Another quick post tonight: For yesterday's dinner Oliver used our fresh picked eggplant in a side dish he first cooked for me just a few months into our relationship. Since then it's become a cozy, healthy and delicious, "down home" southern side that we eat every few months. On it's most basic level it's a medley of diced eggplant, chopped okra, grape tomatoes and onions - but once you put it all together in a lovely old fashioned cast iron skillet it seems to become so much more then what it is.
Two more things I should mention about dinner:
1. It was paired with grilled jerk chicken. I'll post more about that this weekend.
2. Until I met Oliver I'd NEVER had an okra that was not fried. I vividly remember my elementary school serving them fried. They filled one of those little melamine squares on my tray. Even fried I DID NOT WANT them. I'm happy to say Oliver's method of browning and smothering has happily changed my mind.
Recipe available on request.
