April 16, 2015
by Jason Ford
Ford on Food
Aubergine is often referred to as “eggplant” and is commonly used as a vegetable, but it’s actually as a fruit related to tomatoes and potatoes.
In fact, the fruit itself is botanically classified as a berry.
And – believe it or not – the aubergine plant is a close relative of the tobacco plant.
Aubergines originated in South East Asia, but they are widely used in Italian, Mediterranean, French and Middle Eastern cuisines.
There are many varieties of aubergine. Some are small and pea shaped, and some are large pumpkin-like in shape and size.
Colours vary from green to cream, and dark purple to yellow.
Aubergines can be served hot or cold, braised, baked, battered and deep-fried, grilled, pan-fried, barbecued, stuffed, blended and pureed.
The most famous dishes made from aubergine are ratatouille (not the movie), moussaka, baba ghanoush and imam bayildi.
I’m a big fan of aubergines, especially grilled slices.
However they can be a little bitter in their original form.
That’s because they contain the highest level of nicotine of any vegetable, though not enough to be additive.
You would have to eat around 10kg of raw eggplant to consume the equivalent amount of nicotine found in one cigarette.
Nonetheless, if an eggplant is particularly bitter it may need to be degorged, which means removing its moisture and the bitterness with it, as in the recipe below:
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Grilled Eggplant
Ingredients:
- One aubergine (eggplant)
- Salt
- Extrea virgin olive oil
Method:
- Cut the eggplant into round slices approximately 1cm thick
- Place the slices into a colander and sprinkle them liberally with salt
- Weigh the whole lot down with a heavy plate to help squeeze out the water
- Leave them for at least half an hour, then rinse them off under cold running water
- Pat each slice dry with paper towel
- The slices can now be grilled on a barbecue plate to golden brown, and then drizzled with high quality olive oil
Serve with an antipasto of sun dried tomatoes, olives, feta cheese etc.
