Bobby Flay's Throwdown! (21 page)

1.
To make the sauce,
heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, 5 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook for 1 minute. Add the roasted red peppers and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, bring to a boil, and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 25 to 30 minutes.

2.
Transfer the mixture to a food processor and process until smooth. Return the mixture to the pot, add the parsley, basil, and oregano, and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 10 minutes. Season with honey, if needed, and set aside.

3.
To cook the eggplant,
preheat the oven to 350°F.

4.
Spread the bread crumbs evenly on a large baking sheet and bake, stirring once, until dry, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven.

5.
Raise the oven temperature to 400°F. Grease the bottom and sides of a 10 × 15-inch baking dish with the butter.

6.
Combine the flour with 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper in a medium shallow bowl or on a large plate. In another medium shallow bowl, whisk the eggs with 2 tablespoons water. In a large shallow bowl, mix the bread crumbs with the parsley, oregano, thyme, 1½ teaspoons salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper.

7.
Season each eggplant slice on both sides with salt and pepper. Dredge each slice in the flour, tapping off any excess; then dip it in the egg; and finally dredge it in the bread crumb mixture. Shake off any excess breading and transfer the eggplant to a baking sheet.

8.
Heat ½ inch of oil in 2 large straight-sided sauté pans over medium heat until the oil begins to shimmer. Working in batches, fry the eggplant slices, turning once, until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the eggplant to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet.

9.
Cover the bottom of the prepared baking dish with some of the tomato sauce, and arrange a third of the eggplant slices over the sauce. Cover the eggplant with some of the sauce, grated mozzarella, fontina, Pecorino, and basil. Repeat to make two more layers, ending with the sauce. Top with the fresh mozzarella and remaining Pecorino, and bake until hot and just beginning to brown, about 30 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

SERVES 6 TO 8

1.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2.
Beat the eggs with 1 tablespoon of the Pecorino and the parsley in a large bowl or baking dish. Season with salt and pepper. Put the flour in another baking dish, and the bread crumbs in a third dish. Coat both sides of the eggplant slices with the flour, then the egg mixture, then the bread crumbs.

3.
Heat the vegetable and olive oils in 1 or 2 large straight-sided skillets over medium heat until the oil begins to shimmer. Fry the eggplant, in batches, until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the eggplant to a paper-towel-lined plate or a wire rack to drain.

4.
Spread a little of the marinara sauce in the bottom of a 10 × 15-inch baking dish. Add a layer of eggplant, one-third of the remaining sauce, one-third of the mozzarella, and one-third of the remaining Pecorino. Continue to layer until you have reached the top of the dish. Top off with sauce, mozzarella, and Pecorino—a little heavier than the preceding layers. Bake on a rimmed baking sheet until the top is lightly crisp, 25 to 30 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

NOTE

If using fresh mozzarella, let the slices dry out, uncovered, in the refrigerator overnight to remove excess moisture.

Demo version limitation

Name: Jorge Ayala
Establishment: La Fonda Boricua
Hometown: New York, New York
Website:
www.fondaboricua.com
Phone: (212) 410-7292

I headed up to Spanish Harlem to whip up a mellow Latin classic as Puerto Rican as salsa music—arroz con pollo. But could Jorge Ayala handle it when I salsa’d through the door? It was tradition versus nuevo, complete with dancing and a guest appearance by my archenemy: rice. (If you’ve seen the mess I made of the rice in the Jambalaya episode, no further explanation is necessary.)

For the last decade, La Fonda Boricua has delivered the best Puerto Rican food in New York City, thanks to its founder and head chef, Jorge Ayala. This former psychology professor attributes his success to fresh ingredients, loyal customers, and a popular dish that keeps them coming back—his arroz con pollo is the real thing, just like (if not better than) your mom used to make.

Chicken and rice—it sounds simple enough, right? But simple doesn’t mean easy. Jorge knows that to get this dish right, the flavors of the chicken and rice need to meld together, and the chicken can’t be overcooked and the rice undercooked or vice versa. Jorge marinates his chicken in adobo spices overnight and sautés it in annatto oil for its great color and distinct flavor. You can’t have Puerto Rican food without sofrito, a fragrant blend of onions, peppers, garlic, and herbs (cilantro and its pungent cousin recao). Jorge sautés his sofrito with bay leaves, tomato paste, and olives—it’s this arroz con pollo magic that Jorge thought had earned him a spot in a Food Network show called “Latin Spice.”

In the test kitchen, I started with the chicken, creating my own adobo spice rub to give it a great yellow color and incredible flavor. My sofrito started off traditionally enough until I added a few serrano chiles. Puerto Rican food is known for being full of spice, not heat, but no matter what I’m cooking, it seems a chile pepper always makes its way into the dish. Rice, stock, and the chicken are added, and peas, red peppers, and citrus zest finish the dish. If all had gone according to plan, the chicken would have been perfectly cooked and the rice tender and fluffy. Well, at least the chicken was good. Again I struggled with the rice. (Dissatisfied with my soggy rice, I decided to go back to my apartment and make the dish again for my wife. I changed my method, cooking the rice and chicken separately and combining the two at the end. Classic? No. Good? Definitely.)

This fun and lively Spanish Harlem Throwdown was full of flavor, but the time came to kill the music, clear the dance floor, and give our attention to the judges. Debbie Quinones and Jordy Lavanderos are experts in the field of Latin cuisine and they judged us on the rice’s texture, the seasoning of the chicken, and the overall flavor of the dish. They said that mine was very peppery and had lots of flavor, though it was more of an American taste. Jorge’s chicken could have used more flavor, but the rice was cooked much better than mine. This win went to Jorge.