So I bought an eggplant....

sweetums · 09-16-2005, 11:06 PM

Ok, so I was at the Walmart supercenter today and I saw they had eggplants. I've never had one, so I bought one! I wanted to be wacky and try something new! (I know, I live on the edge! HA!) But now that I have it home, I don't know what to do with it! I realized I have no recipes that call for eggplant. Anyone have any suggestions or recipes for me?

Thanks!
Manders

nicole47 · 09-17-2005, 01:27 AM

Oooh... eggplant is neat... it's really versitile because it doesn't taste like much by itself... so if you don't like one eggplant dish, you'll probably like another.

Probably the easiest thing to do with eggplant is make ratatouille. The eggplant thing that people like the most is probably eggplant parmesan. And a popular eggplant dip is called baba ganouche.

Ratatouile (you do NOT have to use these exact measurements-- any amount of any of the following will do-- you can't mess it up so long as you use eggplant, olive oil, and garlic):
1 eggplant
1 zucchini
salt
1 lb onions
1/4 lb green or red peppers
2 lb tomatoes
olive oil
1 Tb minced garlic
Peel and cut eggplant into bite size cubes (or slices). Wash zucchini and cut into bite size cubes or slices. Toss with salt and let drain for 30 min. Slice onions, peppers, and tomatoes. Dry eggplant and zucchini. Fry eggplant in olive il, browning on all sides. Remove eggplant. Saute zucchini and peppers, using additional oil if needed. Remove. Saute onions until wilted. Stir in garlic and tomatoes, cover, cook 3-4 minutes, uncover, cook until juices have evaporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add set aside vegetables. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or bak at 325 for 25 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

When my father makes this, he does all the veggies at once (starting with onions and extra garlic, then eggplant and zucchini, then remaining veggies) because he's lazy and it turns out just fine. The kitchen always smells great when he's doing it.

Eggplant Parmesan:
2 lb eggplant
salt
3 eggs
1 1/2 to 2 cups dried bread crumbs
1/2-3/4 cup oil
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp oregano
3/4 lb sliced mozarella
3 cups tomato sauce

Peel and slice the eggplant into 3/8 inch thick pieces. salt and let drain 30 min, pat dry. Beat eggs with 2 tablespoons water. Dip eggplant slices ito eggs then crumbs. Heat 1/4 cup oil in large frying pan, saute eggplant slices until golden brown on both sides. Remove and drain. Place half eggplant slices in 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the parmesan cheese half the oregano and 1/3 the mozarella. Cover with 1/2 the tomato sauce. Repeat. Top with remaining cheeses. Bake in preheated 350 oven for 30 min or until bubbly.

azbabeedoll · 09-17-2005, 01:29 AM

Cut that bad boy up in slices and grill it! i will be there to help you eat it! yummmmmmmmmmmm

nicole47 · 09-17-2005, 01:36 AM

oopsie: baba ganouche:
1 1/2 lb eggplant
3 TB lemon juice
1 tsp salt
2 tsp minced garlic
3 Tb sesame paste (tahini)
1/4 chopped parsley
2 Tb olive oil (optional)
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

Prick eggplant with fork all over. Bake the whole eggplant at 400 degrees until tender. 1 lb takes 30 min, 1.5 lb takes 40 minutes. Remove, halve, scoop out flesh. Beat in a mixer or food processor with lemon juice until smooth. Mash salt and garlic together, mix with tahini, combine with eggplant. Cool, stir in parsley, drizzle with olive oil and pine nuts.

Serve with pita chips or raw veggies.

Some of the ingredients are tricky. To subsitute for Tahini:
In a blender, mix white sesame seeds with a small amount of peanut oil (or other oil) until creamy Substitutes: sesame butter (thicker) OR 3 parts creamy peanut butter + 1 part sesame oil OR toasted sesame seeds (for hummus) OR toasted sesame oil (for hummus) OR peanut butter (for sauces).
Use any nut other than pine nut if you don't have those available, or just omit.

A Greek version can be made without tahini, olive oil or pine nuts. Blend the other ingredients together in a blender or food processor, add 1/4 cup olive oil gradually and add salt and pepper to taste.

The above 3 recipes are all from my fav: The Victory Garden Cookbook.

sweetums · 09-17-2005, 01:48 AM

Thanks for the replies girls! You're great!

If I want to cut it in slices and grill it, is there anything inside I need to scoop out first? do I take the skin off? Should I put anything on it before I grill it? How will I know when it's done?

The baba ganouche sounds really interesting too, I would like to try that!

Are eggplants low in carbs? I just have no idea what I'm doing! HA!

Thanks for all your help!

Manders

nicole47 · 09-17-2005, 01:59 AM

I've never grilled an eggplant, but here's what the Victory garden says to do:
Peel and cut into 1/2 inch slices. Salt and let drain for at least 30 minutes. Pat dry. Brush with oil. Grill.

For smaller eggplants, prick the skins with a fork, grill over hot coals turning until the flesh is soft and the skins charred. Split them open and eat with salt, pepper, lemon juice, and butter.

If you find you don't like grilled eggplant, you may find you like another preparation of it better (do try it though).

I seriously doubt they're high in carbs-- they're mostly air and water, but I'm sure google can tell you for sure.

nicole47 · 09-17-2005, 02:00 AM

http://www.carb-counter.org/veg/search/Eggplant/1100

Sunshine&JoJoWannababy · 09-17-2005, 02:08 AM

My Aunt Carolyn used to slice it reasonably thin and flour it...then fry it in a skillet. Get it nice and crispy like fried green tomatoes or chicken even. I loved it when I was a kid. I haven't had it since then though...I should try it again. I might still like it. :-)

LadyBlue · 09-17-2005, 03:27 AM

I bought an eggplant once. It was beautiful. It smelled good. I enjoyed it until I cooked it. It did not taste good fried. If I buy one again, it will be for display only. pfft. haha. They're pretty neat lookin'.

Susannah · 09-17-2005, 11:12 PM

You can steam them. Just cut them into slices about 1/4 inch thick and steam. We steam them in the microwave steamer for about 8 minutes, in a regular steamer, it would probably take about 20-25 minutes.

They are also really good covered in tomato sauce and cheese and baked. We steam them in the microwave first, then put the tomato sauce and cheese on the slices, and bake until the cheese is melted.

My husband's grandmother sprinkles them with bread crumbs, adds parmesan and spaghetti sauce, and bakes until they are done, they're great.

If you fry them, the best way to do it is to coat them with egg and then coat them with breadcrumbs, then fry. I REALLY like them that way, but we usually steam them because it's easier.

Oh, I forgot to add, if you don't enjoy bitter tastes (eggplants naturally are a little bitter), you'll want to either sprinkle the eggplant slices with salt and let them sit for a couple of hours (you'll start to see them sweat, that's about when they're done, the bitter stuff is coming out), then rinse them before cooking. Alternatively, you can let them soak in saltwater for that amount of time (then no rinsing necessary). This also makes the slices more tender, which gets rid of another problem eggplant sometimes has, it can be tough, especially when sliced and then grilled (the idea to grill the whole thing at a time that someone else posted might not have this problem, don't know, haven't tried to grill anything but slices).

sharleenia · 09-18-2005, 01:57 PM

I made something with eggplant once, but didn't like the texture of the seeds....do you all remove the seeds before cooking/girlling???

DH liked the taste but the seeds kind of made it gross...

sharleenia · 09-18-2005, 01:59 PM

And Susannah, my niece is named Phoenix. She's adorable too!

Susannah · 09-19-2005, 07:36 PM

I don't remove the seeds, but if you'd like it better that way, then go for it! I've never really noticed them, I like to cook it until it's really tender, including the seeds. What bothers me sometimes when I grill it is the skin, it can get really tough, so we've removed the skin before.

Oh, I just thought of one more way I'm sure you could grill it, because we do zucchini this way all the time! You take aluminum foil and make a little packet out of it, then drop slices of butter and the slices of eggplant in there (we haven't done it with eggplant, but we've tried zucchini, regular squash, and carrots this way), then close up the last edge of the foil packet and put it on the grill. Zucchini takes about 20 minutes this way, I imagine eggplant takes about the same amount of time. The zucchini is really yummy this way, I imagine the eggplant would be too (now I have to go try it!).

DiamondInTheRough · 09-19-2005, 10:54 PM

Here's a really ambitious thing to do with eggplant....pickle them.

I've had them my whole life. We pick the really small ones, like the length of your palm, stuff them with garlic, red pepper, walnuts, and pommegranite. Then you pickle them in a salt-brine and olive oil. They keep FOREVER. They are good on their own, or cut up in a salad.

Also, an equally wacky, yet just as yummy way, (mind you loaded with calories) is to find them even smaller, like the size of plums, and boil them in a large sauce pan with a sugar syrup. Mmmm, you can't imagine it I know, but if you had one, you'd love it.

You can also stuff them and bake them in the oven. I stuff mine with a ground beef mixture, which includes onions, pine nuts, and all spice. I cover them with tomato sauce.

Best Wishes

Rebecca's Mom · 09-19-2005, 10:58 PM

never have had it but they sound good