You know how some kids think about their toys coming to life when they're not around, like in Toy Story? When I was a kid, I was convinced that my Barbies had a pool party, my porcelain dolls had a tea party, and Jem was rocking out in a corner somewhere with her band. The stuffed animals were obviously running amock, because every time I walked back into my room I could swear it looked like they'd moved ever so slightly from where I'd left them on my bed. As a young food lover and only child, I carried the same overactive imagination to the contents of my fridge. Maybe it was the dancing hot dogs and twirling popcorn buckets on the big screen at the movies, but I thought for sure that when the refrigerator door closed, the real party began. I tried the sneak a peek as I slowly closed the door, my eyes squinting to see through the small open crack, but the light inevitably went off, leaving me at best with the need for a snack and a slight chill.
Still, with no evidence to the contrary I maintained that the vegetables must have a life of their own after dark. Perhaps the fridge was really a nighttime disco where the gallons of milk and cartons of juice acted as bouncers presiding over the contents of the crisper. The vegetables wore their Saturday night best as they lined up to join the party. The carrots would obviously make it in, tall and tan as they were. The peppers were the life of the party, full of flavor and spice, and don't get me started on the iceberg lettuce, which I envisioned as a big round frat boy at a toga party (like the John Belushi of vegetables). The onions were always too depressed to party and they made everyone cry, so they had their own little emo party in the crisper. The vine-ripened tomatoes were like the gaggle of slightly plump girls attached at the hip in too much make-up and too short dresses. I always thought I had a place for every vegetable in my scenario (garlic always comes on too strong and gets kicked out before midnight, greens are the tall, lanky guys that pop and lock in the middle of the dance floor), but it turns out there was never eggplant in my fridge as a kid.
No one in my family really cared for it, and no one grew up eating it, so it never made its way into our house. In fact the only memory I have of it as a child is ordering what I expected to be a yummy meat-filled lasagna, only to find it was bordering on vegetarian and filled with eggplant. To say my relationship with eggplant began on a low note is an understatement. From then on it became "that mushy thing that ruins meals" and not even a fatty, marinara and mozzarella doused eggplant parm could convince me otherwise. So needless to say I was less than thrilled when I received a bagful of eggplant with my CSA bounty last week. Lovely as the Japanese eggplant were--small, sweet and the deepest hue of purple you can imagine--I was not only uninspired but uninterested. And so, they sat in the fridge, presumably partaking in the kind of party I imagined as a kid, but I had no idea what their role in that scenario would be be.
Finally, after a few days of feeling guilty I decided that if there are people out there that love eggplant, then it must have some redeeming qualities that I could exploit enhance. So after some research, I found a lot of tasty sounding Asian preparations, but that seemed too easy. After all, you can pretty much stir-fry anything with soy sauce and consider it tasty, not to mention there was no guarantee that it wouldn't go mushy on me. There was nothing of note in my cookbooks other than a bunch of baked, bechamel covered dishes, and I didn't want something heavy or mushy, so after some internet research I came upon this recipe from Bon Appétit, which I made a few changes to. I didn't bother to submerge the eggplant in water to remove the bitterness because I had little Japanese eggplants which are inherently less bitter. The recipe also called for cumin and cayenne, which I changed to cumin and spicy smoked paprika. While the drizzle of pomegranate molasses in the original recipe would have been nice, it's on the expensive side, so instead I made a quick from the hip reduced balsamic sauce. It's a foolproof recipe that I developed a few years ago and perfectly balanced. It works well over ice cream or fruit in addition to savory applications like this one, and can really dress up just about any dish (it's great in a pinch). I normally try to skip anything that involves too much fuss from the stove top to the oven, but it really helped keep the eggplant crunchy and moist, and anything but soggy to do both. The raw garlic on top was questionable, and actually felt a bit unnecessary. I think next time I'd roast large pieces in the oven with the eggplant, but for now, I suggest leaving it out--there's plenty of flavor. Here's the recipe with my changes.
Spicy Eggplant with Balsamic Glaze
3-4 Japanese eggplant cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp spicy smoked paprika
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
salt
pepper
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp honey
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, sauté eggplant until browned and softened, 2 minutes per side. Transfer to large rimmed baking sheet covered in foil (for easy clean-up).
2. Mix cumin and cayenne. Sprinkle eggplant while still hot with salt and pepper, followed by cumin mixture. Roast in oven until golden and cooked through, about 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine balsamic vinegar, olive oil and honey in a small non-stick saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, whisking frequently until reduced and thickened.
4. Plate eggplant and drizzle with balsamic glaze. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve. Enjoy!
-Laura
As some readers may remember, I recently tried to become a bigger fan of eggplant. Well, last weekend I found something that makes it an ingredient that's impossible not to love. One lone stall at the farmers market had a basket full of what I consider to be the single most adorable piece of produce I've ever seen. A small crowd huddled around the basket, where one woman was furiously digging through its contents. As I inched closer I saw that it was only half full with small purple orbs. A sign above the basket announced that they were fairytale eggplant, and the last batch of the season. After elbowing my way to the front I noticed that they were in fact super tiny eggplant, about the size of my thumb. 
After a quick conversation with the woman digging through the basket I learned that fairytale eggplant is actually not that uncommon and many people with a green thumb grow it right in their own backyard. Evidently they're easy to cultivate and have a creamier, less bitter taste than their larger counterparts, not to mention they cook up even faster. Sufficiently intrigued, I joined the woman in digging through the basket so I could bring home my own batch of adorably tiny eggplant. Not wanting to mess too much with its flavor (I really wanted to get a feel for the difference between fairytale and regular eggplant), I decided to use it in a light, quick and simple pasta preparation.
First I heated up some extra virgin olive oil and garlic with red pepper flake for about a minute over low heat, then added the eggplant. Meanwhile, I cooked up some angel hair and in a non-stick skillet, toasted some seasoned breadcrumbs in olive oil and set them aside. When the pasta was done I added it to the pan with the eggplant, tossed it all together and threw in a few olives and some pasta water. I topped the whole thing off with a few swirls of olive oil, then tossed in the toasted breadcrumbs (off the heat) for a little crunch. A topping of fresh parsley later and I had a light and simple dinner. The eggplant was in fact creamier and lighter than the larger version. Come to think of it, if the fairytale version were more readily available, I think I would just convert to it altogether. And that, my friends, is how eggplant and I lived happily ever after.
Pasta with Fairytale Eggplant, Breadcrumbs and Olives
2 servings pasta (I used angel hair)
1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
2 cups fairytale eggplant, chopped
2 large or 3 small garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp red pepper flake
1/2 cup olives (I used kalamata), roughly chopped
6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat 4 tablespoons olive oil in a non-stick skillet along with garlic and red pepper flake. Cook for a minute, then add eggplant and cook until softened.
2. Meanwhile, heat another tablespoon of olive oil along with breadcrumbs in another non-stick skillet and cook until browned (they burn easily, so keep an eye out). Set aside.
3.When the pasta is cooked, add it to the skillet with the eggplant, reserving some of the pasta water. Add olives and a few tablespoons of pasta water to create a thin sauce. Toss together and remove from the heat. Add remaining tablespoon of oil and breadcrumbs, tossing to coat. Top with fresh parsley and serve. Enjoy!
-Laura
There have been a few speed bumps on my road to being a well rounded foodie. Although I have yet to meet anyone that is less picky an eater than me, there are still a few things that I shy away from ordering or cooking with because I don't loooove an ingredient. And my motto has always been to eat only what I love, and only what's delicious. But, that doesn't mean I can't stretch myself and my palette by incorporating some new things into my daily repertoire. I know many people that flip for eggplant. They love it in pasta, they put it on their pizza and bake it by the dozen in lasagna.
I never grew up using or eating eggplant and wasn't really introduced to it until I moved to New York and became all too well acquainted with the carby, fatty goodness of eggplant Parmesan. Years of working as a magazine assistant led to heaping spoonfuls of it eaten at my desk between meetings and during working lunches and dinners. Needless to say, after a while, some things take on a negative connotation when associated with less than stellar memories, and as such, eggplant has fallen by the wayside as far as my diet is concerned. But recently, an excellent trip to the farmer's market inspired me to rediscover this lovely fruit (that's right, eggplant is actually a fruit--google it if you don't believe me, but it is in fact a berry).
A new stand at the market that I'd never seen had a lovely selection of Japanese eggplant, which are significantly smaller and more slender than the eggplant we're used to here in the United States. A few went a long way towards an excellent side dish (that is for once totally vegetarian...except for the fish sauce...well, I tried) from one of my favorite chefs, Kylie Kwong. I actually combined two of her eggplant recipes into one, using the roasting application from her book Heart and Soul, and the tomato dressing from Simple Chinese Cooking. I always figured that I liked eggplant in stir-fry, so why not go for a Chinese application? The dish turned out really great, with the eggplant taking on a nutty flavor after a long roast in the oven. The finely diced garlic on top also roasted and took on a mild, sweet flavor, which contrasted wonderfully with the sweet and sour tomato dressing. I made a few minor tweaks to each recipe so that they'd work together, like adding extra fish sauce and vinegar to the dressing to up the tartness and take away some of the sweetness that we'd get from the eggplant and garlic. Here's what I came up with:
Japanese Eggplant with Garlic, Olive Oil and Tomatoes
adapted from Heart and Soul
3-4 Japanese eggplants, halved, then halved lengthwise
extra virgin olive oil
7 garlic cloves, finely diced
1/4 bunch thyme
1 teaspoon salt
ground white pepper
Tomato Dressing
adapted from Simple Chinese Cooking
4 small tomatoes, diced
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup finely sliced spring onions
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp malt vinegar
1 Tbsp white sugar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Place eggplant on a lightly greased baking sheet, cut side up. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Cover with tin foil and bake for 45 minutes or until eggplant is tender.
2. Increase oven temperature to 400 F degrees and uncover baking sheet. Cook eggplant another 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
3. Meanwhile, combine all of the ingredients for tomato dressing in a bowl and set aside.
4. Arrange eggplant on a platter or in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper and top with tomato salsa. Enjoy!
-Laura
