Aubergine

Yesterday I rediscovered an old, red cloth-bound cookbook entitled The Seasonal Kitchen by Perla Meyers, published 1973. I took this book to a comfortable seat in the sunshine and opened up to the basics of buying (or growing) and using herbs, fruits, vegetables and cheese.

I'm sure I've had eggplant cubed or mashed up in some Italian dish, but I was really interested in frying up some eggplant as described in Meyers's "Eggplant à la Basquaise." So today, I sliced and dried salted eggplant disks for a few hours, then browned them in olive oil. Lightly browned onions, mashed garlic and sliced tomatoes comprise the sauce, seasoned with fresh basil and thyme. I omitted the anchovy portions. The Basque kiss: Manchego cheese and white pepper. Délicieuse!