Do you include eggplant in your menu plan? Growing up, I (Litsa) always saw my mom cooking eggplants but she always cooked one specific eggplant: The Nadia. However, in recent years, I noticed that while vacationing in Greece at my parents’ home that the eggplants that tend to grow are smaller—-and some even skinner. I was also surprised several years ago to see whild eggplants on the island of Santorini.
Then, just this month, I opened the pages of Martha Stewart Living and noticed an entire array of eggplants—seventeen varieties were pictured and defined. So if someone sends you shopping for eggplant, you might want to ask them exactly which eggplant they want you to buy?
The Nadia is often what most Americans think of as an eggplant. As with all medium-to-large European types, it should be plucked when just ripe & eaten within two days. It turns bitter when left too long on the stem or on the kitchen counter. This eggplant is the one my mother uses to create a stuffed eggplant dish that is a decadent dance of onions & eggplant. I also love this one sliced, topped with sea salt, and fried in olive oil (although it will soak up all of your olive oil in your pan quickly)!
The Clara is a white eggplant that is grown in Italy for millennia & now sold at farmer’s markets. The Clara can reach around six inches long, is meaty and mild, and especially delicious roasted. With Italy just a hop skip away, this eggplant may be an import to the island of Santorini or it might be grown locally in the southern, Mediterranean heat. I’d love to enjoy this eggplant roasted.
I could spend all afternoon reading and writing about the differences & similarities of eggplants but I’ll leave the eggplant hunt to you personally. Don’t miss looking for this royal gems at your local farmer’s market and/or grocery. Each has it’s own appeal. I can still taste the eggplant dip that my brother who lives in Cyprus creates with the long skinny eggplants but are they Hansel & Gretel or the Orient Express varieties!?! I might need to add specific names to my eggplant recipes from now on.
Exactly which eggplant are you cooking with this season? For an easy recipe, try this roasted eggplant pesto toasted sandwich!
Eggplant glossary credit to Martha Stewart Living
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