The Elegant Eggplant
By: Teresa Genaro
Or, as it’s far more melodiously called by our friends in the UK, the aubergine. I confess that I’m addicted to this wonderful vegetable, and that it frequently graces my table in a variety of forms.
Unfortunately, the eggplant doesn’t have a lot to recommend itself in terms of nutrition: you can get a little fiber from it, and some minerals, but look elsewhere for protein. On the plus side, it’s virtually fat-free, particularly if you don’t cook it in oil.
So if it’s not particularly good for you, why bother? Simply put: cost and versatility. A medium-to-large eggplant is not that expensive, and it goes a long way. Eggplant is also a fundamental element of a number of cuisines, including Italian, Chinese, Thai, and Indian. It’s super-easy to prepare and lends itself to a terrific variety of dishes. It attains a buttery, creamy smoothness when slowly sautéed in olive oil (who cares about a little olive oil fat, right?), and it can be mixed with almost anything. A couple of recipes are below.
(A word before we begin: many recipes call for the eggplant to be cut and salted ahead of time, to draw out liquid and bitterness. If you have time, do it; if not, skip it. I’ve cooked it both ways without an appreciable difference. If you do salt ahead of time, let the eggplant sit for about thirty minutes, and then rinse it well before cooking, patting it dry to remove excess moisture. Do not, as I did once, use kosher salt—big mistake, as the salt was far too powerful for the eggplant and the resulting dish was nearly inedible.)
Sautéed eggplant with meat and beans
1 medium to large eggplant
1 chopped white onion
1 pound cubed meat of your choice (chicken, pork, sausage—or none—this works as a vegetarian meal as well)
½ cup dry wine, rosé or white (you could use chicken or vegetable stock as well)
1 can cannellini (white beans), drained and rinsed
¼ cup chopped mixed pitted olives
Salt and pepper to taste
Add a generous amount of olive oil (several times around the pot) to a medium-sized pot, and turn the heat to medium-low. As the oil is heating, cube the eggplant into about ½” pieces.
Add the eggplant to the pot and stir frequently; you don’t want it to brown or burn. Keep the heat low, and be prepared to stay by the stove for about twenty minutes. Drizzle more oil as needed.
After about five minutes, add the onion and continue stirring occasionally.
Cook for an additional five minutes, then add the meat and stir occasionally as it browns.
When the meat has browned, add the wine or stock and simmer uncovered until the liquid reduces by about two-thirds.
Add the beans and olives, cooking until both are heated through, and transfer to a bowl for serving.
If you like, you can toss this pasta or serve it over rice, but I like it as it is, with some crusty bread on the side. This is the sort of dish to which you can add any ingredient that you like that’s not included above. Among my favorites: sun-dried tomatoes; spinach or another leafy green; artichoke hearts.
Low-fat eggplant Parmesan
OK, I’m cheating here because it’s not my recipe, but it’s too good not to share. Growing up in an Italian household, I dug into more than my share of eggplant parmigiana; nothing says “comfort food” to me like crunchy fried circles of eggplant with creamy mozzarella cheese oozing with each mouthful. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve held on to my affinity for eggplant, but not to my willingness to ingest all that fat (which is not to say that I don’t do it—it’s just more of a special treat meal than a regular occurrence), so when I came across this recipe in the New York Times about a year ago, I made it a part of my regular cooking routine, even serving it at a New Year’s Eve dinner party to much praise. It is not your grandmother’s eggplant parmigiana; the cheese, and thus the pleasure, is reduced, but it’s a lot easier to prepare than the traditional dish, and the bread crumb topping helps to satisfy the crunch craving. And, it’s just way, way better for you.