Make the Most of Summer with a Classic Combo of Eggplant, Tomatoes and Cheese

Eggplants have always intimidated me. Glossy and smooth on the outside, seedy and spongy on the inside, it seemed like the eggplant has something to hide. For instance, eggplant isn’t even a vegetable; it’s botanically classified as a berry. This fact only enhanced my suspicion.

Part of my hesitancy with eggplant is the amount of prep work required before the cooking begins. Slicing, salting, draining, drying! These steps mitigate the globe eggplant’s innate bitterness, attributed to its edible seeds, which contain or are covered in nicotinoid alkaloids (also present in tobacco).

I’m certainly in the minority with my eggplant antipathy. Cultures around the world, from East Asia to the Middle East to the Mediterranean, embrace the eggplant by stuffing, stir-frying, stewing, pickling and hundreds of other culinary applications.

With so many cooks around the world embracing eggplant, it seemed time to reconsider my own resistance. Instead of the large and ubiquitous globe eggplants, I’ve turned toward the long, slender Japanese varieties. With thinner skin and fewer bitter seeds, these cook quickly and don’t need to be salted in advance. Paired with tried-and-true companions—tomatoes and cheese—they transform into an easy dinner, on the table in 30 minutes or less.

Purple eggplant skin contains color compounds called anthocyanins, which destabilize and turn brown with cooking. To keep the skins of the eggplant vibrantly purple, simply add white vinegar to a bowl of water large enough to submerge the eggplants for five minutes. This creates a slightly acidic environment that stabilizes the anthocyanins. The recipe will be delicious without this extra step, but it’s a fun bit of culinary science that adds extra color to this bright summer dish.

Jamie Samons wouldn’t eat a vegetable until she was 18 but has spent decades making up for lost time. In her free time she enjoys exploring the flavors created by the admirable growers and producers who make Rhode Island delicious.