Summertime is eggplant season. But what should you do with this seasonal nightshade?

Evan Algorri, the chef/owner of two Melrose Hill spots, Café Telegrama and Italian restaurant Ètra, likes to use it in a classic Sicilian caponata.

He also makes a more ambitious eggplant terrine. He cuts the vegetable into slices, fries them, drains them, and places them in a non-stick terrine, which he layers with reduced pomodoro sauce and basil "for some ribbons of green throughout," Evan says. He bakes it and chills it, letting it set it overnight. He then presses it, slices it, and either serves at room temperature in a silky pomodoro sauce he makes with the flesh of the eggplant (he says it's "like a dairy free vodka sauce") or he sprinkles some breadcrumbs on top and brulees it in the oven.

Gillian Ferguson, Good Food's farmers market correspondent, interviews chef Evan Algorri of Ètra. Photo by Laryl Garcia/KCRW

He describes eggplant as a "really versatile dish and ingredient for the height of summer." He buys his eggplant from farmer Michael Her of Her Produce in Fresno, where they're focusing on growing Chinese eggplant right now.

"It's a nice, dark, deep purple color. It's going to be very elongated compared to a bell that everyone's more familiar with," Michael says.

At Ètra, chef Evan Algorri layers eggplant with pomodoro sauce and basil to make a summer terrine. Photo by Evan Algorri.

But there's a big difference between the fresh eggplant you get at farmers markets and the ones you'll find sitting on grocery store shelves.

"Some customers come to the farmers market and they'll touch and they're like, 'Why is it so firm? What's wrong with it?'" Michael says. "And we're like, it's just fresh. There's nothing wrong with this. So many people are not familiar with how fresh things can be."

An array of dishes at Ètra. Photo by Danielle G. Adams.