Tomato Eggplant Sauce

As summer turns into fall, I love to take my ripe tomatoes and eggplants and turn them into this sauce... I first started having a lot of similar sauces at restaurants, and then decided to make my own. This version, based on a Lidia Bastianich recipe, is a beautiful balance of flavors, with just the right amount of sweetness. I balance the vegetables out with a bit of fresh ricotta cheese when I serve it over penne or a similar pasta.

Ingredients

One 16 ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes, or 2 cups of fresh peeled tomatoes
One medium eggplant, chopped into half inch cubes
Three tablespoons of olive oil
One medium yellow onion, finely chopped
One garlic clove, finely chopped
Two sprigs of fresh basil
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil over low heat in a medium or larger cast iron pot, then add the onions with a pinch of salt and allow them to soften before adding the garlic as well. Next, add the eggplant and mix it with the other ingredients, then continue to cook it on a low-medium heat for about fifteen minutes, adding water at any time to prevent it from burning. Once the eggplant has softened, you can crush the tomatoes by hand and drop them into the pot - you should also add about two cups of water using the tomato can or bowl to get the extra juices and prevent the eggplant from drying out. You can add the basil, plus another pinch of salt and some pepper at this point, along with the pan's lid, and allow everything to cook covered for about 45 minutes on low-medium heat. Be sure to check on it and lower the heat if the sauce begins to boil, it should be at a steady simmer. Once the vegetables seem to be mingling together, you can remove the lid and cook uncovered for another hour. Be sure to check on the sauce and stir it regularly to make sure the eggplant doesn't stick to the pan. Once it is finished, toss it with a bit of pasta finished with butter, and add a dollop of fresh ricotta right before it's served.

Makes abut 4 servings.

456 Shanghai

Earlier this year I took a class on dim sum preparation (more on that later), and just this week I had a friend visiting from Shanghai, so I have had a lot of inspiration for finally getting down below Canal Street. While my friend was in town we ate a lot of American and European foods, but once she left I wanted to go and have a taste of what she eats when she's back in China.

So, tonight I went out to try 456 Shanghai, in New York City's Chinatown, recipient of Sam Sifton's recent glowing review in The New York Times, in which he bestowed the restaurant with a star. I have eaten at many Chinese restaurants in the city, and live only about a fifteen or so minute walk from Chinatown, but I had never dined in the area before tonight.

At 456 Shanghai, I did not push my comfort zone too much - largely because of my companions. We went for a fairly basic, American friendly meal of scallion pancakes, braised vegetable noodles, General Tso's chicken, and a vegetable dish consisting of eggplant, green beans, and broccoli in a garlicky basil sauce, along with pork soup dumplings and vegetable dumplings. The vegetable dishes were by far the standouts for me, with the mixed vegetable dish having incredible flavor in the sauce, and the vegetable dumplings were not simply a mush of sauteed vegetables, but well blended and seasoned with a variety of tastes inside. The quality of the meat was surprisingly good - many places will give you the tough pieces in a dish like General Tso's, but each bite was moist and chewable. The soup dumplings, however, were rather bland, as were the noodles.

I'm happy to have made the trip... Next time I would lean more toward an all vegetarian meal at 456, but I like knowing that the chicken is a safe bet as well.

456 Shanghai Cuisine
69 Mott Street
New York, NY
212.964.0003

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/31/dining/reviews/456-shanghai-cuisine-nyc-restaurant-review.html?pagewanted=all