A Basket Of Eggplants

Gardens and farmers markets are yielding up the fleshy, delicious beauties otherwise known as eggplants.Like their cousins,the tomatoes, these veggies have all different kinds and can be grilled, fried or roasted to create interesting and exotic dishes.A home chef can get lost in the many sorts and with them create a different meal every day. David Tanis wrote about them in yesterday's A City Kitchen column in yesterday's New York Times Dining section,The eggplant world is expanding.Not that long ago there was only the deep purple kind, thickly sliced and then dipped in egg and breadcrumbs and fried.These were known as " poor man's oysters" and served only with a lemon wedge and salt.To add more zing tomato sauce and mozzarella were put on the already cooked sliced, baked almost like a casserole and called Eggplant Parmesan.Both dishes are still tasty but it's time to try other kinds and other recipes?Italy may have given us the second dish but they're also given us another genus, the Rosa Bianca, a pale lavender colored ones, now gracing farmers markets throughout the US..Home chefs looking for something unique should visit Chinese markets .These sell the magenta hued kind.There are also eggplants from Southeast Asia, the size of a cherry tomato and multicolored.Japanese stores carry sleek, shiny elongated ones from their country. The eggplants that Americans use should be a glossy deep purple.It's called the Black Beauty.It should be firm with a green calyx, the caplike pod that attaches the fruit(and yes the eggplant is a fruit) to the stem. This ensures that the eggplant's flesh will be sweet with very little seeds.Mr Tanis has included a baba ghanouj type recipe.This is a great way to enjoy them and also a good dip for any summer party.It starts with charring the fruit until the skin blisters.The flesh should be smooth right now and ready to be pureed.Cut it into quarters and then scoop it out.Put this in a food processor along with tahini paste and lemon juice.Add toasted and crushed cumin seeds along with cayenne and paprika.Drizzle in olive oil for smoothness..Throw in parsley and mint.Toasted pita chips work well with it but you can also have toasted and thinly sliced baguettes to dip in too. This is the height of season for eggplants.Try an exotic and smokey spread or have slices dipped in egg and bread crumbs, fried to a golden crunchiness.Anyway you have it, just enjoy the eggplant's earthy sweetness.