Poached Fish Fillets with Poached Eggplant Wedges

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Marinated eggplant wedges are a great accompaniment to grilled and poached fish of all kinds, including sea bass, swordfish, cod, snapper, and grouper. And here’s a basic method to follow with all fish.

   Step 2

   After you have poached the eggplant strain the vinegar water (removing eggplant seeds) into a wide sauté pan. Marinate the eggplant as in the main recipe for 1/2 hour or so, then reheat the vinegar water to a simmer, slide in up to four serving-size pieces of fish fillet, and poach for about 4 minutes.

   Step 3

   Lift the fillets carefully out of the poaching liquid and lay them in a baking dish. Drizzle some of the juices from the marinated eggplant over the fish, then lay eggplant wedges on top. Serve immediately, or let the flavors marry for 30 minutes at room temperature or longer in the refrigerator. Lift portions of fish and eggplant together onto serving plates and drizzle with marinating liquid.

   Step 4

   Poached shrimp are also delicious with eggplant—better than traditional shrimp cocktail. Proceed as above, except poach the shrimp in the vinegar water for 2 minutes. Cool before serving.

2. Other Ways to Enjoy Poached Eggplant

   Step 5

   As an antipasto: as a crostini topping—chopped into small bits; with thin slices of prosciutto; with Tuna in Olio (page 10); with Marinated Mackerel (page 3); in Raw Tomato Sauce for Pasta (page 265)

   Step 6

   In pasta: added to Raw Tomato Sauce (page 265)

   Step 7

   As a marinade: on top of Poached Fish Fillets (above)

   Step 8

   As an accompaniment: for grilled fish steaks (page 302); for grilled lamb chops

   Step 9

   As a chutney: chopped up with fresh black figs; for anything grilled

3. WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN AN EGGPLANT

   Step 10

   I love eggplants but I am fussy about them. Here’s what I look for:

4. Step 11

   For almost all dishes, I prefer small eggplants, weighing 6 to 8 ounces each. These generally have fewer and smaller seeds, and since seeds are the source of bitterness, there is usually no need to slice, salt, and drain—the time-consuming procedure used to extract bitterness from big eggplants. In recipes where the seeds must be removed, like the preceding vinegar-poached wedges, fewer seeds also means less work and waste, and more delicious flesh.

5. Step 12

   In the summer it is easy to find small eggplants, especially at farmers’ markets and stands, or to grow them. When you can’t find any 8 ounces or under, choose the smallest ones available, preferably of a uniform width. I find that “big-bellied” eggplants are more likely to have lots of mature seeds.

6. Step 13

   My ideal eggplant must be fresh. It should have firm flesh with no bruises; glossy skin, with no blemishes; and a tight skin that covers the flesh so well that it “squeaks” when you rub it. A long green stem is also an indicator that the fruit has been recently picked and is still drawing nourishment from the stem. Indeed, a fresh vital stem, rather than a withered brown one, is a reassuring sign of freshness for most vegetables, as is the presence of fresh leaves on root vegetables like carrots, beets, and turnips.

7. Step 14

   Naturally, I prefer Italian eggplant varieties, but slender Asian eggplants are very good, I find, with few seeds. And there are beautiful multicolored heirloom varieties of eggplant at farmers’ markets too. Some of these are quite good.

8. Step 15

   About eggplant skin and peeling: I always leave skin on small eggplants with thin skins—it adds texture and color to a dish, and often I think it is the most delicious part. When the skin of an eggplant is tough and thick, as happens in some varieties and mature fruit, it can prevent even cooking of the flesh. In such a case, I might peel the skin completely, but if I want the skin’s taste and effect, I’ll peel off strips in a zebra-striped pattern all around the eggplant.