Royal Purple Eggplant Pie

Shiny, purple eggplants that you see in your markets or grow in the garden make excellent hearty pies. Select a vegetable that’s firm and heavy for its size. Make sure it’s a uniform dark color, free of blemishes (when egg-plant ages, it sometimes shrivels and develops a bitter taste).

You need not peel the vegetable for our recipe. Just wash and cut it in cubes. The seasonings suggest dishes popular along Mediterranean shores or in our States bordering the Gulf of Mexico. It’s a pie that cuts nicely and adds to the prestige of a vegetable too often neglected in farm kitchens.