All the cultures of sunshine cook eggplant. The ways are legion. It can be grilled, broiled, baked, fried, deep fried, sauteed. It gets mashed, stripped, sliced or diced, stuffed. It's eaten hot or cold--just never raw. It's very friendly to spices and its fellow nightshades: tomatoes, peppers and potatoes. It soaks up and delivers oil just when your body needs a good lube job.
Eggplant is a traditional meat substitute. Huge slabs of it are grilled or pan fried like steak. The Italians substitute thin slabs of sauteed eggplant for pasta, turning lasagna into eggplant parmesan. The Spanish pickle small ones; Thais turn them into hotly spiced curry.
A secret to making great eggplant salad is to char it either on the grill, a gas burner or under the broiler until it's soft enough to collapse. This imparts a memorable tantalizing smoky flavor. Then mash it with whatever you like. In Romania it would be garlic, minced green pepper, salt and olive oil. In the Caucuses it would be garlic, minced onion, salt and cinnamon. In the Levant, it would be garlic, lemon juice and tahini. In Turkey, it could be garlic, tomatoes and mint. Some kitchens mix it with yogurt.
Eggplant recipes are infinite. It's worth noting that popular moussaka is a Greek version of the traditional and lighter Arabic Musaqaa. Also noting that musaqaa means chilled, so it's a much lighter, room temperature dish. Here are two versions:
Musaqaa
Vegetarian
2
medium eggplants
3 medium potatoes
2 large tomatoes
1 red onion
1 cup oil (olive or vegetable)
½ T. oregano
½ fresh green chili pepper (if desired)
salt
3 medium potatoes
2 large tomatoes
1 red onion
1 cup oil (olive or vegetable)
½ T. oregano
½ fresh green chili pepper (if desired)
salt
Peel
eggplants and slice lengthwise. Soak in cold salted water.
Slice
potatoes, tomatoes and onions into thin slices. The onion slices especially
should be very thin. If using, also slice the hot pepper in very thin slices.
Dry
the eggplant slices well and fry them a few at a time in oil until quite
golden. Remove from oil and place on paper to drain. For a lighter version, the
eggplant slices may be roasted in the oven.
In
a shallow casserole dish, place one layer of eggplant strips followed by a
layer of potatoes, a layer of tomatoes and a scattering of onion slices, as
well as a scattering of hot pepper slices (if using). Add salt and oregano and
repeat. Add salt and oregano to the final layer and cover casserole with
aluminum foil.
Bake
at 350F for about 30 minutes, then remove the foil. Bake for another 15 minutes
and remove from oven to cool.
Dish
should be served cooled or at room temperature.
Non-vegetarian
In lieu of the potatoes, sauté 1 lb ground lamb with a minced onion, three minced garlic cloves, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp allspice and 1/2 tsp ground cumin, salt and pepper.
Moussaqaa: eggplant with chickpeas
for 10
- 1/4 cup and 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for pans
- 1/4 cup peanut oil
- 1 onion, minced
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
- Sugar to taste
- Salt and black pepper
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (about 1 cup)
- 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
- Fresh mint leaves, for garnish
- Thick yogurt for serving, optional
Heat oven to 450º and lightly oil two baking sheets
(or use nonstick). Combine the 1/4 cup olive oil and the peanut oil. Brush
eggplant slices on both sides with the mixture, then place on pans. Roast,
flipping once, until golden brown on both sides, about 15 minutes total. Set
aside.
.
In a large skillet, heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil over
medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook, stirring, until soft and
translucent, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, spices and molasses, and bring to
a simmer. Add sugar, salt and pepper to taste. (The amount of sugar will depend
on the tomatoes’ sweetness; there should be a hint of sweetness in the
mixture.) Simmer until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Add chickpeas and
cook until thick, 5 to 10 minutes more. Stir in half the pine nuts and set
aside.
.
To serve, place a slice of eggplant on a platter and spoon
tomato-chickpea mixture onto the wide end of the slice. Fold the narrower end
of the slice over to cover the filling and place a mint leaf on top. Repeat
with remaining slices and garnish with remaining pine nuts. Serve cold or at
room temperature, topping each piece with a dollop of yogurt, if using.
Persian King of Eggplants
This lamb stuffed eggplant is a favorite fallback of mine.
this version serves 6.
2½ lbs small eggplants ¼ c chopped parsley
¼ c olive oil ¼ tsp allspice
& ¼ tsp cinnamon
1 lg onion, chopped Salt and freshly ground
pepper
1 lb ground lamb 1 28 oz can chopped tomatoes
3 tbsp pine nuts 2 tbsp lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350. Peel eggplants at intervals
for striped effect. Heat enough oil to cover bottom of a skillet. Sauté
eggplants on all sides until golden. Arrange in a baking dish and salt. Add oil
to skillet and sauté onion until soft. Add lamb and nuts. Cook over medium heat
until browned. Add parsley, spices, salt and pepper. Slit eggplants lengthwise
¾” deep and stuff with the meat. Cover with remainder. Mix tomatoes, salt, pepper
and lemon juice. Pour over eggplants. Cover pan and bake 45 minutes. Uncover
and cook 10 more if too juicy.Ratatouille
My version: southwestern spiced
Serves 6-8
1 lb firm eggplant (any kind will work except the small Thai
egg-like eggplant)
1 lg Poblano or pasilla pepper, roasted* and skinned
3 lg tomatillos, roasted*
½ cup olive oil
1 tsp cracked or freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf
Optional: pinch ground chipotle pepper (for smoky flavor)
1 lg red onion peeled and cut into thin disks
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into thin strips
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp ground coriander
2/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
¾ lb yellow or crookneck squash, cut into ¼” thick disks
1¼ cup chopped tomatoes with juices (boxed is okay)
*Roasting here means in a toaster or regular oven at 450
degrees for 5-8 minutes (less time in the smaller toaster oven) until the skin
cracks and starts to char.
Wash the eggplant.
Slice it into thin disks and if the disks are much larger in diameter
than 1”, which they will be from the common bulbous eggplant, cut the disks in
half. Place on a baking sheet, sprinkle
lightly with ¼ tsp salt and 2 tbsp olive oil. Cover and roast at 425 degrees
for 10 minutes.
Seed the pepper and cut into thin strips. Cut extra long
strips into 2” lengths.
In a medium heavy gauge casserole or large saucepan, heat
the remaining olive oil over medium heat.
Add black pepper, ½ tsp oregano, optional ground chipotle and bay leaf.
Sauté 30 seconds.
Add onion disks in a layer and top with garlic, poblano and
red peppers. Do not stir. Continue to sauté 3-5 minutes until onions are soft.
Sprinkle 1 tbsp chopped cilantro on top.
Lower heat to simmer. Add eggplant as a layer. (Pieces might
be two deep if the pot is not wide.) Sprinkle on ½ tsp oregano, ground
coriander and ¼ tsp salt. Add 2 tbsp chopped cilantro. Cover pot and simmer 2-3
minutes.
Add a layer of yellow squash and half the remaining chopped
cilantro. Pour tomatoes into the pot. Sprinkle ¼ tsp salt over the top layer.
Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the squash starts to soften.
Slice roasted tomatillos into thin disks or any small pieces
you can manage. Add to the pot as the top layer. Cover and simmer 3-5 minutes
until the squash is soft (not mushy) and the juices are bubbling. Remove from
heat. Remove bay leaf. Add remaining salt if desired.
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