Eggplant & Zucchini Fries!

Care lettrici, cari lettori: mi conoscete ormai. Sapete che, ogni tanto, una ricetta mi afferra, e non mi posso liberare fino a quando non ne bloggo. Ha raggiunto il punto che i miei amici blogghisti mettono le foto alla mia pagina Facebook, pienamente sapendo che io ne diventerò matto. Specialmente se la ricetta abbia implicazioni cafonesche meridionali. Cara Anna Benedetti è autrice di un dei miei preferiti blog, Kiss the Cook. Lei mi distrae spesso con queste ricette che mi fanno impazzire. La ricetta che segue ha chiare implicazioni siciliane – sia l’abbinamento delle melanzane e le zucchine, che l’inclusione della semola.  Grazie, Anna, per farmi matto ancora una volta.  Mo’ faccio matti tutti i miei lettori americani!

My dear readers: you know me by now.  You know that, every so often, a recipe grasps me, and I can't free myself until I blog about it. It's reached the point that my blogger-friends put photos on my Facebook page, fully knowing that I will go bananas.  Especially if the recipe has Southern Italian peasant overtones. Dear Anna Benedetti is the author of one of my favorite blogs,  Kiss the Cook. She often distracts me with maddening recipes.  The recipe that follows has clear Sicilian overtones – be it the combination of eggplant and zucchini, or the inclusion of semolina.  Thank you, Anna, for making me crazy yet again.  Now I will make all my American readers crazy!

Eggplant & Zucchini Fries

recipe by Anna Benedetti (Kiss the Cook)

English translation by Leonardo Ciampa

Here is a delicious side dish! It's true that fried food is not particularly light ... But it is so good that, sometimes, you just have to fry!

Ingredients for 4 people:
3-4 zucchini
2-3 eggplants, not too large
salt
semolina flour [Translator's note: you have to use semolina rimacinata, literally re-milled semolina. It is as fine as regular 00 flour but more nutritious and flavorful.]
oil for frying

Preparation
Wash the zucchini and eggplant then cut into four parts along its length. Eliminate the middle with the seeds (if any). Cut into sticks, not too thin, put them in a bowl and moisten with a glass of milk, stir and wait 15-20 minutes. Heat an abundant amount of oil, at 350-360° F approximately. If you do not have a cooking thermometer, put a small piece of vegetable (which you will discard) in the oil; when it begins to sizzle, you can start frying. Drain the vegetables and fry them a little at a time, like so: take one portion (the amount depends on the size of your pan, you can judge) and place in a colander, sprinkle with a handful of flour and stir to make it stick; drain lightly to remove excess flour, fry until golden. Drain with a slotted spoon and let them dry on paper towels. When all the vegetables are cooked, pat dry with paper towel (dabbing gently), add salt, and they are ready. Ciao!

Cliccate qua per la ricetta originale in italiano.