Eggplant is not a unanimous crowd pleaser.  Even farmers are aware of this!  Stokes Farm’s Ron Binaghi III shares: “People aren’t big on eggplant.  People don’t want the large black [eggplant]; they want that one small Japanese eggplant that they can dice up and put in their stir fry. When you say anything about baking or cooking, they go ‘oh no, I don’t want to cook!’”

I admit, as a child I hated eggplant.  I rarely ate it and when I did, I preferred masking the flavor by smothering it in cheese.  It was only after I ate around the cheese that I would try to force down the bitter vegetable.  Because my experience was with the common dark purple variety, I was also completely unaware of how many unique varieties of eggplant there are!

Unfortunately, many restaurants continue to perpetuate eggplant’s ‘bad rap’ by offering a bitter Western variety as their one vegetarian option (eggplant sandwich, eggplant Parmesan, you know the drill!).  If that was as good as eggplant got, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone either!  Luckily, eggplants come in beautiful shapes, sizes, and flavors, ready to stand out on their own or complement a dish.

What:  

Eggplant is a member of the nightshade family and native to India.  Its name stems from the fact that certain varieties resemble goose or hen’s eggs.  This vegetable is popular throughout the world, especially in the Mediterranean:  Turkey now has over 1,000 distinct eggplant recipes!  China and India are the top two producers of eggplant in the world.

An eggplant’s size depends on its variety.  It can be as small as a cherry tomato or as heavy as one pound.  Each region of the world has different varieties of eggplant and in fact some local farmers take great pleasure in learning and cultivating these different varieties!  Zaid Kurdieh of Norwich Meadows Farm grows nine different varieties.  Many farmers sell both the small purple Japanese eggplant and the round Thai eggplant.

Flavor Profile:

While an eggplant’s flavor is dependent on which variety it is, all have a slightly bitter taste (though some more than others!)  As the vegetable is cooked, this bitterness gives way to sweet rich nuttiness.

In the Kitchen:

Choose eggplants at their peak, making sure their skin is shiny and smooth and their weight is firm.  As is usually the case with fresh fruits and vegetables, eat your eggplant within 2-3 days of purchase.  Take care not to refrigerate the eggplant—this will reduce its flavor and can result in brown spots.

Because of its density, eggplant is a truly versatile vegetable.  You can fry, sauté, bake, roast, steam, or grill eggplant.  Some, like the Western variety, have thick skin and require peeling, while others, like the Japanese variety, can be cooked with the skin on.

Growing Season:

When I started my farm visits early this summer, the plants were beautiful and healthy, but the actual vegetable hadn’t developed yet.  Eggplant is a warm season plant and very susceptible to frost.  Most growth happens during the summertime heat, with the process from seedling to Greenmarket-ready-vegetable taking 3-4 months.

You can find eggplant at the Greenmarket from late summer through the Fall.

Greenmarket Vendors:

Norwich Meadows
Cherry Lane
Kernan Farms
Hodgson Farms

More farms HERE!

Recipe Ideas:

Eggplant Jam

Couscous Stuffed Eggplant

Eggplant Bruschette


Sources: Wikipedia, The Produce Bible, Veggie Harvest

Happy Marketing!

-Meaghin

Thanks to Pixar, the first image to pop into your head when you hear the word ‘ratatouille’ might in fact be a rat! A fuzzy, cute chef rat, but a rat nonetheless. Moving away from the rat— for obvious reasons—if you haven’t made ratatouille yet, what are you waiting for? Seriously, the time is now! Almost everything you need for this amazing dish is currently available at your farmers’ market.

Ratatouille is a traditional French Provençal stewed vegetable dish, originating in Nice. It can be served as a side dish with fish or meat, yet it’s hearty enough to stand alone, with a side of crusty bread. The key ingredients in a ratatouille include tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, and onion. When you go to the farmers market this weekend, you’ll find all of those ingredients heaped in boxes and bins and scattered on tables.

Be sure to put your personal spin on the ratatouille. There are multiple varieties of eggplant at the market, so pick the kind of eggplant you want. Mix red and green bell peppers; use heirloom or vine ripened tomatoes. It’s completely your choice. The most important thing is to get these ingredients at your local farmers’ market—this dish is uninspiring unless you’re using inspired ingredients.

There are many variations on ratatouille; the recipe I recently used is from Tom Colicchio, of Craft Restaurants. My zucchini came from Garden of Eve, my tomatoes from Queens County Farm Museum, and my peppers and eggplant from Norwich Meadows.

Ratatouille

Adapted from Think Like a Chef

Ingredients

• 4 small zucchini
• 1 small eggplant
• 3 red bell peppers, cored and seeded
• 1 green bell pepper, cored and seeded
• 2 tomatoes, halved and seeded
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• salt & black pepper
• 5 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
• 6 sprigs of fresh basil

  Directions

  1. Slice the zucchini lengthwise, then cut into half moons. Cut the eggplant lengthwise into 6 pieces, then slice. Thinly slice the peppers. Cut the tomato halves into half again and cut into thin lengths.
  2. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, salt, and pepper and cook the onions for about 10 minutes, until the onions are tender and golden. Transfer the onions to a large bowl, carefully wipe out the skillet and add another tablespoon of oil.
  3. Cook the zucchini until they begin to soften (about 3 minutes). Add a little garlic, a sprig of basil, and more salt and pepper. Cook until the zucchini are almost tender, 2-3 more minutes. Add the zucchini to the bowl with the onion, and then wipe out the skillet.
  4. Cook the eggplant, adding more oil. Add garlic, basil, salt and pepper when the eggplant is about half-cooked. Add the eggplant to the onion and zucchini.
  5. Repeat the same process with the peppers, flavoring them with garlic and basil. When the peppers are almost done, after 3-5 minutes, add the tomatoes to the skillet. Cook the mixture for 3-5 minutes, then add the onion, zucchini, and eggplant mixture.
  6. Reduce the heat to medium-low and gently simmer the ratatouille, partially covered, until all the vegetables are tendered (about 15 minutes).
  7. Spoon the ratatouille into a colander set over a bowl. Drain the vegetables for a few minutes and then pour the juices into a small pan. Thicken the vegetables juices over high heat and then combine these juices with the drained ratatouille into the original skillet. Warm over low heat, serve, and enjoy!

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  This recipe is cross posted on Cheery Observations