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Eggplant
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Eggplant, also known as
Aubergine, Garden Egg, or Brinjal, come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
They are either white, green, yellowish, purple, or purple-black with an
off-white spongy flesh. They can either be used peeled or with the
skin intact. Eggplant is quite versatile but must be cooked to be enjoyed. It can be sautéed, baked, roasted, fried, stuffed, used as a dip or stuffing, stir fried, steamed and grilled. The secret is cooking it properly so that it melts in your mouth! Eggplant mix well with other vegetables, like tomatoes or mushrooms and can mixed well with ground beef, lamb, or tofu. They compliment other foods nicely as a side dish, and are hearty enough to steal the show in a main course (Eggplant Parmesan or a No-Fry Eggplant Parmesan), appetizer (Baba Ghannouj, Roasted Eggplant Dip, or Poor Man's Caviar).
Eggplant offers
antioxidants with it's
purple
shade and is actually a fruit, a berry, and part of the
nightshade family. |
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Japanese Eggplant are slender with thinner skins and a more
delicate, sweeter flavor and can be green, pink, white, lavender and purple.
One American Eggplant equals about 3 Japanese Eggplants.
Sprinkle with a little olive oil and grill or broil them whole until the skin begins to blister and the eggplant deflates - the meat will be melt in your mouth creamy delicious. Cut open and sprinkle a soft cheese, goat cheese does well, and maybe some fresh herbs, salt, freshly ground black pepper and another sprinkle of good olive oil on the inside.
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Purple Zebra
Eggplant is strikingly gorgeous to look at and just as delicious
to eat! It looks like Eggplant that someone dipped a brush ever so
slightly in white paint and then brushed them lengthwise. |
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Eggplant Facts: |
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| Nutritionally:
Low in calories because it's almost 95% water, it is only 25 calories a
serving. It is a good source of fiber, folic acid, manganese,
thiamin, Vitamin B6, magnesium and potassium; it also has Vitamin C, Niacin,
Iron, some protein, and pantothenic acid. |
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| How to choose:
Choose firm, plump, smooth, smaller eggplant that are light for their size,
though some people prefer the heavier ones. The heavier, the more
seeds; the more seeds, the more bitter. Male eggplant have fewer seeds.
Look for a round shallow indentation on the bottom for a male (females have
deep dash shaped indentations). The younger and male eggplants have
less seeds. |
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| How to store:
Quite perishable, plan to use them when you buy them. Store in a the
crisper drawer in a paper bag to draw away moisture or wrap tightly in
plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator. |
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| Fun Fact:
Women in the Orient used to use the peel of the eggplant as dye to stain
their teeth gray because that was the rage. The eggplant is part of the "nightshade" family which includes tomatoes, potatoes and sweet peppers. The eggplant actually becomes bitter as it ages
so use it promptly. The older the eggplant, the tougher the skin. Eggplant is actually a fruit but is cooked and
eaten as a vegetable. |
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| Cooking Tip:
Eggplant can be salted and then drained for 30 minutes to draw out some of
the moisture. Since eggplant is like a sponge and will soak up oil,
the purging will help it not soak up quite as much oil. Just slice,
lay on a cookie cooling rack over the sink, sprinkle liberally with salt,
let sit for an hour, turn and repeat. You can let them sit for 3 or
more hours. Then rinse to get off all the salt and squeeze to ring out
all the moisture. Towel dry and you're ready to use! One medium sized eggplant equals about 1 pound which equals about 3 or 4 cups of diced eggplant. Great way to stretch ground beef as it disappears into the dish. I like sautéing onions, adding garlic, adding small diced eggplant and cooking until done, then sauté the beef and mix it all together with a can of diced tomatoes, a little cinnamon, salt and pepper. Use this as a stuffing in a summer squash or serve over pasta or rice. Easy appetizer: Make an easy dip by roasting
whole in a 400 degree oven for 30-45 minutes or until soft and deflated; then
puree the pulp (just squeeze it out of the skin) with Garlic,
Olive Oil or
Tahini, Salt, Pepper, Lemon, and Parsley.
Maybe add some cumin or other spices. |
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Recipes:
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