In Season: Eggplant

“It’s like a game, and it changes yearly,” she said. “You’re focused on so many different crops and doing them all well.

These days, while she hustles to harvest hundreds of pounds of tomatoes each morning before it gets too hot, she’s keeping a close eye on her beautiful eggplants and colorful peppers, which are just beginning to come in.

While everyone loves the tomatoes, she’s noticed that the eggplants draw a more select audience at the farmers markets.

“I tell you who buys the eggplant, it’s the people who really do like cooking,” Guilbeau said. “Most people know what a typical Italian eggplant looks like. When they see the other shapes and sizes and colors, they’re intrigued by it, and the first thing out of their mouth is, ‘How do I cook it?’ ”

Guilbeau starts them out easy with instructions for grilling: Slice them thick, brush with olive oil and place them on the fire. “You can’t go wrong with olive and the grill,” she said. While you’re at it, you can put some peppers on the grill for a vegetarian sandwich. “Throw in some roasted tomatoes, a little sweet onion, and yum. What time do we eat?”

You can find Paula Guilbeau’s Heirloom Gardens booth at Dunwoody Green Market (8 a.m.-noon Wednesdays, 1551 Dunwoody Village Parkway, Dunwoody) and Peachtree Road Farmers Market (8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturdays, 2744 Peachtree Road).

At local farmers markets

Arugula, beans, beets, blueberries, carrots, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, field peas, figs, garlic, greens, herbs, kale, lambsquarters, melons, okra, peaches, peppers, potatoes, summer squash, sweet potato greens, Swiss chard, tomatoes, zucchini

From farther afield

Looking good: Chilean apples, Florida avocados, Oregon and British Columbia blueberries, Wisconsin and Michigan cabbage, Indiana and Carolina cantaloupe, California corn, Georgia eggplant, California honeydews, Chilean kiwifruit, Florida okra, California and South African oranges, New Jersey peaches, Chilean and Argentine pears, New Jersey peppers, Ohio and Michigan summer squash, Mexican and Virginia cherry tomatoes, Georgia and Missouri watermelon

Coming in: Washington apricots, Peruvian asparagus, Chilean avocados, North Carolina and New York beans, New York and Colorado cabbage, Colorado cantaloupe, New York and Michigan corn, California grapes, New Jersey nectarines, Chilean oranges, Michigan peaches, California pears, Michigan peppers, North Carolina tomatoes, Delaware and Indiana watermelon

Variable quality: California artichokes, Guatemalan beans, California and Southeast blackberries, New Jersey and Michigan blueberries, Mexican radishes, California raspberries, Oregon rhubarb, California strawberries and tomatoes, Texas watermelon

From local reports, the Packer

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Arabian Chickpea-Eggplant Stew

Hands on: 45 minutes Total time: 3 hours, plus overnight Serves: 6

Although this main course requires a little planning (the dried chickpeas must be soaked overnight and the eggplant must be salted for 1 hour), it is not difficult to make, and the results are well worth the wait. The recipe is adapted from Paula Wolfert’s “The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean” (William Morrow Cookbooks, $40).

Ingredient notes: Soaked, dried chickpeas add a pleasant crunch to this dish. But if you don’t have the time or can’t find dried chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans), you could substitute 1 (15-ounce) can, drained. If you can’t find Aleppo pepper, substitute sweet paprika and add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes.

1 cup dried chickpeas

2 medium eggplants

Coarse salt

6 tablespoons olive oil, divided

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 yellow onions, halved and cut lengthwise into thin strips

10 small cloves garlic, unpeeled

1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper

3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

3 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice or cinnamon

Fresh lemon juice

Sprigs of fresh mint

Cover the chickpeas in at least 2 inches of water and soak overnight.

Remove and discard 3 vertical strips of skin from each eggplant, leaving it striped, then cut the whole eggplant into 21/2-inch chunks. Generously salt the pieces and leave to drain in a colander for at least 1 hour.

Rinse the eggplant, squeeze gently and pat dry with paper towels. In a Dutch oven or large pot with a tight-fitting lid, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Lightly fry half the eggplant until golden brown; drain. Add 2 more tablespoons oil to the pot and fry remaining eggplant; drain. Sprinkle the eggplant with black pepper and set aside.

In the same pot, warm the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and add the onions. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until limp and golden. Add the chickpeas and fry 2 minutes. Stir in the eggplant, unpeeled garlic, tomatoes and their juice, tomato paste and Aleppo pepper.

Cover tightly and cook over reduced heat without stirring 40 minutes. Carefully fold in the crushed garlic, parsley, vinegar, sugar and allspice. Season to taste with salt.

Cook 10 minutes longer, or until thickened. (At this point, the dish can be chilled up to 2 days. To serve, rewarm.) Adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper and allspice, and sharpen with a few drops of lemon juice. Remove unpeeled garlic; squeeze out inside, if you like, and add it back to stew. Garnish with mint.

Per serving: 319 calories (percent of calories from fat, 39), 15 grams protein, 40 grams carbohydrates, 15 grams fiber, 14 grams fat (2 grams saturated), no cholesterol, 187 milligrams sodium.