Aubergines really are a most beautiful… are they vegetables, are they technically or actually fruit? I’ve just checked, and yes it’s a fruit in the solanum family – but wait! Isn’t deadly nightshade also a member of that family? I’ve checked on that too and yes, they are related, but I think they are probably distant cousins rather than the sort to be invited to weddings, christenings or funerals – funerals?? Let me get back to aubergines. They are also known as eggplants (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggplant) and they are the most gorgeous looking fruit, deep purple and glossy, with a smooth shiny skin. I would guess that few people would say that although they are an important ingredient of many dishes, they in themselves are not very interesting, and maybe even not very nice unless perked up with spices and seasoning. They do absorb fat when fried and can be somewhat greasy, but I am very fond of them and will often choose a dish with them if I see it on a menu.
Apparently aubergines found their way to British kitchens five hundred years ago, but I’m pretty sure they weren’t widely known or even recognised. However these days we have access to fruits, vegetables and produce from across the world, and aubergines can be seen in their purple magnificence in most shops which have a green grocery section. To find more varieties, there are plenty of shops which cater to people whose traditional recipes come from other countries.
The recipe I’m looking at comes from “Good Housekeeping Colour Cookery”; I’m not sure of the date of my copy but it was originally published in 1967. The recipe I have chosen is interesting, not just because it’s an old recipe for aubergine, but because the other main ingredient is something which I’m sure you would be hard pressed to find unless you had access too a traditional butcher or butchery department – tongue. The recipe specifies ‘cooked tongue‘ – most tongue you’d find today would be cooked and pressed, I made a little joke about being ‘hard pressed‘ but it was a very feeble joke!
Aubergines with Tongue
3 small aubergines, cut into small dice
6 tbsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic, chopped
4 tbsp chopped parsley
2 thick slices of cooked tongue, diced
2 red peppers, cut in strips
lemon and oil dressing (2-3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp lemon juice, pepper and salt, mixed)
1. sauté the aubergine dice in the oil
2. add the garlic and parsley
3. add the tongue and peppers
4. toss in the lemon and oil dressing
The recipe is exactly as I’ve copied it, but there does seem rather a lot of of oil (8-9 tbsp) so i would be inclined to use less, and maybe briefly drain the fried aubergine on kitchen paper. I would maybe just add a couple of squeezes of lemon juice, rather than make a dressing. Maybe i should try making this and report back!!
