Vividly coloured, aubergines come in many different shapes and flavours: among the round varieties are the Murcia aubergine, the violetta di Firenze and the monstrous of New York, all delicate and well suited to cooking in slices. The violetta lunga palermitana and the Slim Jim, elongated and peppery, are instead perfect diced or stuffed.

How to prepare aubergines

The flesh of aubergines, firm and white, has a slightly bitter taste and turns brown shortly after cutting: to prevent this and to soften the flavour, it is enough to soak it sliced in salted water for an hour. When it is needed whole, it should be pre-cooked in the oven for a quarter of an hour or blanched in salted water for a few minutes and stuffed only afterwards.

The properties of aubergines

A staple of southern cuisine, the aubergine is rich in water and low in sugar. It is packed with mineral salts and vitamin C, but its true wealth lies in its preventive and therapeutic virtues.

It is essential to eat it with the skin on: it contains a substance capable of increasing the amount of bile, lowering cholesterol, protecting the liver and aiding digestion. It is also a natural fat-burner, making it the perfect companion to fatty foods. The popular aubergine parmigiana, rich in cheeses and oil, therefore gets the green light — offset as it is by the violet vegetable.