When Summer is close, we start to cook different dishes from eggplants as we know that these are real eggplants not fake as in Winter time. And this one is our favorite. The best part of Spring and Summer for me is that I have more time in a day, it doesn’t quickly get dark here after March. Day time is longer than night time. I can’t take the advantage of open markets in Winter very often because generally when I leave work, it’s already dark and here open markets are “open” just during day time. But beginning from March, they are open longer and I enjoy shopping from open markets as I desire.
In Turkey open markets are not stable, they have certain places on each day of a week. The reason for this is to provide the same chance to all neighborhoods. As you know, everything is cheaper and more fresh in open markets, so people prefer shopping there. On Monday, the open market is in our neighborhood, close to our home and on Friday, it is close to the school I work. So today, after leaving school, on the way home, I popped round the open market and came home with several bags. I was a bit tired and I didn’t want to wait long for dinner, so when I saw some very fresh eggplants, I made up my mind. Although my hubby is a meat lover, he adores this eggplant dish and never refuses to eat it. Besides its hearty taste, the easiness of its preperation was my concern today.
And we had an unexpected guest for dinner. Our neighbor forgot her house keys and rang our bell just as we were sitting dinner table. She asked if she could wait until her husband came, we certainly welcomed her and put one more plate on the table. We had our dinner together and she said that she was so lucky to forget her keys as she had the chance of tasting and learning this quick eggplant dish.
Zeytinyagli Patlican
Ingredients
-3 eggplants
-4 middle sized tomatoes, diced
-2 green peppers, chopped
-4 cloves garlic, sliced into two
-1 onion, chopped
-1/2 tbsp tomato paste(optional)
-1/2 tsp sugar
-1tsp salt
-1tsp black pepper
-4tbsp natural olive oil
Wash the eggplants and throw the leaves away. Do not cut the whole stems, leave a little piece of it. I didn’t peel them, but if you like, you can. Cut them in two from the middle horizantally. Then, grab the half with the stem and cut them into four lengthwise until the stem. Do not cut them completely. As for the other half, you can cut them in finger shape. Wait these in a salty water for at least 15 minutes so that the bitterness of eggplants goes away.
Heat the oil in a pot and saute the chopped onion until golden. Drain the eggplants and add them in the pot. Cook them over medium heat until the eggplants change their color. Then add the paste, tomatoes, peppers and garlic. Sprinkle sugar, salt and black pepper and cover the pot. Cook them over low heat for about 40 minutes and do not open the cover until it’s done.
You can garnish it with some leaves of basil and if you serve a bowl of home made yogurt near it, it’s inevitable to feel in heaven.
The Perfect Couple
This was the first date of Miss Eggplant and Mr Cucumber. They came accross with each other in several open markets and covered markets before, and they were both impressed by each other. Eventually they could escape from the their stands and met at a solitary neighborhood. Miss Eggplant complimented Mr Cucumber about his cooling and skin beautifying effects while he flattered Miss Eggplant about her unforgettable taste when prepared with natural olive oil. He added “You are the best cure for skin cancer! We’ll make a perfect couple as we are both curative for skin.” They felt closer with these nice words and decided to go to a patisserie for a romantic chat. (drawing by mom)
14 Comments on "Eggplant Feast"
Those are some very delectable eggplants. Delish!!!
Eggplants acquire an incredibly delicious texture when cooked indeed..
The eggplant dish sounds great! I really should be cooking more with eggplants! We had a really yummy eggplant fritter in one of the restaurants in London (still working on that review).
What an adorable drawing and story! I usually have eggplant primarily in baba ghannoush but this would make a very nice alternative to a meat dish for dinner. Having it with yogurt sounds delicious but all the lovely sauce would also be great over rice!
The eggplant must be so tender and flavorful cooked this way. Sounds delicious!
What a nice comforting dish! Eggplant and cucumber are so cute together!
Your dish looks good but I am not a big fan of eggplant and when I do eat it, it has to be fire-roasted and mashed to a puree
Jenn- we finished all at once, so delicious.
Christelle- And giving them various texture depends on you.
Natasha- Looking forward to read that review.
Tangled Noodle- I also love babagannuş, but we eat it as a salad or appetizer. This one is a more filling dish, so we have it for dinner. Rice is ofcourse the perfect side dish for it.
Lisa- so tender that you don’t need to chew it long. Yum!
Reeni- thank you. You know drawings are mom’s imagination.
Cynthia- I adore fire-roasted eggplants in various versions. But this one also our favorite. But olive oil is very important here, vegetable oil doesn’t give the same flavor.
Hey Zerrin, Beautiful veggie dish!
Love it! Love the drawings & the story of the cucumber & the aubergine,….aaah!
Wow! I love when you cook eggplant. It always give more ideas in how to cook it at home besides the grilled vegetables sandwich.
Got a question for you. Do you have any spicy pepper or dish?
Eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables, especially fresh from the garden. I have to make a mental note to plant some in my new garden! I will try this recipe – very easy, simple and looks delicious. Thank you Zerrin.
What a delicious dish, I cannot wait to try it – I love eggplant and am always searching for wonderful new recipes.
This looks delicious! My husband used to absolutely refuse to eat eggplant – he’d never had it prepared well. Last summer I made it my mission to find eggplant dishes he would like – this one definitely goes on the list!
I adore eggplant/aubergine – I think some people are put off when they get eggplant that hasn’t been cooked properly but your dish looks perfectly yum!