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EGGPLANT
Eggplant is a great vegetable that, in my opinion, is underappreciated. I've included a lot of my favorite
recipes here to highlight how good it can taste and how versatile it is. We grow the traditional large purple
eggplant as well as some long skinny asian varieties. Eggplant can be used as a replacement for meat in some recipes (see vegetarian moussaka below)
because of it's texture, much like extra-firm tofu. It is great breaded and fried in eggplant parmesan or as a topping on pizza. We also regularly
add it to our stir fries (see ratatouille)
and tomato sauce. If we give you too many eggplant to handle at once, a great recipe to use is baba ganoush (see below)--a hummus-like eggplant puree--which you can also freeze
and use during the winter.If you don't particularly love eggplant "flavor" here's a trick. Slice the eggplant, lay it out on a plate, sprinkle liberally with salt and let sit 20 minutes. The eggplant will sweat some brownish/purplish water. Rinse that off or just shake it off and then proceed to cook with it. This reduces the bitterness or "eggplanti-ness" that some people don't particularly like. We don't always bother with this step because we're lazy and we don't really mind the taste. The skin of eggplant can also become a bit thick and tough if they are not harvest when they first ripen. If your eggplant has thick skin, just peel it. RECIPES: Ratatouille 3 tbsp olive oil 2 large onions, chopped 2-3 sweet pepppers, sliced 3 garlic cloves, crushed 1 lb. zucchini or other summer squash, sliced 1 lb. eggplant, diced 1.5 lb. tomatoes, chopped 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (1 tbsp. dried) Sautee onions and peppers. Add garlic, zucchini, and eggplant, stir and then cover and cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes until all vegetables are tender. Add tomatoes and cook uncovered another 5 min or until the vegetables start to blend into a thick sauce-like consistency. Sprinkle parsley over it all and salt and pepper to taste. Eggplant Parmesan 1 large egpplant, sliced (or two skinny ones) seasoned bread crumbs 1 egg 2-4 cups tomato sauce 1/2 lb mozzarella cheese, sliced or shredded 1/2 cup parmesan cheese Beat egg lightly with a fork in a shallow bowl. Pour bread crumbs in another shallow bowl. Slice eggplant and dip both sides in the egg and then the bread crumbs. Fry on medium-high heat in a little olive oil until the bread crumbs brown and then flip them to brown the other side. Once you have fried all the eggplant slices, turn the heat to low and layer them back in the frying pan. Pour the tomato sauce over the top. Then layer the mozzerella on top. Sprikle the parmesan cheese over everything. Cover and let cook until the sauce is bubbly and the mozzerella is melted. Most people bake eggplant parmesan rather than returning it to the frying pan. We hate doing dishes, so we do it this way. Vegetarian moussaka 1 large eggplant (or two small), sliced 2 large onions, chopped 1/4 cup olive oil 1 garlic clove 2 15 oz cans of black or kidney beans, drained 1 large tomato chopped 1/4 tsp ground allspice or cinnamon pepper a little sugar 1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt 1 egg a little nutmeg 4 tbsp parmesan cheese Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Sautee onions until tender. Add garlic, beans, tomatoes, and allspice. Mix well and mash beans a little to make a lumpy puree. Season with salt and pepper and a dash of sugar. Sautee eggplant slices lightly in olive oil on both sides (or broil briefly in the oven with olive oil drizzled over them). Put a layer of eggplant in the bottom of the casserole dish, cover with the bean mixture, and repeat layers until the ingredients are used up, ending with a layer of eggplant on top. Beat the sour cream with the egg--adding salt, pepper and a dash of nutmeg to taste. Pour over the top layer of eggplant and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake for 40-45 min. Baba Ganoush ~1.5 lb eggplant 3 tbsp. lemon juice 1 tsp. salt 2 cloves garlic 3 tbsp tahini ~1/4 cup parsley 1/2 cup pine nuts (we use walnuts) 2 tbsp olive oil Slice eggplant (peel it first if you want a really creamy texture) and either broil for 5 minutes on a pan drizzled generously with olive oil or fry them briefly on both side in a hot frying pan with a little olive oil. Add all ingredients to a food processor or a blender and puree until smooth. You may have to add a little more olive oil or some water to get the right consistency--it should be a thick paste. Spread it on sandwiches instead of mayonnaise or eat it with crackers or carrot sticks. Put it into tupperwares and freeze it for a winter treat. |