Eggplant Relish
Three eggplants and a yellow squash
The other day, my mother brought home two huge bags of fruit that she bought at the Farmer's Market. There were a few vegetables, which I wasn't familiar with and she wasn't around for me to ask what they were.
I enlisted the help of Melissa, who took a look at the photos that I'd e-mailed her and immediately replied, "They all look like eggplant to me -- different (heirloom) varieties."
Eggplants? That's funny; they didn't look like the eggplant with which I was familiar -- dark, purple, almost black in color -- the kind that I'd see in the vegetable section of the grocery store or supermarket. Until then, I'd never seen white, green, or light purple eggplants. Interesting.
Now, how would I prepare my eggplants? I’d never done that before. I didn’t want them to just look pretty sitting in the fridge and then eventually spoil. What to do? What to do?
I happened to check out Simply Recipes, and by coincidence there was a recipe for Eggplant Relish, staring at me from my computer screen. Now, I knew what I’d make with the eggplants.
This recipe is another winner. It’s simple and tasty. I decided to serve on top of toasted French baguette slices. Next time, I’ll try bread sticks. The nice thing about this recipe is that you can also serve%2
posted by Paz at 9/24/2005 03:48:00 PM
12 Comments:
it's interesting, It's the first time I see these eggplants. but are the eggplants like auvergines?? I'm a little confused...:) still, the bruschettas look great, they must have been delicious. besos!
Hi Tattum: I'm a little confused, too. ;-) I'm going to ask Melissa about auvergines and get back to you on the answer. Does anyone else know the answer. Feel free to tell us.
Best,
Paz
Hey paz, I could be wrong but I think "auvergine" and "aubergine" are both just other words for eggplant -- depending on what part of the world you're in.
My husband (the chef in our family) tells me the eggplant on the right in your pic is a Japanese eggplant. He's not sure about the others, so I bet Melissa's right with her heirloom variety assessment.
Those relish crustinis look great and very yummy!
Mrs. D: Welcome! And thanks to you and your husband for the answer. Very interesting about the Japanese eggplant.
I also just heard from Melissa who said the same about the aubergines. She also adds: "That's what the British call them - borrowing the word from French - but it's exactly the same vegetable. Incidentally, another term the British have borrowed from the French that Americans haven't is the word 'courgette' - which is a zucchini!"
More interesting stuff for me to know. I like to learn something new everyday!
Thank you all, for your response!
Best,
Paz
Oh cool -- I've never heard of 'courgette!' I'll have to add that to my list of fascinating food words!
Hi all there, Melissa is absolutely right; it's funny because I learned the word "courgette" on foodblogging only, in the Anglistic world many food names seem to have been adopted from French. Paz, your relish sounds and looks great - I'd love to have one of those lovely crostini RIGHT NOW ! Beijos, angelika
thanks to you all!! what an interesting world the vegetables are! I also had that cofusion about the courgettes and the zucchini ;) It's funny, I asked my english teacher about the zucchini and she didn't know what it was!! (she's from manchester)and I just thought, "but if it's such a common vegetable,how come she doesn't know what it is? she must eat a lot of meat" now I understand...;)
but does anybody now, why are the eggplants called eggplants? does it have something to do with the shape?
besos!
Yes, Mrs. D: I have two new food words. ;-)
Angelika: Yes, it is interesting that many food words have been adopted from the French. BTW, I just remembered that Johanna had a recipe with the words "courgette."
Tattum: Another good question. I'm guessing because it looks like an egg (for the most part) but it's a plant. But it's just a guess. Anyone else know?
Paz
Paz, I love eggplants and I never knew there were white and green ones since all ours are deep purple. The Japanese eggplants we get here are quite tiny and purple. I always call my zucchinis courgettes as that is what the British supermarkets label them as.
Hi Boo! Yeah, until recently, I only knew about the deep purple ones. Intereting what we call our foods, depending on where we live. ;-)
Paz
Hi Paz, I had no idea there was such a linguistic discussion going on here! It is interesting how different the names are from country to country. In general I've found that the British are more familiar with American names because the influence of the American media is so strong whereas Americans have never heard a lot of the British terms. At any rate, glad you found something tasty to do with those eggplants!
Hi Melissa! LOL! Yes, we did get an interesting linguitic discussion started here. ;-) I think you're right about the American/British terms and their influence on each other. I'm glad about the eggplants, too.
Best,
Paz
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