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In Season: Eggplant

Posted by Alaina Browne, August 10, 2008 at 3:00 PM

Photo from effe8 on Flickr

August is the beginning of eggplant season. I haven't had a chance to sample this season's crop yet, but last summer I especially enjoyed the new-to-me white and fairy tale varieties. White eggplants tend to be smaller and less bitter than the purple varieties, but with a tougher skin. Fairy tale eggplants are even smaller and white with violet/purple stripes, and almost sweet-tasting. I enjoyed these petite eggplant whole tossed in some olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and roasted or grilled. Super easy and delicious. Here are a few recipes we think are worth trying this eggplant season:

Eggplant Recipes

Baba Ghanoush
Steamed Spicy Eggplant
Broiled Eggplant Japonaise
Pez De Tierra (Eggplant Fries)
Mario Batali's Eggplant Parmesan: Parmigiana di Melanzane [Food Network]

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Tags: eggplant, In Season, recipes, vegetables

Fast Times: Bison, Kosher Vendos, Puck

Posted by Adam Kuban, August 15, 2007 at 10:45 AM

The story on lonely, neglected farmers' markets has already piqued Ed's interest, but here's the rest of what the Gray Lady is digesting today.

• You say buffalo, I say bison: The icon of the American West is enjoying a resurgence among diners. Treehuggers and nutritionists rejoice.
• Keep on Puckin': Despite frozen food lines, Home Shopping Network huckstering, and other numerous ventures, Wolfgang Puck and his steakhouse, Cut, manage to impress Frank Bruni.
• Eaux de vie, loud and clear: An Oregon producer—Clear Creek Distillery—is turning out colorless fruit brandies that Eric Asimov describes as "an entire orchard of fruit ... packed into a single glass."
• Kosher coin-ops: Vending machines that dispense glatt kosher products. 0y v3y!
• Cold eggplant salad? Melissa Clark prepares this vegetable in an unexpected way. And here's the recipe.
• Bruni 3-Stars Café Boulud: It's as good under current chef Bertrand Chemel as it was under the previous one, Andrew Carmellini. Bruni: "The dishes at Café Boulud are united less by ethnic orientation than by the kitchen’s skill and by embellishments that reliably turn what’s already enjoyable into something remarkable."

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Tags: bison, Café Boulud, Clear Creek Distillery, Daniel Boulud, eggplant, Fast Times, kosher, Wolfgang Puck

Eggplant Stewed in Honey and Spices

Posted by Lia Bulaong, May 7, 2007 at 10:00 AM

Melissa Kronenthal of the always-excellent Traveler's Lunchbox, one of my all-time favorite food blogs, winds up a long piece considering how her attitude to traveling and eating has changed over the years after a trip to Morroco with a recipe for eggplant stewed in honey and spices. She says, "I love eggplant in all its forms, but this is one of the best ways I've ever eaten it - meltingly soft, sweet, sour and spicy-hot."

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Tags: eggplant, Morrocan, recipes