Zucchini, Tomatoes, Eggplant

Recipe

Summer may be over, but summer gardens still have a little bit of life left in them. Early fall harvests will not yield as much as peak summer months, but who can argue with an extended season of fresh produce? Typically, as long as the daytime temperatures stay above 60 degrees Fahrenheit, the summer plants will continue to bear.

So, prepare to enjoy more green zucchini, tomatoes, and eggplant.

Despite the insistent opinion of some that these foods are vegetables, all three of them are actually savory fruits. Why? A fruit is the edible part of a plant that contains the seeds, while a vegetable is the edible stems, leaves, and roots of a plant.

Zucchini

The zucchini is actually an immature fruit --- the swollen ovary of the female zucchini flower. It’s easy to grow in temperate climates, thus producing an abundant crop; lucky for us, as the zucchini is so versatile: perfect for baking, boiling, stuffing, grilling, frying, and even incorporated into sweet breads and cakes.

Zucchini are low in calories, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium, and are a good source of niacin, fiber, manganese, magnesium, folate, and Vitamins A, C, K, and B6. Be sure to keep the skin on zucchini, it is where most of the nutrients are found.

When: Early spring through early fall.

What to look for: Choose zucchini that are firm and have dark green skin. Despite the common assumption that bigger is better, the most flavorful are small to medium in size.

Storage: Store in the refrigerator or at cool room temperature for no more than three days. The high water content of zucchini makes them a poor candidate for freezing.

Eggplant

Named because of their egg shape (Who’d have thought?), the first eggplants in this country were purely ornamental. The two most familiar varieties of eggplant familiar are the Black Beauty — with the classic deep purple skin and white flesh, and the large, deep purple, pear-shaped Western, or oval eggplant.

Low in calories, fat, and sodium, eggplant is an excellent source of potassium, high in fiber, folic acid, copper, magnesium and vitamins B6 and A. And Preserve the eggplants lo-cal status by cooking in broth, wine, or vegetable juice for flavor, instead of oil.

Eggplants are commonly stuffed, baked, sautéed, and grilled. By removing some or all of the skin, or even soaking the slices or cubes in water prior to cooking, you’ll cut down on bitterness.

When: July through October

What to look for: Choose firm and shiny fruit, dark in color, and medium in size.

Storage: Will keep for about a week loosely wrapped in a perforated plastic bag, and stored in the refrigerator or a cool pantry. To freeze eggplant: cut in slices or cubes blanch or steam then freeze. Will keep for six to eight months frozen.

Tomatoes

More than 60 million tons of the world’s most popular fruit are produced each year. While there are thousands of varieties of tomatoes, the most popular are the plum, cherry, and slicing tomatoes.

Rich in Vitamins A, C and K, fiber, potassium, and calcium, tomatoes are also cholesterol free. They’re a good source of lycopene – just as the back of a Heinz bottle will tell you - a phytonutrient with antioxidant properties known to have cancer-preventing qualities. Tomatoes have a subtly sweet taste which is balanced by slightly bitter and acidic flavors. Cooking tames the acidic and bitter flavors, making the rich, sweet flavors more pronounced.

Vine ripened tomatoes are best, but it is possible to ripen tomatoes once they come off of the vine. To ripen green tomatoes, place them in a paper bag and put in a dark place: the warm air trapped inside the paper bag is what ripens the tomatoes. Late in the season, foliage is often cut away from the plants to reveal the green tomatoes to the sunlight, and just like paper bag trick, it is the heat from the sun that ripens the tomatoes. Late season fried green tomatoes are a treat.

When: Early June through the end of November, peaking from July through September.

What to look for: Tomatoes should be soft, heavy, and free of bruises or blemishes. Look for the reddest and the most aromatic, which indicate ripeness.

Storage: Wash and dry before storing at room temperature. To keep for over a week, store them in the refrigerator, but cold temperatures typically diminish the flavor in tomatoes. Fresh picked tomatoes will last longer on the counter then store-bought fruit.

Why not use all three together? Here’s a recipe:

Ratatouille

For 4-6 as a side dish

1 Spanish onion, peeled, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
4 tbs olive oil divided
1 large eggplant, peeled, diced
2 green zucchini, halved and sliced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 large tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded, chopped
1 tbs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 small lemon washed, thinly sliced
Oil for sautéing

In a pot large enough to hold all ingredients, sauté onion in olive oil until softened. Add the garlic and sauté for a few more minutes. Add the eggplant and brown on all sides.

Sauté the remaining fruits and vegetables separately in olive oil until they are softened.

Combine all the cooked fruits and vegetables into one pot, season with thyme, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and slices of lemon. Cover, and cook for fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Kayla Calabro is a senior studying Culinary Arts at Drexel University and pursuing her love of creating specialty cakes.

Recipe photo from naotakem via Flickr (Creative Commons), Article photos by tacomabibelot, Wally Hartshorn, and Muffet via Flickr (Creative Commons), "Plate" photograph from FoodCollection/Getty Images.