Eggplant Enrapture

There’s a tradition among some Arabs that the value of a bride is based on how many recipes she knows that use eggplant. Anything under 100 is considered substandard, and just doesn't bring a good price.

While I’m certainly not an Arab bride, there’s a lot to be said for the custom. Our family is somewhat addicted to eggplant ... and I’m working on my hundred. Or perhaps its my second hundred.

It has nothing to do with the role of eggplant in Middle Eastern cuisine, however. Rather it’s because, when we lived in Florida, we could get gorgeous eggplants at farmer’s markets for just one thin dime. Even today they’re often less than a buck --- at which price we grab them.

As it turns out, the very nicest thing in the fridge tonight was indeed an eggplant. Also lying around was a bag of firm Roma tomatoes I bought yesterday, plus a few Vidalia onions - my favorites.

A Google search quickly turned up a few recipes where just those ingredients would work, although the results got somewhat mixed comments – it seemed to depend in part on just how into veggies the person commenting was (this is definitely not a dish for the meat and potatoes set). So, synthesizing the recipes, and the comments, this is what I came up with:

First, the eggplant was sliced (about a quarter inch thick), salted (coarse 'Kosher salt' of course), and left to stand. Usually I let it stand for an hour, but I was in a rush, so a bit over ten minutes did the trick. While they were standing I sliced the Vidalia onion, fairly thin, and sliced about four tomatoes (one could, of course, use any type of onion at hand, and any type of tomato for that matter … but my choice is a great tasting combo). At the same time a few tablespoons of olive oil were getting quite hot in a heavy frying pan (don't let it start to smoke! Oy!). Of course you could use standard cooking oil ... if you don't care how your food tastes.

Next the luscious slices of eggplant were washed (can’t be eating all that salt, after all) and dried on some paper towel.

In the pan goes the eggplant, to brown quickly on each side. Remove the eggplant and add a little more olive oil, and in go the sliced onions, along with a dollop of chopped garlic (how much garlic is up to your taste, and I like a lot). The goal is for the onions to soften, but not get carmelized. And ignore any recipes you see that say to use uncooked onion - it doesn’t work as well. But one could leave out the garlic and choose other spices - that's a matter of personal taste and creativity.

The rest is child’s play … into a relatively small baking dish goes a layer of eggplant, a layer of the uncooked sliced tomatoes and a layer of sautéed onion. Then another of eggplant, another of tomatoes, and finally the rest of the onions. Next comes three or four tablespoons of vinegar (recipes I saw called for Balsamic vinegar, but comments I saw complained of too vinegary a taste, so I used rice vinegar – which proved to be a great choice).

Finally a dusting of freshly ground pepper – of course to taste – and then the topping. Now there are lots of recipes I saw suggesting things such as a cup of bread crumbs, mixed with olive oil. Yuck. Too much breading. I used a few tablespoons of wheat germ – much healthier and far tastier, if you ask me, giving it a bit of a nutty flavor. Then I dribbled a couple of spoons of olive oil (did I suggest Extra Virgin, by the way?) over the top.

Finally 30 minutes at 350 degrees and Voila – dinner for two. Possibly served with a green salad, maybe a little pasta if you must, or perhaps some rice or even Quinoa pilaf. And a glass of slightly chilled white wine, if you please.

P.S. - I'm already thinking about how I could make this dish without the wheat germ, for use as a Passover dish (hmm, perhaps some matzoh meal on top, unless you're gebrocht-averse), or with some other topping to meet the needs of a friend who's a Kosher vegetarian suffering from celiac disease, so anything with gluten is prohibited.