Living Healthy with Chef Larry Edwards: Basque Eggplant

It is never too late to start treating your body with respect and sharing with it the bounty of wonders provided to us by Mother Nature. It is never too late to stop opening boxes and cans and filling your body with chemicals and in many cases, pesticides. You only get one life, enjoy it with fresh and natural foods which will not only lengthen your life and give you good health, but have wonderful tastes. Good healthy eating is not boring and we will prove this in this new series.

So, what really, is Basque cuisine? Well, aside from being one of the world's finest cuisines, it is a mixture of French and Spanish. Since this is not a political column, I shall not go into the politics of the Basque people or their fight for statehood. Suffice to say, if you want to experience an outstanding and healthy cuisine, I would definitely recommend you check out the foods of the Basque people.

This dish, Basque Eggplant, is really much more than its title says. It is the absolute succulance of eggplant combined with with sweetness of red bell peppers, the freshness of vegetables and the slight salty and nutty taste of Parmesan cheese. It is a wonderful side dish for any entree and can be a perfect light and healthy meal on its own when served with some homemade bread and a bottle of hearty red wine.

Ingredients needed to make Basque Eggplant (serves 4):

• 1 eggplant, stem removed and sliced lengthwise
• ¼ cup butter
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup diced green beans
• ½ tsp, salt
• ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
• 4 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded and diced
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 2 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese

Steps:

1. Pre-heat broiler.

2. Place the sliced eggplant in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Weight down the eggplant with a bag of rice or popcorn kernels and let drain 30 minutes.
3. In a medium sauté pan or skillet melt the butter over medium heat. Add the carrots, onion, green beans, salt and pepper and sauté 10 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes and red bell pepper and cook 5 minutes.
5. Remove the eggplant and pat dry. Brush each piece with the olive oil and place on a broiling pan or cookie sheet.
6. Place in broiler and broil 5 minutes per side.
7. Place the eggplant on a serving platter.
8. Spoon the tomato mixture over the eggplant, sprinkle with the cheese and serve.

Chef's Note: The reason you are salting the eggplant and letting it drain is that this will greatly reduce the bitterness of the fruit. You only have to do this with American eggplant and not the Asian varieties. A wonderful hint for buying the best eggplant: Look for a firm, full fruit with the dark shiny purple skin.

** Inside Google calls Chef Larry Edwards "quite possibly the most popular Chef in the world" and now you can find out what Chef Larry Edwards has coming up in the kitchen, on the road, in the restaurants and in the media by joining him on Facebook where the Chef's snarky personality and often controversial comments are always sure to cause a stir!