Let's face it, eggplant is weird.
It has a funny shape. It has a funny name. It has a funny taste.
It is an all-or-nothing vegetable (technically, it's a fruit, but let's not go there). You either love it or you hate it.
I happen to love it. I love its mushy texture and the disconcerting way it has of absorbing all the oil you cook it in. I love the different shapes it comes in, and colors. I love the way it goes with garlic and with tomatoes and with olive oil. I especially love the way it goes with lamb.
Few flavors blend as blissfully and synergistically as eggplant and lamb. Chocolate and caramel, perhaps. Ketchup and french fry.
But there is something special, something almost unworldly about the blending of flavors you get when lamb meets eggplant. And so, for my first eggplant-related dish, I decided to make a casserole of lamb and eggplant with garlic.
It was a lot of work. To be honest, all of the eggplant dishes I made, except one, were more work than I thought they were going to be. But they were all well worth it, especially the casserole.
It was special. Almost unworldly.
Eggplant is popular all around the Mediterranean, and indeed this recipe comes from Provence. The author of the cookbook it was featured in, Jane Sigal, says, "if they made cassoulet in Provence, it might taste like this."
The lamb, eggplant and onions are all browned in olive oil and then braised in a cup of chicken stock. After it bakes, it is covered in a bread-crumb topping that adds an entirely new dimension because it is made with a lot of garlic. Also, butter and olive oil. It's hard to go wrong with butter and olive oil.
Next, because we were dealing with eggplant, I made eggplant parmesan. Of course I did.
I appropriated the method of frying eggplant from Bon Appetit magazine. They dredge their lengthwise-sliced eggplant in ground panko bread crumbs mixed with parmesan cheese mixed with oregano and pepper. I liked the crisp texture this produced better than the other way I tried it, which was essentially an Italian form of tempura.
The tempura version tasted great, but it ended up being a little greasy when mixed with the other ingredients. For a sauce, I used my favorite, bright-tasting marinara, and between layers I sprinkled plenty of parmesan and mozzarella cheeses.
From Italy, I moved farther east, to Greece, and a wonderful, multipurpose spread. It's called pepper spread because, frankly, the main flavor is roasted red peppers. But it also has some eggplant in it, which lends a subtle undertone to the sweet and pungent red peppers and the heat from a handful of serranos. Crushed tomatoes _ I used the canned stuff _ tempers and blends the flavors.
The recipe makes an enormous amount of the spread, about six cups. But it lasts forever in the fridge, and it can be used in countless ways. I spread it on pita, but I also put it on a hamburger. Eggs, I'm sure, will be next.
Finally, I headed east once more, to Israel and the only truly easy dish of the week. I have been making eggplant carpaccio for years. Basically, it's a roasted eggplant that is split open and then filled with lots of goodies.
You can roast the eggplant on a grill, which gives it the best flavor, or on top of a burner if your stove is fitted for gas. If need be, you can roast it under a broiler in an electric oven.
When it is soft all over, then comes the fun part. Just spoon on some tahini, yogurt, tomatoes, honey, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, hot pepper and a sprig or two of oregano, plus salt and pepper.
You can leave out an ingredient or two if you want, or add more. That's how eggplant works. It's weird, but it's great.
