As much as I love eggplant, it’s not an ingredient showcased in the recipes I’ve shared in my published columns and cookbooks during the past two decades plus.
In a November 2018 Tribune column, I shared the recipe from Lucrezia restaurant locations for their scrumptious “stuffed and rolled” eggplant, blended so beautifully with just the perfect pairing of prosciutto and mozzarella cheese.
My “red cover” cookbook “Further From the Farm” released in 2010 shares a previous column published in July 2007 when funny friend Phyllis Diller (who really was a great cook despite her signature comedy act to the contrary) gave me her yummy and easy recipe for her “Philli Dilli Parmesan and Eggplant Casserole,” adorned with stewed tomatoes and then plenty of toasted breadcrumbs across the top.
Of course, eggplant is the key ingredient in so many famous culinary dishes, such as Indian curries, Greek moussakas, Middle Eastern baba ghanoush and French ratatouille. Eggplant is low in calories, with one cup of raw eggplant at only 40 calories. However, eggplant also has very little nutritional value.
They should be picked while young so the inside will be less seedy and the soft outer skin will have milder, inviting flavor. Since the “meaty inside” has such a spongy texture, it is prone to soaking up oils and fat. For example, a deep-fried eggplant will soak up four times as much fat as a batch of French fries cooked in oil.
The plant’s name origin was first recorded in 1763, as dubbed by our North American English. The earliest cultivated eggplants were referred to as “cultivars,” and the edible “fruit” produced was small white ovals, which looked very similar to eggs. As the plants were cultivated and perfected for large produce results through the decades, large purple-skinned orbs rose to prominence, providing farms more “meat.”
The flowers and leaves of this plant are poisonous when consumed in large quantities because they contain the toxic component solanine.
History records reveal eggplant began cultivating in our North American gardens when it first came with the European colonists. It is a plant with origins dating back many centuries, growing in South Asia and Africa. It was the Arabic people who first spread the word of the popularity of eggplant for both Jewish and Muslim households. By the time eggplant arrived with traders to Spain during the Middle Ages, it quickly caught the culinary attention of all of Italy as a treasured, tasty ingredient.
Eggplant can even be hailed as a scrumptious pizza topping. Tony’s Place, long a dining destination in downtown Valparaiso for 68 years until it closed in August 2023, offered an eggplant-topped pizza on their menu.
Last week, I enjoyed an extra special surprise when our farming neighbor Debbie Wappel down the road came to my parents’ home Wednesday with a freshly baked, delectable eggplant and tomato with mozzarella-topped pizza.
Like myself, son Eric Wappel loves eggplant, and it’s a staple in the family garden, proof of shared good taste.
Columnist Philip Potempa has published four cookbooks and is a radio host on WJOB 1230 AM. He can be reached at PhilPotempa@gmail.com or mail your questions: From the Farm, PO Box 68, San Pierre, Ind. 46374.
Eric’s Favorite Eggplant Pizza
Makes 6 servings
2 medium slender eggplants, sliced in 1/2 inch rounds with skin retained
2 Roma tomatoes sliced in 1/2 inch rounds, skin retained
1 prepared pizza crust (9-inch) or Naan flatbread
Coarse salt as needed
2-3 tablespoons chopped dried basil or chopped fresh basil
1 pound fresh mozzarella cheese balls
Olive oil as needed
Directions:
1. Broil or fry the eggplant slices until nearly soft.
2. Place tomato slices in hot pan to lightly heat and soften.
3. Lightly spread olive oil over the flat bread to the edges.
4. Place crust on a baking sheet and lightly spread coarse salt on the pan.
5. Layer eggplant, tomatoes, basil and add fresh mozzarella cheese on top.
6. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until desired temperature.
7. Drip extra olive oil for extra taste.
