An ancient vegetable Aubergine: an elegant substitute for meat

Press, 9 March 1987, Page 16

An ancient vegetable Aubergine: an elegant substitute for meat

Naturally Delicious

By

Anne Doornekamp

The aubergine, or .eggplant, is known as “poorman’s meat” in the Middle East, where it is a staple food as common and cheap as cabbages are in New Zealand. There 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 so 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. The French word aubergine is derived from the Spanish alberginia, through the Arabic albadinjan, 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, leave for an hour to draw out 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 . This summer my children fin-

ally decided they like it, and are not finding it bitter. Aubergine soaks up other flavours, without losing its own, and does particularly well with the tomatoes, zucchini, and peppers available at this time of year. The following eggplant recipes are quick and easy to make. The first is a salad, combining cooked eggplant with fresh vegetables. Eggplant ■and. greens Serves six. 1 eggplant 2 zucchini *4 red onion or 3 spring onions y 2 red pepper 1 lettuce olive oil juice of 1 lemon fresh basil and oregano f2l Preheat oven at 225C/450F 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.

Finally chop the onion and pepper, wash, dry and tear the lettuce. Toss with the cooked vege-

tables, adding a little olive oil and lemon juice, and a sprinkling of herbs. Eggplant Florentine Serves four 2 eggplant olive oil 8 largish tomatoes basil 200 g 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 11/ 2 hours. Serve with salads. Vegetable stew neapolitan Serves six. 1 large onion 3 cloves garlic 3 tbs olive oil 2 red peppers 8 tomatoes 2 eggplant 1 large potato 4 stalks celery green and black

olives (optional) 1 bay leaf 1 tsp 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 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.