I like to slice them, brush them with olive oil and put them until the broiler until pretty much done. Then, I pull them out and layer them in a casserole dish with pasta sauce and fresh basil leaves. I top it with mozzarella and bake it at 350 until cheese is bubbly and starting to brown at the edges. This is the only completely meatless meal my husband will eat.

It's also great grilled with a little olive oil/ salt/ pepper.

This recipe from Giada De Laurentiis is awesome:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/rigatoni-with-eggplant-puree-recipe/index.html

Yes! This dish: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E04E2D9173AF93AA1575BC0A9619C8B63&sec=&spon=

Sometimes I throw in some sardines too. It's so good in summer!

I cut it into really thick slices (an inch or so), coat the slices in egg and breadcrumbs, and very lightly fry them. Then they get a bit of cheese on top and go in the oven to finish cooking.

Then I serve them with bowls of marinara sauce, pesto, or sautéed mushrooms. People can just put whatever they want on top - sort of a free-form eggplant Parmesan.

I take my ichibans and roast them on the grill. Then I peel them and chop them.

In a large frying pan sautee one chopped white or yellow onion, add a minced bulb of garlic. Reserve and add one pound of ground pork and fry. Add the reserved onions and garlic and add a teaspoon or so of Thai fish oil. Add the roasted eggplants and heat through. Serve over basmati rice.

In one of Molly Kazdan's cookbooks, she has a wonderful recipe for almond eggplant enchiladas that are to die for. I make them a couple of times a year.

This one.

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/07/grilling-chinese-eggplant-garlic-ginger-recipe.html

Awesome. Very dim-sum-esque. I used small "standard" eggplants instead of the Chinese/Japanese ones and they were great. No bitterness.

I like to bring out the creamy quality of eggplant by roasting it whole and turning it into a soup which is actually very good cold--garnished with yogurt or olive oil and fresh mint.

Here's some pics of the process:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/art_chel/sets/72157608276653961/

Imam Bayildi - the Turkish dish that translates to "the Imam fainted"

Don't be afraid of the olive oil! The story goes that the generous use of olive oil in this dish is what makes the Imam faint... either because of its excess or because of the astonishing flavor.

http://www.cliffordawright.com/caw/recipes/display/recipe_id/830/

I like eggplant dip with yogurt instead of baba ganoush, which is good, but kind of heavy. Grill or broil the eggplant till charred and soft. Scoop out the flesh and puree in blender with lemon juice, a generous couple of spoons of Greek yogurt, salt, and pepper (and garlic if you'd like--I don't like raw garlic). Add in some za'atar seasoning or some fresh mint if you'd like. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with more za'atar and/or some Urfa chili.

I also like it cubed and roasted and tossed with fusilli, goat cheese or feta, capers, currants, and toasted pine nuts.

I just cooked some eggplant (the Chinese kind) yesterday and I'll be eating leftovers for lunch in a few minutes. It's a Thai-style red curry with coconut milk, plenty of coriander and a few shrimp too.

@laila
I love the name of that dish! Similarly, there's a Chinese dish called Fut Tieu Cheung, which translates as "Buddha (as in a statue) jumped over the wall", also implying that it's so flavourful that it would even move a statue to eat it.

I recently got turned onto a baked stuffed version with breadcrumbs, feta and tomato. I've always loved a baked eggplant parmigiana (instead of frying the slices, I bake them, then layer them in a casserole with mozzarella, fresh basil and my Sicilian husband's homemade marinara).

Then, there's my Filipino grandmother's simple roasted eggplant salad -- roast an eggplant whole, let cool, then peel the skin off. Dice into mouthful sized-cubes, then serve with chopped tomatoes and scallions on the side. To serve, top each serving with tomatoes and scallions, then drizzle soy sauce on top. Yum!

I don't like eggplant much at all, so if I am ever gifted one, I make ratatouille. It's the only way I've had it that I like it.

eggplant rollatini!

Lately I've been going Indian-style and making eggplant curries.

But earlier this year I was making a lot of my very simple Cheesy Eggplant Polenta Bake. Yum.

- Amelia of Gradually Greener

Roasting it whole, then shredding it (skin too) and mixing with a little olive oil and some cumin and coriander.

I use a mandolin slicer on the eggplant then spread a mixture of ricotta, mozzarella, fresh basil, oregano and a little salt and pepper. Roll up the eggplant and use toothpicks to secure the "roll-up." Line them up in a baking dish, lightly cover with some tomato sauce and a little sprinkle of cheese and bake!

Super easy and so yummy - like lasagne without the noodles

This is just in time for my first eggplants of the season! I am not usually an eggplant fan, so the links everyone has provided are very helpful. I am determined never to dislike a veggie without giving it several chances, and I've managed to enjoy a few things with it before, so hopefully these will go well too!

Sliced, brushed w/olive oil and grilled. Then stacked with slices of heirloom tomatoes and goat cheese sprinkled in between. All of that drizzled with a little bit of basil infused olive oil.

I just got some japanese eggplant from the famers market.
I love these sliced in to short sticks and just sauted with olive oil a little garlic maybe some soy sauce. Sometimes I add other veggies or chicken for a whole meal. They hold their shape but come out so creamy and silky.

Halve lengthwise, score the cut side, insert thin slices/slivers of garlic. Place cut side down on a sprayed baking sheet, put in a preheated 350-degree oven and cook till the halves collapse, about 35 minutes. Scoop out, stir in about 1 T. of currants and a bit of garam masala, salt and pepper. Drizzle on the littlest bit of olive oil. Serve over basmati rice. To die for.

Cut eggplant into pieces that fit in a pot. Fill pot with water. Boil pieces of eggplant until they are soft. Remove and drain in colander. Add soy sauce and toasted sesame oil and hot pepper sauce (sambal or sriracha or chili oil). This looks quite ugly but tastes great.

Last week I got some eggplants in the CSA, and instead of doing something simple, this prompted me to make my own hummus and pita bread so that I could enjoy some sabich, an Israeli sandwich with roast eggplant, hummus, and HB egg as its central ingredients.

I love exploring the recipe database at Ashbury's Aubergines.

@Michelle of Montreal - great dish name! I wish we had more of those in English!

I eat eggplant a lot; stewed, roasted, baked into casseroles, microwaved cubes w/ salt that I munch on as a snack, stir fried, you name it. I think it's my current favourite food.

However, the BEST way I've ever had it (and I eat this daily) is makdous. Here's a link to a recipe for it (though admittedly, I buy mine pre-made):

http://desertcandy.blogspot.com/2009/02/makdous.html

Makdous look disgusting, but I think they're the most beautiful application I've ever seen for eggplant.

My favorite, but least eaten eggplant recipe is one my dad used to make for me.

Cut slices of the "bell-shaped" (not Chinese) eggplants, and sandwich them with meatball filling. Dip in batter and deep fry (which is why I rarely eat them).

You end up with a deep-fried eggplant and meatball sandwich!

Yay! No one said my favorite yet! SUPER Italian, my great gradma, grandma, mother now I have made this and it is knock your socks off yummy. Slice plain old purple eggplants into fairly thin but not paper thin slices lengthwise. Lay them in colanders or strainers and salt the hell out of them and leave them in your sink to get the water out of them. (They wont be salty in the end) Longer you let em sit the better. I give them about an hour usually. Pat them dry and just deep fry them. Olive oil tastes best but fry them in a inch or so of oil til crispy and browned and drain them on a paper towel. Dump fresh grated Parmesan on top right away and eat them. Its SO yummy. Like potato chips but tastier and the salty cheese goes so well. As a kid I'd try and get as much cheese on mine as possible. Yum.

I love an elaborate eggplant dish as much as the next person. But for those times when I am exhausted and starving nothing beats chicken and eggplant curry (using a Trader Joe's curry as the base and then doctoring it). Tastes like it's been simmering all day but is actually quick, cheap, and easy (plus it makes for great leftovers):

http://accordingtolia.blogspot.com/2009/04/chicken-eggplant-curry.html

Oh, Thank you! I never ate eggplant and am now getting them in my CSA box. Now I have all sorts of things to try!

mntwmyn, is this the Mollie Katzen recipe you mentioned? I just found her site recently!

http://www.molliekatzen.com/recipes/recipe.php?recipe=eggplant_enchiladas

tonight had chopped eggplant in the cast iron pot with olive oil, peppers, garlic, and lots of fresh tomatoes, added a few dollops of Butoni pesto sauce and had on w/w spaghetti

sliced and roasted (or pan roasted) and topped with a touch of lemon juice!