I’ve always been fascinated by eggplants. I think as kid they appealed to the nonconformist in me because they didn’t like any other vegetable in the garden growing up. While the squash and cucumbers resembled ach other, and the peppers and tomatoes looked alike no ,matter how man varieties of each we had, the magnificent foliage of the eggplant plants, complemented by the exquisite flowers set them apart from the other vegetables in the garden.

The shape, the color and the little pixie hat they seem to wear, all intrigued my imagination. And they tasted so good. Whether they were pickled, parmaganed, or grilled, I always love them. The best way for me though, is when they are sliced into 1/4” sticks, fryed to a golden brown, and mixed with a simple tomato basil sauce and served on spaghetti.

Growing up, the only eggplant I knew of were the traditional bulb shaped, royal purple type that have a tendency to be bitter. To solve this dilemma, we treated them with salt, put them in a colander and let them drain. I heard stories of others in the family using rather large stones as weight on top to squeeze out this bitter juice, however I don’t recall every using one. After sitting for approximately 15 minutes to 30 minutes, they were squeezed, and they were ready to go.

Once I discovered the Japanese varieties, which are much narrower and are more tube shaped, I found they a sweeter version that didn’t require salting. White eggplants, and a Sicilian variety, which are round and have a swirl of purple and white on their skin are not as bitter. In my experience, they do not need the salt like the more traditional purple bulb shaped variety.

Whatever variety you choose, be sure to try this method of frying and mixing with sauce. The eggplant will absorb oil, as any fried food does, so please consider that, and factor it into your fat intake.

So if you ready to jump in and try this, here goes.

Eggplant and Spaghetti

1 large bulb shaped, or 3 or 4 smaller Japanese tube shape eggplant

1 28 oz. can of your favorite tomatoes

2 cloves of garlic, sliced

Basil to taste

Olive oil

Canola or vegetable oil

Salt

1/2 lb. of spaghetti

Parmesan, Romano, smoked mozzarella or smoke provolone cheese