One of the magical and vital movements occurring in our local farming has been the slow, sure and steady revival of reclaiming the planting of heirloom varieties of plants, grains and legumes. What is magical about this practice is how it transforms and educates our palates and senses. Tasting an heirloom tomato is an entirely different experience from eating a vine-ripened tomato from Holland. It is also a visually expansive experience. Take these beautiful flame colored eggplant I came across again (I worked with them last fall as well) at Stokes Farm stand in the Union Square Farmer's on Saturday. Last year they referred to them as heirloom variety, this year they are calling them Moroccan eggplant. Either way, visually you are feeding your senses and the taste is markedly different for more familiar varieties; a little more spicy and earthy. I really wanted to work with them in a way that would preserve their natural beauty. Here is the first variation.
2T walnuts, chopped
1T sesame seeds
2T currants, roughly chopped
1 hearty clove of garlic, minced
2T shallot, minced
a generous handful of parsley leaves, roughly chopped
1T salted caper berries, roughly chopped
1T fresh thyme leaves
1/2t sumac, optional
lemon, fresh pepper and olive oil to season
Preheat the oven to 350 degress
Scoop out the seeds and a bit of the flesh from the eggplant. With small eggplant you should be mindful of not breaking the skin. In a medium bowl combine the "meat"and seeds of the eggplant with the remaining ingredients. Season and moisten with a drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon and a touch of freshly ground black pepper. Mound a spoonful of the filling into the cavity of each eggplant. Place in a shallow baking dish, drizzle with a little more olive oil and bake for 20 minutes. Serve with sauteed greens and a little crumbled goat's milk feta.
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