Eggplant. It's one of those vegetables you either LOVE or HATE. Sort of like brussel sprouts.
It can also be easily, and often, ruined. Over breading, frying in grease, losing it's natural deliciousness, form, and flavor.
What processes us to have an overwhelming need to hide our vegetables? We bread them, we fry them, we cover them with cheese sauce, we bury them in casseroles, and unknowing children out there are eating spinach hidden in their brownies(gasp)...God forbid we eat a piece of broccoli unless it's swimming in a pool of Alfredo sauce and mixed with the fettuccine.
OK. I'm over my tangent.
Thankfully I was raised in a "love the vegetables" home. My love of vegetables has always been there. I fondly remember a garden that yielded all summer long, and into the fall. We ate the freshest veggies you could get. The only way to learn how to love veggies, is to prepare them simply and let them speak for themselves.
I can honestly say I practice what I preach. When I go grocery shopping half of the contents of my purchase are veggies, fruits, fresh heads of lettuce, still in their natural form...cause that's how I like them.
Which brings me back to eggplant. One dish my Mom has made for years is Pickled Eggplant. It's one of those dishes that sparks an automated response to the cerebral cortex that screams: Comfort Food. No, let me rephrase that: One of my all-time favorite Comfort Food. It is peculiar looking, once cooked, not very photogenic either, but it is, in a word, delicious.
Two things that have to be served with this: crusty bread and a firm, pungent cheese. Though in case of emergency, I have been known to put this on crackers...I must warn you, this is very garlicky. You could make it with less garlic, but it wouldn't be the same dish to me.
The Hub's does not care for this dish. Mwaaahaahahahahaha ! MORE for me !!!
Cast of Characters:
Recipe- yields approx. 3 cups
2 nice sized eggplants- Peeled and cut into thin, finger-sized pieces
6 cloves of garlic- minced
Crushed red pepper flakes- to taste
Cider vinegar
Red wine vinegar
1/2 c. Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt- to taste
In a large pot add eggplant and almost cover with vinegars. I found this to be approx.(depends on size of eggplants) 2 c. each of the cider and red wine vinegars. Add a sprinkle of kosher salt.
This much vinegar..
Now, My Mom says you can cover with lid and bring to a nice simmer, or do it without a lid. Once the vinegars heat up, you may want to cover with a lid.
It's a little overpowering.
Once up to a gentle boil, cook for roughly 10-12 minutes until softened. Occasionally stir gently with spatula as if you were folding whipped cream into a batter, as you are trying to maintain the shape of eggplant as much as possible.
Once eggplant has cooked through, drain pot into strainer and let sit 20-30 minutes until slightly cooled.
Transfer 1/2 of eggplant into a glass bowl and add half of the salt, garlic, pepper flakes, and 1/4 c. olive oil and stir GENTLY!
Then add other half of ingredients and stir GENTLY again! Taste it. Does it need a little more salt? Mine did, go figure. (Inside joke)
Now grab some crusty bread and try it. I used an aged Asiago and a peeler, and shaved the cheese right on top.
This is how Mom likes it (all deconstucted and dangerous, torn bread, eggplant, and cheese...rebel!)
And this is how I like it: (Orderly)
Thank you Mom for bringing a tear to my eye and happiness in my belly.
Baphy xoxo
It can also be easily, and often, ruined. Over breading, frying in grease, losing it's natural deliciousness, form, and flavor.
What processes us to have an overwhelming need to hide our vegetables? We bread them, we fry them, we cover them with cheese sauce, we bury them in casseroles, and unknowing children out there are eating spinach hidden in their brownies(gasp)...God forbid we eat a piece of broccoli unless it's swimming in a pool of Alfredo sauce and mixed with the fettuccine.
OK. I'm over my tangent.
Thankfully I was raised in a "love the vegetables" home. My love of vegetables has always been there. I fondly remember a garden that yielded all summer long, and into the fall. We ate the freshest veggies you could get. The only way to learn how to love veggies, is to prepare them simply and let them speak for themselves.
I can honestly say I practice what I preach. When I go grocery shopping half of the contents of my purchase are veggies, fruits, fresh heads of lettuce, still in their natural form...cause that's how I like them.
Which brings me back to eggplant. One dish my Mom has made for years is Pickled Eggplant. It's one of those dishes that sparks an automated response to the cerebral cortex that screams: Comfort Food. No, let me rephrase that: One of my all-time favorite Comfort Food. It is peculiar looking, once cooked, not very photogenic either, but it is, in a word, delicious.
Two things that have to be served with this: crusty bread and a firm, pungent cheese. Though in case of emergency, I have been known to put this on crackers...I must warn you, this is very garlicky. You could make it with less garlic, but it wouldn't be the same dish to me.
The Hub's does not care for this dish. Mwaaahaahahahahaha ! MORE for me !!!
Cast of Characters:
Recipe- yields approx. 3 cups
2 nice sized eggplants- Peeled and cut into thin, finger-sized pieces
6 cloves of garlic- minced
Crushed red pepper flakes- to taste
Cider vinegar
Red wine vinegar
1/2 c. Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt- to taste
In a large pot add eggplant and almost cover with vinegars. I found this to be approx.(depends on size of eggplants) 2 c. each of the cider and red wine vinegars. Add a sprinkle of kosher salt.
This much vinegar..
It's a little overpowering.
Once up to a gentle boil, cook for roughly 10-12 minutes until softened. Occasionally stir gently with spatula as if you were folding whipped cream into a batter, as you are trying to maintain the shape of eggplant as much as possible.
Once eggplant has cooked through, drain pot into strainer and let sit 20-30 minutes until slightly cooled.
Transfer 1/2 of eggplant into a glass bowl and add half of the salt, garlic, pepper flakes, and 1/4 c. olive oil and stir GENTLY!
Then add other half of ingredients and stir GENTLY again! Taste it. Does it need a little more salt? Mine did, go figure. (Inside joke)
Now grab some crusty bread and try it. I used an aged Asiago and a peeler, and shaved the cheese right on top.
This is how Mom likes it (all deconstucted and dangerous, torn bread, eggplant, and cheese...rebel!)
And this is how I like it: (Orderly)
Thank you Mom for bringing a tear to my eye and happiness in my belly.
Baphy xoxo
