# What to do with eggplant?



## SierraCook (Aug 13, 2005)

The "Do you peel and eggplant?" topic inspired me to buy an eggplant. Ok, so now I have an eggplant. What do I do with it?  I was thinking of grilling it. Hopefully, somebody will have some suggestions. 

Thanks, SC 

PS, I have never cooked an eggplant before.


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## Andy M. (Aug 13, 2005)

You could slice it and fry it for eggplant parmesan.

Eggplants are like a sponge.  They'll soak up a marinade.  If you marinate and grill it, you should have a tasty result.


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## SierraCook (Aug 13, 2005)

I was just going to brush it with olive oil and sprinkle it with herbs and then grill. Andy, would you recommend marinating the eggplant first. What would you marinate it in?


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## Andy M. (Aug 13, 2005)

Your idea will work great.  A marinade was only a suggestion.  You could use something as simple as Italian salad dressing.  You could do an Asian flavored marinade with soy sauce and ginger.  Use whatever you like.


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## SierraCook (Aug 13, 2005)

Thanks for the input.   I agree Italian Salad dressing would be great.


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## Haggis (Aug 14, 2005)

One of my favourite simple things to do with eggplant is to cube it into say 1/2 inch pieces and cook it in some olive oil until its dark golden and soft, then add some sliced garlic and cook till the garlic softens then toss some fine lemon zest, lemon juice and chopped parsley through it, season to taste.

Goes great with a roast, especially chicken. Could even toss it through pasta if you wanted.

Another favourite of mine is to mix some feta cheese, finely sliced red chilli, mint and lemon juice to taste. Thinly slice the eggplant lengthways, brush with a bit of oil and grill them till golden and tender. Place some of the feta cheese mixture on a part of the eggplant slices and roll them up. Delicious!


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## Barbara L (Aug 14, 2005)

Not the healthiest way, I'm sure, but I like to dip slices in a milk/beaten egg mixture, then in seasoned flour, then fry it.  

 Barbara


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## kadesma (Aug 14, 2005)

Barbara L said:
			
		

> Not the healthiest way, I'm sure, but I like to dip slices in a milk/beaten egg mixture, then in seasoned flour, then fry it.
> 
> Barbara


The only way to go  I love fried eggplant, but it can be fixed almost the same by just brushing with evoo and putting under the broiler, of course there isn't any breading but it tastes great and a sprinkle of garlic powder is nice too. I take the small japanese eggplant and slice, brush with evoo and then broil and it's like a small chip..Take the large size eggplant do the flour egg and fry then make an eggplant sandwich with provolone slices between two slices of eggplant, make a lemon butter sauce with a touch of white wine and drizzle over the eggplant and bake til cheese melts..yummy
kadesma


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## jtluvsjl (Aug 14, 2005)

I love eggplant parmesan, I use my italian grandfathers recipe.  Peel the eggplant, slice it thin and layer it between flour sack towels or paper towels.  Put something heavy on top and leave it for 3 or 4 hours.  Then dip in egg, bread in flour seasoned with salt and pepper and fry until golden.  Drain on paper towels.  Pour a thin layer of sauce in a baking dish, then a layer of eggplant, then shredded mozzerella.  Keep layering until you've used up all the eggplant and bake on 350 until the sauce sauce bubbles.  Its great!


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## kadesma (Aug 14, 2005)

jtluvsjl said:
			
		

> I love eggplant parmesan, I use my italian grandfathers recipe. Peel the eggplant, slice it thin and layer it between flour sack towels or paper towels. Put something heavy on top and leave it for 3 or 4 hours. Then dip in egg, bread in flour seasoned with salt and pepper and fry until golden. Drain on paper towels. Pour a thin layer of sauce in a baking dish, then a layer of eggplant, then shredded mozzerella. Keep layering until you've used up all the eggplant and bake on 350 until the sauce sauce bubbles. Its great!


jt,
sounds wonderful, welcome to DC and thanks for sharing a special recipe with us. I will be making some soon..

kadesma


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## Piccolina (Aug 14, 2005)

You could try making the Russian dish eggplant caviar, although that often calls for two or more eggplants. It’s really cool though, and definitely out of the ordinary. It's especialy nice on a warm flat bread or pita.

http://www.chefdecuisine.com/vegetables/eggplant/EGGPLANT_CAVIAR.asp
(a fusinon-food sort of style recipe for this dish that incorporates things like tabasco into it)

 http://veggietable.allinfo-about.com/recipes/eggplantcaviar.html
   (with tomatoes and garlic)

 http://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=5&url=http%3A//vegetarian.allrecipes.com/az/ggplntCvir.asp&ei=9d7-QoLxJ4-kQY3bqbMB 
(this seems along the lines of being traditional - plus it only calls for one big eggplant)


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## ironchef (Aug 14, 2005)

Probably too late for this, but just excercise some care when you do marinade it. Because it does soak up the marinade, you may have a tendency to add more and more. If it's an oil based marinade, you may end up with a mouth full of oil when you do bite into the eggplant.


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## SierraCook (Aug 14, 2005)

Thanks for the advice, everyone.   I have not done anything with the eggplant, yet.  I am leaning towards Barbara's suggestion.  Yum!!


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## TomW (Aug 15, 2005)

*Do you sew?*



			
				SierraCook said:
			
		

> ... Ok, so now I have an eggplant. What do I do with it?  ... Hopefully, somebody will have some suggestions.









 

Tom


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## SierraCook (Aug 16, 2005)

Tom, very funny.  Thanks for the good laugh!!


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## SizzlininIN (Aug 17, 2005)

jtluvsjl said:
			
		

> I love eggplant parmesan, I use my italian grandfathers recipe. Peel the eggplant, slice it thin and layer it between flour sack towels or paper towels. Put something heavy on top and leave it for 3 or 4 hours. Then dip in egg, bread in flour seasoned with salt and pepper and fry until golden. Drain on paper towels. Pour a thin layer of sauce in a baking dish, then a layer of eggplant, then shredded mozzerella. Keep layering until you've used up all the eggplant and bake on 350 until the sauce sauce bubbles. Its great!


 
Welcome jtluvs!   Care to share the sauce recipe that goes along with that eggplant?  If you haven't already read an old post of mine......I'm trying to find some good italian recipes as I absolutely love Italian food.


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## Gerrycooks (Aug 17, 2005)

Here is an old family recipe for eggplant.

Stuffed Eggplant
3 eggplants, same size
7 mushrooms
1 med onion, chopped
1 large can whole tomatoes in sauce (Dei Fratelli)
oregano
salt pepper
seasoned salt
2 lbs ground beef
1/2 cup raw rice

Slice eggplant in half lengthwise. Scoop out inside pulp and chop. Brown onion and mushrooms in some oil. Add chopped eggplantand cook until slightly soft. Remove from pan. Saute ground beef until cooked. Drain if necessary. Add cooked eggplant and season with oregano. Add chopped tomatoes to filling.Taste and adjust seasoning.  Reserve some tomatoes and sauce for topping.  Add rice.
Place in shells and top with sauce from tomatoes. Add a small amount of water to the pan. Bake uncovered at 350 for 1 hr.
Servings - 6 large ( 1/2 eggplant) or 12 small


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## SierraCook (Aug 18, 2005)

Thanks for the recipe, GC!!

SC


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## CARO (Aug 22, 2005)

I make something similar to jtluvsjl's recipe.

You shouldn't need to salt eggplants these days, so what I do is slice across about quarter to third inch thick, put into a plastic bag and drizzle in a bit of oil. Then shake the slices around to get oily - doesn't use as much as brushing - they are like sponges!

Then I griddle them [I use my electric machine] but you can bake or grill [that's broil in US, isn't it?] till softened. 
Meanwhile, make a tasty thick tomato sauce. I use oil to soften onion and garlic, then add tinned chopped tomatoes, dash balsamic, pinch chilli flakes, couple sun dried tomatoes chopped, herbs eg oregano, basil, and salt and pepper - cook till thick.
Layer up the eggplant slices in an ovenproof dish with tomato sauce, putting a layer of torn-up mozzarella in the middle. Finish with a layer of eggplant, then sprinkle the top with freshly finely grated Parmesan. Spray lightly with oil and bake till bubbling.

Yum yum!!


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## TomW (Aug 24, 2005)

*Houston, we have a winner here...*



			
				jtluvsjl said:
			
		

> I love eggplant parmesan, I use my italian grandfathers recipe... Its great!


Yes!  Yes it is great.   

The only thing that I _may_ have done different was to fry the eggplant in olive oil.

My wife cleaned her plate, and my five year old made excellent progress with his meal.  

Karma to you jtluvsjl!

Tom


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## Paolita (Sep 10, 2005)

I recently found a low calorie recipe for eggplants. You grill them in the oven, turning them around constantly for about 20 minutes or until the skin starts to  fall off. THen you crush them into a bowl. Mix with 2 garlic cloves (crushed), some onion powder, 1 tbsp of parsley and 1/4 cup yogurt. It makes a delicious spread. You then get two slices of bread, you spread the eggplant salad and add son turkey or chicken ham. Delicious snack.


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## anita.wilson52 (Sep 10, 2005)

*micro stuffed brinjal (egg plant)*

*Micro Stuffed Brinjal * [font=Verdana, Arial]*Preparation Time :* 10 mtes
*Cooking Time :* 15 mtes
*Serves / Makes :* 4[/font][font=Verdana, Arial] [/font][font=Verdana, Arial]*Ingredients*[/font][font=Verdana, Arial]Small round brinjals (tender ) ½ kg
Tamarind paste 1 tbsp
Stuffing:
Roast and powder
Dhania: 2 tbsp
Peanuts 2 tbsp
White til 1 tbsp
Copra 2 tbsp

Oil 3 tbsp
Red chilli powder 3 tsp
Hing powder 1 tsp
Salt, haldi. 
[/font] [font=Verdana, Arial]*Method*[/font][font=Verdana, Arial]Wash and slit brinjals into 4 upto ¾ lengthwise.
Roast & powder the given ingredients and mix with tamarind paste, chilli powder, salt,haldi & hing powder.
Stuff the brinjals with this mixture.
Arrange them in a microwave steamer and steam for about 8 mtes.
Remove, open & cool well.
Arrange them in a big microwave plate, drizzle little oil on it & micro medium for 4 mtes.
Turn over & repeat the procedure twice or thrice till brinjals are uniformly roasted.
Do this carefully without breaking the brinjals.
[/font]


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## TomW (Sep 10, 2005)

Anita,

I am not familiar with most of the ingredient list.  Are there translations that may apply to aid in finding them in the grocery store?

Thanks,
Tom


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## urmaniac13 (Sep 10, 2005)

Hi Tom!  From what I always understood, brinjal is the Indian name for aubergene/melanzane/eggplant (whatever you call them...) just yet another variation to call this lovely versatile vegetable!!  "dhania" is coriander seed, "copra" is a dehydrated coconut flesh, as for the explanation for "hing", check out the link below!!  this page may be useful to get acquainted with some distinct indian spices... 

http://www.foodsubs.com/SpiceInd.html#asafoetida%20powder


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## urmaniac13 (Sep 10, 2005)

*Crema di Melanzane*

This is what I like to do when I have some extra aubergene/melanzane/eggplant.  It is wonderfully aromatic and versatile, a perfect condiment for pasta, couscous, crackers, crostini or various vegetable and meat dishes, also freezes well!!

Cook the whole aubergene/melanzane/eggplant/brinjal in the oven at 180C/350F for about 40minutes, turning once in the middle.  In the mean time shred some onion and mince a garlic, about 1/2 of small onion and 1 small clove of garlic for each fair sized aubergene--<well, from here I will go with the Brit folks!!>  (moderately large but not a "monster"), sautè them in a olive oil.
When the aubergene is fully cooked, cool it for a while until you can touch them without scorching the fingers.  Then peel the skin and remove the top.  strip them into several pieces and place them in a blender/food processor along with the sauted onion/garlic.  Whip them together, adding little by little some extra virgin olive oil to make a smooth texture.  (you will need, at the end at least about 30ml of oil or more to each aubergene of the above mentioned size).  While blending, add salt, curry, ground coriander seed, cardamom, and cayenne pepper(just a tiny pinch will do unless you like it spicy)... always remember to add the spices a little at a time, taste each time and adjust the amount to your own liking. 
When all the ingredients are well blended, put them into a glass jar, cover the surface with extra olive oil.  In a fridge it will keep for up to 3 weeks, or you can pack it well in a secure container and freeze it.  Enjoy!
Licia


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## amber (Sep 10, 2005)

I dip my eggplant slices in egg or even egg white, then italian bread crumbs.  You can either spray it with cooking oil and bake it, or just fry the slices in a pan, and then drain on papertowels. Place a layer of eggplant in the bottom of a glass baking dish, then add a slice of hard salami, a slice of tomatoe, and then mozzarella cheese.  Keep adding layers like you would lasagna, then bake until the cheese on top is lightly brown.


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## Jeff_in _Idaho (Sep 11, 2005)

Just had eggplant tonight. Fried it in olive oil with some mild chillis. Absolutely wonderful.


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## CARO (Sep 12, 2005)

Try this link if you are hooked:

http://aubergines.org/


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