Aubergines

Suspicious beginnings

Given the aubergine’s overwhelming popularity in countries such as Italy and Greece and throughout the Middle East, one would expect the plant's roots to lie in Mediterranean soils. Yet this vegetable - strictly speaking it’s a fruit - has its origins in India.

In fact, the aubergine was enjoyed by the Asian world for several centuries before Arab spice traders carried it to the West. It soon flourished in places with long, hot growing seasons. For a long time, though, Europeans remained wary of the aubergine. That’s because the aubergine - along with the tomato and the potato - is a member of the family that includes the deadly nightshade. Consequently, aubergines were long considered inedible. It wasn’t until the 1500s that Mediterranean cooks began cooking with them.

A Jewish connection

Not everyone was reassured of the salubriousness of this purple oddity, however. Food writer Claudia Roden, in her Book of Jewish Food, recounts a time when the Venetians feared that eating aubergines would drive them mad - aided, no doubt, by its Italian name, melanzana, which comes from the Latin for ‘mad apple’.

In 1492, Jews were banished from southern Italy and fled north, taking with them a host of culinary traditions and ingredients, including the aubergine, with which Jewish cooks were to be forever associated. Soon the vegetable was introduced to Venice and other parts of Italy, where it became the basis of famous dishes such as Caponata alla Giudea (Jewish-style aubergine salad).

Aubergine varieties

Although the plump, pear-shaped variety, with its near-black shiny-skinned exterior, is probably the most familiar in Britain, aubergines come in a wide variety of shapes, colours and sizes. Italian cooks enjoy varieties with long fruit and striking lavender and cream streaks. Asian cultivars vary widely: some, such as the bitter-flavoured pea aubergine, are the size of a grape; the seed-filled, rounded Thai aubergine has green stripes and is used in curries; the beautifully long and slender pale-purple Japanese and Chinese varieties are ideal for stir-frying. The aubergine can also be ivory-coloured and ovoid, which almost certainly led people in some countries to name it the ‘eggplant’.

Cooking with aubergines

In Egypt and the Lebanon, aubergines are cored and stuffed with meat, rice, tomatoes and spices. A similar, and infinitely more famous, treatment is the Turkish Imam bayildi, in which the stuffing comprises onions, garlic, tomatoes and parsley. In Italy, melanzane parmigiana - roasted aubergines baked with mozzarella, parmesan and a tomato sauce - is heavenly. But perhaps nowhere is it more valued than its birthplace; Indian cooks make it into chutneys and pickles, combine it with potatoes and fenugreek and braise it with coconut and tamarind.

Growing aubergines

A hot climate is essential for growing aubergines, which is why English aubergines need to be grown in a greenhouse or under a polytunnel. At this time of year, Charles Dowding, from Lower Farm near Wincanton, Somerset, grows at least 20 varieties of vegetable but says he only grows aubergines to vary the offerings in his organic box scheme. “Aubergines make for a very demanding and risky business,” Dowding says. “They crave heat like nothing else, so a good crop is dependent on a good summer - and they’re not exactly high-yielding plants. Ironically, one of the varieties I grow is called Moneymaker. Couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Buying aubergines

Aubergines can be bought all year round but they are at their best, not to mention cheapest, from July to September. Look for unblemished, firm, lustrous skin with a bright green calyx, or stem.

One of the reasons why some people overlook aubergines is the bitterness that is characteristic of old varieties. The newer breeds no longer demand salting and draining (which draws out any bitter juices) although this process has one advantage: aubergines are like sponges, readily accepting whatever flavour is thrown their way and absorbing copious amounts of oil as they fry, roast or grill. An initial salting takes away some of this tendency to soak up oil, resulting in a less greasy meal. And frying, roasting or grilling is what you must do to savour its creamy, meaty flesh; throwing it raw into a dish is a waste of aubergine.

For a quick supper, brush aubergine slices with oil and chargrill, or barbecue, and dress with lemon, garlic and mint. Prick whole aubergines and scorch over a naked flame until the skin is blistered and the flesh soft. Peel and beat the smoky pulp with tahini, parsley, lemon and olive oil and scoop it up with warmed Arabic unleavened bread. Seek out the sweeter slender Asian varieties and stir-fry with ginger, soy and chilli. Small, round aubergines are easily stuffed with sheeps’ cheese and pine nuts or follow Elizabeth David’s instructions and insert bacon, garlic and herbs into incisions in the aubergine before roasting.

Recipes

Make use of the handsome aubergine and sample its unusual flavour and texture with some of these recipes:

Greek-inspired dishes

• Macedonian pickled aubergines by Theodore Kyriakou
• Lamb with aubergine and tzatziki by Antony Worral Thompson
• Moussaka by Rick Stein

Indian-inspired dishes

• Charred aubergine and coconut curry by Celia Brooks Brown
• Aubergine tikka masala by Simon Rimmer

Italian-inspired dishes

• Baked stuffed aubergines by Carmelita Caruana
• Aubergine fold and feta rolls by Ainsley Harriott
• Warm salad of grilled vegetables with parmesan and balsamic vinegar by Paul and Jeanne Rankin
• Grilled aubergine with salsa verde by Mike Robinson

Middle Eastern-inspired dishes

• Aubergines in a spicy honey sauce by Claudia Roden
• Cumin roast lamb with sweet potato chips and smoked aubergine by Paul Merrett