Stumped.

I was a bit stumped by eggplant too and had been making it the only way I knew how. Cube it up, mix it with some salt and pepper, balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and roast it. Or do the same with thin slices of it. It’s good. But by far the best way I’ve had eggplant was recently, when a friend brought some to me at work and said “you’ve got to try this!” Thinly sliced rounds of eggplant with olive oil drizzled over, topped with sundried tomato and shredded mozzarella. Broil the slices first so they get soft, then add the tomato and cheese till it gets nice and melty. I swear it tastes like a mini eggplant pizza, and its to die for.

My husband and I love this Spicy Eggplant recipe…it could be used as a side dish, but we usually just serve it over brown rice and make a meal out of it.
http://healthyeasyrecipes.blogspot.com/2010/01/spicy-eggplant.html

For the longest time the only way I ever used eggplant was to stuff it. Good quality ground beef, onions, garlic, mozzarella, whatever other vegetables you’d like really. Cook that up on a skillet with the eggplant meat you’ve dug out once you cut them in half, stuff them when the beef is just about done, top with the cheese and bake for about 40 minutes at 300 degrees. Tasty every time.

Kyle

Prepare to be amazed.
http://www.traditional-foods.com/recipes/oven-roasted-eggplant/
http://www.traditional-foods.com/recipes/roasted-eggplant-soup/
http://www.traditional-foods.com/recipes/grilled-vegetable-salad/

It may be our favorite garden vegetable.

I was always raised that the only way to eat it is to slice it, bread it, deep fry it, and drown it in marinara and mozzarella, but I don’t eat that way at all anymore! I like to cut it in half the long way, drizzle a little oil, and broil it until soft enough to scoop with a spoon, and blend it– sometimes with chickpeas, sometimes without– into something like a baba ganoush. Alternately, shorten the cook time and dress in balsamic and basil, and sure, add tomatoes if you’d like, or skip the Italian vibe and go for a ginger-soy treatment. Eggplant is pretty versatile, and you can serve it instead of meat and still get a hearty meal. Even your most carnivorous friends will be satisfied, They won’t even realize what’s “missing.”

My favorite way to eat eggplant: chop into 1/2 inch or so squares. Heat olive oil on a skillet. Add a couple minced garlic cloves and some fresh grated ginger to the pan briefly. Add eggplant and saute until soft. Add more olive oil if necessary. Season with ground cumin, sea salt, lemon juice and fresh chopped parsley to taste. Serve with pita bread as part of a mediterranean spread with hummus and chopped salad or on top of basmati rice, or as a side to grilled meat. Also good the next day served cold.

Try babaganoush. Yummy! Egg plant spread. Think hummus but with roasted egg plant and basil.

Favorite Eggplant Uses:

1. Stuffed.
2. Caponata/Ratouille
3. Baba ganoush
4. Eggplant Rollatini (sliced long instead of round, breaded and fried, layeredwith cheese and roasted red peppers, rolled, baked, and topped with tomato sauce and cheese. YUM.
5. Cubed, added to ground beef and tomatoes, Indian spices (curried) and simmered.

I love eggplant!
Susie

I enjoy this one….

Eggplant, Lamb & Rice Casserole
Ingredients
2 eggplants, (2 pounds total), cut in half lengthwise
8 ounces ground lamb
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14-ounce can tomatoes, undrained
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup white rice
1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium beef broth
Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, preferably imported (2 ounces)
Preheat oven to 450°F. Place eggplant halves, cut-side down, in a roasting pan. Add water to a depth of 1/2 inch. Bake until tender, 20 to 25 minutes; set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 400°F.
While the eggplant is roasting, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground lamb and sauté, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a colander and drain off fat. Set aside.
Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Add red peppers and garlic and cook for 2 minutes longer. Stir in tomatoes and their juice, oregano, thyme, cinnamon and cloves. Simmer, breaking up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon, until the mixture has thickened slightly, 3 to 5 minutes.
4Scoop out eggplant flesh and chop coarsely. Stir rice, broth, chopped eggplant and the reserved lamb into the tomato mixture; bring to a simmer. Cover the pan and place it in the oven. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed. Season with salt and pepper. Dot with feta and serve.

Eggplants are so versatile. Here are some easy recipes:
1. Take the whole eggplant and put it on hot coals/charcoal or broil it. Even better, make a few cuts on it, stuff minced garlic or garlic powder in the cuts and then broil it. The skin turns brittle and cracks open. Scoop up the soft insides, throw in some chopped onions, some garlic, some cilantro, a little salt, some chopped green hot peppers (if you like them) and olive oil or mustard oil (available in Indian stores) – yummy.
2. Slice into 1/2″ slices, sprinkle a little salt, a pinch of sugar (this doesn’t make it sweet, but makes it soft) and a little turmeric. Toss to coat the slices and keep for about 20 mins. You can see some water coming out by that time. Shallow pan-fry till done and keep aside. Take a little oil in the pan and when hot, throw in a mustard seeds. They will sputter and you may have to cover it. Throw in some slice onions too and a little garlic. In a bowl, take plain yogurt, mix some salt and pepper and then put it all in the pan. Turn off the heat – you do not need to cook the yogurt. Put the pan-fried eggplants in the yogurt and enjoy.

Eggplants also go well with daikon (white radish). Celery seeds make a good seasoning.

Well, for more, just look up Indian recipe sites and enjoy!

Eggplant can be a little challenging – 3 ways I like it:

1..Baba ganoush

2. Eggplant fritters – works best with small eggplant. Blot really, really well w/paper towels. Dust in rice flour or cornstarch, dip in egg was and then dip in panko and panfry. Serve with spicy tomato chutney and plain yogurt.

3. Eggplant fries. Cut into 1/2 inch logs. Soak in ice water about 15 minutes and then dry really well. Dust with rice flour or cornstarch and deep fry -yum!! The ice water keeps the eggplant from soaking up oil!!

I never cook eggplant but I love all of these comments :)

Well, my goodness, that little purple thing squeezed out the cooking charm of your readers, didn’t it? Well done folks! I’m most likely one of the reasons Molls never had a love affair with eggplant. Never used it. Needless to say this delightful myriad of choices might coax me on to try the color purple.

Yay! I’m glad you’re embracing the eggplant. I love it myself and it’s often overlooked.

Molly – we’ve been getting Eggplant like crazy in our Massachusetts farm share. Sometimes I look at them piling up in the fridge and realize I have to do something very quick before they spoil. Here’s my go-to:

rub the eggplant with a little olive oil,
stab it a few times all over,
stick it in the oven @ 400
keep an eye on it, and wait for it to be begin “deflating”
(….maybe 30 minutes? really depends on the size of your plant)

once cooked through,
skin it, and toss it in a blender with a heavy drizzle of olive oil, 1-2 cloves of garlic, sea salt & pepper. It’s very quick dip for seeded crackers, endive leaves or toasted baguette. hope you like it :)