Eggplant, Marseillaise

Cut three small eggplants in halves, lengthwise, and slash the meat in opposite directions without cutting through to the skin. Put, cut side down in a kettle of hot fat and let fry ten minutes. lift from the fat and set, cut side down, on soft paper to drain five or six minutes. Scoop out all the pulp and cut into small cubes, or chop rather coarse. Melt a tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan; add a small onion, chopped fine, and let cook, stirring constantly, three or four minutes, then add the eggplant. Peel two fresh tomatoes, cut in halves, and discard the seeds; chop the pulp and add to the eggplant. Add also a teaspoonful of salt, a scant teaspoonful of paprika, a teaspoonful of fine-chopped parsley and half a bean of garlic, chopped exceedingly fine. Mix thoroughly and let cook fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally, then add a cup of soft bread crumbs; mix well and turn into a buttered dish (the eggplant skins may be used for this purpose), cover with two-thirds a cup of cracker crumbs mixed with one-third a cup of melted butter. Bake until the crumbs are well browned.

Eggplant, Provensale

Same as above, except add half a cup of chopped mushrooms, and one egg, beaten light, and substitute half a cup of tomato sauce for the raw tomato,

Scalloped Eggplant

Cut the eggplant into slices half an inch thick. Pare off the skin and cut the slices in cubes. Put these over the fire in boiling, salted water, to cook about twenty minutes. Drain the cubes and dry them on a cloth. Put a layer of cubes in a buttered baking dish, sprinkle with salt and a little fine-chopped, sweet green or red pepper pod; add also a few cracker or bread crumbs, mixed with melted butter; continue the layers until the eggplant is used, having the last layer of buttered crumbs. Turn cream into the dish until it can be seen through the crumbs, then cover and bake half an hour. Remove the cover, to brown the crumbs. Serve from the baking dish.

Eggplant Au Gratin

Peel an eggplant, and cut it into half-inch slices. Sprinkle the slices lightly with salt, and set them aside for a time (to draw out the moisture), then press them lightly, and dry on a cloth. Dredge or roll the slices in flour, then fry - first on one side and then on the other - in a little hot butter. Melt two tablespoonfuls of butter. Add three table-spoonfuls of flour, half a teaspoonful of salt, and a dash of pepper. Let cook until frothy, then add a cup of white stock and half a cup of well-reduced tomato puree. Stir until the boiling-point is reached, then add about one-third a cup of cream. Spread a layer of sauce upon a buttered au gratin dish, sprinkle the sauce with grated Parmesan cheese, and upon this dispose a layer of eggplant, add sauce and cheese, then eggplant until all are used. Have the last layer of sauce and cheese. Spread with buttered crumbs (one cup of crumbs, one-third a cup of melted butter) and set into the oven to brown the crumbs.

Stuffed Eggplant

Cut the eggplant in halves, and cook slowly in boiling water about thirty minutes. Drain carefully, then scoop out the center from each half to leave a wall half an inch thick. Chop fine the portion taken from the eggplant. Add a tablespoonful, each, of fine-chopped parsley and green pepper pod, a cup of fine-chopped, cooked chicken or veal, a teaspoonful of salt, paprika to taste, half a cup of tomato puree or a raw tomato, chopped fine, and one-fourth a cup of soft bread crumbs, moistened with two table-spoonfuls of melted butter. Mix all together thoroughly, adding tomato or bread crumbs as is needed to give a good consistency. Fill the shells with the mixture. Cover the tops with cracker crumbs mixed with melted butter, and bake about twenty minutes.

Eggplant Fried In Batter

Cut the eggplant in halves, lengthwise, then cut in slices half an inch thick. Pare off the purple skin, then dip the slices in batter, and fry to a golden brown in deep fat. Often the slices are sprinkled with salt and piled one above another to stand for an hour. This draws out moisture, which must be removed with a cloth before the slices are dipped in the batter. If preferred, the slices may be egged-andcrumbed. They may also be sauted instead of fried after being dipped in batter or egged-and-crumbed.