Posted on 09/13/2013 1:19:35 PM PDT by ColdOne
Not a fan of Eggplant. To me, it’s like shrimp or tofu - it acquires the taste of whatever you cook it with.
That said, here is my favorite Eggplant recipe...
Thinly slice one whole Eggplant. Gently sauté in olive oil, with 12 slices of thick-sliced bacon. Add diced onions or green pepper.
While this delightful mélange is simmering, pour yourself three fingers of Scotch Whiskey. Add ice and water, to taste.
Once the bacon acquires an aromatic caramelized state, discard the Eggplant and slide the remaining feast onto a bed of fluffy white rice, or, baked beans.
Bon Appetite !
Here is a really easy one.
Rinse one off and throw it on the grill. In about 15-20 minutes or so turn it over and let it go another 15 or more minutes. Remove it from the grill and scrape out the indides into a bowl. Add a small amount of olive oil and salt to taste. Great on crackers.
take one egg, dig a hole, plantit. water generously, wait for it to sprout
One large eggplant
2-3 cloves garlic
olive oil
lemon juice
salt and pepper
Method:
heat oven to 450 degrees
puncture eggplant in a few places with a fork then wrap in aluminum foil
roast eggplant for about an hour, remove from oven and let cool.
Scoop out interior of eggplant and combine with pressed garlic, olive oil and a few squeezes of lemon juice. Salt to taste. Refrigerate and serve with Arabic flat bread, and hummus on the side and grilled lamb chops. A salad would be nice. I am rambling but off the top of my head. Adding tahini and parsley is ok but I prefer without.
This is important with any eggplant parmesan recipe that you choose: slice ithe eggplant lengthwise (I prefer thin slices) and layer it lightly with salt, then weigh it down with something heavy. Let it sit there for about 30 minutes. Pat it dry with paper towels. This will remove moisture and bitterness.
Slice lengthwise into 3/4” slices. Brush with olive oil and grill about 5-6 minutes a side on medium high heat, so you've got nice grill marks on the surface and the inside is soft. Salt and spice to taste.
You can eat it as a salad with a dressing, with feta, with tomato sauce, with pesto, with you name it, or put it in a sandwich with some provolone, etc. Grill some Italian sausages at the same time. Or add it to pasta....
I may try growing the Chinese eggplant next year.
Got about 4 gallon zip bags of eggplant in the freezer so time to experiment with a different variety.
I like to gift wrap it and leave in the back seat of an unlocked car until it is gone!
Ya, the Asian varieties are the best. No bitterness, and I don’t peel them either. They’re all over the place at my local farmer’s market.
I am watching some friends garden as they are on vacation. I began to make gazpacho and realized I forgotten to buy a cucumber. Hey, my friend has some eggplants I have to pick.
So, I added the eggplant raw. Since the gazpacho has lemon juice and tomatoes in it the eggplant did not turn brown.
I also put avocado in my gazpacho and it will stay fresh for as long as I have soup left.
Moussaka is good too. Fried eggplant slices layered with pre-cooked ground lamb, tomato and onions, and a Greek cheese called kefalotiri, topped with Bechamel sauce and oven baked as a casserole.
Your cheating, Bean! Add bacon to anything and it’s delicious.
1.Grill eggplant for 1/2 hour.
2.Peel the skin.
3.chop in the blender( no skin).
4.Add choped tomatoes, onions, olive or sunflower oil, salt and black pepper.
Grill it!
Just discovered this year the absolute yumminess of eggplant cooked on the grill. Peel it, slice it into rounds, put a little olive oil on it and grill it on a sheet of foil. 5 minutes each side.
Thanks for the alert my dear FRiend.. Great thread, and I have learned a few tips, as usual..
AUTHENTIC ITALIAN EGGPLANT PARMESAN
Eggplant Parmesan is a mainstay meal of Italians everywhere, and our home is not an exception.. This recipe is a variation of our restaurant concept for obvious reasons, amount being at the top of the list..
Ingredients:
4 pounds eggplant
Olive oil for frying
2 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, blanched, peeled and chopped
A small piece of onion, minced
Abundant basil
3/4 pound fresh mozzarella (buffalo milk if possible)
2 eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano
Pepper
Preparation:
Note: Since the wateriness of fresh tomatoes varies the above is a minimum. You can also use 3.6 pounds canned tomatoes or 1 1/2 quarts bottled tomato sauce.
Drain the tomatoes well, and cook them with the minced onion and a sprig of basil. When they have softened, drain them and put them through a food mill, then cook them a little more over low heat, without letting the sauce thicken too much. Salt the sauce when it is done and don’t add oil, as the eggplant will have absorbed enough in frying.
Peel the eggplants and cut them into quarter-inch slices; salt them and place them between to plates to press out the bitter juices. After 1 to 2 hours rinse them and pat them dry. In the mean time, heat a pot of oil to the smoking point, then fry the slices, a few at a time, removing them from the oil while they are still lightly colored. Set the slices upright in a rack to drain, then put them on a sheet of absorbent paper to remove all the oil you can.
Mince the basil and cut the mozzarella into thin slices, then cut the slices into strips.
Take a 10-inch diameter oven-proof dish that’s about 3 inches high and spread a couple of tablespoons of tomato sauce over it. Next, beat the eggs with 2/3 cup of tomato sauce.
Arrange a third of the eggplant in the bottom of the dish, overlapping the slices slightly, and cover them with 2 tablespoons grated cheese, 5-6 pieces basil leaves, 2-3 tablespoons of the egg sauce, and half the mozzarella. Repeat this process with another layer. Lay down a third layer, covering it with the remaining grated cheese, egg-tomato sauce, and, if need be a little more tomato sauce to cover.
Bake in a slow oven for about an hour, turning the heat up in the last few minutes to lightly brown the top. The dish should not be eaten hot – let it cool some, or better yet, entirely.. As with most Italian dishes with tomato sauces, next day flavor is always better, this recipe is no exception..
Yield: 4-6 servings eggplant Parmesan… ENJOY! Carlo
Giggety.
Lots of interesting recipes here.
I thought about it and you are right. If you don’t have bacon, eggplant stuff ain’t worth makin’.
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