The Bountiful Hive—

Aubergines: To Love An Eggplant Is To Love Diversity

By Meg Maher-Soto

The farmer’s market is overflowing with deep purple, white, violet, and baby eggplants at this time of year. For those of us who adore eggplant, we can easily admit that, once hooked on its sweet, satisfying flavor, we will savor it in any form that may come our way: grilled, sautéed, marinated, baked... we love it all ways!

The following recipes utilize the fresh, unique flavor of this nutritious vegetable. Loaded with healthy carbohydrates and fiber, the eggplant has almost no fat, no cholesterol and it is low in calories.

When purchasing eggplants, preferably from a farmer’s market where the varieties are numerous, it is important to choose eggplants that are firm and heavy. The skin should be tight and have a healthy glow and the cap and stem should be fresh and green. The eggplant should have some give or spring when touched. A soft eggplant is old and will be bitter when cooked, while a hard eggplant is underripe. I also stay away from the very large eggplants; the medium-sized and smaller ones are more tender and flavorful.

Eggplants should be used within four days of purchase. The salting method that is used in the following recipes is to relieve the eggplant of the excess water. The water in the eggplant turns it to mush when cooked. It is an extra step, but it yields a delicious result.

So now you know what to do with all those beautiful eggplants that you’ve just purchased. Enjoy!

Eggplant-Tomato Bake

Serves 4

Although similar to classic eggplant Parmigiana, this recipe is lighter and the baked method can also be used to save on the calories as a result of frying.

1 medium-size eggplant,

  trimmed, peeled, and cut

  length-wise into ¼-inch slices

1-2 tablespoons sea salt

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

   with a pinch of salt added

2 cups plain bread crumbs,

  spread over a sheet pan

Vegetable oil for frying

¼ cup olive oil

3 cloves garlic, finely minced

4 cups fresh tomatoes, coarsely

  chopped OR 1 28-ounce can

  imported Italian tomatoes,  

  with their juices (To remove

  seeds, put tomatoes through

   a food mill)

Sea salt and freshly

  ground pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh

  parsley or basil

24 thin slices mozzarella

  (about 12 ounces)

Put the eggplant slices on a baking sheet, sprinkle with the salt and let stand about 1 hour. Pat the slices dry with paper towels. Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Heat the olive oil in a medium-size skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until the garlic begins to color, less than a minute. Add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cook uncovered for 8 minutes. Add parsley or basil and then remove from heat. Set aside.

Dip the eggplant slices into the beaten egg, shake off the excess and dredge completely in the bread crumbs. Heat 1 inch of the vegetable oil in a medium-size skillet over high heat. When the oil is very hot, slip a few slices into the oil. When they are golden on one side, less than a minute, turn to fry the other side. Transfer to paper towels to drain and repeat with remaining slices. (The eggplant frying can be done a few hours ahead. Keep the fried eggplant at room temperature.)

Preheat the oven to 350°. Spread about 1 cup of the tomato sauce on the bottom of a baking dish. Make one layer with the eggplant slices, one layer with the mozzarella, then spread some more tomato sauce over and repeat the process until the ingredients are used up. Bake until the cheese is melted, 12 to 15 minutes.

Serve warm or at room temperature. Perfect with a green salad and crusty rustic bread.

NOTE:  If you do not want to fry the eggplant, they can easily be baked. Preheat the oven to 375°. Brush a little olive oil onto a sheet pan. Place the breaded slices on the pan and bake for 7-10 minutes on each side until lightly browned.

Macaroni with Eggplant

Serves 4

This is a delicious and satisfying main dish. You will not miss the meat!

1 medium eggplant, trimmed,

  unpeeled and cut into ¼-inch

  cubes (To achieve cubes, slice

  the unpeeled eggplant vert-

  ically into ½-inch slices

  and then cube the slices)

1 tablespoon sea salt

¼ cup all-purpose flour

1 28-ounce can imported

   Italian tomatoes or 4 cups

   fresh tomatoes, coarsely

   chopped and squeezed to

   remove the excess water

   and seeds

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

¼ cup fresh basil leaves,

  cut into strips

Sea salt and freshly

  ground pepper

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper

  flakes (optional)

1 pound rigatoni, penne, shells

  or fusilli

1 cup freshly grated pecorino

  romano or parmesan cheese

Place the cubed eggplant into a colander. Sprinkle the salt over the eggplant and toss. Let stand for one hour.

Squeeze out the cubes by hand, rinse, and pat dry. Lightly flour the cubes. While waiting for the eggplant to release its bitter juices, make the sauce.

Place the olive oil and garlic into a medium-size saucepan over medium heat and cook for one minute. Do not brown the garlic. Add the tomatoes and stir, season with salt and pepper and red pepper flakes, if using. Cook for 7-10 minutes. Stir in the basil strips and remove from the heat.

Heat a skillet with ¼ cup olive oil until very hot.  Fry the eggplant cubes and cook for just a few minutes; do not let them become too crisp. Drain on paper towel and keep warm. While you are cooking the eggplant, cook the pasta according to the package directions, being sure not to overcook. Drain the pasta and place in a large serving bowl. Toss with the grated cheese.

Warm the tomato sauce and add to the pasta. Then, stir in the cooked eggplant. Serve immediately. Can be topped with additional grated cheese and slivered basil leaves.

Marinated Eggplant

Serves 6

A great addition to antipasto!

2 medium-size eggplant (about

  2 pounds), trimmed, peeled

  and cut into 1-inch dice

1-2 tablespoons sea salt

1 cup white wine vinegar

Sea salt and freshly

  ground pepper

Marinade:

2 tablespoons white

  wine vinegar

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

¼ cup loosely packed

  oregano leaves

2 tablespoons chopped

  fresh parsley

Whisk together and set aside.

Place the eggplant in a colander and sprinkle with the salt. Let stand one hour.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add one cup of the vinegar. Rinse the eggplant quickly under cold water and add to the boiling water. Boil for 1 to 2 minutes, drain and rinse the eggplant under cold running water to stop the cooking. Shake the colander to remove as much water as possible.

Place the eggplant in a large bowl and refrigerate for about one hour. Just before serving, season the eggplant with the salt and pepper and dress with the marinade. Serve alone as an appetizer with crusty bread, as a salad or its own, or as part of an antipasto.

Eggplant Caviar

(Make one day ahead)

An elegant appetizer served with sesame breadsticks or pita bread. It takes some effort, but the results are sublime!

6 medium-sized eggplants

1 tablespoon kosher or sea salt

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Halve the eggplants lengthwise, score with a knife and sprinkle lightly with the salt. Let stand for about one hour.

Preheat the oven to 375°. Oil a baking sheet. Squeeze out the excess water from the eggplants and place them, skin sides up, on the baking sheet. Bake until the meat is completely soft, 35-45 minutes. Set aside to cool.

When cool enough to handle, skin the eggplants. Chop the pulp and place pulp into a large square of dampened cheesecloth. Let stand in a bowl for 15 minutes until most of the liquid is drained off.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, garlic, mustard, and salt and pepper. Add the eggplant pulp and stir to mix. Cover and refrigerate for one day before serving.

For more wonderful eggplant recipes, including Baba Ganoush and Eggplant Caponata, call or send me an email.

(Meg Maher-Soto has worked most of her life in the culinary arts. She currently operates a home-based catering business with her husband [The Cook and The Baker, which can be reached by calling 426-7927]. Her email address is megandorlandos@yahoo.com. Naturally, she is married to a chef.)