Sautéed Turkish Orange Eggplant with Parmesan Cheese & Black Olives

I don't mind telling you I'm a little stressed these days. I have 13 or 14 working days left, and a lot to do. Meanwhile, there is no word on whether or not they've hired a replacement.

Adding to my stress were these adorable little Turkish Orange Eggplants lurking about in my crisper. They are the most heavenly little creatures I have ever seen, the color of persimmons. But they are best eaten when still green and mine were no longer green. So I knew they would be bitter.

No big deal. I can fix that.

And I did, with some success. This was, after all, a first time thing.

If you can find these eggplant at your local farm market, try this and see what you think.

Meanwhile, here's what you need to make my Sautéed Turkish Orange Eggplant with Parmesan Cheese & Black Olives:

• 3-4 Turkish eggplants, the size of tennis balls, sliced horizontally, about 1/3-inch thick
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed or diced
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt to taste
• 1/4 cup black olives, sliced
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated or shaved

Crush the garlic and set aside, After slicing the eggplant, coat the slices in egg, then bread crumbs. Set aside. Pour olive oil into a large pan, add the garlic.When the garlic begins to brown, add the coated eggplant and sauté over medium heat, turning frequently. It only takes 3 minutes or so for the eggplant to become tender. Add salt as needed; the eggplant will be slightly bitter.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve with black olives. Roasted pine nuts would be a nice addition; so would lightly sautéed tomato slices. I think some fresh basil would add interest, too. I'm not sure why I did not think of that, although as I said earlier, I'm a bit stressed these days.

The dish itself is delicious, but for all their beauty, these little eggplant have a bitter aftertaste. That would not keep me from serving this as a side dish with pasta and Italian sausage as the entrée.

Because this type of eggplant does not retain moisture the way its purple cousin does, you do not need to salt it first and set aside. But I'm guessing this step might decrease the bitterness.