Monthly Cooking Thread - August 2020

[Jamestown1630]

I’m a fan of eggplant. It’s commonly said that eggplant hasn’t much taste, but soaks up other flavors; but I like its own taste.

I think I’ve posted this before, and can’t remember where I found it; but it’s one of my favorite things to do with eggplant – if you also like tahini, you’ll enjoy this:

ROASTED EGGPLANT WITH TAHINI DRESSING

2 medium eggplants (about 1 1/4 pounds total), trimmed and halved lengthwise

coarse sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

DRESSING:

3 tablespoons well-stirred tahini

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons hot water

1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt

1/8 teaspoon minced garlic

1/8 teaspoon ground cumin

For Eggplant: Heat oven to 425°F with rack in middle. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (It helps to first sprinkle the eggplant halves with salt, and let them "drain", flesh side down, in a large colander for about 30 minutes before roasting. This helps to reduce the moisture content of the dish.)

Put eggplant pieces on prepared baking sheet, flesh-side up. With the tip of a sharp knife, score flesh, about 3/4 inch deep, here and there, or in a 'grill-mark' sort of grid. Season eggplant with salt and pepper, and drizzle with oil. Roast, rotating pan once halfway through, until eggplant flesh is soft and collapsed and edges are deep golden, 35 to 40 minutes.

Dressing:

While eggplant is roasting, in a bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients. Remove eggplant from oven and sprinkle with salt.

Transfer to serving plates, drizzle with half of the dressing and sprinkle with parsley. Serve with remaining dressing.

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Another thing to do with eggplant is Caponata, great with a good crusty loaf of Italian bread; this recipe is from Martha Rose Shulman:

https://therecipefile23.blogspot.com/2017/03/caponata-martha-rose-shulman-yield.html?m=1

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While we were waiting to see the SpaceX splashdown today, I found a couple of fun things on YouTube.

This is National Geographic’s interview with WWII veteran Richard Arvin Overton of Texas, who was 109 years old at the time this video was made; he lived to be over 112 by the time he passed (video is about 12 minutes long):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXyfCGDnuWs

And this is a very sweet man serenading his donkey (very short):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu-yDS6IVB4

[Jamestown1630]

This month: Eggplant - or whatever is burgeoning in your garden.

(If you would like to be on or off of this monthly cooking-thread ping-list, please send a private message.)

-JT

[umgud]

Fried eggplant. Love it.

[Jamestown1630]

My Daddy liked eggplant fritters - they seemed to be his hangover cure of choice ;-)

[kalee]

Eggplant rollatini is my favorite! I try out new recipes all the time.

[Libloather]

Just tried some BLT macaroni salad. Good summertime treat.

[ifinnegan]

L’Aubergine!

[Blurb2350]

I love eggplant — of all things. The simplest recipe is to dip 1/2” slices in egg and fry like french toast. Very tasty — but only if you like eggplant. Many recipes call for eggplant to be sprinkled with salt, wait, then drain. Way too much trouble! The slender Japanese eggplant are delicious in a stirfry.

[Jamestown1630]

Next time, maybe we’ll do La Courgette. You can make great little fritters out of that, too.

[Jamestown1630]

We bought our first wok recently, and have been so busy we haven’t done anything with it but season it. A stir fry with eggplant is one of the first things I’ve wanted to try in it.

[ifinnegan]

I like eggplant Parmesan.

But overall I think I like zucchini better. It’s a good squash.

[Jamestown1630]

I love eggplant Parmesan, too.

But I’m sort of partial to yellow squash.

[mylife]

Not sure I ever understood the love affair with eggplant, zucchini or squash, I don’t hate them though

[TianaHighrider]

Sounds yummy❣

[FamiliarFace]

I make a mean eggplant parmigiana, and I owe its success to salting it and letting it weep for 30 minutes or so before I start breading and browning the slices.

I would like to try your recipe sometime soon, so thank you.

As an aside, our grown children started a family food challenge about 2 weeks into the shutdown. We rotate turns between households picking a theme for the week, and the point is to try something new, and maybe even out of your comfort zone, each week. We each make a presentation sometime on Saturday or Sunday.

Though I have been cooking and baking since I was about 11 or 12, I think our kids are sharpening my skills. Themes have ranged from “lemon” , “pastries”, and “sandwiches” to more specific categories like “Mexican”, “Polynesian”, and even “breakfast/brunch” as a theme.

It has been a fun thing to keep us together, and in touch weekly. We live all across the USA, literally from coast to coast, and destinations in between.

[dgbrown]

1/4 “ slices, salt, hot pepper flakes or ground cayenne, very light drizzle olive oil and grill until browned. The heat from the peppers makes the eggplant shine.

[FamiliarFace]

We cook with all of them pretty regularly, but I’d have to say zucchini most frequently of those three. Always on the hunt for new and delicious recipes.

[Jamestown1630]

That’s a great family project!

[Trillian]

This is my favorite way to eat eggplant. I make sure to peel the bitter skin off.

Stuffed Eggplant - Melenzane Ripiene

Ingredients
2 medium sized black eggplant
4 cups Marinara sauce
2 cups sliced potatoes
4 large eggs
1 cup grated Parmigiano cheese
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
1 tablespoon fresh mint
extra virgin olive oil
salt

Directions
Cut off the stem of the two eggplant. Cut the eggplants long way in the halves.
With a small knife remove the pulp of the eggplant and leave just a bit more than 1/4 inch of the pulp attached to the skin. Place the skins in water to prevent oxidation.
Cut the pulp in small cubes and saute` with 1/4 cup of EV olive oil, chopped garlic and a bit of salt. Saute` until the eggplant pulp is soft.
In a mixing bowl add the eggs, bread crumbs, most of the cheese, parsley and the mint. Mix everything well.
Add the sauteed eggplant pulp and mix well again.
In a baking pan, add a layer of marinara sauce to completely cover the bottom.
Place the sliced potatoes to completely cover the bottom. Sprinkle some parsley and EV olive oil.
Dry the eggplant shells and position them over the bed of potatoes.
Fill each shell with the stuffing as even as possible.
Cover the stuffing of each eggplant with marinara sauce. Sprinkle cheese over the marinara sauce.
Bake at 375F for one hour.

https://www.cookingwithnonna.com/italian-cuisine/stuffed-eggplant-melenzane-ripiene.html

[Albion Wilde]

I used to go to a lot of trouble making eggplant parmigiana, dredging eggplat slices in egg and Italian breadcrumbs, frying in olive oil and then putting them in a casserole dish with tomato sauce and mozzarella to bake. It’s become not only too much trouble, but too many calories.

Now, when I periodically make my two gallon pot of tomato sauce (also known as tomato gravy in Philadelphia), and if eggplants are in season, I chop a large one up in one-inch chunks and stew it right in the pot with the tomato sauce.

When it’s soft, take it out with a slotted spoon and sort it into individual serving containers. (You can let the rest of your pot of sauce go on cooking for awhile, as desired.) Spoon a little more sauce on top of the eggplant chunks and a good sprinkling of Italian bread crumbs, and dot with fresh mozzarella.

Heat one up in the microwave to eat right away, and put the rest in the freezer to microwave in the future.