# Eggplant



## zfranca (Oct 17, 2010)

Eggplant is one of my favorite appetizers. Just slice them, grill and top them with some pesto sauce. I use Barilla pesto sauce diluted with more extra virgin olive oil. Easy and tasty.


----------



## spork (Oct 17, 2010)

eggplant is one of my nominations for "food of the gods."


----------



## PrincessFiona60 (Oct 17, 2010)

I love eggplant, nobody else here appreciates it.  So, I need to get small ones that I can eat on my own.  Yours look divine!


----------



## CharlieD (Oct 17, 2010)

I've never seen Barilla pesto sauce, hm...


----------



## PrincessFiona60 (Oct 17, 2010)

CharlieD said:


> I've never seen Barilla pesto sauce, hm...


 
I've found it on the top shelf above the pasta sauces.  It's a small jar, easy to miss!


----------



## CharlieD (Oct 18, 2010)

I make a paste of tomatoe and red bell peppers and garlic and then spread over egg plant, super yum.


----------



## SweetTeboho (Oct 18, 2010)

CharlieD said:


> I've never seen Barilla pesto sauce, hm...


 
I really like their pesto sauce.  You'll have to try it and let us know what you think.


----------



## zfranca (Oct 18, 2010)

Barilla and Buitoni are the two commercially made pesto sauces that I have tried and been satisfied with. I always have one jar going to which I constantly add olive oil for any use in cooking. These are grilled eggplants with melted cheese.


----------



## Claire (Oct 18, 2010)

I also like them topped with a slice of tomato and one of cheese.  After grillling the slices of eggplant, top with the tomato and cheese (I use mozzerella, but there are some great Mexican melting cheeses), the run under the broiler until bubbly.  Good appetizer, also between slices of bread for a wonderful sandwich.


----------



## kadesma (Oct 18, 2010)

I like to make and eggplant sandwich, use tither a small or a med sized and Bake in oven with evoo,garlic crushed and home made  basil pesto, a  nice slice of buffalow mozzarella or your favorite melting cheese.Yop with a second slice of eggplant and ejoy
kadesma


----------



## merstar (Oct 18, 2010)

I love this recipe - reminds me a little of eggplant parmesan, but much healthier - it tastes like the eggplant is fried, but it's baked! (I increase the breadcrumbs and decrease the Parmigiano Reggiano, since it's too salty for me otherwise):
FAUX FRIED EGGPLANT
Faux Fried Eggplant Aubergine) Recipe - Food.com - 59115


----------



## zfranca (Oct 19, 2010)

CharlieD said:


> I make a paste of tomatoe and red bell peppers and garlic and then spread over egg plant, super yum.


.
I like this spread. Do you use fresh or sundried tomatoes?


----------



## CharlieD (Oct 19, 2010)

I use everything fresh, but I cook tomatoe, peppers and garlic with seasoning together, more like a sautee.


----------



## CharlieD (Oct 19, 2010)

SweetTeboho said:


> I really like their pesto sauce. You'll have to try it and let us know what you think.


 
I would if I knew where to find it. Like I said, I've never seen it here in the stores.


----------



## 4meandthem (Oct 19, 2010)

Armanino brand pesto is the best I have found.
It is sold in the freezer section.
I like the jarred o.k. but the frozen is pretty close to fresh.The color of the frozen one is alot brighter too.


----------



## zfranca (Oct 19, 2010)

CharlieD said:


> I would if I knew where to find it. Like I said, I've never seen it here in the stores.


You are probably looking in the sauce section. It is a small jar and you can find it in the pasta section.


----------



## CharlieD (Oct 20, 2010)

My wife Loves pesto, believe me if we had it here it would be a staple on my shelf, Barilla is one of my favorite products. Both pasta and sauces.


----------



## FrankZ (Oct 20, 2010)

If you can't find it but your store carries Barilla you can ask to see if they will get it in.

Who knows...


----------



## CharlieD (Oct 20, 2010)

yeah, you probably right.


----------



## locksmith (Oct 20, 2010)

I often dice some eggplant and lightly fry (evoo) it together with bean sprouts, onions and garlic.


----------



## zfranca (Oct 20, 2010)

Baked eggplant with tomato sauce--Sicilian Style-- Very tasty. After I baked it, I tossed it with the pasta.


----------



## zfranca (Oct 28, 2010)

Another way to enjoy eggplant:
*Bruschetta Sicilian style*

 
*Ingredients**:*
12                    small slices sesame seed bread
1                      eggplant
½ tsp               salt
⅛ tsp               pepper
1                      ripe tomato, peeled and diced
½ cup              goat cheese crumbled
12 leaves         sweet basil
2 TBS              extra virgin olive oil.
fresh black pepper
 
*Directions**:*
Preheat oven at 375° 
Bake whole eggplant for 40 minutes. Grill bread slices. Peel cooked eggplant and purée it with salt and pepper.

Spread eggplant mixture over bread slices, top with cheese and tomato and garnish with sweet basil. Drizzle olive oil over and freshly ground black pepper.

*6 Servings*


----------



## Zhizara (Oct 28, 2010)

merstar said:


> I love this recipe - reminds me a little of eggplant parmesan, but much healthier - it tastes like the eggplant is fried, but it's baked! (I increase the breadcrumbs and decrease the Parmigiano Reggiano, since it's too salty for me otherwise):
> FAUX FRIED EGGPLANT
> Faux Fried Eggplant Aubergine) Recipe - Food.com - 59115



Thanks, merstar.  I've been looking and looking for a good eggplant recipe.  This one is the one I'm going to try.

I really like that site.  At least it asks me what size I'd like to print out!  I see that they have a forum too so I signed up and maybe they even have a newsletter.  I subscribe to several and get an occasional recipe to try.

Thanks again!


----------



## zfranca (Nov 27, 2010)

For Thanksgiving I invited a few friends and I prepared two of my favorite appetizers: grilled eggplant with pesto sauce, and cauliflower/shrimp salad.
While I was slicing the eggplant I noticed that it was almost seedless. Is there anyway to know when you buy them if they are very seedy or almost seedless?


----------



## Rocklobster (Nov 27, 2010)

Here is a pizza with roasted eggplant, capicolla, and chopped kale greens, and diced tomato..


----------



## luckytrim (Nov 28, 2010)

*Smothered Eggplant*

Smothered Eggplant

2 lg. eggplant
Salt
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 green  pepper and 1 red pepper, sliced
3 Lg. vidalia onions, sliced
Chives to  taste
Oregano to taste
4 lg. ripe tomatoes 
1/4 lb. sliced Provolone
8 oz. Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Slice eggplants. Salt each  slice. Let sit for 15 minutes. Pat dry with paper towels. In 2 tablespoons olive  oil, saute slices. Set aside. 
Slice green and red pepper, onions and saute  in 1 tablespoon olive oil with chives and oregano. Slice tomatoes. 
In 9 x 13  inch baking pan, layer onions, eggplant slices, tomatoes and Provolone cheese.  Repeat. Add more tomatoes and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350  degrees for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper.


----------



## PrincessFiona60 (Nov 28, 2010)

That looks great!  Thanks, again LT!


----------



## zfranca (Jan 6, 2011)

Rocklobster said:


> Here is a pizza with roasted eggplant, capicolla, and chopped kale greens, and diced tomato..


I love pizza with grilled eggplants. We made one just a few days ago in my Junior class. The picture was taken before baking the pizza.


----------



## radhuni (Jan 12, 2011)

I don't like eggplants, I have allergy but Indian cuisine has many eggplant dishes. The most common is eggplant fry. It is most common side dish like potato fry.


----------



## joesfolk (Jan 12, 2011)

I can't seem to get any flavor into eggplant, even though I follow recipe instructions.  I guess I am eggplant challenged!


----------



## CharlieD (Jan 12, 2011)

joesfolk said:


> I can't seem to get any flavor into eggplant, even though I follow recipe instructions. I guess I am eggplant challenged!


 



Try my recipe, it is fairly simple. I am adding step by step pictures. 

1. Chop peppers and tomatoes and fry them up a little bit in very little olive oil and add seasoning. I like salt, paprika and cayenne pepper. And a little bit of fresh garlic.
.
2. I use food processor to chop everything finely. Also I add a little bit of bread crumbs so the mixture is not too runny. Taste and reason if necessary.
.
3. Sauté or grill eggplant, salted lightly.
.
4. Spread the mixture on the top of eggplant. Sprinkle some fresh chopped garlic. Serve it hot or warm.


----------



## CharlieD (Jan 12, 2011)

Moderators, please add some tags here. There really should be an easier way to add tags.


----------



## joesfolk (Jan 12, 2011)

Thanks.  If I ever get over this cold and can actually taste again I will try that.  Should I salt and drain the eggplant first?  I hear that is supposed to take out some of the bitterness that eggplant can have.


----------



## CWS4322 (Jan 12, 2011)

Oh--eggplant! One of my favorite plants to have in the garden. I love the velvety leaves, the little purple flowers, watching the eggplant fruit grow into lucious, deep purple fruits...Eggplant is much aligned in North America. I use eggplant cubes in place of mushrooms in tomato sauces, I deep-fry it like you'd deep fry zucchini fingers, I make eggplant cavier, I slice it thin, bread it with egg-milk-seasoned bread crumbs and "bake it" at 400 for 15 minutes, flip it, bake another 10 minutes and use it in moussaka or eggplant paramesean (rather than frying it) (slice them really thin, and they are yummy chips--and these chips freeze well). I toss cubes of it into chili...I peel it, cube it, blanche it, and freeze it...can you tell I like eggplant? 

And no, eggplant doesn't, by itself, have a lot of flavor. It acts like a sponge and absorbs the garlic, etc. in the sauces, marinades, etc. My DH, who is not an eggplant fan, has decided he does like eggplant parmesean and moussaka. And, the "eggplant" fingers or chips don't hang around very long if he's in the kitchen.

Thanks to this thread, I have more ideas of what to do with eggplant. Which, btw, is a very prolific plant in my garden..that reminds me, I'll have to start the seeds soon....time to dust off the "grow stand" and set everything up...the plants take a little longer than pepper plants to reach the size I want them to be when it is time to plant them...this year, I'm adding white eggplant and the striped ones (purple and white) to the garden. Hopefully this year's seeds will germinate, I have only been successful with Black Beauty in the past. 20 years of growing eggplant and still love it.


----------



## CharlieD (Jan 12, 2011)

joesfolk said:


> Thanks. If I ever get over this cold and can actually taste again I will try that. Should I salt and drain the eggplant first? I hear that is supposed to take out some of the bitterness that eggplant can have.


 I always used to do that, but I've stopped, either I'm loosing my taste buds or it is not really bitter.


----------



## violettedawn (Jan 12, 2011)

@ radhuni...oh, the baby looks soooo sweet!


----------



## violettedawn (Jan 12, 2011)

My favorite eggplant dish is roasted eggplant until it is soft, and smashing it up with lemon and tahini, and some sea salt!!! I am going to the store now!!!!


----------



## taxlady (Jan 13, 2011)

violettedawn said:


> My favorite eggplant dish is roasted eggplant until it is soft, and smashing it up with lemon and tahini, and some sea salt!!! I am going to the store now!!!!



Add some garlic and you have babaganoush, a yummy dip. Don't forget to drain the eggplant for a few minutes. I forgot the last time I made it and it was a bit watery.


----------



## Frenchys (Jan 13, 2011)

Funny pizza and picture ^^


----------



## Midnight_Merlot (Jan 13, 2011)

I have had 2 of my BEST subs that I have EVER eaten been parm. eggplant subs..They were TO DIE FOR delicious...however, its been close to 15 yrs. since I have tried this dish.  Truth is, was that it gave me awful, terrible "gas episodes"....therefor; I now avoid it like the plague, KNOWING how AWESOME it tastes...Anyone else have this happen to them, &, if so, HOW did you overcome your fear of eating eggplant W/O that awful side-affect? (again, maybe its just a "me" thing here...but...I would seriously love to give eggplant another "go", ya know?)


----------



## Bolas De Fraile (Jan 13, 2011)

Sea Spiced Aubergine.
Roast the eggplant till a bit wrinkly and cut into cubes.
In a wok heat some oil and quickly fry garlic, ginger slices and sliced red chili, add some good veg stock, yellow bean sauce, rice wine, shoyu or tamari sauce and boil for a few mins till you get a coating sauce, toss in eggplant cubes for a minute or so, if you want more of a kick add some ground Szechuan pepper corns when frying the garlic ect, also if you are not a veg use chicken stock.


----------

