This version of eggplant parmigiana is the most popular outside of Italy. Hailing from Campania, this variation on a dish is made with eggplants, olive oil, onions, basil, tomatoes, mozzarella or fior di latte cheese, and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. The eggplants are peeled, sliced, and shortly fried, then arranged in a baking dish over the tomato sauce along with the cheese, basil leaves, and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. The layers are repeated, and the final one should end with tomato sauce and grated cheese. The dish is baked until the surface becomes crisp, and it is then served, ideally at room temperature.
Although it translates as stone soup, this hearty Portuguese dish is actually a combination of beans and sausages such as chouriço and morcela (blood sausage), as well as pork belly, pig’s ear, and potatoes, while different regional varieties may also include pasta, carrots, and cabbage. There's a legend saying that a monk in need wanted to prepare soup by using merely stones and water. When he asked for additional ingredients to supposedly flavor the soup, the family who'd hosted him was more than willing to provide some pork cuts, beans, sausages, and vegetables, and the monk ended with a rich and nutritious dish without any stones inside. Similar stories exist in various European countries, but the moral of each always revolves around sharing and compassion. It is believed that sopa da pedra originated in Almeirim, which has been dubbed the capital of stone soup.
Found throughout southern Italy, parmigiana di melanzane is a type of gratinated vegetable casserole traditionally made of fried or grilled slices of eggplant layered with basil-flavored tomato sauce and topped with one or more cheeses, such as mozzarella, pecorino Siciliano, scamorza, and caciocavallo Silano. Contrary to popular belief, parmigiana has nothing to do with parmigiano Reggiano cheese, even though it is used in many recipes as it makes for a crunchier crust. Nor, in fact, does it have any connection with the city of Parma whatsoever. In fact, the name of this scrumptious summer dish supposedly stems from parmisciana, the word for “Persian” in the Sicilian dialect, and it is often suggested that the word is rooted in the Arabic badhnajan or Turkish patlıcan, both of which mean “eggplant”. Although the eggplant was introduced to Italy by the Arabs as early as the 8th century, the parmigiana we know today may have originated in Sicily at around the 16th century, when tomatoes were first brought to Italy from the New World by the Spaniards. Later, the eggplant casserole spread across the country, taking on a version of its own in each region. Regardless of its true origins and the many different takes on the classic recipe, parmigiana di melanzane remains Southern Italian comfort food at its best, and is one of the most popular Italian dishes today.
In Greece, fried zucchinis can be enjoyed as a meze or a side dish. The zucchinis are sliced, seasoned, and then simply dusted with flour or dipped in an egg batter before they are fried until crispy and golden. It is recommended to pair them with various dips such as yogurt-based tzatziki or garlicky skordalia.
Yemista or gemista is a Greek dish traditionally consisting of vegetables such as tomatoes and green peppers that are stuffed with rice and vegetables' inner parts. The stuffed vegetables are then baked in the oven. The name of the dish means stuffed in Greek language, and it's a typical summer dish. It is mainly considered a vegan dish, although there are some that prepare it with ground meat in the stuffing. It is recommended to prepare the dish when the vegetables are at the peak of the season and to serve it garnished with a spoon of Greek strained yogurt and accompanied by feta cheese.
Badrijani is a heavily spiced Georgian dish consisting of eggplant slices that are coated with walnut paste, then shaped into small rolls. The eggplant slices are fried before serving, while the spread is prepared by combining ground walnuts, garlic, and fresh coriander. When served, the assembled rolls are arranged on a plate and topped with pomegranate seeds.
This Greek classic consists of large white beans that are cooked and then baked in a flavorful tomato sauce, which is usually seasoned with various herbs such as oregano, parsley, and mint. The dish calls for the use of fasolia gigantes, an authentic Greek variety of beans characterized by their large size, hence the name (gigantic). Gigantes plaki can be enjoyed as the main course, but it is also a common meze dish that is best served with bread on the side.
These flavorful fritters employ diced tomatoes as their main ingredient, while other additions commonly include onions, fresh herbs, spices, feta cheese and grated zucchinis. The dish is usually associated with Santorini, an island known for the highly prized local tomato variety Tomataki Santorinis. The fritters are typically enjoyed as a light main course, a snack, or a meze dish, and are best paired with creamy fava or tzatziki dips.
Even though it is prepared throughout southern Italy, the flavorful caponata is a typical Sicilian vegetable dish whose origins date back to the early 18th century. In the original recipe, the most important ingredient was gurnard fish (capone in Italian), but due to its price, gurnard was soon replaced by the widely available and much cheaper eggplant. This version that has remained the most popular to this day. Today, there are over 30 different recipes for caponata, all of which make an amazing use of the rich late summer harvest of eggplants and tomatoes. Capers, olives, onions, and celery lend an invigorating bite to this delicately piquant dish, and with other ingredients such as pine nuts, raisins, almonds, and friggitello peppers, the colorful caponata easily becomes a wonderful embodiment of the true essence of Sicily. After being sautéed one at a time, the vegetables are seasoned with a pinch of sugar and simmered in vinegar, which slowly melts into a tangy medley of sweet and sour flavors. Caponata can be enjoyed while still warm, as a side with various meat, poultry, and seafood dishes, or it can be served atop rigatoni or ziti for a filling pasta meal. In Sicily, caponata is typically kept for a couple of days after cooking, allowing time for the flavors to deepen, after which it is most often served as a cold antipasto on a crispy bruschetta or alongside sfincione Palermitano - Sicilian-style focaccia bread.
Greek-style stuffed zucchini flowers are typically filled with a combination of rice, vegetables and various spices and herbs. If prepared with a rice stuffing, the blossoms are usually slowly baked in the oven, and if stuffed with other ingredients, they can also be baked or dipped in batter and shortly fried. They are best served accompanied by a spoonful of yogurt on the side. A similar dish is also found in Turkish cuisine, where it goes under the name kabak çiçeği dolması.
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