Toor man’s meat’ Quick and easy eggplant recipes

Press, 25 August 1986, Page 16

Toor man’s meat’ Quick and easy eggplant recipes

Naturally Delicious

By

Anne Doornekamp

The aubergine, or eggplant, is known as "poor man’s meat” in the Middle East, where it is a staple food, as common and cheap as cabbages are here. In New Zealand, aubergines are not so plentiful, and are regarded as a luxury vegetable. Cooked aubergine does look and feel rather like meat. Used in recipes with other vegetables, a little aubergine can go a long way, and sb here, too, it can be used as a meat substitute.

The name eggplant, referring to the shape of the vegetable, is common in English speaking countries. However, the French word aubergine, is derived from the Spanish alberginia, through the Arabic al-badinjan, the Persian badingan, back to the Sanskrit vatimgana. Sanskrit is the classical language of India, the oldest known Indo-European language.

The aubergine is obviously a very widespread and ancient vegetable. The Arabs found it in India and introduced it to Europe in the twelfth century.

In my opinion, eggplant is perhaps the most beautiful vegetable, perfectly smooth and spherical, glowing in its highly polished, deep purple skin, the colour offset by the green stalk. In the East, opal white aubergines are also grown. I have found aubergine very easy to grow in the garden, as it is not usually attacked by insects or disease. An unusually long or hot summer is not necessary for aubergine to mature.

Most recipes instruct the cook to peel and chop eggplant, sprinkle with salt, -teave for an hour to drawfaut the bitter, juices, then dry with a cloth. I

used to follow these instructions religiously, but in the last few years have tried cooking unpeeled, unsalted eggplant. Last summer my children finally decided they liked it, and did not find it bitter. Aubergine soaks up other flavours, without losing its own, and goes particularly well with tomatoes, zucchini and peppers. The following eggplant recipes are quick and easy to make. The first is a salad, combining cooked eggplant with fresh vegetables. Eggplant and greens To serve six you need: 1 eggplant 2 zucchini <4 red onion or 3 spring onions % red pepper 1 lettuce olive oil - juice of 1 lemon fresh basil and oregano Preheat oven at 225 C/ 450 F for 10 minutes. Cube the eggplant, slice the zucchini and place in a covered roasting dish, with a little water in the bottom. Reduce oven to 180C/350F and bake 15 minutes. Place in salad bowl to cool. Finely chop the onion and pepper, wash, dry and tear the lettuce. Toss with the cooked vegetables, adding a little oil and lemon juice, 4«d a sprinkling of herbs.

Eggplant Florentine To serve four you need: 2 eggplant Olive oil 8 largish tomatoes Basil 200 grams cheese Slice eggplant into rounds, not too thick. Pour a little olive oil over the bottom of a baking dish or casserole. Add a layer of eggplant. Slice tomatoes into rounds, layer on top of the eggplant. Sprinkle with basil, cover with slices of cheese. Repeat layers until all ingredients are used. Cover pan and bake 170C/325F for li/ 2 hours. Serve with salads. Eggplant and ' vegetables stew Neapolitan To serve six you need: 1 large onion 3 cloves garlic 3 tablespoons olive oil 2 red peppers 8 tomatoes 2 eggplant 1 large potato 4 stalks celery Yi cup green and black olives (optional) 1 bay leaf 1 teaspoon basil or 6 fresh leaves Slice onion in rings, Crush garlic,.and cook in oil, in a large pan, for 5 minutes. Add peppers sliced lengthwise into 8, whole peeled tomatoes, cubed unpeeled eggplant and potato, sliced celery, minced olives, bay leaf and dried basil. (If using fresh basil, add at the end of cooking.) Cover and cook slowly until vegetables are tender, adding a little water to prevent burning, if necessary. Serve with a green salad, and rice if desired.