Mealtime treat

It’s back to food preferences this coming weekend, and one that I have been revisiting just lately is the striking purple vegetable aubergine, or is it strictly a fruit?  Either way, and a bit like the potato or tomato to which it is related, I think it is one of the most versatile.
You might know it by the alternative name, the egg plant, and depending in which part of the world you are, there are many other names.
You probably would not wish to eat it raw, but cooked, it can hold a variety of flavours, depending just what you do with it.
One of my favourites is a version of the popular dish you’ll often find in northern Italy, a sort of aubergine bake, although I call it my alternative to bruschetta — using all the same toppings like onion, garlic, mushroom and garlic as you might with bruschetta, but using sliced aubergine as the base rather than bread. A sprinkling of chopped salami or bacon, and maybe cheese adds to the flavours.
But because the flesh of the vegetable, or fruit, will absorb all of the olive oil you use in the topping, and then becomes soft with a rich texture..
Whether or not it is fits in with a diet is open to question, but then so are many recommended diet options, and I guess much depends on the object of the diet.
One thing though, not having used aubergine for some little while, it is now most refreshing to find I still enjoy it and it has become a regular part of our menus at home once again.

But when it looks like this , YUM!