Eggplant
Thu., August 29, 11:47 AM
Eggplant – One of My Favorite Vegetables
Never let it be said that I don’t get ideas from reading other people’s diaries. Somebody’s garden has ripening eggplant. What a treat that would be!
You’re probably familiar with eggplant as parmegian or maybe as ratatouille. Maybe you know vegetarians who routinely use eggplant slices, breaded and sautéed, to replace meat in standard recipes. I never ate eggplant that way until I grew up. I didn’t even know that eggplant was bitter.
My paternal grandmother was from Romania. She taught my mother to make a Romanian eggplant dish that my mother served as a relish. I loved it. Soon I was eating it like a vegetable, like beans or spinach. (On the other hand, I am a little nuts. I like vegetables, but I tend to put them into salads or substitute a few tablespoons of salsa for a serving of vegetables.) So, for those of you who don’t think you like these beautiful purple fruits, why don’t you try it this way?
Select a firm smooth eggplant. You’re choosing the ones that are one to two pounds, not the little Chinese ones, which are very tasty but not right for this dish. You can always cook it the way my grandmother did, putting the whole eggplant right into the flames of the gas stove, but believe me, that’s a mess and a half. My mother compromised by putting it on the grill. After a cookout she would use up the last of the heat by grilling eggplant or peppers for later use. I’m not waiting around for a grill, so I’ve adapted a few methods of my own.
To begin with, I cut the stem off and split the eggplant in half lengthwise. The two halves go cut-side down in a little olive oil on a flat pan. Prick the skin to let the steam escape, and stick the pan under the broiler – not too close. Broil it until the skin is shriveled and the eggplant deflates. Let it cool a little.
If I see a good buy on eggplant when I don’t want to heat the up kitchen, I cook the two halves in the microwave. (How long? Microwaves vary; check your user’s manual.) No, it’s not as good as broiled, but it’s good enough.
When the eggplant is cool enough to touch, peel off and discard the outer skin. Also remove the leaves around the stem if you haven’t done so before. At this point Gramma used to throw it into a wooden bowl and chop it with a “hockmesser” – a hand chopper. (I find that chopping it up with a spoon is sufficient; I like it lumpy. If you want it finer, try a food processor.) Add olive oil, a little vinegar, plenty of chopped garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. As with so many things that both Grammas (my mother and my grandmother) used to cook, I can’t give you exact measurements because they didn’t know either. They judged by looks, by taste, by feel.
If you have some good Italian style prepared salad dressing (Robusto Italian works), that may be enough to season your eggplant, though I usually add extra oil and extra garlic. (Haven’t seen a vampire in years .) Unfortunately, I can eat a half cup or more of this at one time if I don’t consciously stop myself. Husband doesn’t care for strange foods, and U.D. has little capacity, so I can really overeat if I’m not careful.
How come I didn’t know that eggplant is bitter? Here’s your chemistry lesson for today. When something tastes sour, it’s acid. (You knew that, I’m sure.) When something tastes bitter (like chocolate or coffee), it’s alkaline. Acids neutralize alkalis, and until I grew up, I had never tasted eggplant without vinegar in it.
As I’ve been known to say, nothing you ever learn is wasted.
