Category: Eggplant

This is a quick, hearty pasta dish. I seem to be incorrigibly drawn to Italian preparations in late summer. They’re so quick and easy and satisfying. ... Read more »

  I took some distinct liberties with this recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks. You can also just roast the vegetables with the spice mix (chermoula) and enjoy those as a side and skip the bulgur salad and yogurt or just make the veggies and top with the yogurt, cilantro and mint. It is a fun take on plain roasted vegetables in any case. And I think it is best with eggplant (what the original recipes uses exclusively), though my six-year-old definitely preferred the potatoes. This dish takes a bit of time but makes a lot.   ... Read more »

Simple and delicious. You can use any kind of onion you have. You can add oregano or basil and top with a little cheese if you'd like though the simplicity of the dish as is, is just lovely.... Read more »

I have made variations of this Thai-inspired curry for many years. It's not an authentic green curry but a tasty, quick adaptation.   The curry is even better if you have makrut lime leaves--sometimes found in grocery stores and typically in Asian grocery stores. They freeze perfectly so if you see some buy plenty and freeze for future curries. But don't worry if you don't have any. A squeeze of fresh lime juice to finish is a nice alternative.  ... Read more »

Eggplant is sometimes maligned for having a bad texture and little flavor of its own. I disagree since baba ganoush for instance, is primarily roasted eggplant with a few other key ingredients but the eggplant itself, texture and flavor, really shine in this form. Eggplant does absorb other flavors readily and well and has a unusual texture but these qualities can be appealing if prepared well.   There are more traditional preparations such as ratatouille, or you can branch out and use eggplant in Indian or Thai curries or make Chinese inspired dishes for which the smaller or long skinny Japanese eggplants are best.   There is much talk about salting eggplant for 30 minutes or more before cooking for two reasons; to reduce the potential bitterness and to reduce the moisture content to prevent the eggplant slices from absorbing so much oil. This is unnecessary with eggplants you get at the market or in a CSA because they are usually so fresh (I think bitterness increases with age) and with a good, heavy skillets and a close eye (or the use of your broiler) you can pan fry eggplant with fairly little oil. Eggplant keeps for a quite a while before going bad, at least from what's visible on the outside, however the seeds darken and the center gets spongy as it sits.... Read more »