An Ode to Aubergines

So this week I'm in lust with Eggplants...or Aubergines, as they're known in Europe. Full, unbridled, intense, I want to spend every minute in its company, and do lots and lots of things to it, LUST. *sigh* It's so glossy and purple and smooth (though they used to be white...hence 'egg'plant!) - you just want to stroke it! And it's as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside...high in dietary fiber, Folate, Potassium, Manganese, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Thiamin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Pantothenic Acid, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Copper. They are an excellent food to aid in weight loss, since they're low in calories and fat. Eggplant is a nutrient dense food, which will help you feel full, and there are almost no calories in eggplants. And though you can peel it, like most fruits and vegetables many of the health benefits of eggplant are contained in its dark purple skin. The skin contains a high amount of phytonutrients that helps protect the lipids in your brain cell membranes. Eggplant also contains tons of antioxidants.

So why wouldn't you eat it?

Well, a lot of people are still under the impression that you need to slice, salt, let sit, then rinse eggplant to reduce it's bitterness (an act that's called 'degorging'). This is an old practice, however, and it is not as necessary these days because modern eggplants are less bitter. And honestly, that's a lot of work for a vegetable that has been mis-cooked for so long that in some minds, eggplant is synonymous with slimy, squishy, brown, and icky. But how about if it wasn't gross and took only 5 minutes. Come on - you know you want to try it now! And just an FYI ...though not necessary for taste, salting eggplant will reduce the amount of oil absorbed in cooking - but I'm only telling you that in the interest of full disclosure. I'm hoping none of you are going to be deep frying your eggplant. Even for eggplant parmesian, try prepping the eggplant this way!

Saffron Eggplant Chips

1. Preheat your grill.

2. Mix 1 TBS olive oil, sea salt, crushed black pepper, Mexican Saffron, and Cumin in a small bowl.

3. Thinly slice an eggplant, and lightly brush one side with the oil mixture.

4. Lay oil side down on heated grill. Brush other side with oil mixture, if desired. I never do, but it won't hurt anything.

5. Flip when you've got some nice little grill marks on the one side. Remove from grill when done cooking. Watch closely, because the thin slices will burn easily, but they'll also crunch up the best!

Easy-peasy, huh!? I find myself eating them as I take them off the grill, they're that good! I layered them with lemony cucumber salad and scallops last night (recipe to come!) and it was super-delicious! Today I wanted them AGAIN! So I grabbed my other eggplant, which was much wider in diameter and sliced some slightly thicker slices this time. Same olive oil treatment as last night, grilled them up, and used them as the 'bread' in a flank steak sandwich. The concept of eggplant 'bread'...solid. The reality...not so! I ended up rolling the steak, greens, and pepper in the eggplant slices like little summer rolls! Super tasty and fun to eat! What more could you want in a food?

So there you have it...all the reason's to eat eggplant and a quick, no muss no fuss way of cooking it. What more could you ask for? Give it a try and let me know what you think. And if you have a favorite eggplant recipe (that doesn't involve frying) shoot it my way. I need to go to the store and buy more eggplants - then I'm going to test run the baba ganoush recipe I got from another amazing blogger named Melicious. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm thinking eggplant chips with baba ganoush? Too much of a good thing? Never!