This stunning meze combines two of Paula’s great loves: eggplants and stuffed vegetables. It’s no wonder it ignited her love of Georgian cooking when she tasted it on a junket to the USSR in 1988. She admired the technique of steam-sautéing the eggplants, which “eliminates greasiness without sacrificing taste,” as she wrote. She also enjoyed the contrast of flavors and textures in the silky eggplant, creamy pureed walnuts, lively herbs, and crunchy pomegranate seeds. Dried marigold petals are a Georgian staple but turmeric is a worthy stand-in.
Unforgettable – Emily Kaiser Thelin – Recipe & Giveaway
October 5, 2017 by Jenny
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Grand Central Life &
Style will be releasing Unforgettable: The Bold Flavors of Paula Wolfert’s
Renegade Life on October 17. Now is the time to preorder
this fascinating work if you missed the first printing. Back in
March, I spoke with Emily Kaiser Thelin, the author, about her
experience working with Paula Wolfert and shared the interview before the Kickstarter-funded release.
Everyone must own this book – it is as simple as that. Not only is it a collection of recipes from the incomparable Paula Wolfert – it is a piece of culinary history. Emily Thelin is responsible for bringing a whole new generation to Paula’s table.
Brilliantly done, Unforgettable shares Paula’s story along with personal photographs from her humble beginnings in Flatbush, Brooklyn to “living for the now” in Sonoma today. Sandwiched between those decades is a life well lived – traveling the world, bringing global cuisine to American tables through her cookbooks, and her resilence and strength in the face of Alzheimer’s. I was intrigued to learn of Paula’s trendsetting work with a program called International Home Dining (a Sun Basket type service before there was such a thing) where subscribers were sent a box with everything they needed to throw a dinner party from a different country.
Recipes included in Unforgettable range from James Beard’s easy entertaining dishes, Indonesian beef satay, a tempting Walnut roll, a menu for a Moroccan Party and so much more. Eric Wolfinger is responsible for the stunning photographs
Grand Central Life is offering two copies of this title to our members in the US and Canada. Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post to enter. On your way to the giveaway, stop and bookmark this striking eggplant dish.
Eggplants with creamy walnut spread and pomegranate
seeds
Add this recipe to your Bookshelf (click the
blue +Bookshelf button).
INGREDIENTS
Serves 4 to 6 as a meze or side dish
- 12 baby eggplants or 6 slender Asian eggplants with stems (about 2 pounds | 900 g total), halved lengthwise
- 1 3/4 teaspoons flaky sea salt
- 2 cups (200 g) walnuts
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon hot smoked paprika (pimentón de la Vera picante), or more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon ground marigold petals or ground turmeric
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) ice water
- 1/3 cup (15 g) chopped celery leaves
- 1/3 cup (15 g) chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/4 cup (10 g) shredded fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 cup (25 g) minced red onion
- 2 tablespoons mild vinegar, such as cider or rice
- 1/4 cup (45 g) fresh or thawed frozen pomegranate seeds, plus more for garnish
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
- Fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, for garnish (optional)
- Svaneti salt, for garnish (optional)
Line a sheet pan with paper towels. Sprinkle the cut sides of the eggplants with 1 teaspoon of the salt and arrange them, cut side down, on the prepared sheet pan. Weight the eggplants down with plates and let stand for 20 minutes. Rinse the eggplants under cool running water, then squeeze gently with paper towels to draw out excess moisture.
Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine the walnuts, garlic, paprika, marigold petals, and the remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt and process until an oily paste forms, about 2 minutes. Add the ice water and process until the paste is light and smooth, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a bowl, add the celery, cilantro, basil, onion, and vinegar, and stir to mix. Fold in the pomegranate seeds. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and vinegar if needed. Cover and set aside.
Line a sheet pan with paper towels. In a large nonstick frying pan with a tight-fitting lid, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Working in batches if necessary, add the eggplant halves, cut side down, cover, and cook until the cut sides are golden brown and the eggplant flesh is very tender when pierced with a knife, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer the eggplant halves to the prepared sheet pan and let drain and cool to warm or room temperature. As needed, add 1 1/2 teaspoons more oil to the pan before frying the second batch.
Using your fingers or a fork, split open the cut side of each eggplant half along the center, creating a cavity. Mound an equal amount of the walnut filling in each cavity. Garnish the eggplants with more pomegranate seeds and with the parsley leaves and Svaneti salt, if using. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipe courtesy of Grand Central Publishing from Unforgettable 2017 by Emily Kaiser Thelin. Photograph by Eric Wolfinger.
The publisher is offering two copies of this book to EYB Members in the US and Canada. One of the entry options is to answer the following question in the comments section of this blog post.
Which recipe in the index would you try first?
Please note that you must be logged into the Rafflecopter contest before posting or your entry won’t be counted. For more information on this process, please see our step-by-step help post. Please be sure to check your spam filters to make sure you receive our email notifications. Prizes can take up to 6 weeks to arrive from the publishers. If you are not already a Member, you can join at no cost. The contest ends at midnight on November 11th, 2017.
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