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Tonight we’re having cod for dinner, made in the style that my mother taught me a couple of weeks ago (see pesce in umido for the recipe).  In addition, I wanted something to soak up the aromatic winey sauce from the fish.  I haven’t made mashed potatoes in ages–they’ll be the perfect accompaniment.

I’ll add some fresh fennel, slow-poached in olive oil, then pureed.  Fennel is a natural accompaniment to all kinds of fish and seafood, and poaching it in olive oil reduces it to a sweet, caramelized essence that you’ll have to stop yourself from eating on its own.

There is no butter or cream in these potatoes–just olive oil (admittedly a copious amount), but you can add or subract oil according to your taste.  You can add some of the oil in which you poached your fennel, but I wanted more of the flavor of the raw oil, rather than the cooked oil, so I added more raw oil than cooked. 

Lastly, I added some chopped raw fennel fronds–not too much–they’re strong–but necessary to give the puree a little brightness and textural contrast.  They also give you some flecks of bright green, which reinforce the deep flavor of the cooked fennel.  I always hate to throw away those gorgeous fronds, so this dish allows you to take advantage of (a couple of) them as well.

Along with the fish and mashed potatoes,  we had some simple baby green beans, boiled for about 5 minutes, then sauteed in olive oil right before serving. 

This meal is perfect for entertaining, since you can make the fish and keep it covered, off the heat, for a half-hour or so, while you’re having a first course.  You can blanch the green beans ahead, drain them, then saute them at the last moment.  The mashed potatoes can be made entirely ahead and left in a covered saucepot off the heat.  They can  be reheated in a saucepan with a half-cup of the potato cooking liquid at the last moment.

Fennel Mashed Potatoes

serves 4

4 large yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced into 1″ cubes

2 bulbs of fennel, stalks removed, outer layers discarded

1 c extra-virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Place potatoes in pot of heavily salted water and bring to a simmer.  Cook until potatoes are soft–about 15 minutes. 

Remove potatoes, drain and set aside.  Reserve 2 cups of cooking liquid.

Slice fennel bulbs in half and remove the core from each half.

Slice fennel into 1/2″ slices and place in saucepan containing 1/2 c olive oil.  Sprinkle on 1/2 tsp salt. 

On lowest heat, slowly poach fennel in oil, covered for about 12 – 15 minutes, or until soft and melting. 

Place fennel in food processor with 2 tablespoons of its poaching liquid.  Process to form a puree.

Puree potatoes in a ricer (never in the food processor–they turn to glue). 

Fold fennel puree into mashed potatoes and return to saucepot. 

Fold in 2 teaspoons chopped fennel fronds (only the finest, wispiest fronds–not any coarse or woody ones). Add the remaining olive oil, along with 1/2 cup of additional salty cooking liquid.  You’ll find that, depending on the moisture content of your potatoes, you may need to add a lot of cooking liquid back into the potatoes to make them the right consistency (not too stiff).  This will continue adding salt to the puree, and should result in a nice creamy, salty puree. 

Stuffed Eggplant is another in my series of recipes from my mom during her visit with me this week.  Although this dish is native to my mother’s hometown in Calabria, it is one that is made with many different variations all over Italy in the summer.

It’s one of those festive dishes that may seem daunting at first, but is actually wonderful to make for guests because it can be prepared entirely ahead of time and baked an hour ahead of serving.  Alternatively, it can be completely baked several hours ahead of time and be served at room temperature.

It’s especially good in summer when tomatoes and eggplant are at their peak.  I’ve made a fresh tomato sauce with plum tomatoes processed in the blender and blended with some sauteed red onion for about 15 minutes.

Critical to this dish is the proper sized eggplants–they need to be small (about 4″ – 5″ long not counting stem) but not tiny.

The eggplants are split lengthwise (stems removed), then hollowed out with a spoon.  The shells are blanched in boiling water until tender–about 10 minutes, then allowed to drain and cool slightly.  The meat is then coarsely diced and boiled in salted water for about 8 minutes, then drained well in a strainer.  A stuffing is then made with breadcrumbs, cheese, egg, black pepper and parsley, and combined with the boiled eggplant pulp.

The shells of the eggplant are then lined with a single slice each of ham and provolone, then the stuffing is heaped on top and packed down by hand.  They are then baked in tomato sauce until bubbling and tender.  The sauce is used separately to dress pasta (it’s FULL of flavor).

With a simple green salad, this is a magnificent summer meal.

Melanzane Ripieno

serves 4 – 6

6 small eggplant (around 5″ not including stem) + 1 large eggplant

2 1/2 c fresh breadcrumbs (from a moist fresh loaf of bread–not dried)

1/2 c seasoned breadcrumbs

1 c grated pecorino romano

1/4 c fresh chopped parsley

2 tsp black pepper

3 large eggs

salt to taste

3 thin slices boiled ham

3 thin slices provolone cheese

1 batch basic tomato sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a couple of tablespoons of salt.

Cut off stems of eggplants and split small ones in half lengthwise.  With a spoon, gently scoop out the interior pulp, while leaving the skin and a thin layer of pulp intact. 

Dice interior pulp into 1/2″ pieces and set aside.   Drop skins in salted boiling water and boil for about 8 – 10 minutes or until tender.  Remove and set aside but keep water boiling.

Peel the large eggplant and dice into 1/2″ cubes.

Boil the eggplant cubes, as well as the diced insides of the eggplants in the same pot of salted water for about 8- 10 minutes or until tender.  Drain in a strainer for at least 15 minutes, while pressing down with a spatula to remove excess water.

In a large mixing bowl, combine breadcrumbs, eggplant, cheese and pepper.  Taste and add salt, if necessary.

Add eggs and blend with wooden spoon or hands.

Lay out the eggplant shells and line them each with a half slice of ham (it should cover the bottom of the eggplant and seal up any tears in the shell, if any exist), and a half-slice of provolone.

Divide the stuffing among the eggplants and press into place by hand.  In a baking dish, spread a layer of tomato sauce on bottom, then arrange eggplants in one layer.  

Ladle a generous amount of sauce on top of eggplants and sprinkle with grated pecorino.

 Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake for another 10 – 15 minutes, or until bubbly.

Remove eggplants from tray and use sauce to dress pasta.  Sprinkle generously with pecorino romano.