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Eggplant
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Identity Card
Name: Eggplant
Product category: Vegetable
Where grown: Mediterranean area
Availability: From January to December
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The first people to eat this vegetable were the Chinese and Indians, whereas the Italians had to wait until the 1300's to discover it. It's original name in Italian, "mela insana" (unhealthy apple), which evolved into the current, "melanzana", reveals, however, the degree of mistrust with which eggplant was originally greeted by the Italians. Initially it was a sort of curiosity, but then people began to gradually appreciate its culinary potential and it went on to become an integral component of the diets of all the peoples living in the Mediterranean area.
Today it is grown throughout Italy, although most of the domestic production comes from the island of Sicily, followed by Campania, a region of west central Italy and Puglia, a region of south east Italy. These regions have made eggplant a featured ingredient in their traditional local cuisines. Apart from the variety of shapes: spherical, oblong or anchor-shaped, and colors: ranging from practically black to pale purple, there is one variable that makes a very big difference when it comes to cooking - whether or not there are seeds inside.
In many recipes, especially if you don't have a lot of time, the absence of seeds makes it a lot easier to work with eggplant, avoiding the problem of having the slices break along the lines where the seeds are located. Their marked flavor, tending to be almost piquant, makes them a highly esteemed ingredient for any number of first-course dishes, although they are also very suitable for second courses and side dishes. Boiled, grilled or stewed, eggplant is featured in dozens of recipes, like, for example, pasta alla Norma, in which it makes a fine showing cut into thin strips or little cubes which are then fried in olive oil and used to top Spaghetti or other kinds of pasta, together with three other major ingredients of Mediterranean cuisine, namely, tomatoes, hot red peppers and an abundant sprinkling of grated pecorino (goat's milk cheese).
Another recipe that really makes the most of this vegetable's fine flavor is eggplant parmigiana, in which slices of eggplant are baked in the oven with tomato and mozzarella cheese, not to mention slices of eggplant carefully preserved in oil during the summer and ready to eat during the long winter months. When it comes to wine, all you have to remember is: red, full-bodied and hearty. Eggplant requires hearty accompaniment, even when it comes to drinking and with a wine like Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Doc (Denominazione d'Origine Controllata) /(Quality wines produced in a specific region), the marriage is a perfect union.
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