Aubergines

The Arabs brought aubergines (eggplant) from India to Spain, Portugal, southern France and southern Italy in the fifteenth century. These purple, shiny, long vegetables are excellent when salted and rinsed to remove bitterness, fried in olive oil and mashed; or braised or stuffed or baked in the oven. The Moroccans make deliciously rich appetizer salads out of them, dressed with a chopped garlic, onion, parsley and fresh green coriander dressing. And they use a combination of sliced sautéed aubergines (eggplant) and hot green pepper to dress up fried fish in the street food stalls.