Buongiorno! Today an excited group of guests will be joining me in Rome for the first part of our fabulous food and wine adventure in Italy. We’ll be here for a few days, and then we will make our way south to Puglia for a week-long cooking school at The Awaiting Table in Lecce. Want to join me next year? Check out the potential trip options and let me know what you think! Before I left I hosted the group for a Q&A cocktail party to get ready for the trip, and I made two easy spreads that I wanted to share with you.The first is a simple creamy ricotta spread (bottom left) that doesn’t even require a recipe. Put some ricotta into the food processor and slowly add some cream with the blade running until you have a creamy spread. Stir in some lemon zest, minced chives (or other fresh herbs), sea salt, and cracked black pepper. Easy. Fast. Delicious! The second spread is a roasted eggplant spread with garlic and onions, and I’ve included the recipe for that below. Serve them both with an assortment of crostini and crackers for easy entertaining.
Stay tuned as the next few blogs posts you’ll see from me will be from Italy!
- 1 small eggplant, sliced thickly
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 8-10 roasted garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
- Lay the eggplant slices on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and roast for 20 minutes. While the eggplant cooks, add some olive oil to a skillet over medium heat and add the onions. Cook slowly, stirring frequently, until nicely browned.
- Remove the skin from the eggplant, and then combine the eggplant, garlic, rosemary, and 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Add the caramelized onions and pulse just a couple of times to incorporate. Season with salt to taste and serve with crostini or crackers.