Eggplant

As I perused the farmers market a few weeks ago, I came across some truly unique eggplants. I spoke with the young lady from the Edible Earth Farm  about her display and the unique varieties of eggplants. Pictured here are the "apple" eggplant,which looks like a large green apple, and two small orange "Turkish" eggplants from the farm. At the time I had no idea there were more than a couple of varieties of eggplant - the smaller, Italian eggplants, Asian or Chinese eggplant and the large American eggplant also pictured below. 

Once called "mala insane" (bad apple), eggplants were thought of as the poisonous fruit from the nightshade family of plants. Eggplant is native to India however the most well known varieties are grown in Europe and North America. The Turkish eggplant is found in Africa and some think slaves brought the seeds with them across the ocean. The green apple eggplant is purely an American varietal. It was bred by plant breeder Eldwin Meader of the University of New Hampshire and is supposed to be a relatively easy variety to grow, especially in northern climates.

The purple hued, large oval shape is best known and easily found in most North American supermarkets and family gardens. This is the fruit most Americans are familiar with. My favorite way to use this eggplant is with zucchini, summer squash, peppers and tomatoes for a summer "stew", ratatouille. I've learned to pick the smaller eggplants as they aren't as tough or bitter and are easier to cook and eat.  For my Ratatouille, I prefer to grill the vegetables before putting them together in the stockpot to finish cooking. I love the grilled flavor the vegetables add mixed into the stew.

The longer, lighter purple fruit is often found in Asian markets. It has a thinner skin than the American or Italian eggplant and a milder flavor. I used this one to make a Thai Green Chicken Curry on Friday night. This was my first attempt at curry and it turned out great!

Here is my recipe:

1 red bell pepper
1 cup green beans, washed and trimmed
1/2 sweet onion
1 Japanese eggplant, diced
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 chicken breasts, cut into medium pieces
1 tbsp. fish sauce
1 tbsp. red curry paste
Juice from 1/2 lime
1 can (13.5 oz) lite coconut milk

1/2 - 1 cup chicken stock
Fresh chopped basil (about 2 tbsp.)

1. Sauté the pepper, onion and garlic in a tbsp. canola oil until slightly tender. Add the green beans and eggplant and continue sautéing until the onion is translucent and eggplant and beans are just starting to soften. Remove to plate and cover to keep warm.

2. Add another tbsp canola oil to the skillet and heat over medium high heat. Add the chicken pieces and sauté until brown on all sides. Remove to dish with vegetables.

3. Stir in the fish sauce and red curry paste into the skillet and stir for a minute until fragrant.

4. Add the coconut milk, lime juice and chicken broth and stir until the curry paste has incorporated thoroughly.

5. Return the chicken and vegetables to the skillet and cook in the sauce for 5 - 10 minutes, until chicken is done and vegetables are tender but still a little crisp. Serve over brown jasmine rice. We found a nice bottle of Gewürztraminer from the Finger Lakes was the perfect wine for this dish.

Now, a little about the other cool new varieties I found (and the inspiration for this post!). I found the green apple and Turkish to be milder and almost a little sweet. I have to admit, I expected them to be bitter, but they were anything but. They did prove to be a bit more of a challenge for me as I knew very little about them. I found that the green apple variety had a nice firm texture, like the more common American variety. It was perfect for a modified Eggplant Parmesan! The nice thing was that it didn't soak up much oil at all and was a really light dish to complement the pork tenderloin I made.

The Turkish were almost sweet and had a light texture also. The woman at Edible Earth Farm suggested using them in a stir fry and next time I'll follow her suggestion. I just ate these as I was running out of time but am hoping to find them on my next trip to the market!

Now I know a little more about eggplants and all the wonderful ways to use them - and best of all, I found another veggie my husband likes!

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