Fairytale Eggplants Keep Things Light in Summer

Posted in Exhibitions, The Edible Garden on August 27 2010, by Plant Talk

Cooking Demo to Showcase these Pinky-sized Jewels in Caponata

Rebecca Lando is writer, producer, and host of the Web series Working Class Foodies. She will present cooking demonstration along with Chef Brendan McDermott at The Edible Garden Conservatory Kitchen on Saturday, August 28, at 1 and 3 p.m.

Eggplant is kind of the middle child of the summer farmer’s market.

Inedible raw unlike tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers, and more complex to prepare than grilled or boiled corn, eggplant seems to stand out for all the wrong reasons: its dense flesh and generally heavy preparation can make it a bit of an overlooked anomaly. The time and degree of cooking generally necessary for eggplant makes it an awkward summer crop, seemingly out of place when you’re craving a light, refreshing dinner.

My mother used to halve and hollow large eggplants, stuff them with a sauteed mix of ground lamb, cubed eggplant flesh, onion, olives, and spices, top them with cheese, and broil them until the cheese was bubbly and the eggplant skin was crispy. Delicious and filling, but it would be torturous to eat in summer. Likewise, eggplant parmesan is too heavy for the hot months, and even a cooling baba ghanouj means turning on the oven.

But eggplant is far more versatile than you might think. Sliced thick and rubbed with a paste of olive oil, sea salt, crushed hot pepper, oregano, and lemon juice, then thrown on the grill, it’s a hearty and healthy alternative to steak. Cooked the same way and then cut down into cubes, it’s a fantastic base for a rustic Provencal ratatouille.

Even so, it isn’t easy to win people over to eggplant in summer. And that’s where fairytale eggplants come in. These pinky-sized, zebra-striped jewels are charming to look at and ridiculously simple to prepare. Their tiny seeds mean you don’t have to salt them first to remove the bitterness, and they cook quickly. Simply give them a rinse, lop off the stems, and slice them in half lengthwise, then toss them in a hot pan with a clove or two of garlic, some olive oil, and plenty of salt. In 10 minutes, they’ll be perfectly blistered and al dente, ready to top a salad or a pasta, with some cherry tomatoes and capers.

Eggplant, tomatoes, capers—sound familiar? It’s not far off from the classic Italian caponata, one of the most delicious ways to eat eggplant. On August 28, Brendan McDermott and I will be preparing caponata at The Edible Garden. LINK https://www.nybg.org/eg/ By using locally grown fairytale eggplants and cherry tomatoes, our caponata (recipe below) is the perfect dish to symbolize the transition from summer to fall and to honor the wonderful growing season in New York. We hope you’ll come by and try our dish, say hi, and help celebrate the end of summer and the beginning of fall with us and The New York Botanical Garden.

Farmers Market Caponata and Halloumi (or Buffala Mozzarella)
on Bruschetta

Makes 6–8 appetizer-size servings

Ingredients
1 lb fairytale eggplants, trimmed and halved lengthwise
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 medium Spanish onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 stalks celery
1/4 cup salt=packed capers or caperberries, rinsed and halved
(caperberries only)
1 bunch Italian parsley
1 bunch basil
16 oz fresh halloumi or buffala mozzarella
1 baguette or crusty Italian ciabatta
1/2 extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup aged sherry vinegar
1/3 cup dried currants
3 tablespoons shaved bittersweet chocolate (at least 65%)
coarse sea salt, fresh black pepper

Instructions

• Heat 1/4 to 1/3 cup of oil in heavy pan over medium heat. Add eggplant, onion, and garlic. Sauté until eggplant is soft and caramelized, about 15 minutes. Add cherry tomatoes and cook until the skins burst. Add vinegar, drained capers or caperberries, and currants. Cover and simmer until the eggplant and onion are soft, about 12 minutes.
• Meanwhile, slice baguette or ciabatta on the diagonal. Brush with olive oil and grill until lightly charred on both sides. Slice the halloumi into ¼-inch thick slices, and grill, about 3 minutes per side, or drain the mozzarella and tear it into chunks. If using halloumi, top each slice of grilled bread with a slice of halloumi.
• Season the eggplant with salt and pepper and remove from the heat; fold in parsley and basil. Sprinkle with shaved bittersweet chocolate.
• For halloumi: spoon caponata over the halloumi; top with a fresh leaf of parsley or basil and serve.
• For mozzarella: spoon caponata onto toast; cover with a hunk of mozzarella. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.