Informal Supper

A Signpost of Greece, A Cloak of Italy  

As far as I’m concerned, there are two major kinds of cooking, and the distinction I make is not between types of foods but the approach to preparing them.

 

By: Nigella Lawson*

Photo: Jonathan Player

There is the sort of cooking you do for guestless dinners, for one or two of you, when you need not think too much in advance or even that much while you are actually cooking, and then there is the sort you do when people are coming over.

Even when I’m cooking for a sizable gathering, the food I make is simple, informal and as low-stress as possible, so it is not a question of morphing into a superaspirational hostess.
Quite honestly, it’s impossible to relax while busying yourself with split-second timing or any too finicky, involved process. I like a certain amount of fiddling about stoveside, while I chat to whomever might be loitering in the kitchen -- activity always eases the flow of conversation -- but the important thing is not to leave yourself anything to do at the last minute that requires concentration.
This dinner is for me perhaps the perfect one: enough can be made in advance to eliminate any tension or panic, while allowing for some low-level last-minute assembly that lets your friends feel cared for and lets you feel that you’re warmly caring for them.
Perhaps it would be more accurate to call this supper rather than dinner: an informal spread for six (the perfect number for talk; any more and conversations tend to splinter off in groups) that is just right for easy gatherings of friends on wintry weekend evenings.
First, a dish of involtini – eggplant sliced and grilled then stuffed with an herbed cheese filling and baked in a tomato sauce – followed by a sharp lemon and spinach salad and a not-quite-dessert of pumpkin-seed brittle.
The involtini is one of the dishes you’ll find yourself making again and again in some style or other, or at least I do. I call it involtini because the first time I came across it, and made it, it was in its authentic Italian version: the cheese filling was made of provolone and the herb was basil.
Since then I have fiddled about with different herbs and cheeses (and you could, too). This one has landed somewhere in the region of Greece: sharp, salty feta to stuff the eggplant slices (though mozzarella still graces the assembled dish) and mint to flavor it.
I have to say, I have a slight preference for dried over fresh mint for the filling, but if you do have any fresh mint, it tastes very good snipped and sprinkled over the finished dish. Also, if during these winter months you find it difficult to get hold of fresh mint you can substitute dried for fresh in the salad that follows. Since the mint is left to steep with the lemon before you dress the salad, the dried mint has time to rehydrate and infuse the lemon with maximum mintiness by the time you eat it.
Both involtini and the salad are something of regular fallbacks. Here the involtini is the main dish, but whenever I need to provide a vegetarian option for a meaty feast, this is the one I pull out.
I must admit I have slight textural issues with eggplant. Much as I love its smoky flavor once roasted and mushed, it does teeter over into emetic pulpiness. Here, when it is sliced thinly, then oiled and grilled (preferably on a ridged pan though it’s not crucial since you are swathing it all in tomato later), you get the best out of the eggplant, an oily blandness that is perfectly countered by the salty, minty, raisin-and-pine-nut-studded filling. Best of all, perhaps, you can grill the eggplant and make the filling in advance, and then assemble it about half an hour to an hour before you want to eat. And I love the rolling up: it’s like basket-weaving, only more useful.
The salad, too, is a snip, but then one would hardly expect a salad to cause trouble. Using a lemon rather than just lemon juice as an ingredient makes for the most fabulous salad regardless of leaves. And by all means, serve it as a starter rather than a follow-up on the main course. A roast leg of lamb would be the perfect accompaniment.
I do not have a terrific sweet tooth but I am utterly addicted to pumpkin brittle. I came across it some time back at Beppe in Manhattan and first made it myself only a few months back. Now I can’t stop. You need vibrant green pumpkin seeds, which you are most likely to get from a health store. (And then they are organic, too.) Their smooth nuttiness is a dream when captured, as if in amber, by the deep gold of the molten sugar.
Besides, I love the corruption of the health-store staple into a confectionery. If you want to make this a side dish to a bowl of cool, smooth ice cream, be my guest. But truly, you need nothing more: this may be the best thing I’ve ever cooked or eaten.


* Nigella Lawson is the author, most recently, of “Feast: Food That Celebrates Life” and the host of “Nigella Bites,” on the Style Network and E! Entertainment Television.


INVOLTINI

Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
3 eggplants, about 1 pound each, trimmed and cut lengthwise into slices 1/4 inch thick (about 16 slices total)
3/4 cup olive oil, or as needed
8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup raisins, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes until plump, then drained
1/4 cup extra olive oil, more for drizzling
2 tablespoons bread crumbs
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 teaspoons dried mint
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley leaves
1 large egg, beaten
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 1/2 cups drained canned crushed tomatoes
1 large ball fresh mozzarella in 1/4-inch slices.

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place a ridged cast-iron skillet or other heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, brush eggplant slices on both sides with olive oil and cook, turning, until soft and (if using a ridged pan) crisscrossed with grid marks. Set aside and allow to cool.
2. In a large bowl, combine feta, pine nuts, raisins, 1/4 cup extra olive oil, bread crumbs, garlic, lemon zest, mint and parsley. Mix in egg, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Spread eggplant slices on a surface, and divide stuffing evenly among them, placing 1 to 2 tablespoons at one end of each slice. Roll up slices tightly to secure filling, and place in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish (or other shallow baking pan in which rolls fit snugly in a single layer).
4. Pour crushed tomatoes on top of eggplant rolls. Arrange mozzarella slices in a line lengthwise down center of pan. Drizzle olive oil evenly over pan, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Bake until cheese has melted and eggplant is bubbling and fragrant, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to stand 5 to 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Yield: 6 servings.

PUMPKIN-SEED BRITTLE

Time: 15 minutes, plus cooling
Vegetable oil for foil (if needed)
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cup unsalted green pumpkin seeds.

1. Set aside a large nonstick baking mat or a sheet of oiled aluminum foil. In a small saucepan, combine sugar, cream of tartar, and 1/2 cup water. Place over low heat, and stir until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium-high to bring mixture to a boil. Allow to boil without stirring until syrup turns golden amber, about 10 minutes. (Do not leave unattended as syrup caramelizes suddenly and burns easily.)
2. Remove from heat, and quickly add pumpkin seeds. Tilt pan to coat seeds evenly. Immediately pour onto baking mat or foil, trying to spread mixture in a thin layer. Use a spatula to spread mixture evenly before it begins to set and harden.
3. Allow to cool and harden completely before breaking into pieces. Store in an airtight container.

Yield: About 1 pound.

SPINACH SALAD WITH LEMON AND MINT

Time: 15 minutes
1 lemon
1/3 cup fresh mint leaves, finely sliced, more for garnish
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces baby spinach leaves
3 tablespoons extra olive oil.

1. Cut off top and bottom of lemon, and slice off skin and pith. Cut lemon flesh into rounds 1/4-inch thick, then slice each round into eighths.
2. In a salad bowl, combine lemon, mint, and salt. Season with pepper to taste. Add spinach and oil, and toss well. Garnish with additional mint, and serve.

Yield: 6 servings.