Aubergine, the vegetable that refuses to conform - The Best from Greece

Posted on: 01/Nov/2011 One of the tastiest vegetables -- which is actually a fruit -- Solanum melongena, commonly known as eggplants or aubergines

 Aubergine, the vegetable that refuses to conform

By Evi Voutsina

One of the tastiest vegetables -- which is actually a fruit -- Solanum melongena, commonly known as eggplants or aubergines (“melitzanes” in Greek), comes in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes -- round, oblong, mauve or almost black. Then there are those with an ivory color, usually from the island of Santorini, and harder to find.

They often need to be soaked in salted water to remove bitterness; but the ones from around the Peloponnesian town of Leonidio, known as “tsakonikes,” are as sweet as honey.

My favorite way to cook them is stuffed with mint, parsley, onion, garlic, tomato and rice, like stuffed tomatoes, but adding the grated flesh of the eggplant after soaking it in salt water. The secret is in carefully scraping out the flesh so as not to damage the skin.

To make sun-dried eggplant, choose larger tsakonikes, slicing them 1-centimeter thick. Lay the slices in a cloth or large colander and add salt. Leave for 10-12 hours. Then thread the slices onto a long piece of cotton so that they don’t touch each other, and hang in a shady, airy place to dry.

You can also lay them on clean planks of wood, covering them with muslin for five or six days and turning them once or twice.

If either of these suggestions is impractical, dry them in the oven. After salting them, spread them out on the oven racks with a shallow pan on the bottom rung to catch the juices. Heat the oven to 100C on the hot-air option and prop the oven door open with a knife or wooden spatula. It will take four to six hours, depending on how moist the vegetable is. When dry, let cool and then store, preferably in a cloth bag. Before using them, soak in hot water. When softened, cook as usual.

RECIPES

Pickled eggplant

Ingredients
20 small eggplants, 2-3 garlic cloves
2 large bunches of parsley leaves
A few sprigs of celery or parsley
Salt, Vinegar
10-15 medium-sized carrots (preferably organic)
I cup finely chopped walnuts
3 tbsp fennel seeds, half crushed, half whole
1 tbsp pink peppercorns, Olive oil

Remove the stalks and hard leaves from the eggplant. Slash them in two places lengthwise, but not end to the end. Place in boiling water until half-softened. Drain and rinse under running water. Slice the garlic and roughly chop the parsley, then mix and stuff into the slashes on the eggplants. Boil the celery or parsley sprigs until flexible, drain and tie the eggplant up with them so they don’t open. Place the eggplant in a large container. Dissolve 2 handfuls of salt in a liter of water. To test, float an egg in it – if the water comes halfway up the egg, the salt-water proportion is correct. If not, add more salt and test again. Pour it over the eggplant and add vinegar until covered. There should be at least half as much vinegar as saltwater. Shake the container carefully to mix the vinegar with the salt water, cover the container and leave for 20-30 days, stirring carefully every so often. Remove the eggplant and drain on paper towels. Peel the carrots and grill or bake them until soft, but not too soft. Let cool. Take 4-5 glass jars, enough to hold the eggplants and carrots in layers, sprinkled with the fennel seeds and walnuts. Add the peppercorns and fill the jars with olive oil. Leave in a dark place for about a month and then transfer the contents, together with their oil, onto a plate.

Eggplant sauce

Ingredients (for about 10 small jars)
5 kg ripe tomatoes (preferably pomodoro)
3 kg eggplant, 1-2 hot peppers (optional)
2 large onions, finely chopped
1 level tsp sugar, 1 level tsp salt, 1 cup olive oil
2 bunches of parsley leaves, finely chopped
1 heaped tbsp ground fennel seeds

Preheat the oven to 150C. Drop the tomatoes into boiling water for a minute so the skins can be removed easily. Cut in half and press a little to remove the seeds. Remove the navel and blend.
Drain in a colander lined with an old pillowcase and put aside. Bake the peppers and eggplant in the oven until soft. Even better, grill the eggplant over charcoal to bring out a smoky aroma. Remove the peel and seeds from the peppers and chop finely. Peel the eggplant and chop finely. In a heavy-based frying pan, heat the onion in half a cup of water until it begins to soften. Place all the ingredients in a baking tray and mix well. Bake in the oven, stirring occasionally so the mixture doesn’t dry out, until the liquid has been absorbed. The mixture should not be more than 2 cm thick. It should take about 40 minutes if the oven is preheated. Spoon the sauce into sterilized jars* carefully, so there are no air pockets. Close immediately and place on a baking try in the oven for about an hour at 100C.
* Wash the jars with very hot water, wipe dry with an ironed towel and place in an oven for about 10 minutes at 150C until they are quite dry

 

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