In your boxes this week, you'll find lots more eggplant (as well as peppers, heirloom tomatoes, and other things that help ring in harvest season). The eggplants will be coming on strong for several more weeks. In case you're running out of ideas, see below for a handful of good eggplant recipes.
Though a member of the deadly nightshade family (as are tomatoes), eggplants are healthier than you might think. Here's what WH Foods has to say:
In addition to featuring a host of vitamins and minerals, eggplant also contains important phytonutrients, many which have antioxidant activity. Phytonutrients contained in eggplant include phenolic compounds, such caffeic and chlorogenic acid, and flavonoids, such as nasunin.
Brain Food
Research on eggplant has focused on an anthocyanin phytonutrient found in eggplant skin called nasunin. Nasunin is a potent antioxidant and free radical scavenger that has been shown to protect cell membranes from damage. In animal studies, nasunin has been found to protect the lipids (fats) in brain cell membranes. Cell membranes are almost entirely composed of lipids and are responsible for protecting the cell from free radicals, letting nutrients in and wastes out, and receiving instructions from messenger molecules that tell the cell which activities it should perform.
Recipes:
Spaghetti with Eggplant, Sausage and Fresh Tomato “Bolognese”
1 lb. spaghetti
1 medium eggplant
¾ lb. Italian sausage
3 or 4 large tomatoes
¼ tsp. cinnamon
Salt & Pepper
Olive oil
1 small carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 small onion, diced
Remove the stem top from the eggplant, then slice the eggplant lengthwise into ½ slices. Salt each slice and place the slices in a colander to drain for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Cut the stem and hard core from each tomato and plunge them into the boiling water for one minute; then remove from the water to cool. The peels will now come off easily. Coarsely dice the peeled tomatoes and set aside.
Brown the eggplant: Heat a large skillet on medium high heat and then add 1 T. olive oil. Rinse and dry each eggplant slice then add them two at a time (being careful not to overcrowd the pan) and cook until they are lightly browned. Add a little more oil, then turn and brown the other side; remove to paper towels to drain. Repeat with remaining eggplant, adding more oil to the pan as necessary. When eggplant is cool, cut slice the cooked eggplant into bite-sized pieces.
Heat the skillet again with a little more olive oil, then add the onions, carrot and celery with a dash of salt and pepper; sauté 5 minutes. Add the sausage and toss until browned. Add the diced tomatoes and the cinnamon with another dash of salt and pepper, and then cook until the sauce begins to reduce, but remains rather thick (about ten minutes). Add the eggplant to the sauce and reduce heat to low. Cook the spaghetti to al dente and toss with the sauce. Serve with freshly grated parmesan and some minced parsley.
Spaghetti Rigate with Roasted Peppers, Eggplants, Capers and Pecorino
Spaghetti “rigate” has little ridges to hang on to the sauce—it’s easy to find with the other pastas.
1 pound spaghetti rigate
3 cloves garlic, smashed
3 red or green bell peppers, tops cut off and seeds removed
1 large eggplant
4 oz. Pecorino cheese, cut into small dice (you may substitute Asiago or Romano)
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 T. capers, well-rinsed
Italian parsley
2 Tomatoes, chopped
½ cup dry white wine
Remove the top from the eggplant and cut into bite-sized cubes. Toss with a generous amount of salt and allow to drain while you roast the peppers. Using the flame of a gas burner or a charcoal grill (or your oven’s broiler, if need be), roast the peppers until the skins are blackened and cracked. Set each roasted pepper aside to cool inside a plastic bag; when cool, run the peppers under cold water and the blackened skins will pull off easily. Cut the roasted peppers into large pieces and set aside.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. Rinse the eggplant of its salt and then dry the eggplant with a kitchen towel to remove any excess moisture. In a deep skillet, heat 4 T. of olive oil over high heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the cubes of eggplant to the pan and toss well to coat with the oil. Let the eggplant sit, resisting the urge to mess with it, until one surface gets very nicely browned; then toss and repeat until all the eggplant pieces have good color and are quite soft (you may need to add a touch more olive oil if they begin to get too dry). Season the eggplant with a bit of salt and pepper and then set the eggplant aside. Reduce the skillet’s heat to medium, then add another drizzle of olive oil to the pan along with the garlic cloves. Saute the garlic for about 30 seconds, tossing constantly, being very careful not to brown or burn the garlic, then add the chopped tomato immediately to stop it from cooking. Season the tomatoes generously with salt and pepper, then add the white wine, capers, eggplant, and roasted peppers and reduce heat to low; allow the sauce to simmer very slowly while you cook the pasta.
When the pasta is just beginning to get al dente, drain it and then add the spaghetti right into the skillet with the sauce. Toss in the diced Pecorino along with a handful of chopped Italian parsley and a drizzle of olive oil. Turn off the heat and toss very well to combine. Serve immediately (before the cheese has a chance to melt everything together).
Batinjan Raheb
A Lebanese Eggplant and Tomato Salad, adapted from the wonderful cookbook, Arabesque.
2 medium eggplants
Juice of ½ lemon
3 garlic cloves, crushed
4 T. extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Large handful fresh parsley
4 sprigs of mint, chopped
1 small onion, finely sliced
2 large tomatoes, unpeeled, diced
Handful of fresh pomegranate seeds (beautiful, but also optional)
Prick the eggplants in a few places with a pointed knive to prevent them from exploding. Turn them slowly over the flame of the gas burner or a hot grill, until the skin is charred all over (this gives them a distinctively smoky flavor) and they feel very soft when you press them. Alternatively, place them on a sheet of foil on an oven tray and roast them in the hottest preheated oven for 45-55 minutes, until the skins are wrinkled and very soft.
When cool enough to handle, peel the eggplants and drop them into a strainer or colander. Press out as much of the water and juices as possible. Still in the colander, chop the flesh with a pointed knife, then mash it with a fork or wooden spoon, letting the juices escape through the holes.
Mix the eggplant puree with the lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, chopped parsley and mint. Spread the mixture on a large, flat serving plate. Sprinkle all over with the sliced onion, diced tomatoes, and pomegranate seeds, if using.
Roasted Eggplant and Chickpea Stew
From Deborah Madison’s Local Flavors
1.5 pounds potatoes
2 large peppers
Olive oil
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1 cup cilantro leaves
3 garlic cloves
½ tsp. ground cumin
2 onions, cut into eighths
2 or 3 large eggplants, quartered lengthwise
3 tomatoes, diced
1.5 cups cook chickpeas (one 15-oz. can, rinsed)
Preheat the broiler. Bring six cups of water to a boil and add 1 tsp. salt. Slice the potatoes lengthwise about ½ inch thick, boil them for 5 minutes, and drain. Halve the peppers lengthwise, press to flatten them, then brush with a little oil. Broil, cut side down, on a baking sheet until blistered. Stack them on top of one another and set aside to steam. When cool, remove the skins and cut the pieces in half. Set the oven to 350 degrees.
Coarsely chop the basil, cilantro, & garlic, then puree in a small food processor with 3 T. olive oil, the cumin, and ½ tsp. salt.
Toss all the vegetables with 1 tsp. salt, some ground pepper, and the herb mixture. Using your hands, rub the herb mixture into the vegetables, especially the eggplant, then add the chickpeas and toss once more. Transfer everything to an earthenware or Pyrex gratin dish. Rinse out the herb container with ½ cup water and pour it over all. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake until tender, about 1.5 hours. Remove the foil, brush the exposed vegetables with the juices, and back 20 minutes more. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
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