Get in on late-season eggplant while you can — try these simple, comforting recipes

Though the rest of the country may get a head start on hearty, comforting cold-weather soups and stews, I love that “summer” produce sticks around longer here in Southern California. Case in point is my latest recipe for Eggplant Bourguignon, which combines the traditional stew’s warming soulfulness with tender summery eggplant.

The recipe was inspired by a meal I had at Septime in Paris back in July — stewed eggplant coated in a rich chicken-y brown sauce adorned with tiny mushrooms and strips of cured ham. Ironically, it brought me back to life in the middle of the notorious heat wave.

It was clear to me (thanks, French culinary school training) that this was a Bourguignon-style preparation, but the eggplant made it wonderfully light for such a hot day. It made me excited to try and re-create it back home in L.A..

Developing that Bourguignon stew with eggplant also got me thinking about all the other fantastic eggplant dishes that are perfect for this time of year.

My friend Susan Vu has a quick recipe for Roasted Eggplant With Cheater Sichuan-Style Pork that makes quick work of the traditionally long-simmered pork sauce. It’s the perfect accompaniment for roasted, soft Japanese eggplants.

I use similarly tender and small Chinese eggplants for my Seared Eggplant With Spicy Glazed Peanuts. A 10-minute stir-fry chars the eggplants and cooks them until silky inside. While they rest, I cook up scallions and ginger with peanuts, honey and chile flakes for a flavorful sauce to spoon over the top. Serve it with rice, and dinner is done in under 45 minutes.

Brandon Jew of Mister Jiu’s in San Francisco also uses Chinese eggplants for his Taiwanese-Style Eggplant. It’s a bit of a project — Jew brines, then deep-fries the eggplant pieces — but it’s very much worth it. The incredibly smooth-textured eggplants are tossed in a glaze of Fresno chiles, garlic and oyster sauce until shellacked and packed with flavor.

And for a fried-and-stewed eggplant dish, I love Hasiba’s Honeyed Marinated Eggplant. The marinade coats the soft eggplant in a sweet and sour mixture of honey with balsamic and sherry vinegars, chilled in the refrigerator for hours so all the flavors and juices can marry.

Seared Eggplant With Spicy Glazed Peanuts

Glazed peanuts are a versatile topping to shower over virtually any steamed or roasted vegetable, particularly broccoli, cauliflower or carrots. Here you can use tender Japanese eggplant, but you’ll need twice as many for this recipe since they’re half the size of Chinese eggplant. And if you can’t eat peanuts, cashews or almonds would make a great substitute.
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Cook time: 25 minutes.

(Silvia Razgova / For The Times)

Eggplant Bourguignon

Inspired by the classic French dish, large chunks of eggplant stand in for beef chuck in this vegan iteration. Use any kind of fresh and dried mushrooms that you can find and like; they all work well here. And search for smaller, narrower Japanese, Chinese or Fairy Tale eggplants.
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Cook time: 1 hour 45 minutes.

(Katrina Frederick / For The Times)

Roasted Eggplant With Cheater Sichuan-Style Pork

Chile crisp and mushroom-flavored soy sauce add umami and depth to ground pork for a faster spin on Sichuan pork sauce. Served over eggplant, the contrasts of textures and flavors balance each other beautifully.
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Cook time: 45 minutes.

(Lindsay Kreighbaum / For The Times)

Taiwanese-Style Eggplant

During frying, the water from brining the eggplant turns to steam and makes the eggplant creamy and not at all oily. Oyster sauce, soy sauce and garlic are cooked with the eggplant to glaze it with tons of flavor.
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Cook time: 25 minutes, plus 1 hour brining.

(Pete Lee)

Hasiba’s Honeyed Marinated Eggplant

Chefs Or Amsalam and Alexander Phaneuf of cult hummus joint Hasiba serve this must-order marinated eggplant dish. Their recipe combines silky texture, puckery tartness and richness (courtesy of olive oil) in every bite.
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Cook time: 45 minutes.