By FAYE LEVY, YAKIR LEVYRoaster eggplant and pepper medley with tomatoes and garlic(photo credit: YAKIR LEVY)
The eggplant and the pepper make a great couple, but it took them a while to meet each other. After all, eggplant originated in Asia, while peppers came from the Americas.Their love affair blossomed in Mediterranean lands, where they have been matched in countless dishes.Unlike green and root vegetables, eggplants and peppers are not usually boiled in water. Instead, they are most often cooked by dry-heat methods: grilling, roasting, sautéing or frying. True, they can also be braised in a sauce, but many traditional braising recipes call for sautéing them first.For our late-summer cooking, we often combine eggplants and peppers. It’s easy to turn them into satisfying dishes. We just throw them on the grill or in the oven, add olive oil and a few seasonings, and we have a tasty appetizer, entrée or side dish.When we have plenty of red peppers, we prepare ajvar (pronounced ayvar), a bright-red Balkan spread made of grilled eggplants and grilled red peppers. We finely chop or puree the grilled vegetables and flavor the mixture with garlic, salt and a touch of olive oil.(See recipe.) Grilled eggplants and peppers can also be made into a Catalan appetizer called escalivada, which has a completely different appearance and texture from ajvar.Colman Andrews, author of Catalan Cuisine, makes this Spanish specialty from roasted whole eggplants and red or green peppers, with an optional addition of roasted onions. The grilled vegetables are not pureed; they are served in strips or slices sprinkled with olive oil, salt and minced garlic.For salads of eggplants and peppers, the peppers can be raw, but the eggplant should be cooked. A simple way to make a refreshing eggplant and vegetable salad is to combine cooled grilled eggplant pulp with diced sweet peppers of any color, as well as diced tomatoes, chopped onion, minced garlic and fruity olive oil. (See recipe.) Another easy technique for cooking eggplant with peppers is to dice them and roast them with other vegetables.In Calabria, located at the toe of the Italian boot, eggplant and peppers are often cooked with potatoes, wrote Amy Riolo, author of The Italian Diabetes Cookbook. Riolo considers these three vegetables the Calabrian “holy trinity” of produce. For her Calabrian roasted vegetables, she bakes the trio with onions, tomatoes, rosemary, red chili flakes, salt, pepper and olive oil.We make our roasted eggplant and pepper medley by combining the eggplant and pepper pieces with sliced onions in a baking dish, sprinkling them with olive oil and salt and baking them in a hot oven. When they are nearly done, we add garlic and diced tomatoes. To vary the flavor, we sometimes use semi-hot chili peppers instead of sweet peppers. (See recipe.) You could call this dish roasted ratatouille, although traditionally this Provençal specialty has zucchini, too.
Many variations of ratatouille have been created that diverge from the classic recipe, but eggplant and peppers are always central to the dish. Dana Jacobi, whose latest book is The Power Greens Cookbook, makes cod with roasted eggplant ratatouille, for which she cooks eggplant cubes, chopped sweet red peppers and sliced stems of chard with sautéed shallots. She then sprinkles cod fillets with salt, pepper and olive oil and roasts them on top of the ratatouille. For a vegetarian main course, she mixes cooked lentils into the eggplant- pepper mixture instead of adding fish.Ratatouille has been popular in Western cuisine for so long that it is used as a reference point for describing other dishes. The cooks of Campania in southwest Italy have developed an unusual eggplant and pepper dish called cianfotta.To make it, Riolo roasts diced eggplant with potatoes, carrots, zucchini, onions and olive oil, adds sweet red peppers sautéed with garlic, and briefly stews the vegetables with tomatoes, pears and raisins. Fresh basil provides the finishing touch. Riolo calls it “a Neapolitan spin on ratatouille.” Faye Levy is the author of Feast from the Mideast and the award-winning Faye Levy’s International Vegetable Cookbook.GRILLED EGGPLANT AND RED PEPPER SPREAD – AJVAR Whenever we are grilling, we like to have eggplants and red peppers on hand to make this Balkan appetizer. Sweet red peppers give this dish good flavor and a bright red hue.Start with approximately equal weights of eggplants and peppers and add garlic, salt, olive oil and vinegar to taste. If you wish, add 1 or 2 chopped grilled hot peppers. You can serve ajvar garnished with black olives.Serves 6 to 8■ 800-900 gr. (1¾-2 lb.) eggplants■ 800-900 gr. (1¾-2 lb.) sweet red peppers, broiled or grilled, skins removed (see recipe below)■ 1 garlic clove, minced (about 1 tsp.)■ 2-3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, or to taste■ 1 Tbsp. wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice, or to taste■ Salt to taste■ Semi-hot red pepper or red hot chili pepper to taste (optional)■ Chopped parsley (for garnish)Prepare grill with medium-hot coals, or preheat broiler. Prick each eggplant several times with fork. Grill or broil eggplants, turning every 10 minutes with tongs, about 30 to 50 minutes, depending on size, or until eggplants look collapsed, their skins blacken and their flesh is very tender. Let eggplants stand until cool enough to handle.Cut off eggplant caps. Cut eggplants in two, lengthwise, and drain off any liquid inside. Scoop eggplant flesh out of skins with a large spoon.Chop eggplant finely with a knife or in a food processor; if using food processor, chop by pulsing, leaving a few small chunks or processing until nearly smooth but not watery. Transfer to a bowl.Chop red peppers finely with a knife or in food processor, leaving a few small chunks if desired. Add peppers to bowl of eggplant.Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon vinegar and 1 teaspoon garlic to eggplant-pepper mixture. Mix well and add salt to taste. If desired, add pepper to taste and/or more vinegar or olive oil. Serve at room temperature, drizzled with olive oil and garnished with chopped parsley.GRILLED PEELED PEPPERSUse this technique to grill and peel peppers for ajvar (see recipe above) or for adding to salads or cooked dishes.The grilling times here are for bell peppers (which are box shaped). If using slim long peppers or small hot peppers, the time will be much shorter.Instead of broiling or grilling the peppers, you can grill them on a gas burner, turning them often with tongs.Serves 4■ 4 to 6 whole peppers with stemsHeat broiler or grill. Broil or grill peppers, turning them every 4 or 5 minutes, for a total of 15 minutes, or until their skins blister all over and most of their skins blacken in a thin layer.Transfer to a bowl and cover tightly, or put in a plastic bag and close bag.Let peppers stand 10 minutes or until cool enough to handle. Peel them, using paring knife to scrape off any peel that adheres. Halve peppers and drain off any liquid inside. Remove caps and seeds, scraping off any adhering seeds; do not rinse.ROASTED EGGPLANT AND PEPPER MEDLEY WITH TOMATOES AND GARLICTo turn our roasted ratatouille into a main dish, we sometimes add chickpeas to the mixture or top it with hardboiled or fried eggs or with crumbled feta or goat cheese. To serve this dish as a salad, spoon it onto a bed of lettuce.Serves 4■ 500-550 gr. (1.1-1.2 lb.) eggplants, unpeeled■ 1 large onion■ 200-250 gr. (7-9 oz.) sweet peppers, mild chili peppers, or mixture of sweet peppers and semi-hot chili peppers■ 350 gr. (¾ lb.) ripe tomatoes, diced■ 5 or 6 garlic cloves, minced■ 2 Tbsp. flavorful extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling■ Salt to taste■ Freshly ground black pepper and semi-hot or hot red pepper to taste (optional)■ Fresh basil strips or small leaves or fresh zaatar (for garnish)■ Walnuts or olives (optional)Preheat oven to 205°C (400°F). Line a roasting pan with foil if desired. Dice eggplants. Quarter and slice onion. Put eggplant and onion in the pan. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt.Roast for 15 minutes. Add diced peppers, stir and sprinkle with 2 or 3 teaspoons olive oil. Roast for 25 minutes.Add garlic, stir and roast for 5 minutes.Add tomatoes, stir lightly and roast for 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.Taste and adjust seasoning, adding pepper if desired. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature. Just before serving, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with basil. If desired, garnish with walnuts or olives.EGGPLANT SALAD WITH FRESH VEGETABLES This recipe is based on the refreshing eggplant salad we enjoyed recently at a tasting prepared by the Turkish caterers of Kuzine Foods Co. Israeli friends of ours make similar salads with finely diced cucumbers added.Serves 6 to 8■ 2 medium eggplants (total 900 gr.to 1.1 kg. or 2-2½ lb.)■ 2 or 3 medium garlic cloves, finely minced■ 2-4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil■ 1-3 Tbsp. strained fresh lemon juice■ Salt and freshly ground pepper■ Red hot chili pepper or semi-hot red pepper to taste (optional)■ ¼ onion, cut in thin slivers■ 1 sweet yellow, orange or red pepper, cut in small dice or short, thin strips■ 1 large tomato, cut in small dice■ 2 Tbsp. chopped parsleyPrepare grill with medium-hot coals, or preheat broiler. Prick each eggplant several times with fork. Grill or broil eggplants, turning every 10 minutes with tongs, about 40 minutes, depending on size, or until eggplants look collapsed, their skins blacken and their flesh is very tender. Let eggplants stand until cool enough to handle.Cut off eggplant caps. Cut eggplants in two, lengthwise, and drain off any liquid inside. Scoop eggplant flesh out of skins with a large spoon. Chop eggplant finely with a knife or by pulsing it in a food processor until nearly smooth but not watery.Transfer eggplant to a bowl. Add garlic and mix well. Stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon lemon juice.Season with salt, pepper and red hot chili pepper; season generously.Shortly before serving, lightly stir in onion, sweet pepper, tomato and half the parsley. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more olive oil and lemon juice if desired. Serve sprinkled with remaining parsley.