I really want to try eggplant (I've never had it). I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for buying eggplants, what is the best way to cook them, recipes they are good in, ect?
Look for eggplants that feel heavy for their size and the skin should be glossy and unblemished. The stem shouldn't be too dry. If when you cut into the eggplant, you notice that the flesh near the skin seems a bit green, you'll need to salt it, else the eggplant will be bitter. To do this, cut the eggplant into slices and place in a colander, sprinkle with salt and leave for half an hour or so. Most of the time you won't need to do this, but if you've had a bitter eggplant, believe me you'll know it.
Recipes - Baba ganoush is dead easy and yummy. Prick the skin of an eggplant several times with a small knife and roast it in the oven till it starts to collapse (about 30 - 45 mins at 180 deg C / 350 deg F). Scoop the flesh out into the bowl of a food processor or blender and add 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 tablespoon of tahini and the juice of one lemon. Whizz together till blended and serve with vege sticks or pita crisps.
Eggplant's also really good cooked on the barbecue - just cut it into slices and cook for a couple of minutes on each side. I like to cook eggplant, red pepper, zucchini, mushrooms and tomatoes on the barbecue, mix them together then crumble a little bit of low fat feta over the top, add some oil free balsamic vinaigrette and toss together. Very yummy.
Just a little bit of caution - eggplant is like a sponge when it comes to oil - it just soaks it up, so if you are pan-frying it, then just be really careful about how much oil you add.
Just a little bit of caution - eggplant is like a sponge when it comes to oil - it just soaks it up, so if you are pan-frying it, then just be really careful about how much oil you add.
Hope this helps!
The way to prevent this is to "purge" the eggplant first. Cut it into slices, then salt both sides of each slice and let the slices sit for about 30 minutes. This draws out the moisture from the eggplant and also relieves some of the bitterness. And it won't soak up too much oil when you cook it
I love eggplant as well. One of my favorite ways to fix it is, like I mentioned above, purge it first. Then I cut it into thin strips and stir-fry it with garlic, tomatoes and a little bit of parmesan cheese. It's very yummy!
I don't have a recipe but I doubt its hard to make, eggplant parm is AMAZING. Arguably better then chicken parm. I'm sure if you found some decent bread crumbs and fat free cheese with some really good red sauce and baked it it would be really good.
I like to roast eggplant, mix it with pre-cooked chicken strips, cherry tomatoes, goat cheese, arugula, mustard, sea salt, and pepper, then eat it in a whole wheat pita. This makes a great lunch.
I haven't tried it yet, but the recipe for Grilled Eggplant Stacks from Cooking Light has been highly recommended to me (by someone who has tried it).
Here is a recipe for African-style eggplant that is very tasty (if you like spicy).
North African Eggplant
20 oz peeled and diced eggplant
14 oz diced tomato
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp dried marjoram
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (more or less, depending on how spicy you want the eggplant to be)
1 tbsp pine nuts
Cook all ingredients except pine nuts in skillet over medium heat until eggplant is softened and liquid is reduced. If liquid reduced too quickly, add a little chicken or vegetable broth. Stir in pine nuts at very end of cooking.
Makes 2 large servings at 180 calories each. If you want, you can add chicken or shrimp to make a main dish out of it.
I absolutely HATE italian eggplant (the big purple ones). I always seem to get the super bitter ones (even after purging with salt). Blegh!
Howevever, I so LOVE japanese or asian eggplant. These are either the shape and size (and sometimes color) of chicken or goose eggs or the shape and size of a medium zucchini (straight or curved slightly). They come in white, green, yellow, pink, and purple (solid or striped). I've never had to salt these before using (and the Hmong lady I get them from says they can even be eaten raw - I'm not that brave).
They have virtually no seeds (they're obviously in there, just so tiny you don't feel them at all), and are very yummy. If you can find these varieties (ethnic markets and farmer's markets should have them if your grocery store does not), they are so much nicer than the large italian type.
I slice them into thin slices and use in stir fries. Or cut them into large chunks and toss in a ziploc with 1 tbs of oil and some seasonings (ranch dressing powder or garlic, salt, and pepper) and pour in a roasting pan. Bake at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes (check on and stir at about 15).
If you want to try eggplant, I would suggest looking for a chinese or japanese eggplant. They are long and skinny. The chinese ones tend to have a lighter purple skin while the japanese tend to have a darker skin. This is a huge generalization because there are tons of different versions of eggplants. The thai and indian eggplants which are small and round have tons of seeds and I also don't recommend those.
I would recommend making long slices thickish slices (not too thick but not too thin either) and either pan roasting, oven roasting or grilling them.
My garden is currently growing a version of japanese eggplants and I'm really looking forward to them
Barbara, That North African Eggplant looks very nice. Do you serve it with rice?
The Eggplant Stacks in Cooking Light are great. My boyfriend has become addicted to them so we've had them a couple of times now. The red wine/balsamic reduction is to die for.
Baffled, you could definitely serve the North African Eggplant with rice, but it comes out thick enough that you don't really need to. It's a flexible dish--just cook it until it is a thick as you want it to be. I added Trader Joe's frozen seafood blend (a mix of shrimp, scallops, and calamari) to it and just ate it that way. Right now, I'd rather have the protein than the rice and I can't fit both into my calorie limit.
It would also be good with polenta (you could get the pre-cooked tubes and just slice some to eat with it).
I am just waiting for our garden to produce its first eggplant and then I'm definitely trying those eggplant stacks. I think I'm going to sub a portbello mushroom for the zucchini and summer squash though (I'm not a big zucchini/summer squash fan).
Portabello mushrooms would be great with it, actually. You could make a lovely salad with eggplant, mushrooms, the herbed goat cheese and the reduction and it would be very nice.
I'm a bit of a starch monster and I have a hard time conceiving of my favorite curry-type dishes (or even lentils) without having rice with them. It just doesn't feel right to me--but with rice, the calories really do add up so I end up not eating some of my favorite things. It's quite tragic, really, when you think of it
I'm a bit of a starch monster and I have a hard time conceiving of my favorite curry-type dishes (or even lentils) without having rice with them. It just doesn't feel right to me--but with rice, the calories really do add up so I end up not eating some of my favorite things. It's quite tragic, really, when you think of it
I am so right there with you. As soon as I either lose or give up on these last few pounds (if they're not gone by August, it's over) and can increase my calories by a couple hundred a day hopefully for maintenance, I'll definitely be eating a lot more rice.
Portabello mushrooms would be great with it, actually. You could make a lovely salad with eggplant, mushrooms, the herbed goat cheese and the reduction and it would be very nice.
I'm a bit of a starch monster and I have a hard time conceiving of my favorite curry-type dishes (or even lentils) without having rice with them. It just doesn't feel right to me--but with rice, the calories really do add up so I end up not eating some of my favorite things. It's quite tragic, really, when you think of it
I was trying to eat paneer and shrimp masala or dal without rice, and it almost was not worth it. I found that just a quarter cup of rice was enough to bulk it up and hold the sauces for me.
Recipes - Baba ganoush is dead easy and yummy. Prick the skin of an eggplant several times with a small knife and roast it in the oven till it starts to collapse (about 30 - 45 mins at 180 deg C / 350 deg F). Scoop the flesh out into the bowl of a food processor or blender and add 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 tablespoon of tahini and the juice of one lemon. Whizz together till blended and serve with vege sticks or pita crisps.
Eggplant
