Eggplant

We remember falling in love with a photograph of petits farcis in an old issue of Cuisine et Vins de France. We’re sure that most chefs our age who had dreamed of cooking professionally since childhood feel the same when they open a vintage copy of Cuisine et Vins de France, or of Georges Blanc’s De la Vigne à l’Assiette. There is no greater food era than when Michel Guérard, Bernard Loiseau, Paul Bocuse, Alain Chapel, Georges Blanc, and Roger Vergé were at the top. Petits farcis are vegetables stuffed with sausage mix, then baked and eaten lukewarm. We make them in the summer when the growers show up with pattypan squashes. What else are you supposed to do with those little squashes other than admire them? The stuffed vegetables are awesome with a mâche salad and partner perfectly with a nice rosé or pastis. Get the smallest vegetables you can find, about the size of a golf ball.

Adapted from a recipe from chef Gary Danko, who participated in the 1994 Workshop, this gratin relies on bread crumbs sprinkled between the vegetable layers to absorb the savory juices. After the gratin cools and settles, you can slice it like a cake and the layers will hold together. All the flavors that suggest a Provençal summer are gathered here—garlic and basil, tomato, fennel, and thyme. Serve the gratin with roast or grilled lamb or a store-bought spit-roasted chicken. Because it tastes best warm or at room temperature, you can bake it before dinner guests arrive.

When Jody Denton participated in the 2006 Workshop, he made delicate ricotta gnocchi in a sauce similar to the one outlined here. Chef Denton used wild boar sausage from Broken Arrow Ranch (see page 144), our longtime game supplier, but Italian pork sausage is a more readily available substitute. It takes practice to master gnocchi, but Chef Denton’s delicious sauce is just as appealing with rigatoni.

Save this pressed sandwich for the height of summer, when you can get locally grown zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes. After grilling the zucchini and eggplant, layer them on a roll slathered with romesco, the Spanish tomato and almond sauce. (Refrigerate any unused romesco and use it within a day or two on another sandwich or with grilled fish or shrimp.) The sandwich can be made hours ahead, so it’s a good choice for a backpack lunch or a picnic. Omit the ham to make it vegetarian. Piquillo peppers are small, slightly spicy roasted red peppers sold in jars at shops that specialize in Spanish or Mediterranean foods (see Ingredient Resources, page 193).

Japanese eggplants are more slender, lighter in color, and have a slightly sweeter, creamier flesh than the larger, pear-shaped globe varieties. To prevent the flesh from discoloring, cut the eggplants just before you’re ready to steam them.

Tuna is most often cooked to medium-rare to prevent it from drying out. If you prefer, cook one or two minutes longer after turning, or until opaque throughout.

Legend has it that this dish was first created in Sicily as a tribute to the famous opera by Vincenzo Bellini, a native composer. This version stays true to the traditional recipe, combining eggplant, tomatoes, and basil.

This tangy relish is very versatile; try it as a spur-of-the-moment starter with crostini (page 365), or as a quick pasta sauce or sandwich spread. It can also be spooned over broiled white fish, such as flounder or tilapia.

If you like eggplant parmigiana, you’ll love these open-face sandwiches. For the best flavor, make the tomato sauce and bread crumbs yourself.

VELVETY EGGPLANT, that beloved summer vegetable, comes to life in this easy pasta sauce. If you’re short on time, you can make the sauce ahead; it tastes even better the next day. For a more substantial dish, serve it with your favorite Italian-style chicken sausage. A short, sturdy pasta like rigatoni, rotini, or penne is the best choice for this chunky sauce.

SMART SUBSTITUTION Using part-skim cheeses—such as the ricotta and mozzarella in this recipe—in place of full-fat versions is one easy way to make a favorite pasta dish healthier. And before they are filled and rolled, the eggplant slices are baked, without any oil, instead of being breaded and fried.

WHY IT’S LIGHT This Italian restaurant standby turns virtuous with baked (instead of fried) eggplant and a healthier béchamel made from skim milk, which is then combined with some marinara sauce. Using less cheese also helps; here, the two cheeses are sprinkled only on top, rather than in each layer.

SMART SUBSTITUTIONS Small swap-ins can make a big difference. Whole-wheat noodles, low-fat cottage cheese, and lean ground sirloin lighten up this lasagna. Sautéed eggplant rounds out the ground-beef sauce; melted part-skim mozzarella on top (but not inside) keeps the dish feeling indulgent, but more moderately so.

The most common eggplant is the large, purple, oval-shaped globe eggplant, but there are plenty of other varieties to choose from. Globe eggplants range from small to large and from dark purple to the more uncommon white-and-purple striped Rosa Bianca. Smaller, thinner eggplants, usually called Asian eggplants, range in color from dark to light purple, and from short to quite long. There are many more obscure varieties, including eggplants as small as marbles and eggplants that are bright orange and red. Unless otherwise indicated, most recipes can be made with any variety. Eggplant is best when the skin is bright and shiny, the fruit is firm, and the cap and stem are fresh looking. A dull, matte skin is an indication that the eggplant is too mature or that it has been in storage too long, or both. Wash the eggplant and trim off and discard the cap and blossom end. It is not necessary to peel most eggplant because the skin is usually quite thin and tender. Many recipes ask you to salt eggplant to rid it of its bitterness, but I find that small eggplant don’t require this; nor do most large ones for that matter, as long as their seeds are small and tender. However, eggplant has a sponge-like ability to soak up a great deal of oil as it cooks. Salting eggplant before cooking will rid it of some of its internal moisture, which will help reduce the amount of oil it is able to absorb. To further lighten a dish, eggplant can be tossed with oil and baked instead of fried.

For a very colorful ratatouille use different colored peppers, squash, and tomatoes. Don’t hesitate to double this recipe, as any ratatouille left over will taste even better the next day.

Caponata is a Sicilian recipe for a sweet-and-sour vegetable stew made with eggplant and tomatoes. It is good served cold as an appetizer or as part of an antipasto plate, or hot, as a side dish with roasted meats or fish.