Last Saturday at the market, I marveled at the beauty of a large mound of at least six different varieties of eggplant. As I handed the vendor my choices she said to me "Aren't these beautiful?"and she added that I was missing out on her favorite variety, the Bianca Rosa. She is from Israel, where she told me there are so many varieties of this fruit (I know, weird) and out of all the ones she has ever had, this is the best. I ended up going home with a Bianca Rosa and a Fairy Tale (even the names are beautiful!) currently in my favorite bowl on the counter.
When we were kids, my parents were very strict about our eating habits. As annoying as most of their rules were to my childhood self and my brother, looking back now, I see that most of them were meant to keep us as nourished as possible while also teaching us the value of food.
We weren't allowed to eat sugary/colored cereals; cookies and snacks were kept in a locked pantry to which only our mother held the key; sodas were only for vacations or special occasions; you had to eat what was served whether you liked it or not, and if you didn't eat it, it would be served to you again for your next meal...Fortunately for our little brother, these rules seem to have been forgotten by the time he was eating cereals, but that is another post altogether...
One of my strongest memories of these enforcements, was a night at the dinner table, when my brother F didn't want to eat his eggplant. We hated it! He fought, he cried, he argued, while my parents calmly explained to him that there were people who didn't have anything to eat, and that eggplant was not only delicious, it was also good for you, so he had to eat it. Against his will, F swallowed the eggplant, and minutes later, I watched in horror as he threw it up all over the dining room floor.
I am not sure if this turn of events changed my parents rules at all - they actually claim to not remember this episode - but it made my disdain for eggplant became embedded in my brain forever. Or so I thought...
Years later I ended up working at a Greek restaurant first as a cook, then as a sous-chef. There is a quintessential Greek spread made of eggplant called Melitzanosalata. We made buckets of it every day, which meant I had to taste it every day. To my surprise, I loved every bite of it.
After that, I decided I would let eggplant into my life, and discovered that there are only a few preparations of it I don't enjoy. Among my favorite are picy szechuan eggplant which is amazing (they deep fry it before stir frying it with the seasonings), as well as a Japanese dish, in which it's served with a sweet sauce that also blew my mind the first time I had it.
This past summer, I found an easy and quick way to prepare it (very similar to Melitzanosalata) that can be used as both a dip or a side dish (I love me some dip!), and I made it almost every week (I'm actually making another batch today, since from my visit to the market on Saturday it seems as if Northern California is still stuck in the Summer as far as produce is concerned).
Below is the recipe. If using as a dip, it's delicious with whole grain pita chips. If using as a vegetable, it is fantastic mixed with equal parts of brown rice or quinoa for lunch.
My brother still won't eat it, but I hope my experience will inspire him to some day open to the sweet side of this old enemy of ours.
Roasted Eggplant Dip/Side
2 ea Eggplants, peeled and diced into large chunks
2 ea Garlic Cloves, diced
2 ea Tomatoes, diced into small pieces
1 TB Shallot or Red Onion, finely chopped
2 ea Lemons, juiced (you might need a bit more or less to taste)
Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil and Cilantro or Dill to taste.
Preheat the oven to 350. On a sheet tray lined with parchment paper, toss the eggplant with the garlic, enough olive oil to coat, and a few sprinkles of salt.
Add a splash of water to tray, and roast for about 20 to 30 min, or until the eggplant is soft and looks shiny and brownish. If it looks like it's drying too much, add more water.
Let cool. In a food processor, puree the eggplant with a little olive oil and the juice of one lemon.
Then add the tomatoes, onion or shallot and the herbs, and season to taste. If it's too dry, add more olive oil, or even a little water.
Enjoy!
