apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Ha! This is great timing. I just finished making a batch of baba ghanouj for lunch today. I can't get enough of the stuff. So so so so good. (Though I 'grill' mine on my gas stovetop. Just turn on the burner and put the eggplant on it. And let it cook, turning occasionally, until it's completely charred and is wilted.)

It's been hard for me to eat eggplant in other forms, though, because I've had some bad experiences with it texture wise. It can get really weird and gummy and, just, ugh!

I'm always so surprised when people say they "roast" their eggplants on the stove, above the gas flame. Whenever i roast my eggplant in the oven, i always have to put a dish underneath it to catch all the dripping juices. Don't you wind up with eggplant drips all over your stove by roasting over the flame?

Ooh! Yes, I have some dripping. But what I do is put aluminum all around the burner and that'll catch the drippings. (I lift up the grate and put it around the burner itself...though below the little holes where the gas comes out, of course!) There is still a little bit that gets through, but it's much, much easier to clean up. And the smokey taste that it adds is just delicious.

Perfect timing! I just got 3 shiny eggplants in my CSA box yesterday.

I never knew about salting the eggplant before cooking it until a friend explained the process last night during a eggplant parm cooking session. Unfortunately, she went on a beer run at the time when I didn't use enough common sense to rinse before breading and cooking. salty, but good, nonetheless.

Love love love love love love eggplant. And have totally had inedible, rubbery bitter eggplant--sometimes cooked it myself! Eggplant is one of the veggies you need to learn how to handle, and then you'll be happy happy happy. Because bad eggplant is a stupendous turn off.

If we are having rice and beans, I'll sprinkle some adobo on eggplant slices and grill it (on the George Foreman or whatever.)

I also use cubed eggplant in stir-fry and in marinara sauces.

I make a stew with eggplant and tomatoes.

I make sandwiches with grilled eggplant slices, mozzarella, and roasted red peppers on a nice big roll.

Two of my favorite dishes to eat out are eggplant parmigiana at Italian restaurants and baingan bharta at Indian restaurants. I don't make those at home because the parm. is too heavy for a typical meal and the baingan bharta I don't have a recipe for.

But suffice to say, I love eggplant. It is my favorite vegetable and its versatility is astonishing.

I usually make eggplant parmesan by slicing the eggplant, breading it, cooking it in oil and then layer it in a pan and top with tomato sauce, parmesan cheese, and mozzarella cheese (repeat for multiple layers). Kind of like lasagna.

I love eggplant in all forms: ratatouille, stacked with tomatoes or red peppers and mozz or feta, grilled on their own or in a sandwich, breaded a'la parmesan and most recently, in baba ghanoush which I can't believe took me so long to make.

Pair with cilantro (another acquired taste according to thread above).

With all the wonderful things there are in the world to eat I'm not sure anyone should worry about learning to love eggplant.

I do like it very much but it is an odd vegetable. I think it needs an awful lot of fixin' to be palatable for many people and the things one adds tend to make it not so healthy, sometimes ( like cheese, cheese, cheese).

My favorite way to make eggplant parm: Slice the eggplant the long way into paper thin slices, dredge in seasoned flour then dip into seasoned eggwash and fry slices in olive oil. Layer the fried slices with chopped tomato, basil and grated parm. If you want you can top it with buffalo mozzerella and bake for 15 -20 min on 350. The egg on the outside keeps the eggplant from getting too greasy and using flour rather than breadcrumbs keeps it from becoming brick-like.

I love grilled eggplant topped with a "salad" of chickpeas, feta, olives, tomatoes, and roasted peppers.

Pasta alla norma.

Grilled, again, in a panini with slices of tomato and mozzarella or even goat cheese.

Pureed and used as a topping with mint for bruschetta.

Ratatouille. Lots and lots of ratatouille.

eggplant so rulz!!!!

simple: cut in 1/4" rounds, salt as mentioned above to drain liquid, press a few cloves of garlic into olive oil, brush the rounds with the mixture and grill till soft and a bit charred
yum

over pasta: cube small and salt, saute in garlic, parsley and olive oil until very soft, add sliced shitake and if you like a bunch of chopped sorrel, serve over pasta w/parmesian (or goat cheese). if you are a risotto nut this works beautifully, just add the eggplant early on in the cooking process and the shitake & sorrel at the end

Oh, man, is it lunch yet? Such great ideas.

I prefer the Asian eggplants, smaller and less seedy, better texture. never rubbery. No need for salting.

I ripped off the greatest eggplant dish from this italian place. Eggplant della Nonna: saute cubes or slabs of eggplant in olive oil with red pepper and onions and some fresh basil. Mix with marinara sauce. Top with a dollop of ricotta and a spoonful of capers. Serve over pasta and steamed spinach. it is just awesome.

I also like eggplant caviar. Take your oven roasted (grilled would be better) eggplant and mash it up with some salt and olive oil. Serve on crostata or in chilled red pepper soup. Mmmmmm.

I just made Smitten Kitchen's "Ratatouille's Ratatouille" http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/07/rat-a-too-ee-for-you-ee/ for my dad's birthday over the weekend and it is officially a Summer Hit: tasty on the buds and easy on the eyes! If your CSA box has Italian eggplants, yellow squash and green cucumbers then this dish is a lovely one to make. I didn't bother with the 1/16" inch cut on the mandoline. It was closer to a 1/8" cut with a sharp santoku knife and it still made for a striking dish.