Eggplant or aubergine
Solanum melongena
Other names:
Aubergine
A quick introduction
Eggplants grow best indoors in our climate and only thrive in warm summers. We grow three varieties this year: the common, nearly black variety that can be found in supermarkets, the Italian 'Tonda Bianca Sfumata di Rosa', a beautiful white and purple variety that is smaller and less elongated and the purple and white ‘graffiti’ eggplant. All can be used in much the same way.
Storage
There is some debate whether eggplants should be stored in the fridge or not. We find that they do keep longer in the fridge without affecting taste substantially.
Season
Summer to mid-fall
Suggestions for preparation
Eggplants are quicker to prepare when cubed (or sliced) and salted before cooking as the salting process 'pre-cooks' the eggplant. (If you have used a lot of salt to do this, make sure to rinse some of it off before throwing them into the pan.) We have recently discovered -thanks to Ottolenghi- that steamed eggplants are another delicious and light way to prepare this summer vegetable.
Recipes
If you haven’t discovered steamed eggplant yet, we highly recommend you try out this recipe with spring onions, sesame and soy sauce, delicious!
Roasted eggplants with lentils and tahini sauce
Moussaka (replace one or two of the eggplants with zucchini if you don't have enough eggplant in your box)