Eggplant
Many older recipes call for
salting raw eggplant before
cooking it to temper the
vegetable's tendency toward
bitterness. These days the
bitterness has largely been bred
out, but salting eggplant is still a
good way to reduce the amount
of oil that this versatile
vegetable absorbs. For even
more aroma and herbaceous
flavor, add fresh mint and
cilantro leaves to the basil
for garnish.