Marcus of Umbria Giveaway and Minted Eggplant

How many people dream of chucking it all – the deadlines, the battles with the boss, the toxic office environment – and moving to Italy to live la dolce vita?  Lots of people fantasize about it but not many follow through on the dream.

Enter Justine van der Leun, a young American woman living in New York City, who did just that.  She left her job at a well-known lifestyle magazine to move to a small village in Italy, where an abandoned English pointer stole her heart even more than the Italian gardener whose family she lived with.

In her recently released book, “Marcus of Umbria – What an Italian Dog Taught An American Girl About Love,” Justine writes with humor and poignant honesty about her life in Collelungo, a village of 200 people in Umbria, a region called “the green heart of Italy.” Anyone who has ever known or lived with an Italian family in a small town will immediately identify with the cultural differences as Justine unsuccessfully tries to adapt to her newly-adopted family and boyfriend.

It’s a tale filled with love, with sadness, with traditions that have played out for generations – traditions such as wild boar hunting, sparrow-shooting, horse-wrangling, and pig-butchering among other things.  But more importantly than learning these traditions was the knowledge Justine gained about herself during her year in la bell’Italia.

Maybe I loved the book so much because it reminded me of my own hiatus from the daily stresses of being a journalist in New York City and my escape to Italy for a year.  But “Marcus of Umbria” is a real page turner and makes a perfect summer read for anybody. Maybe even you. The publisher has agreed to send one copy of the book to a reader of this blog. All you have to do is leave a comment at the end of this post, no later than 9 pm. EDT Monday June 28, telling me where you would move to if you could live in Italy for a year. Or anywhere in the world actually, that you would love to call home for a year-long break. The winner will be picked at random. Want even more of a chance to win? Just connect with me on Facebook and/or Twitter to increase your odds by leaving a comment there too.

“Marcus of Umbria” doesn’t contain any recipes per se, although there are references to food sprinkled throughout the book. Justine offered to write about one such recipe for Ciao Chow Linda that she ate during her year in Collelungo – minted eggplant.

Below is a guest post written by Justine van der Leun. All photos here are also taken by her.

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“During my year in the Umbrian countryside, I spent my days with the Crucianis, a farming family. They were proudly simple people and they grew, raised, or hunted everything they ate. The Crucianis weren’t precious about their meals: Preparing and eating food was as natural to them as breathing.

From them, I learned how to balance a nearly religious ardor for fresh, local ingredients with a casual approach to meals. But above all, I learned how to prepare and serve food the Italian way, which is, of course, with wild, nearly-aggressive generosity (hence their world-famous tendency to shout “Mangia! Mangia!”). In other words, the Italian way to serve food is to serve it with love. As my then-boyfriend Emanuele (the middle Cruciani child) once said, “Here you eat every day love, not only food.”

The woman responsible for my Umbrian meals was Emanuele’s mother, Serenella—a brash, no-nonsense, utterly tenderhearted woman who fed me everything she could from the first time I stepped in her kitchen until the day I left. Serenella could whip up from scratch a five-course meal for a family of eight in under 20 minutes, and she did, twice a day. She didn’t understand what the big deal was.

Serenella made vegetable dishes—from sautéed fresh chicory to field asparagus—mainly for me, as her male-dominated household really just wanted their pork and pasta. This eggplant dish was a departure from her normal repertoire, a light addition to a spring lunch. I was immediately taken by the nearly caramelized exterior of the eggplant, the balance of salt and garlic, and the fresh, fragrant mint. I liked that it could be part of a big spread or a standalone dish with some crusty bread and soft cheese. Lucky for me, it’s easy to throw together. Now when I make it, I always think of the Crucianis, and especially of Serenella. And so, without fail, I make it with love. And it’s always buonissimo.”  - Justine

Minted Eggplant

 --Wash the eggplant and slice into rounds a quarter-inch thick.

--If you aren’t sure as to the eggplant’s freshness, place slices in a colander, sprinkling with salt, and tossing to coat evenly.

--Let sit over sink or bowl for an hour.

--Coax out any extra moisture by patting with paper towels or kitchen cloth, then rinse in cold water and pat dry again.

--Put olive oil in a pan (non-stick is best; if you don’t have a non-stick pan, you’ll just have to use extra oil) and heat over medium heat for a few minutes.

--Add the eggplant slices. Depending on the size of your pan, you may have to cook the eggplant in batches. Give the slices plenty of room.

--While the eggplant is cooking, wash and chop the mint. I love mint so I use loads of it, but you can cater the amount to your taste.

 --Make sure the eggplant gets really golden brown—I think it’s most delicious when it’s slightly caramelized. Make sure as well that the eggplant doesn’t get too dry as it cooks; sprinkle with oil as you see fit.

--When the batch is done, set it on a paper towel to drain.

--Each time you put a new batch of eggplant in the pan, make sure to film the bottom of the skillet with more olive oil.

--After the eggplant is all cooked and is set on its paper towels, add a tablespoon of oil to the pan and sauté the finely chopped garlic on medium heat until golden brown.

--Place eggplant slices on a pretty platter and add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Then sprinkle on the garlic and top with the chopped fresh mint. I place lemon quarters on the platter, more for color than for taste.

--Serve. Preferably with a light, dry, summery white wine.

Minted Eggplant

Printable Recipe Here

1 large eggplant or 2-3 small eggplants

Olive oil

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Handful of fresh mint leaves

Salt and pepper

--Wash the eggplant and slice into rounds a quarter-inch thick.

--If you aren’t sure as to the eggplant’s freshness, place slices in a colander, sprinkling with salt, and tossing to coat evenly.

--Let sit over sink or bowl for an hour.

--Coax out any extra moisture by patting with paper towels or kitchen cloth, then rinse in cold water and pat dry again.

--Put olive oil in a pan (non-stick is best; if you don’t have a non-stick pan, you’ll just have to use extra oil) and heat over medium heat for a few minutes.

--Add the eggplant slices. Depending on the size of your pan, you may have to cook the eggplant in batches. Give the slices plenty of room.

--While the eggplant is cooking, wash and chop the mint. I love mint so I use loads of it, but you can cater the amount to your taste.

--Make sure the eggplant gets really golden brown—I think it’s most delicious when it’s slightly caramelized. Make sure as well that the eggplant doesn’t get too dry as it cooks; sprinkle with oil as you see fit.

--When the batch is done, set it on a paper towel to drain.

--Each time you put a new batch of eggplant in the pan, make sure to film the bottom of the skillet with more olive oil.

--After the eggplant is all cooked and is set on its paper towels, add a tablespoon of oil to the pan and sauté the finely chopped garlic on medium heat until golden brown.

--Place eggplant slices on a pretty platter and add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Then sprinkle on the garlic and top with the chopped fresh mint. I place lemon quarters on the platter, more for color than for taste.

--Serve. Preferably with a light, dry, summery white wine.

 

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