Saturday, August 14, 2010

A Fairy Tale: Eggplants as Art

I love when I find an artist hiding in plain sight. I was at the farmer's market this morning (it was packed!) and I couldn't believe my eyes when the significant crowd shifted and I caught sight of this table.

I was mesmerized by the layers of purple vegetables and the simple bucket of flowers that complimented it all so well. This person knows how to make a display! I walked up and said, "Tell me everything."

A sweet twenty-something girl told me that the small vegetables were "Fairy Tale" eggplants. She said that she and her colleagues argued often about best preparation of them. She likes them baked, her boss likes them sliced & sauted and another guy has a roasting method. At that point, "pro-roasting" guy took over and said that all I needed was to prick them with a fork, and dress them lightly in herbs de provence and olive oil and then roast.

He ended his cooking instructions with "Oh, I could just eat them right now!" In my book, that kind of enthusiasm is gold and I bought some on the spot. I am sure they'll be delicious (dinner tomorrow!), but I am telling you now in case you can get to the market and have them for your Sunday dinner too.

1 comment:

Anne Reeves said...

Follow up - Okay, I roasted them and they were very nice. No spectacular, but nice for a change. Note: Purple turns to brown in oven, so don't plan on serving these to guests. - Anne