Let’s give a little love to some of the lesser lights of summer.
Enough of the tomato praise, zucchini rapture and watermelon bliss, give a shout out to the eggplant, fennel and kohlrabies of the garden, collards and kales should get a hell yes! True that there are small consumer segments who travel the farmer’s markets in search of these items, and rejoice when they score a find.
But for most people these items remain a curiosity, an ingredient in a classic dish that they want to make but end up moving on from because they’ve never worked with fennel. If they buy these vegetables at all it is an impulse buy, fennel is an acquired taste, kohlrabi looks like a Sputnik with an outer skin reminiscent of a superball, eggplant is that mushy thing that is best breaded and fried with a nice tomato sauce.
Beyond those characteristics lie the true aficionados of “awkward” vegetables. Never the mainstays in the cuisine of any country they nevertheless provide diversity and exoticism to dishes that could otherwise be copies of any other dish from any other country.
Eggplant to most people means breaded and deep fried resulting in a slab of fibrous matter surrounded by a golden crust and covered in a tomato sauce. Eggplant is a member of the nightshade family, cousin to the tomato and potato it lives alongside herbs and vegetables that complement its unique flavor and texture, funny how nature sets it up that way…Probably first domesticated in Asia it spread throughout areas of early trade and was celebrated in Persian, Italian and French cooking.
The thick skinned Mediterranean variety requires peeling and soaking to take away some of the fruit’s bitterness, the Asian eggplant has a much thinner skin and softer sweeter flesh. In many recipes they are interchangeable but for that one flavor characteristic. Roasted eggplant becomes soft cubes filled with the flavors of garlic and sweet onion mixed with good olive oil and herbs. Treated this way there is no need to cover it with bread.
But if you want the experience try it roasted with olive oil garlic and onion, oregano thyme and basil and eaten on a sandwich of crust bread and fresh tomato with salt, cracked black pepper and lemon. Make your favorite tomato sauce using the same ingredients to start and adding cubes of peeled eggplant to add texture and a rich woody flavor to the sweetness of the tomato.
Grilled eggplant slices marinated in olive oil (eggplant is a sponge so be cautious on the grill as high heat will make it flame up) rosemary and sage can be tossed with grilled sausage and then stuffed in a baguette or chopped into a filling for lasagna or ravioli.
Fennel or more appropriate Florence fennel is the vegetable side of the fennel family. Related to the carrot it has the flavor of licorice and the Ayurvedic properties to aid in congestion and other ailments. A native of the Mediterranean basin it has propagated around the world and its uses are as disparate as Italian sausage (fennel seed) and absinthe.
The Sage Rabbit’s recipe for bouillabaisse utilizes chopped fennel bulb as its base. Caramelize the bulb slowly in olive oil and you will draw out more of a sweet licorice flavor that can be use in candies and gelatos.
Grilled it stands up well to meats and oily fish like tuna while being delicate enough to simmer in a fish fumet with saffron for a roasted halibut in saffron fennel nage with crisp fennel and tomato risotto.
The Sage Rabbit Bouillabaisse
1 large bulb of fennel, small diced
1onion small diced
12 cloves of garlic minced
2 ribs of celery small diced
6 sprigs of fresh thyme
6 sprigs of fresh oregano
4 cups dry white wine
1 gallon canned plum tomatoes peeled and crushed by hand
Olive oilGently heat the olive oil and add the fennel onion, garlic, and celery and sweat until translucent.
Deglaze with the white wine and bring to a simmer with the herbs. After 5 minutes of reduction add in the tomatoes, lower to a simmer again and cook for at least an hour, stirring occasionally.
Kohlrabi is by far the red headed stepchild of even this group. Picked young an eaten raw or cooked it has the mild sweet flavor of a peeled broccoli stem (quite the rage these days) It is a cultivar, meaning it is a blend of cabbages, broccoli and Brussel sprouts and maybe a few more brassica.
The skin can be eaten as can the stems when young. Sliced thin inti salads it is fresh and sweet. I pickle it using the icebox method discussed in an earlier column. Any treatment that highlights cabbage in particular will apply to kohlrabi with the advice that a quicker cook, like a stir-fry will benefit better that low and slow with bacon and onion.
Take advantage of the crisp texture, light flavor and mild cabbage-like bitterness to pair it with vegetables that balance the palate with sweetness, sour, heat and salt.
The next market trip will find an abundance of A-list vegetables, but you would be remiss if you didn’t slip some of the eccentric oddballs into your basket to provide some initial comic relief but lasting flavor profiles leaving you hungry for more.
John Foster is an executive chef who heads the culinary program at Sullivan University’s Lexington campus. A New York native, Foster has been active in the Lexington culinary scene and a promoter of local and seasonal foods for more than 20 years. The French Culinary Institute-trained chef has been the executive chef of his former restaurant, Harvest, and now his Chevy Chase eatery, The Sage Rabbit, in Lexington.
To read more from Chef John Foster, including his recipes, click here.