This typical family meal from Catalonia is best cooked in an earthenware casserole. The sauce becomes syrupy, the pork and eggplant melting away–it’s very delicious. The pork should be accompanied with rice cooked in a court-bouillon of water, fresh coriander, orange peel, saffron and black pepper. Porc a la Catalunya Print Prep time 15 […]
Sicilian Eggplants Are Pearls Over Pasta
September 25, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Eggplants were first introduced to Europe by Arab farmers in Spain and Sicily. The anonymous Cordoban Calender of 961 mentions eggplants. In Sicily the word for eggplant, milinciana derives from the Arabic word for the plant bādhinjān. It was not at all popular at first. As for the combination of pasta and eggplants which is […]
“Oh, Wonderful!” Sicilian Eggplant
July 26, 2017 by Leave a Comment
The Sicilian expression—although little known among contemporary Sicilians—sciàtara-e-màtara, is an exclamation of wonder–or contempt! It might be said like “Oh, wonderful!” or contemptuously as in “God! Great merciful God!” The expression derives from the Arabic shātirū yā mā tāra as in “oh, the cleverness that you see!” which Arabs say sarcastically when someone from whom […]
3 Lusty Beans and Greens Recipes for Winter
February 16, 2016 by Leave a Comment
In traditional Mediterranean cooking, dried beans are typical winter foods that are often combined with winter greens and root vegetables such as Swiss chard, spinach, squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes and others. There is a delight in these kinds of dishes not only because they’re delicious, but they are satisfying and healthy too. These three are […]
Grill in the Catalan Way with Escalivada!
July 13, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The Catalonians have a long tradition of grilling especially starting in the spring when young leeks start popping out of the ground. One stellar example of Catalan grilling is escalivada, a medley of grilled vegetables dressed simply with olive oil and vinegar. Escalivar means “to cook in hot ashes.” Typically the vegetables in an escalivada […]
Sicily’s Eggplant Ceviche for Summer
October 8, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The end of summer offers the cook a wealth of sparkling fruits and vegetables for culinary transformation. One of my favorite dishes this time of year is a Sicilian preparation called mulinciana a schibecci, or eggplant ceviche. I don’t make this often because it’s labor intensive, but when I do I make a good amount […]
Eggplant and Tomatoes for a Summer Salad
July 22, 2014 by Leave a Comment
There’s something about those summer vegetables especially tomatoes and eggplant that just beckon to be prepared over and over in endless variety of cooked dishes, side dishes, salads, appetizers, or any which way. I lean towards an Italian style when preparing them and in this rendition I serve it as an antipasto usually al fresco […]
Upside-down Casserole Brings some Memories and some History
July 15, 2014 by 1 Comment
Recently I’ve been enjoying myself by remaking many of the recipes on my web site www.CliffordAWright.com that don’t have photographs. Some of those recipes were posted so long ago–some from the late 90s–that photography wasn’t that important in web sites and digital photography was in its infancy. Today is different. One dish I wanted to […]
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