One of Martin Balsam's best known roles is Private Investigator Milton Arbogast in Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 horror masterpiece, "Psycho." When he wasn't furtively climbing stairs in scary mansions looking for Mother Bates, he was busy cooking up an ambitious Eggplant Bolognese! Martin's recipe might look something like this:
Martin should most certainly have stayed in the kitchen! Arbogast, don't go up those stairs!
MARTIN BALSAM'S
Eggplant Bolognese
The ingredients, listed from the text of the original recipe by yours truly:
1 carrot, minced
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 branch celery, chopped
¼ cup fine grade olive oil
Fresh basil (or ½ teaspoon dried, more if desired)
Handful minced parsley
½ pound lean ground beef
½ pound ground veal
1 large boneless chicken breast, cubed, uncooked
Chicken giblets and liver, diced
2 cups dry white wine
2 cups solid pack Italian plum tomatoes
Flour
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg to taste (1/2 teaspoon plus)
2 medium eggplants
1/3 cup fine grade olive oil
½ pound Mozzarella cheese
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
For the salsa Bolognese: Saute 1 minced carrot, 1 chopped yellow onion, 3 cloves garlic (pressed), 1 branch celery (chopped) in 1/4 cup fine grade olive oil until vegetables are limp. Add a little fresh basil (1/2 tsp. dried, more if desired), a handful minced parsley, 1/2 lb. lean ground beef, 1/2 lb. ground veal, large breast boneless chicken (cubed, uncooked), chicken giblets and liver (diced); brown over high flame, stirring. Add 2 cups dry white wine, 2 cups solid pack Italian plum tomatoes, 1 tbsp. tomato paste, salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Grate in fresh nutmeg to taste (1/2 tsp. plus). Mix well. Simmer gently several hours, stirring until thick. Add more liquid (beef stock or wine) if needed. Sauce should be thick.
For the eggplant: Peel and slice 2 medium eggplants in 1/2-inch rounds. Salt well, place in colander, press with weight to remove liquid. Flour well; fry gently in about 1/3 cup fine grade olive oil on both sides; drain well on absorbent paper. Butter a flat baking dish; arrange layer of eggplant, spoon generous layer of salsa Bolognese and layer of thin rounds of Mozzarella cheese (about 1/2 pound), and generous sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, ending with Parmesan cheese on top. Bake in preheated 375 degrees F. oven about 20-25 minutes (or until eggplant is tender and cheese is brown and bubbly). Consume at once! Serves 6.
(Martin's) Thoughts: Salsa Bolognese is even more delicious with the addition of sweetbreads (blanched, membranes removed, chopped, gently simmered in 1/2 pt. beef stock, seasoned with salt, pepper, thyme, bay leaf, snipped fresh parsley before adding to sauce with tomatoes and other ingredients).
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Tsk, tsk, Arbogast, don't say we didn't warn you . . .
But thanks for the great eggplant recipe!
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