eggplant into big chunks and place in a food processor; blend until almost smooth. Place the pureed eggplant in a large bowl.
- Meanwhile, in a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic, rosemary, thyme, oregano and half the parsley and cook, stirring for about 5 minutes. Do not let the garlic burn or turn brown.
- Remove from the heat and cool for a minute. Add to the eggplant along with the egg, ¾ cup panko or breadcrumbs, Parmesan, ricotta, remaining parsley, and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to help the mixture firm up.
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
- Place the remaining cup of panko on a large plate. Using slightly wet hands, form meatballs from the mixture about the size of a half dollar. Roll on all sides to coat in the panko. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
- In a large skillet, heat the 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Cook the meatballs in batches, being careful not to crowd the skillet, for about 6 minutes, or until brown and crisp on all sides. Add additional oil if the skillet dries out. Place the cooked meatballs on a paper towel or a clean brown bag to drain, and then place on a cookie sheet. Keep warm in the preheated oven.
- Heat the tomato sauce until bubbling hot. Place on a serving plate or bowl and nestle the hot meatballs in the sauce, making sure the top of the meatball isn’t covered with sauce. Serve hot with Parmesan cheese and warm, crusty bread on the side.
Italian hazelnut cake with the essence of nuts
I taught a food writing class in the Piemonte region of Italy this past year. One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to a local hazelnut farm. I have never tasted hazelnuts quite as buttery, crunchy and full of nutty essence as these. You can mail-order roasted Italian hazelnuts from Gustiamo. They are a bit extravagant, but they arrive roasted and peeled, which saves you all kinds of time. And they will make this cake something you won’t forget anytime soon. It’s fairly simple but packs a big flavor.
This recipe was inspired by Domenica Marchetti’s torta di nocciole.
Serves 8 to 10. Serve with whipped cream.
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2½ cups toasted and skinned hazelnuts*
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 4 eggs, separated
- 1 cup sugar
- Pinch fine salt
- Confectioners’ sugar for dusting the cake
- Whipped cream for serving, optional
* To toast and skin hazelnuts: heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the skins begin to crack. Place on a clean tea towel and roll the nuts back and forth in the towel to loosen and rub off the skins. If some of the skin sticks, don’t worry about it.
Instructions
- In a small saucepan or skillet, heat the butter. Remove from the heat and let cool.
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch cake pan with 1 tablespoon of the melted butter. Cut out a sheet of parchment paper to fit into the bottom round of the pan and place on the butter. Coat the parchment paper with another tablespoon of melted butter and set aside.
- Place the peeled hazelnuts in a food processor fitted with a metal blade and process until they are finely ground but not like paste. Place them in a bowl and mix in the flour and baking powder.
- Separate the eggs and add the yolks to a medium bowl and the whites to a large bowl. Add the sugar to the bowl with the yolks and mix with a whisk. The mixture will be quite thick. Add the remaining melted butter, a tablespoon at a time, and whisk to incorporate. Stir the hazelnut-flour mixture into the egg yolk-butter mixture and stir until smooth. It will still be quite thick.
- Using a hand-held mixer, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Take about ½ cup of the whipped egg whites and gently fold them into the nut mixture. Add half of the remaining whipped egg whites and fold again until incorporated. Carefully fold in the rest of the egg whites.
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake pan and smooth the top. Bake on the middle shelf for about 40 minutes, or until slightly puffed up and browned on the top. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out dry. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack for 30 minutes.
- Carefully invert the cake onto a plate and remove the parchment paper. Invert the cake again onto a serving plate and cool. Serve dusted with confectioners’ sugar with whipped cream on the side.
There’s ice cream, and then there’s Big Feeling Ice Cream
If you are someone who mistakenly thinks all ice cream is created pretty much equal, think again. There is ice cream and then there is Big Feeling Ice Cream.
The flavors, textures and combinations you’ll find at this small ice cream shop in Providence, Rhode Island, may haunt you. Made using local fruit, sustainable ingredients and a whole lot of love, you’ll find flavors like chocolate ice cream with fudge ripple and gluten-free chocolate cookie chunks; autumn peach ice cream with orange-sage and peach spice ripple; butterscotch apple pie.
There are many gluten-free, dairy-free and nut-free choices as well, like vegan mango sticky rice (coconut and sticky rice base with mango ripple); nut-free pistachio (peach leaf, pandan, and sunbutter ice cream with spiced crunchy chickpea — made to taste close to the real thing with that familiar nut crunch).
Despite my generally adventurous palate, I have a confession: I am a tried-and-true lover of vanilla ice cream. Yes, I know. It sounds so boring, but when I tasted Big Feeling’s vanilla, I thought, ‘This is it: the vanilla of my dreams.’ What’s the difference?
Big Feeling’s vanilla is made with two types of sugar for different sugar cane caramel notes, plus the vanilla beans come from a small family-owned greenhouse in Hawaii called Laie Vanilla Co., and has the addition of Italian creamy mascarpone.
Owner Alex Maddalena (a friend) explains the name “Big Feeling.”
“This business was born out of a textbook spell of depression. When, at times, it felt hard for me to get motivated and to do the things I once loved, it seemed that cooking — nay, making ice cream — was always a trusted antidote to parting the grey skies.
“And even better was sharing that ice cream with those around me — you get to realize what ice cream means to people. Often, one little taste can open up neural pathways and unlock chambers in your memory bank straight to your childhood.
“It’s important to reconnect with those memories, especially in uncertain times. And I develop our flavors and recipes with that goal in mind. What can’t easily be described can always be felt. And that’s OK. A big feeling to have—just for you.”
If you’re anywhere near Rhode Island, go out of your way to taste Maddalena’s sublime ice creams.
Big Feeling Ice Cream, 769 Westminster St. in Providence, Rhode Island.
Tart unexpected vinegar
I am a huge fan of persimmons. The orange fruit has a delicate, sweet, almost honey-like flavor and a very short season (and can be hard to find on the East Coast), so I was very excited to discover persimmon vinegar, made by Flamingo Estate in Los Angeles.
It’s a tart, delicately fruity, exotic vinegar that adds a mysterious note to salad dressings, fruit, stews, pies and more. I even used it to glaze a chicken and add tartness to a pork and pumpkin stew. Made from organic Fuyu and Hachiya persimmons, Flamingo Estate calls it “Japanese sunshine in a bottle.”
Proliferation of bakeries
These are challenging times. Who doesn’t need a little sweetness? Walking the streets of cities around the countries you can’t help but notice the number of new and thriving bakeries. Tiny little shops with long lines waiting for a taste of sugar and butter and unusual spices and creamy tahini and new flavors built into old favorites like croissants, carrot cake, morning buns and more.
I made a new discovery in New York City at a tiny little bakery called Hani’s, from pastry chef Miro Uskokovic. A slice of the four-layer brown butter carrot cake, made with pear-ginger jam and salted brown butter frosting, made me stop in my tracks.
The honey cake, croissants and cookies made me swoon. And the hot chocolate (which I mistakenly passed up) is said to be the best in the city.
Hani’s, 67 Cooper Square, New York, New York.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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