Melitzanes

Melitzanes me tyria (Greek Eggplants with Cheese) is a deconstructed imam bayildi recipe I made, which however, is much lighter and healthier by roasting the eggplants and even tastier by adding peppermint and Greek cheeses, graviera and feta, which also add to the flavour.

My favourite eggplants until now were “tsakonikes” which I thought were the only ones which were sweet.   I avoided cooking with the big round purple ones, as I heard that they were bitter. I’ve been seeing white eggplants at the market place for a long time but had never tried them until recently.  When …

Glyko Melitzanaki (pr. meh-lee-tzah-NAH-kee) or Vazanaki (pr. vah-zah-NAH-kee) in Cyprus, is a fruit preserve made with baby eggplants.

Vazania, as they are called in the Cypriot dialect, (in Greece they are called melitzanes), is a simple dish made withe fried eggplants and potatoes, which are cooked, together in a tomato sauce to make them “giahni” (stewed).  This vegan dish, uses only a few ingredients, so it’s not only frugal but also very delicious.

Melitzanes Papoutsakia (pronounced pah-pou-TSA -kya) are stuffed eggplants with meat sauce, topped with a rich bechamel sauce and then baked. The word “papoutsakia” in Greek means little shoes and probably they are named after their shape.

Moussakas (pr. mouh-sah-KHAS), is a casserole of layered sautéed slices of potatoes and eggplants (in some places they also add zucchini and tomatoes), with the meat sauce (either pork or veal) in the middle layer and topped with a lush layer of béchamel sauce and myzithra or graviera cheese, baked in the oven.