Ingredients

Serves 6 as an entree or side dish

Eggplant
6 Lebanese or skinny eggplant
¼  bunch of mint leaves, leaves picked
4 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
50g pecorino cheese, cut into 12 thin strips
3 cups good Italian tomato sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp vinegar

 

Broad beans with Lettuce and Prosciutto
Serves 4-6 as a side-dish
3 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 brown onion, finely diced
50g prosciutto, sliced
500g fresh broad beans
1 small head of ice berg lettuce, roughly torn
Salt and pepper
¼  cup chicken stock
1 tbsp butter
¼ cup Italian parsley, chopped


 

Method

Eggplant Stuffed with Pecorino, Mint and Garlic

This is an old Italian dish that my aunt, Zia Nunzia, taught me and my mother on one of our first trips to Italy some 30 years ago. My mother and I have continued to create this ever since. The flavours of the mint and pecorino cheese bake into the sauce and create a harmonious combination allowing the eggplant to be eaten on its own as a first course and the sauce served with fresh pasta as a second.


Pre heat the oven to 170°C

Using a small sharp knife make 3 slits lengthways in each of the eggplants, trying not to cut all the way through.

Taking a small piece of garlic and pecorino cheese, wrap two mint leaves around the garlic and cheese and stuff the slits with these little packages until they are busting out of the eggplant.

Drizzle the eggplants with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Heat a fry pan over moderate heat and sear the outside of the eggplants until golden brown and slightly softened, about 4 minutes in total.

Transfer the eggplants to a baking dish and cover ¾ way up the eggplant with a good tomato sauce. Bake for 30 minutes until the eggplants are soft when pressed with a fork. Combine the sugar and vinegar and stir this into the sauce before serving. Enjoy hot or cold.

 

Broad beans with Lettuce and Prosciutto

I remember sitting out side my uncle's trattoria in Palermo with all the construction workers coming in for lunch and this basic broad bean and lettuce dish was served as one of the ‘contorni’ or side dishes along with the pasta of the day  and a ‘bistecca alla siciliana’. I of course willingly was outside and had the pleasure of peeling all the broad beans, feeling the silky interior of the pod which I always loved.

Bring to boil a pot of slightly salted water and add in the broad beans, boil for 1 minute, drain and refresh under cold running water. Make a slit in the top of the bean and gently squeeze the bean revealing the deep green bean inside. Discard the pale outer skin and set the green beans aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large frypan over moderate heat and add in the onions. Sweat the onions for 3-4 minutes and then add in the prosciutto. Continue cooking the prosciutto until it starts to curl up and you can smell the beautiful slightly smoked flavour.

Add in the broad beans, chicken stock, and simmer for 2 minutes. Add in the lettuce, season with salt and pepper and stir through the butter and the parsley. Serve straight away as the lettuce should be just slightly wilted.

Tip: if you don’t mind eating the skin of the broad beans the beans can be boiled for 5-8 minutes and eaten whole. Broad beans are a wonderful addition to pastas and salads, and can be eaten hot, cold or mashed.