By Lynne Rossetto Kasper
Scripps Howard News Service
Dear Lynne: My eggplants are bitter. My recipe has me slow-grilling them until very soft, then mixing the pulp with roasted tomatoes, onions and peppers. Except I never get that far because the eggplants taste awful. — Vincent
Dear Vincent: Your recipe sounds fabulous. Your solution is to switch eggplants. We two share poor-eggplant karma (I believe some of us are born this way). Chinese eggplants saved me. They are long, narrow, pale purple — and one of the least bitter of all eggplants. Find them in most markets.
Another help is slow-cooking, that is, let coals burn down to gray ash and place eggplants to the side of the grill, cooking until they collapse in on themselves. When you want to shortcut your recipe, grill the eggplants with a head of garlic. Cool, and blend the pulp with the garlic, olive oil and lemon juice.
Dear Lynne: What does "gourmet" actually mean? I teach home economics, and with food TV and Emeril, students want to know about "gourmet food." How would you teach them? — Pondering in New York state
Dear Pondering: Originally, a gourmet was a connoisseur, a person who enjoyed and understood food. A gourmet ate, but did not necessarily cook. When the food craze hit, "gourmet" was the handiest descriptor for marketeers. Hence, we have "gourmet" everything. What to teach? You know all this already. Get students excited. Show them how they can create extraordinary food by using superb, not necessarily pretentious, ingredients. Have them taste everything you can. Shop together. Take them to your farmers market. Talk to the growers and artisans.
Show them how one recipe becomes many different ones once you master the technique. Teach them how different cultures cook fresh vegetables. Make them star chefs of a dinner for parents and faculty, or have them open a lunchtime cafe once a week in the home-ec room.
Dear Lynne: This might be a sacrilege, but which canned broth do you like? You probably make your own, but I never will. — Summer Soup Lover
Dear Soup Lover: Yes, I make my own, but I always have canned on hand. My picks so far are College Inn and Campbell's Healthy Request from a blind tasting we did of every broth we could find in our area.
Here is a summer soup to try. If heads of young green garlic are available, don't skin the cloves, simply slice the whole head and stem (if sliceable) into thin rounds.
Cool New Garlic And Corn Soup
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. water
peeled cloves of an entire large (3-inch diameter) head garlic, all lightly crushed
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
generous pinch cayenne pepper (or to taste)
shredded zest of half a large lemon
2 cans (about 10 ounces each) chicken broth
5 to 6 cups fresh corn kernels (cut from about 9 ears)
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sour cream, or whole-milk yogurt
1/3 cup each fresh basil leaves, and diced red onion
1/2 cup snipped chives (garnish)
Preparation:
In a 4-quart pot combine butter, water and garlic with a little salt, a generous amount of black pepper, and the cayenne. Bring to a very gentle bubble over medium-low heat. Cover and let cook 10 minutes, or until garlic is soft but not colored. Turn heat to medium-high, stir in lemon zest and broth. Boil, uncovered, 1 minute.
Remove from heat, cool 10 minutes, and stir in half the corn. In a blender or processor, lightly puree to a creamy/nubby consistency. Pour back into pot, add cream and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in remaining corn and cook 1 minute. Taste for seasoning, cool, and chill up to 3 days.
Blend together sour cream, basil and onion with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate with soup. To serve, taste soup again for seasoning. If necessary, thin with a little broth or water. Have soup cool, not ice-cold. Spoon into bowls, topping each serving with sour cream and a sprinkling of snipped chives.
Serves 4; multiplies easily
(Lynne Rossetto Kasper is host of "The Splendid Table"(r), Minnesota Public Radio's national food show. Find recipes, station listings and more at splendidtable.org, or 800-537-5252.)
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