A Simple Eggplant Dinner

We stayed outside until dark the other day, sitting on the stoop in the garden, letting the dusk settle around us, feeling the heat dissipate, listening to the crickets start their evening song.

Then we realized we hadn't eaten dinner.

Fortunately I had picked a couple of eggplants, and I cooked them up with tomatoes, tofu and mint for a light yet satisfying meal. The fresh mint really enhanced this dish, giving it a perkiness that basil or oregano would not have done.

Tofu is a good quick protein source. Slice off a couple of pieces and fry them for a few minutes on each side. It doesn't get easier than that. Always buy organic tofu -- the non-organic kind is probably made from genetically-modified soybeans.

I used a can of diced tomatoes, but 2 cups of fresh ones would have been great too. (Although then the decision of to peel or not to peel comes into play, and it was still too hot in the kitchen to think about peeling tomatoes.)

The spice combination comes from Marie Simmons in her book Fresh & Fast Vegetarian. Her recipe was a little more complicated than this, but the spice combo is a winner.

I cooked the tomatoes in a stainless steel skillet and then added them to the eggplant and tofu in my cast iron frypan. While it's not recommended to cook acid foods like tomatoes in cast iron because they break down the surface of the pan, 10-15 minutes does no harm. I figure a little cast iron in my food is not a bad thing anyway.

I used a long white eggplant -- Doughboy -- and a round fat one -- the label has disappeared, but I think it's an Italian one. I didn't salt and drain them. I just sliced them and added them to the pan. An advantage of using cast iron is I could use just a little oil, and then let the eggplant sear in the hot pan after they'd absorbed the oil.

Quick and delicious. It doesn't get much better than that.

Eggplant Tofu with Mint
14-oz can tomatoes
1 tsp curry powder
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp salt
sprinkle of hot chile pepper flakes
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
3/4 lb eggplant, sliced in 1/2 inch rings1 tbsp oil
2 1/2-inch slabs of tofu

Combine the tomatoes, curry powder, garlic, ginger, cinnamon stick, salt and chile pepper flakes in a saucepan and cook until warm and thickened. Stir in 1 tbsp mint.

Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the eggplant and cook about 5 minutes until lightly browned. Turn the eggplant slices over and cook another 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Wrap the tofu in a folded dish towel and press it with your palm for 30 seconds to squeeze out extra moisture.

Put the tofu in the hot pan, adding a little more oil if necessary. The tofu should sizzle for about 3 minutes. Turn it over and cook another 3 minutes.

Add the eggplant and tomato sauce to the pan with the tofu. Stir together and let cook until warm.

Sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of mint and serve.

Serves 2