Prep time 10 min cook time 5 min
Fairy eggplants are the sweetest and most delicate variety of eggplant. These tiny beauties, palm-sized and streaked with purple and white, are a dream to cook— they’re so tender and creamy and they’re never seedy or bitter.
You can choose to grill them but they are so small 
that they can quickly dry up under a hot grill and is not the best way to make use of their flavor and texture.
This is my grandmother’s recipe for a dish she served in Cairo where I grew up. She usually had a plateful lying around her side board and we usually grazed on them throughout the day, usually in a pita bread pocket.
Seasoned with fresh garlic, parsley and cilantro and dressed with lemon juice, red wine vinegar and olive oil it is a quick and simple way to get the best out of these little gems.
Use the dish as an appetizer, as a side dish with grilled meat or as part of a mezze or tapas style dinner with a selection of cold cuts, olives and other salads like a roasted red pepper salad.
Seasoned Fairy Eggplants
by
Derek Farwagi
Equipment
- a small bowl for the crushed garlic, a serving plate for the aubergines
Ingredients
- ½ tspn Salt
- 12 Fairy Eggplants
- 4-6 Garlic cloves, crushed
- ½ cup Italian Flat leaf parsely
- ½ cup Fresh cilantro
- 1 tbsp Red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- a palmful coarsely chopped walnuts or pistachios (optional)
Instructions
- Bring a quart of water to a boil and add a teaspoon of salt
- Wash the eggplants and with the stems still on, slit them down the center.
- Boil eggplants till they soften and are cooked - about 7-10 minutes (depending on their size). Drain and plate on a serving platter.
- While the eggplants are cooling, coarsely chop the parsley and cilantro.
- Crush the garlic cloves into a small bowl.
- With the tip of a knife or small spoon, spread a little garlic along the slit on the eggplants. ( you need very little garlic.
- Stuff each eggplant with a mix of chopped cilantro, parsley and nuts (if using).
- Drizzle vinegar and oil and serve at room temperature.
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