Eggplant- What do I do with it? page

[naiadknight]

I've had eggplant once in my life. It was boiled to an inch of it's life and it tasted and felt like wet sand. I want to give it another fair shot, so I've purchased a standard purple eggplant.
What would you recommend for a recipe where I can taste the eggplant but have a decent texture, etc? I'm not eating any dairy except butter and I can't eat melons or papaya. Everything else is fair game, spice is no object.

[MetalMayhem]

I am wondering the same thing. Currently I really like to just slice it into circles and bake as is. Love the taste of em just like that. Pretty sweet.

[goodangels]

1. You can grill it on the BBQ slathered in olive oil and italian herbs (you won't believe it's ability to absorb oil!): Grilled Eggplant recipe - Quick & Easy - Canadian Living

2. You can make baba ghanouj (middle eastern dip): http://paleomiddleeastern.blog.com/2...o-with-tahini/ (I love this so much I don't even use it as a dip, I just eat it out of the bowl with a spoon!)

Great stuff! Enjoy!

[warrdogg]

Growing up in an Italian family we ate eggplant all the time. IMO it tastes best brushed with olive oil and grilled.

Slice it 1/2" rounds. Put some salt on it and let it stand for 15-20 mins. There will be a lot of liquid that will appear. Brush it off with a paper towel. Brush both sides with olive oil. I like to top it off with pasta sauce and a bit of cheese like mozzarella or provolone (or leave it off if you don't do dairy), sausage, etc, like a mini pizza. Bake it for 10 minutes or so.

I like to slice it lengthwise and grill it on the outdoor grill. It also tastes good when you throw it into a stirfry too.

[Greensprout]

Growing up in an Italian family we ate eggplant all the time. IMO it tastes best brushed with olive oil and grilled.

Slice it 1/2" rounds. Put some salt on it and let it stand for 15-20 mins. There will be a lot of liquid that will appear. Brush it off with a paper towel. Brush both sides with olive oil. I like to top it off with pasta sauce and a bit of cheese like mozzarella or provolone (or leave it off if you don't do dairy), sausage, etc, like a mini pizza. Bake it for 10 minutes or so.

I like to slice it lengthwise and grill it on the outdoor grill. It also tastes good when you throw it into a stirfry too.

What (s)he said.

Grilled is awesome. Broiled almost as good. Cut into chunks and stirfried until tendercrisp is also quite nice. I've also cubed it with assorted other veg like peppers, onions, mushrooms into a grill pan on the BBQ and sort of stirfry/grilled it there with salt/pepper/herbs of choice and it's amazing that way too.

[peril]

Ratatouille

[Bissen]

Shame you don't do dairy... It's good cut in slices, roasted/grilled with parmesan cheese (if you grill the cheese too, it gets crunchy!)

Oh well, maybe cut in slices, fried in an egg mix with herbs?

[lucyh]

Just in case the previous three posters didn't convince you, grilled eggplant is delicious! I have a couple in the fridge that will be getting this treatment soon. Douse thick slices in olive oil and season with salt and whatever else you might like and grill until they are soft. I often grill ribbons or wide, diagonal slices of zucchini at the same time. They used to be my favorite homemade pizza toppings, but a grilled vegetable salad is just as good.

[breadsauce]

One of my absolute favourite 1st courses is eggplant (aubergine) pizzas. Slice into quarter inch slices, brush on both sides with olive oil and put on a baking tray, then cook for about 15 minutes in a hot oven - until it is softening, then take out of the oven and allow to cool.

Meanwhile make a tomato sauce with onions, tinned tomato, finely cubed celery, garlic, oregano - any good strong flavours. Simmer until soft and amalgamated and thickening. Salt and paper to taste and allow to cool.

Next, put teaspoons of the sauce onto the slices of aubergine, spread the sauce out, put a piece of anchovy (tinned, in extra virgin olive oil for preference) on the "pizza", a basil leaf, perhaps a little cube of mozzarella and put into a medium hot oven until hot through.

I LOVE this!!!

[j_wren]

I from the south so I say, fry it up! Cut in circles, salt 'em and let 'em sit for awhile (makes them less bitter). Then dreg them in an egg, coat with seasoned coconut flakes (I find that if I put a fair amount of cajun seasoning in the flakes they aren't too sweet) and drop in hot coconut oil. Depending on how thick the slices are, they don't take long. I usually do this in a small frying pan with just enough oil to cover the bottom (coconut oil is pricey!) and flip the eggplant halfway through cooking. Drain on a paper towel and sprinkle some salt. Dee-lish! I also fry okra this way.