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The Diplomatic Kitchen

The Endless Possibilities of Eggplant

by Julia Stone

Growing up, my mom used to prepare eggplant in a simple and delicious fashion. She would slice the eggplant into rounds, salt the slices, let them 'sweat' out their bitterness for 10 minutes, wipe the liquid off of the slices with a paper towel, brush them with olive oil, and place them on a foil-lined baking sheet. Most of the time she would just pop the sheet in a 425 degree oven, and let the slices cook for a few minutes, flip them over once, and let them cook for a few more minutes. The eggplant slices never looked very beautiful when they were cooked this way, but my whole family relished their sweet and salty creaminess and the way that the flavors went perfectly with spaghetti and tomato sauce. Eggplant prepared this way was always a treat.

But sometimes my mom would get a bit fancier. She would cover the little rounds with tomato sauce and grated mozzarella cheese and bake them until the cheese melted. Other times she would chop the rounds into small squares, and fry them up with garlic and olive oil to add to her tomato sauce. In the summer, my dad would often grill the eggplant slices, coating them in balsamic vinegar and freshly ground black pepper. When my mom had a bit more time in the evenings, she would often peel the eggplant before dicing it up, and cook it into flavorful and lavish curries. Sometimes the whole eggplant would be sliced in half lengthwise, scooped and stuffed with brown rice and feta cheese and tomatoes. Other times it would be stuffed with sweet potatoes and coated in a spicy peanut sauce. Whenever I saw an eggplant sitting on the kitchen counter, I never knew how it was going to be transformed.

Eggplant is one of the most flexible materials to cook with. It can be prepared in infinite ways, and yield infinite results of pleasure! Do not be intimidated by eggplant, and do not think that if you've had it one way, and didn't like it, that you won't like it prepared in a different way. In fact, one of eggplant's strengths lies in its ability to absorb flavors like a sponge. If you don't like the seeds of eggplant, look for a male eggplant which has a lot fewer seeds. Female eggplants have a deeper indentation on the base of the eggplant, so look for eggplants that are flat across the bottom if the seeds bother you. Italian and Japanese eggplants are smaller, and usually a lot less bitter than their larger counterparts. They don't even need to be salted and left to sweat before cooking. In the Middle East, eggplants are often fat and squat, lending themselves well to being boiled or stuffed. One of my favorite Egyptian chefs used to just boil these eggplants, slice off the stems and score the flesh deeply in a cross. Then he would pour olive oil infused with garlic and sliced green chilies on top, leaving the eggplant to marinate in the fridge and serve as delicious snacks throughout the day.

In cooking school we often made versions of eggplant rolls, slicing the eggplant into long strips, and baking them in a similar fashion to the way that my mom would bake the rounds. Then, once the slices were cooled, we'd roll cooked greens and tofu and tomatoes up in the slices, and serve them over brown rice or just eat them as they were. Sometimes we'd fry Japanese eggplant up with honey and tamari sauce, and other times with garlic and tahina sauce. Indeed, as it is traditionally said in the Middle East, a woman is not fit for marriage until she knows how to prepare eggplant in 80 ways. And this must mean, of course, that a man is not fit for marriage until he knows how to prepare eggplant 100 ways!

My old and dear roommate Iliana used to love it when I prepared the following recipe. It is a very basic eggplant dip, and is said to be of Greek origin. This spread is wonderful on flat breads or as a layer on a grilled vegetable sandwich. It requires few ingredients, little effort, and will make your kitchen smell fantastic while the eggplants are roasting. And if the scent of roasting eggplants doesn't attract suitors from all over the world, at the very least it will make your roommate smile. Thanks for the great article idea, Maryrose!

Eggplant Puree with Walnuts Makedonitiki Melitzanosalata

2 large eggplants

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 to 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Salt, to taste

Pinch of sugar (optional, if eggplants are very bitter)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash the eggplants and pat dry. Puncture the skin in several places with a fork. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake about 25 minutes, turning until the skin is blistered and shriveled. Remove from oven and let cool until easy to handle.
While the eggplants are roasting, pulse the garlic, walnuts, and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil together in a food processor until group and paste-like.
Cut off the stem of the eggplant and cut in half lengthwise. Using a spoon (or your fingers) scrape out the pulp, removing as many seeds as you can. Add the eggplant, a bit at a time, to the food processor and pulse on and off. Add the lemon juice, vinegar, and remaining olive oil and pulse until well combined. Season with salt, and possibly a little sugar.

Recipe from Diane Kochila's The Greek Vegetarian

Julia Stone (MALD '08) has now sweat out all bitterness.

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