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Sweet And Sour Aubergines
Moreteyne Manor chef patron Mark Hickman is looking at olive oil and garlic in his series on Mediterranean cooking.
In recent weeks we have reached the heart of the Mediterranean's cuisine: the olive, its oil, and their natural partner, garlic.
Coincidentally, however, we have also reached a rich vein of superstition and tradition that surrounds these ingredients.
Or maybe it is not so coincidental after all, for when two such ingredients occupy such an important place in a region's cuisine, it is
perhaps inevitable that they should become entwined in the strands of the folklore as well.
Any chef worth his salt (sorry!) will know how often it is that these two appear together in the kitchen. Olive oil and garlic form one of those almost magical culinary synergies, like tomato and basil, fish and chips or strawberries and cream, which seem to suggest that they were just made for each other.
And if they are often found to work well together in cookery, then why shouldn't they work well together in other ways?
Why should they not be found working their magic in partnership among the folklore and old wives' wisdom of the region, helping keep bad spirits at bay or curing people's ailments, or fighting the eternal fight against the evil eye?
One particular superstitious rite that I saw performed by an old matriarch of a family I once went to stay with in Malta illustrates this
principle admirably.
The evil eye had apparently been cast upon the family goat, which had always been a fine, strong specimen. Recently, however, it had become lethargic and sporadically violent.
The old lady, having dimmed the lights and closed the curtains, solemnly prepared a glass of water and then poured a layer of her very best olive oil on top. She then chose a clove of garlic from a pile of them on the table, speared a long needle through its heart, and set it alight.
Once it was burning brightly, she plunged it into the glass and proclaimed the name "Madeleina"! The clove cracked and spluttered violently. The same process was repeated for five other 'suspects', and the one that produced the most violent reaction to its torture was
proclaimed the guilty party. In this case, it was indeed Madeleina who was guilty. A further incantation was then said over the goat to remove the ill-effects of her envy, and the goat made a healthy recovery.
This was naturally all taken extremely seriously by the family, but I couldn't help thinking that I was watching the forerunner of indoor fireworks!
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Sweet And Sour Aubergines
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INGREDIENTS (serves 6)
1.5lb/675g aubergines, trimmed and sliced in thick rounds
1.25 pints/150ml extra virgin olive oil plus 5 tbsp for the onions
1 medium onion, finely sliced
3 sticks celery, trimmed, washed and finely chopped
8oz/225g tomatoes, peeled and chopped l 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp sugar
4oz/110g green olives
1 tbsp capers, strained
salt and freshly-ground black pepper
METHOD
1. Immerse the aubergines in lightly-salted water for 30 minutes. Rinse, squeezing them to extract the bitter juices, and pat dry. Cut into cubes and deep fry in hot olive oil until light golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper.
2. Brown the onion in hot olive oil, add the celery and tomatoes and fry for two minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients apart from the aubergines and cook for ten minutes until the sauce thickens. Add the aubergines, mix well and cook for four more minutes. Allow to cool slightly and serve.
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Monday 13 February 2012
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