Eggplant

Anne of So Many Veggies blogged about eggplant, so I thought I would add what I have been up to. Our farm offers many kinds of eggplant, including the standard large eggplant, long eggplant, and fairy eggplant. (Say it a few more times and the word "eggplant" will lose all meaning...)

Fairy Eggplant

I have made baba ghanoush and ratatouille from these, and they were both amazing. My recipes are adapted from The Joy of Cooking. The tahini is not from New England, obviously, but I was able to buy a jar at one of the amazing Middle Eastern markets in Watertown - and it comes from Lebanon!

Baba Ghanoush:

I peeled and sauteed about 3 eggplants until they were very soft (roasting just takes too long).

I blended these with 2 T of tahini, 2 chopped garlic cloves, the juice of one large lemon (Andrew's mom brings these from CA), and 1/2 t. salt (all this can be altered to taste, depending on the amount of eggplant). I topped the bowl of baba ghanoush with olive oil and chopped parsley.

Homemade baba ghanoush, pita chips, and falafel.

Ratatouille:

This is one of my all-time favorite summer meals, and it takes full advantage of our farm veggie supply. I use my Le Creuset cast-iron, enameled pot for this because it's heavy and prevents burning. In olive oil and a bit of water, I sautee a chopped onion and 3 minced garlic cloves. When these are soft, I add more olive oil (up to 1/4 c.), and enough cubed eggplant, zucchini, and bell peppers to fill the pot. To this, I add fresh thyme, a bay leaf, salt, pepper, and a bit of water to help the veggies steam. When these vegetables have softened, I add ~1.5 cups or more of chopped fresh tomatoes and let it all simmer until the veggies are beginning to fall apart (peeling and seeding the tomatoes is nice, but not necessary). It's wonderful on polenta, with fresh bread, on pasta, or added to tomato soup.

Long-cooked ratatouille.