Who knew that eggplants came in so many shapes and colors? We're sure some of you did, but it's a whole new world to us, as we've only recently joined the eggplant lovers club – and just in time for the start of eggplant season at our farmers' market!
At the Hollywood farmers' market, we are seeing purple, green, and white eggplants, some small and egg shaped, others long and slender.
We are just beginning to learn what the different heirloom varieties are, how they taste, and which ones are best for roasting on the grill or incorporating into some of our favorite Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and Asian dishes. (Eggplant is such an internationally beloved fruit/vegetable, how could we have been so ambivalent about it?!)
Which eggplant varieties are you fond of? How do you like to cook them?
Eggplant tips:
• Learning to Love Eggplant: How to Pick 'Em, Cook 'Em, and Eat 'Em
• Good Question: Why is My Roasted Eggplant Bitter?
Eggplant recipes:
• Chinese Five Spice Eggplant
• D.I.Y. Baba Ghanoush
• Eggplant Caponata Sandwiches with Mozzarella
• Eggplant Wraps with Goat Cheese
• Goat Cheese Tart with Roasted Eggplant, Zucchini, and Caramelized Onions
• Pasta alla Norma from Cook's Illustrated
• Harvest Cooking: Eggplant!
• Virtual CSA Box: Eggplant
• For more information on the Hollywood farmers' market and other Los Angeles area markets, visit Farmernet.com
Related: Seasonal Spotlight: Eggplant
(Images: Emily Ho)
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I love the green and the white eggplants - they come out creamy and almost sweet when grilled with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. I stack them spread with hummas, alternating with tomatoes, and cous cous on a bed of lettuce with lemon tahini dressing on top and pita toast points on the side. Delish!
The japanese purple ones I slice in 1/2 and then into spears, saute and add sauce of sugar and miso for a lovely miso egg plant.
There's an excellent noodle place here in Chicago (Joy's, in Lakeview) that puts quartered tiny green eggplants in their green curry. Took me an embarassingly long time to figure out what they were!
http://www.abreadaday.com
I just got back from a great trip to Thailand, where I took a farm cooking course, learning how to make numerous Thai dishes. There, like eprewitt, I finally learned that the small green things floating in the curry were not a type of pea but "baby eggplant," as they call it. I had been calling them giant peas for so long!
The pea eggplants are in their short season now in our Laotian markets! They are bitter, but totally make a green curry sing. I buy them in the summer and freeze them for later use.
My favorites though are the small purple Indian brinjals (for stuffing) and the long purple Japanese or Chinese eggplants as they are tender and seedless, and so yummy in any kind of recipe.
I grew up eating eggplant, so totally love it.
Here are a few of my favorite recipes for eggplant:
1) eggplant appetizers with ricotta and parsley
2) lentil stew with eggplant
3) eggplant lasagna
Lots of eggplants (white and purple) from Greenlings now -- I like to broil round slices tossed in olive oil, salt, and chimayo chile powder topped with thin slices of lemon.