"La tera l'e' basa"..the ground is very low...

..is what old people say in Northern Italy when somebody (me...) complains about how hard it is to "work the land".

I've been quite busy the past week ; victim of a sudden "I want to grow my produce" virus I started working on the garden and building beds.

IT IS hard work..specially if, like me, you do it with improvised tools! Dumb? Cheap? Maybe... hehe

Got my first salad made with my own arugula yesterday and yes, it tasted good.... been using my fennel sprouts to garnish delicate scallops carpaccios and peppers and cilantro sprouts to top Mexican fusion dishes...

Now I can't wait for the eggplant, squash, mustard, dill, bell peppers Roma and heirloom tomatoes to grow... of all these babies though, a very special place is occupy by the cutest, tiniest lavander sprouts I am trying to grow into gorgeous plants.

Also, to top it off, while I've been cleaning and organizing my old restaurant inventory I came across some pretty neat stuff I totally forgot about and that found its way onto my kitchen wall at home

Yes, I'm a sucker for old kitchen stuff..cast iron, terracotta, etc...

Eggplant & goat's cheese pinchos with balsamic raisin & pumpkinseed pesto

This cute little thing is one of thye most requested items in my menus.
It's a great addition to any cocktail party or tapas spread.

Start by slicing the eggplants lenghtwise and placing them on an oiled baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle the slices with S&P.
Roast in a medium hot oven until the edges start getting some colour and the eggplant turns tender.
Delicately remove the slices from the baking sheet whilst still warm and let them cool off.

While the eggplant cools, work on the pesto.
In a blender, or robot, place Italian parsley, fresh mint,pumpkinseed, raisin, a bit of chili flakes, garlic to taste, 1 part of balsamic vinegar, 3 parts of the best olive oil and blend/pulse until you'll have a quite coarse but fluid product. Season with salt and pepper and adjust with a bit of sugar and more vinegar as needed.
You'll want to achieve a balance between the herbs and the sweetness of the raisin ... you'll know whn you'll get it right.

Next, smear a bit of room temperature goat's cheese( a soft one, like a Montrachet...) and a tiny bit of the pesto on the eggplant slices; roll'em up and secure with a skewer ( or, if you feel really fancy, with a thime sprig...) and place on serving plate. Make the pinchos look nice and drizzle liberally with the pesto.
Enjoy your success!

Pan seared halibut with capponata and zucchini puree

This dish is made of three parts: the capponata, a Sicilian eggplant stew, the zucchini cream and the fish..

Start with the capponata: dice onion, red bell pepper and zucchini  in equal measure and dice the same total amount of eggplant.

In a wide skillet saute the onion and pepper until soft, add garlic to taste, S&P, fennel seed, some chilli flakes and the zucchini; saute a little longer and add the eggplant, cooking it down a bit. Check seasoning.

You might need to add a bit more olive oil at this point, but be careful not to exceed because the eggplant WILL release all the oil that it absorbed.

At this point add  a few blended tomatoes and a pinch of oregano... let simmer uncovered to reduce and then add SUGAR and balsamic vinegar in a 1:2 ratio.

Crank the heat up and reduce further. Adjust salt, sugar and vinegar and  reserve.

Next is the zucchini cream: chop the zucchini and saute in olive oil with a liberal amount of garlic and a touch of FRESH rosemary OR mint.

Let caramelize a bit, add S&P and a splash of white wine. Let evaporate, transfer to a blender and blend life out of it.

The fish: Cut a nice, thick portion from the halibut loin, kiss it with a trace of vegetable oil and sear it, skin side down, in a very hot  heavy bottom skillet ( I use cast iron...) until you see the sides turning white; shut off the heat, flip the fish and let it seat there till done to your taste... time depends on your stove, the skillet used and stuff, but I'd say another minute for medium.

Ready! Plate it nicely and drizzle some good Extra Virgin olive oil and you're ready to go!

Cheers!

NOTES:
°With today's eggplant you don't really need to salt them in order to get the bitterness out of them. so you can skip that step...
°If you have some rosemary roast garlic or chillies infused olive oil, use it to drizzle the dish..it would add a great accent