Eggplant

Makedonitiki Melitzanosalata Editor's note: The recipe below is excerpted from Diane Kochilas's book The Greek Vegetarian. Kochilas also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Kochilas and Greek cuisine, click here.

Heat the pizza stone and prepare the eggplant and other pizza toppings in this recipe while the pizza dough is rising.

The trick: Roast on paper.
Cooking on parchment, a nearly indestructible cooking paper, removes the need for most of the oil. The paper's waxy surface keeps food from sticking. "We can replicate a pan-fried finish by roasting anything on parchment," says Steve Pernetti, executive chef at Cal-a-Vie in Vista, California. Pernetti's Parchment-Roasted Vegetables offer C, A, folate, potassium, and calcium.

The health benefits: Tofu is a great source of iron (37 percent of the RDA in 1/2 cup), calcium (43 percent), and protein (21 percent). Eggplant has fiber, vitamin A, and potassium.

The health benefits: nearly a fifth of the RDA for vitamin C in 1/2 cup raw cabbage; magnesium from the zucchini; eggplant offers fiber.

This spicy stew is no garden-variety meal. Healthy eating is easy when Mother Nature cranks out plenty of nutrient-packed produce. Chef Shawn McClain of Chicago's Spring restaurant created a vegetarian dish using a variety of veggies in a tagine, a flavorful Moroccan stew. We can't think of a tastier way to help get your five-a-day.

To round out the meal: 1 cup lowfat pudding

Slow-cooking these colorful vegetables renders them soft and silky. And serving them Mediterranean-style — at room temperature — makes entertaining easy, because you don't have to run back and forth between the table and the kitchen.

The components of these sandwiches are relatively straightforward, but the results are a revelation. And with gooey melted cheese, tender slabs of eggplant, and a bright tomato-parsley salsa, they're a wonderful main course option for vegetarians and meat eaters alike.

This Mediterranean dish can be served with bread or crackers as a meze (appetizer), and it's also great as a sandwich filling.

The eggplant and garlic in this recipe are roasted until they are so soft, they create a spread that nearly melts into the crisp slices of baguette.

Persian in origin, this soufflé is wonderfully airy, and the eggplant is infused with garlic and lemon. Think of it as a warm, puffy baba ghanouj.

These satisfying tarts may incite "vegetarian envy" in your meat-eating guests. The recipe makes 4 sizable main-course portions, but the tarts could be halved (or even quartered) to serve as a side dish. Either way, they are delicious with the roasted mushroom and barley gravy.

Called thiebou djenne, this national dish of Senegal is traditionally eaten from a communal platter. The hostess divides the fish and vegetables onto a portion of rice for each person. In Senegal, the cook would most likely use whatever fresh whole fish was available, so any 1-pound (12-inch-long) white-fleshed fish you can find will do. If you live in an area where there are African markets and you like funkier flavors, look for dried fish such as stockfish to add as well — it lends an authentic smokiness. Be forewarned, however, that many find dried fish (distinct from salt cod) a decidedly acquired taste.

Ultra-creamy Fontina cheese and a layer of black-olive tapenade give this an unctuous, satisfying quality that is usually missing from other veggie pizzas. What to drink: Dry rosé or a spicy Rhône-style red.

Make this Turkish-inspired side dish into a light summer main course by adding grilled shrimp or chicken or by simply sprinkling with goat cheese. What to drink: Assyrtiko (a white varietal from Greece), Pinot Grigio, or Sauvignon Blanc.

Doris Jacobson of Anaheim, California, writes: "I host many family gatherings, and I always get requests for my lemon bars and my caponata appetizer. They're easy to make and perfect for picnics at the beach or an evening at the Hollywood Bowl. Plus, both recipes can be made ahead. Fresh basil brightens up this traditional eggplant spread. Serve it on baguette slices or crackers.

It may appear very oily at first, but this dish comes together in the end without being the least bit heavy. We realize that not everyone will have 3 colanders on hand. You can also toss the vegetables with salt and let them drain in large bowls.

Greeks call puréed split peas fava, not to be confused with what we call fava beans. The combination of puréed split peas and honey-kissed eggplant compote makes for a very comforting dish.