Thomas - The Aubergine Cookbook

Feed your aubergine obsession!

Discover surprising new ways to cook, serve and eat this king of veg. No longer the 'poor man's meat', aubergine can be transformed into impressive dishes with these 60 brand new recipes ranging from Aubergine Fritters with Honey and Goats Cheese, to Sicilian Aubergine Pizza, Persian Stuffed Aubergine, and even Aubergine Chocolate Cake.

Whip up exotic yet simple mid-week suppers, impress friends and feed a crowd, and even convert aubergine haters with these creative and delicious recipes, packed with flavour.

Heather Thomas is a health and cookery writer and editor. She is the author of The Avocado Cookbook (Ebury, 2016) and The Chickpea Cookbook (Ebury, 2017), The Sweet Potato Cookbook (Ebury 2017), The Hot Sauce Cookbook (Ebury 2018).

Heather has worked with many top chefs, nutritionists and womens health organisations and charities, and has contributed to health and food magazines in the UK and the United States. She practises what she preaches and eats a very healthy diet and stays slim and fit.

Once known as the poor mans meat, the humble aubergine has been elevated to the status of a superfood and is now a sought-after item on the menus of even the smartest restaurants. The popularity of the aubergine (or eggplant as its called in the United States; brinjal in India and southeast Asia; and melanzane in Italy) reflects the new lighter way of eating, with its focus on vegetables and plant protein. And the growing demand for healthy Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food has helped to propel the aubergine into the culinary mainstream in recent years.

Technically, aubergines are not really vegetables at all, but are classed as fruits from the nightshade family (Solanaceae). They are available in a variety of shapes and colours, ranging from the ubiquitous purple oval specimens that most of us see on supermarket shelves, to the small, rounded ivory-white ones from Asia that triggered their alternative name of eggplant. Aubergines can be large, medium or small; oval, round, squat, bulbous or long and slender; white, greenish-white, green, yellowish, violet, purple or black.

Due to its bulk and spongy texture, Sicilians call the aubergine the meat of the earth, and its a staple of the healthy cuisine of the region that spans from Spain in the west, right round the shores of the Mediterranean Sea through southern France, Italy, Greece, the Levant and North Africa. However, the aubergine originated in Asia, where it grew wild, then was first cultivated in China in the fifth century BC. Its popularity later spread to the Middle East and it wasnt introduced into southern Europe until the early Middle Ages.

A good source of dietary fibre and vitamins A, B6, B12, folic acid, C and K as well as minerals including calcium, copper, iron, manganese, magnesium and potassium, aubergines can make a valuable contribution to a healthy diet, especially as they are low in calories, virtually fat-free and help to lower cholesterol. They are rich in antioxidants, including nasunin, which not only gives the aubergine its purple hue but also helps to protect our brain cells, so that they function properly.

The aubergine is an extremely versatile vegetable; not only can it be roasted, grilled (broiled), baked, fried, pickled, stuffed and pured, it can also be transformed into healthy fries, sliders, mini pizza bases or even fakon (a smoked aubergine substitute for bacon, see ).

When the aubergine is cooked the spongy flesh softens and becomes silky and buttery in texture. It has a pleasant, mild flavour with a subtle hint of smokiness, which is enhanced by spices and herbs. Pre-salting the cut flesh tenderises it and helps to reduce its natural bitterness, while also preventing it soaking up too much oil during frying. However, as most of us lead busy lives and are always time-challenged and modern varieties of aubergines tend to be less bitter there is no need to pre-salt them unless specified in a recipe.

Aubergines have long been the major ingredient in many classic Mediterranean dishes, including baba ganoush, imam bayildi, melanzane alla parmigiana, caponata, ratatouille and moussaka.

Here we have collected recipes from around the world to create this anthology, incorporating the latest trends as well as traditional dishes. There are pickles, chutneys and curries from India, where aubergine is added to dal and stews or roasted, mashed and flavoured with spices; spicy Szechuan and sweet and sour dishes from China; green coconut curries from Thailand; and sticky miso-glazed aubergine from Japan. From the Middle East, we have Turkish, Persian, Lebanese and Israeli classic dishes, augmented with pomegranate molasses, warming spices (sumac and zaatar) and yoghurt. The Maghreb countries contribute couscous dishes and roasted salads flavoured with ras el hanout. And, of course, we have the Spanish escalivada salad, ratatouille and tian from Provence, Italian aubergine bakes and pasta sauces, and moussaka and creamy melitzanosalata from Greece.

We even have an aubergine chocolate cake. This is the ultimate cook-book for everyone who loves aubergines and wants to eat them as part of a delicious, healthy diet.