Of all things Aubergine, I like baked stuffed eggplant, eggplant in a ratatouille obviously or in other vegetable stews with a Mediterranean flair. Eggplant parmigiana is OK.
I don't know about Eggplant Cheesecake though as shared in Yotam Ottolenghi's aubergine 'cheesecake' recipe (March 6) from the Guardian New Vegetarian Series.
I tried Black Pepper Ice Cream a couple of times so I am not a new traditionalist.
I did notice the Sweet Potato & Maple Ice Cream at Aubergine restaurant in Carmel: "sweet potato ice cream, yuzu
curd, peanut, blis maple syrup".
Not quite purple is The Color Aubergine Flickr page.
Wikipedia notes in its Eggplant Page that Thailand prefers it small and round and that the 3 top world producers are China, India and Egypt.
Beatrice of La Tartine Gourmande tried her hand on Eggplant in a Millefeuille (September 2006) so maybe I am a bit narrow minded after all or could the Aubergine Cheesecake be served as a main dish and all would be solved?
(* illustration from Wikipedia page)