Purple passion: readers go for the gold in VT's eggplant recipe contest

Vegetarian Times, Sept, 2003 by Alexandra Greeley

Elegant, edible eggplants are the stuff of myth. Consider how the Turks have glorified eggplants with their classic--and famous--dish Imam bayildi, or"the priest fainted": It's unclear whether the priest swooned over the outstanding flavors of the onion-filled eggplant, or whether he fainted when he learned how much oil it contained!

Eggplant--which is also known as aubergine, brinjal, makheau phuang, melanzane or egg apple and scientifically as Solanum melongena--is botanically a fruit, but it is usually enjoyed as a vegetable.

As the VT staff discovered during our recent contest, the eggplant is extremely versatile. We tested and tasted a selection of outstanding eggplant dishes--from soups to desserts to entrees in almost every imaginable guise--deciding that picking winners from the choices was a real challenge. So many eggplants! So little time!

Note: Recipes came in from almost every state. And the winners--and runners-up and honorable mention--represent a culinary cross section of the country.

FIRST PLACE

Teresa Annette Johnston

Manhattan Beach, California

Quixotic Cheesecake

SERVES 12

The combination of chocolate, eggplant
and cream cheese sounds unusual, but the
finished product is ultradelicious--and
won everyone's applause. Ms. Johnston
says that as a yoga teacher, she used her
intuition to conceive of the idea. The concept
of a cheesecake popped into her
head, and, keeping in mind that she wanted
a gingery mincemeat taste with a mulled
wine undertone, she decided chocolate
would unify the various flavors. "Then,
when I started making it, I just followed
my intuition," she says.

Nut Crust

5   Tbs. softened butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2   cups untoasted walnuts

Cheesecake Filling

1   large eggplant (about 1 1/2 lb.)
4   large eggs
3/4 tsp. salt
1   cup granulated sugar
1   cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1   8-oz. pkg. cream cheese
2   tsp. vanilla extract

Sauce

Juice of 3 oranges and 2 lemons
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2   Tbs. butter
3/4 tsp. salt
1/3 tsp. ground cloves
3   pieces chopped crystallized ginger
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1. To make Nut Crust: Combine butter,
salt and sugar in food processor. Mix until
creamy. Add walnuts, and process until
ingredients are smooth. Place nut mixture
into 10-inch deep-dish pie plate. Using
spatula, build up sides, and smooth out
bottom to form crust. Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 325F.

3. To make Cheesecake Filling: Slice off
stem end of large eggplant. Cut off about 2
inches more, and peel. Cut chunk into 1-inch
cubes, and place in food processor.
Process eggplant, yielding about 1.4 cup
eggplant puree. Add eggs, and process.
Add salt, sugar and chocolate chips, and
process on high speed 1 minute. Add
cream cheese and vanilla, and process. Let
chocolate bits stay in mixture, as these
sink to form bottom cheesecake layer.
Pour mixture into nut crust. Slice remainder
of eggplant, skin on, into 1/8-inch-thick
rounds. Wrap in plastic, and set aside.
4. Bake 55 minutes, or until center is firm.
Remove from oven, and cool at least 30
minutes.

5. Meanwhile, to make Sauce: Combine
orange and lemon juices, sugar, butter, salt,
cloves and chopped ginger in large
saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring
often, until boiling. Reduce heat to low,
stirring occasionally. Place eggplant slices
in saucepan, and cook 25 minutes.

6. Toast walnuts until golden. Remove eggplant
slices from sauce mixture, and
arrange eggplant attractively on cheesecake,
overlapping slices if necessary. Add
nuts to sauce.

7. Spoon 6 tablespoons sauce, including
nuts, over eggplant slices. Cover cheesecake
in plastic or foil, and refrigerate at
least 2 hours. Refrigerate remaining sauce.

8. To serve, heat sauce over low heat.
Using sharp knife, cut cheesecake into 12
portions, and place on plates. Spoon sauce
over each serving, and pass.

PER SERVING: 520 CAL; 9G PROT; 33G TOTAL
FAT (13G SAT. FAT); 53G CARB; 110MG CHOL;
540MG SOD; 4G FIBER; 46G SUGARS

Wine Suggestions

Like tofu, eggplant has a terrific knack for taking
on the flavors of the ingredients around it.
Therefore, there is no reason to treat this eggplant-infused
cheesecake differently from any
other cheesecake. Try it with Inniskillin Niagara
Peninsula Vidal Icewine.

SECOND PLACE

Carol Lopez-Bethel

Arlington, Virginia

Eggplant with Caramelized
Onions, Tomatoes and Mint

SERVES 6

Ms. Lopez-Bethel notes that this has been
a family favorite and "a great way to get all

ages to enjoy eggplant without the more
traditional breading or frying, tomato
sauce and cheese." It dresses up nicely for
company, and is also easy to serve, which
she does with crusty sourdough bread.

8     young Italian eggplants (1 1/2 to
      2 lb.), about 8 inches long and
      3 inches round
1/2   cup extra virgin olive oil
4     cups (about 3 large or 1 1/2 lb.)
      Vidalia or other onions, halved
      lengthwise and thinly sliced
1/2   cup Anisette
1 1/2 cups chopped Roma or other
      firm tomatoes plus juices
1     cup (3/4 oz.) chopped stemmed
      fresh mint
1     Tbs. dried or fresh oregano
1     cup pine nuts
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground
      white pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Slice eggplants in half lengthwise,
removing tough stem ends. Spray cut sides
with nonstick cooking spray, and place
sprayed side down on baking sheet.

3. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until skin and
insides are very tender. Remove from
oven, and set aside.

4. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large cast-iron
or stainless steel skillet over medium-low
heat. Saute onions until soft and
caramelized, about 12 minutes. Add
Anisette, increase heat to medium-high
heat and cook about 30 seconds. Remove
from heat, and increase oven temperature
to broil.

5. Using tongs or spatula, remove onions
from skillet, and set aside. Arrange eggplants
in skillet face up, and cover eggplants
evenly with onions. Arrange
tomatoes and any juice, mint, oregano and
pine nuts over onions, in that order.
Drizzle remaining olive oil over top.

6. Place skillet under broiler 3 to 4 minutes,
or until mint and onions brown
slightly. Remove from oven, and season
with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

PER SERVING: 470 CAL; 8G PROT; 31G TOTAL
FAT (4.5G SAT. FAT); 32G CARB; 0MG CHOL;
15MG SOD; 6G FIBER; 22G SUGARS

Wine Suggestions

Red Zinfandel and tomatoes make a great
combo. The addition of eggplants, mint and
oregano seals the deal. What sets this recipe
apart, though, is the Anisette. Interestingly,
licorice, fennel and anise are flavors often used
to describe Red Zinfandel. Try this dish with
Steele Clear Lake Catfish Vineyard Zinfandel