EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA Forget those dowdy restaurant concoctions of generation ago. Homemade Parmigiana is light and wonderfully intense in flavor as the eggplant slices are baked with a brushing of oil rather than fried, and the tomatoes are only lightly cooked to a purée. Serves 6 3 medium eggplants (about 900 g/2 lb) 175 ml/¾ cup
MARINATED EGGPLANT Todd, who is Lucy and Leo’s Dad, once spent a junior year abroad studying architecture in Florence. Along with useful knowledge for modern home improvements, he picked up this wonderfully simple eggplant recipe. If you prefer to use less olive oil, the eggplant can be broiled or barbecued. Any leftover oil will be
ZUCCHINI CAVIAR Zucchini caviar is one of the traditional Russian dishes introduced to us by Simon’s wife Katya, along with a delicious soup she makes with dried porcini mushrooms, blini pancakes with jam, and pelmeni dumplings served with thick cream called smetana. This “caviar” is made with coarsely grated shreds of zucchini that are slowly
HEDGEHOG FRIED POTATOES It was Canadian Laura Calder who showed Grandma how to slice potatoes like hard-boiled eggs, but without quite cutting them apart, so the potatoes fan out in hot fat in the oven like an accordion. Any medium-sized potatoes will do and the choice of fat can include olive oil, butter mixed with
BUBBLE AND SQUEAK Grandma still cannot approach the town of Cheltenham without a shudder. This is where she was at boarding school for six unhappy years. Given her love of cooking, it might have been the execrable food that did her in, but there was much more to it than that. Calvinist principles of self-denial
EMMA’S BURNT BEANS When we lived in Burgundy we were spoiled by our elderly gardener who loved to grow green beans. He would bully his elderly wife into picking them so we had literally buckets delivered each day. Then it was up to us to prepare them for the table. Luckily we had lots of
GRATIN OF SUMMER VEGETABLES We can make this recipe all summer long with vegetables from the supermarket but then, in early September, arrives the magic moment when every ingredient comes from the nearby farmers’ market. Vegetable gratin can be a first course or an accompaniment to lamb, chicken, or fish. Serves 4 to 6 2
FRESH GREEN PEA SOUP When Grandma was a child, she would help her mother to pick green peas in the garden, then she would sit beside the kitchen table to help in shell them. Out would pop peas of all sorts of sizes and sometimes, ugh, there might be a little worm inside. Cooking times
HOT COLE SLAW Leo wondered why cabbage might be called hot and cold, so Grandma explained that “cole” means cabbage, not its temperature. This is a cold weather dish, good with roast pork or the leftovers of turkey. Serves 4 ½ small white cabbage (about 1 pound/450g) For the dressing 2 egg yolks ¼ cup/60
WINTER WHITE VEGETABLES So many winter roots are white. You could substitute others-artichokes or parsnips- for those suggested here: for colour, add carrots or sweet potatoes. The vegetables are simmered in stock, then stirred in bit by bit in the manner of risotto. They make a warming side dish for four. Serves 4 ½ lb/250