Food

  Well this week's tip is going to be with Graffiti eggplant. Look, that's why it's called Graffiti eggplant; take a look at this. It looks like someone has put graffiti on these with a white marking pen throughout the purple eggplant.

I love Graffiti eggplant. Alright… it tastes the same as regular eggplant—white eggplant is a little bit milder—but the purple eggplant and the Graffiti eggplant's properties are about the same, selection about the same.

You want to make sure the colors are nice and bright all the way around; the purple, a dark purple, and the white, a bright white. The tips have to be nice and green all the way through just like this, and the lighter the eggplant the better. That means it's free from any seeds whatsoever, and it's going to be sweet, not bitter.

When I did a tip on regular eggplant, I got an e-mail from a viewer asking what about Graffiti eggplant? Well, it's just about the same; it just looks different and let me tell you, I like how it looks. I think it is absolutely beautiful and when something looks good, it even tastes better in your mind.

There ya go…Graffiti eggplant, go out and enjoy it when you see it out in the market, but when you buy them and bring them home, only hold 'em for two to three days at the most, and that's it.
Mix them with white eggplant and what a feast for the eyes along with a feast for the palate.

Eggplant Pizza
Making regular pizza from scratch isn't hard, it's just time consuming because you have to knead the dough and wait for it to rise. With rapid-rising yeast you can make the dough and let it rise while you prepare the toppings.
Serves 2 to 4

2¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 package quick-rising yeast such as Rapid-Rise from Fleischmann's
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup barely hot water at 125°F to 130°F
Olive oil cooking spray
1 medium eggplant, about 1 pound
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 medium tomatoes or 3 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Turn on broiler. Put 2 cups of flour, yeast, sugar, and half the salt in the bowl of a food processor. With the motor running, add olive oil and ¾ cup of the water. Add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough forms a ball. Continue processing another 30 seconds to knead.

2. Spray a bowl with olive oil cooking spray and put dough in it. Spray again and cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Set bowl in a warm, draft-free place. (If mixing by hand, knead dough about 10 minutes before setting aside.)

3. While dough rises trim (but don't peel) eggplant. Cut into ¼ -inch-thick slices. Spray a baking sheet that will fit inside the broiler with olive oil cooking spray. Put eggplant slices on the tray and spray the tops. Put in the broiler and brown, about 5 minutes. Turn and brown other side. Remove from oven and reduce heat to 500°F. Sprinkle eggplant with half the remaining salt and half the pepper.

4. After the dough has doubled in size (20 minutes or more), punch down and roll out the dough on a work surface dusted with remaining flour. Dough should be 14 inches in diameter for a thin-crust pizza, about 12 inches for a thicker pizza. Place on a pizza stone, pizza pan, or on the back of a baking sheet. Top with eggplant, then tomato slices. Sprinkle tomato with basil, remaining salt, and pepper. Spray edges with olive oil cooking spray.

5. Bake 12 to 15 minutes for thin-crust pizza, adding cheese halfway through. Add 3 to 5 minutes for thicker pizza. Pizza should be crisp and nicely browned underneath.