Vinete! No, it’s not an italian curse word or a body part. Vinete is a Romanian dish that I inherited from my paternal grandmother. You see, though I was born in Italy and fully qualify as a red-blooded Italiana, I am also a quarter Romanian. And since my grandmother, Jeni’s birthday was yesterday (and she would tell us kids it was on the 29th), I thought I would honor her memory by sharing this recipe with you all.
There are a few varieties of this recipe to be found, including its middle eastern cousin, babaganoush. But this is the way my father learned it from her (actually, her mother, my great Granma, my buna) and this is the way I learned it from him and so on.
Ingredients serves 4 to 6 people
5 medium eggplants (firm but if you gently press with thumb it will leave a soft print)
bunch of fresh baby scallion (spring onions), finely chopped, only the white part
olive oil
salt
1 medium tomato (presentation)
Kalamata olives (presentation)
Place eggplants (as they are) on a medium flame or medium heat; grill would be best. Keep in mind that if you do this at home and you have a gas range, you might will have to place the eggplant on the fire directly, so choose the size accordingly. Your range will also look quite messy at the end of the process.
You will be burning the skin of the vegetable, so be careful not to burn yourself as well. Rotate the veggies every few minutes and they should be ready when you see steam coming out from the cracks in the skin and they should be soft looking, but not quite falling apart.
Place the eggplants on a dish or on any surface and let cool. Do not place them on a metal rack or anything that will keep them suspended, they will be oozing water. The eggplants should be soft enough that you can cut the top with a wooden or plastic spatula. Do Not Use Metal Utensils as this will turn the veggies black or dark and will give them an unpleasant metallic taste.
Peel from the bottom (larger circumference) and cut the top off. Make sure that there are no visible burnt peels mixing in (refer to the slide show if you need to see what it all looks like.
In small quantities, mash (or beat) eggplants with said wooden or plastic spoon. I usually use a carving board and then transfer the beaten mush to a bowl. Once the beatings are over, add the finely chopped spring onions, olive oil and salt. Mix well so that you get a smooth, thick mush; this should be thicker than applesauce and as weighty as mashed potatoes.
Place on a serving dish, oblong or round, but wide enough so that you can have a semi-thick layer, but not like a dip. Place thin half slices of tomato and alternate with the olives. You can add another sprinkle of olive oil and if you like a pinch of left-over spring onions. Cover with plastic film, place in refrigerator and let rest for a few hours. Take out of fridge a half hour before serving.
Traditionally, vinete are accompanied with țuică, a distillate of plums, highly alcoholic. For more info click here. Vinete can also be enjoyed with a dry white wine or prosecco or better yet, champagne.
Pofte bune!
Click here to view a slide show of the process.