Eggplant offers a world of possibilities
Purple and bulbous with a neat green cap, eggplant is a funnylooking thing. And sometimes when you eat it, it makes your mouth itch.
No wonder people avoided eating it for centuries. It is a member of the nightshade family, and people reasoned that it must be poisonous.
But somewhere, at some time, someone took this bizarrely shaped fruit with the evocative emoji and fried it in a little oil with garlic and probably added a tomato sauce — and a whole new culinary world opened up to glorious exploration.
I began with a classic, Eggplant Parmesan, though some of the other selections are going to get a little weird.
Eggplant Parmesan is beloved because it is the perfect use for eggplant and also for Parmesan cheese — not to mention tomato sauce and garlic. It is also an exceptional reason to use mozzarella cheese, but to be perfectly frank the ultimate application of mozzarella cheese is on pizza.
Typically when making eggplant Parmesan, thin slices of eggplant are breaded and fried before being stacked between layers of cheese and tomato sauce. But this version, which I gleaned from “The Silver Spoon” cookbook (it’s kind of the ubiquitous Italian version of “Joy of Cooking”) does not bread the eggplant.
It still pan-fries them, but it does not bread them. This way, the eggplant is a little creamier in texture. On the other hand, it may also have more calories, because nothing soaks up oil like unbreaded eggplant.
Either way, it is a rich and hearty meal that deserves a place in anyone’s cooking repertoire.
My next eggplant dish was a sandwich that would be entirely at home in a fancy sandwich shop or a restaurant focusing on fresh, healthful flavors.
You can tell, because it has a long name: Roasted Eggplant Sandwich with Arugula Walnut Pesto Mayonnaise.
You roast eggplant and put it in a sandwich with a spread made from arugula-walnut pesto and mayonnaise. But it’s even better than that, because it also has roasted red peppers and more arugula in it. It’s best when the bread — sourdough or ciabatta, if you have it — is toasted first.
To be honest, the eggplant isn’t the star of this sandwich. The sandwich stands out because of that pesto mayonnaise. It’s a brightly flavored spread, an exuberant combination of arugula and basil with a light citrus kick that could enliven any number of sandwiches, especially vegetarian ones.
But try it with eggplant. It’s a natural combination.
Because there is a long, thin variety of eggplant that is native to Japan, I decided to look for a recipe from that country’s cuisine. The one that intrigued me the most is Pickled Eggplant with Oil and Vinegar.
This is a quick and quite simple side dish made from julienned eggplant pickled for a few hours in a combination of sugar, vinegar, soy sauce and vegetable oil. It’s mildly salty and mildly tart, reminiscent of any number of popular pickles.
It’s how you present it that really gets your notice. Combining cold pickled eggplant with hot rice takes the dish to a higher plane of dining excellence.
My next dish was an Eggplant Terrine, and terrines are always fun to make. They are even more enchanting to serve to guests, who will be suitably impressed.
A terrine is a loaf of meats or vegetables pressed together and served in slices. Meatloaf, for instance, is technically a terrine, though terrines usually come more aspirational than that.
This eggplant terrine is made from layers of thinly sliced, broiled eggplant and Emmentaler cheese, held together with a combination of eggs, colorful chopped bell peppers and more cheese. It is served with a simple tomato sauce that you can whip up in the time it takes to bake the terrine.
It’s a great meal to serve when you want to make someone feel special.