Aubergine, one of the most popular vegetables, really versatile in its preparation, and the main character in the Mediterranean diet!
The Aubergine is that perfect vegetable, that can be used in every recipe – savoury and sweet – and never disappoints. In terms of seasonality, it reaches its perfect form between June and October but it’s now available the whole year. It can be fried, boiled, baked, blended and probably even glazed. Well, we are here to tell you, that you may wanna add some eggplant to you next Masterchef recipe to turn it into a success among your friends!
Some traditional savoury options
As a fresh, simple and fast appetizer, we could name the aubergine rolls. The recipe consists of slicing up an aubergine and then cooking it on a pan. Once all the slices are ready, you’ll only need to add some ham and cheese or anything you like to it. Roll them up and pierce the rolls with toothpicks to keep them in shape.
Parmigiana, aka a very well known vegetarian lasagna, if you look at the composition of the dish. It’s a traditional southern Italy delicacy, and just like lasagna, the parmigiana is nothing more than fried slices of aubergines as layers, then alternated with cheese and tomato sauce (again cheese on top, for a final touch). You can go on for as many layers as you like until you make the perfect parmigiana. If you are looking for some variations, some people also choose to twist it up with some ham or mint.
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Let’s talk about the Parmigiana little Sicilian sister: the Caponata. It’s sour but sweet, crunchy but moist, savoury but sugary. What’s inside the traditional caponata then? Eggplants, vinegar, sugar, cherry tomatoes, basil, onion, olives, celery and some people even top the whole thing with crunchy almonds. Scroll to the bottom of the article for the video recipe (Thank you Gioacchino at Aromi e Sapori, Berlin)
Aubergines can be really good even with pasta. Pasta alla norma is the perfect example of it. As a traditional Sicilian speciality is a pasta sauce made of tomato sauce, fried aubergines and a kicker: the ricotta salata. So nice and simple!
The Neapolitan cuisine also introduces us to a delicious eggplant side dish, le melanzane a funghetto. Cut the aubergines into squares and fried them. Add some mint for extra flavour. On the side, cook your tomato sauce. Once you are done, mix all the ingredients together and serve.
We take a step back from the Italian tradition to land on new Spanish territory. Ladies and gentlemen, the stuffed aubergines. Cut your aubergine in half and scoop out the centre, leaving enough meat inside the skin so that it holds its shape when baked. Chop the eggplant that has been scooped out of the inside, and mix it with breadcrumbs, meat, tomato and spices. In alternative, substitute the meat with some fish. Put the mixture back into the two aubergine halves and bake them in the oven.
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Here are many other recipes!
Expect the unexpected with these sweet sweet eggplant recipes
Yes, no mistake! Aubergines are so good that in Italy we transform them into beautiful, alternative desserts.
The first recipe that you may wanna try is the chocolate-aubergine cake, which sounds strange but the flavour is awesome. First of all, you need to cut the aubergines in small pieces and cook them until they are really soft. Put the result into a mixer and blend it with chocolate, eggs, cocoa powder, honey, almonds, salt and yeast. Place the mixture into a cake pan and cook it in the oven for 30 mins at 180°.
Another sweet speciality are the melanzane con il cioccolato (aubergines with chocolate). This dessert is so special, that a small town on the Amalfi coast (South of Italy) has decided to dedicate a whole festival to it, every very first week of August. Let’s have a look at the ingredients:
For the aubergines
Aubergines, 400g
Flour as needed
Eggs, 2
A pinch of salt
Powdered sugar, 70g
A pinch of cinnamon
Oil (to fry)
For the chocolate sauce
Milk, 250ml
Sugar, 100g
Flour, 25g
Cocoa powder, 30g
Dark chocolate, 100g
Liquor 2 spoons
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If you dare to try this sweet aubergine, here you can find the complete recipe!
And if you wanna try the caponata yourself, follow chef Gioacchino along in the preparation:
Cover photo: Aubergine Trio appetiser by Malafemmena Berlin
