Eggplants and Aubergines

[Rosie x]

I love eggplant and read in the paper today that the demand for it is higher than ever. How do you cook eggplant?  Do you have any good recipes to share with us? The easiest is to cut it in half, score it, brush with oil,  sprinkle with herbs and grill it. I also bake a whole eggplant and once it is done I take off the skin, let it drain, mash it and then mix it with mayonnaise and fresh chopped garlic for a great dip.

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Rosie

eGullet.com Community Coordinator, New Jersey

[Jason Perlow x]

My favorite way to eat asian eggplants is in thai curries.

For italian style, roasted and tossed with a fresh tomato sauce made with great olive olil served with some fresh mozzerella has got to be tops for me

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Jason Perlow -- Director eGullet.com Community

[Emily x]

There are a lot of different types of eggplants on display at the stores. Do you guys know what the differences are? Is it just a question of appearance or are different ones better for different purposes.

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Emily Rose, rosemily@hotmail.com

[Jason Perlow x]

I actually grow a few different types of eggplant in my home garden -- the smaller, asian egglplants come in several different colors, and taste slightly different but you pretty much use them in stir frys, tempuras, just about anything the same way. Thai eggplant in green curry (Gang Keow Warn) is one of my favorite dishes. Mamster's website has a whole page on how to make these

http://www.mamster.net/food/essays/thai-curry.html

The larger black eggplants are primarily used in italian cooking, for rollatinis, eggplant parmigiano, antipasto, etc.

I have a few white eggplants growing but I am not sure what they are used for.

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Jason Perlow -- Director eGullet.com Community

[yvonne johnson x]

I never think of eggplant as a favorite veg, but I often love it when it’s placed in front of me. Here’s a dish that’s really good hot or cold, and it’s SO easy. Goes very well with lamb chops.

It’s adapted from Rosamond Richardson’s “Deliciously Different” 1986, Sainsbury, UK

For 2 people. Halve (lengthwise)a decent sized eggplant.

Salt it and leave for half hour.

Preheat oven at 300F/150C

Cook 1 finely chopped largish onion with olive oil over very low heat

Scoop out flesh from eggplant and fry briefly with the onions

Add to pan:

14 oz tin of tomatoes

2 oz currants (I substituted raisins)

chopped fresh thyme

a bay leaf

salt and pepper

Put mixture in eggplant skins. Drizzle olive oil on top

Bake for 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours

Voila.

[B Edulis x]

Eggplants are wonderful, for sure. One of those foods that I never was introduced to as a kid, but has nevertheless become a comfort food.

A guy who used to sell at our farmer's market (Black Dirt Eddie) had little bright red eggplants, I think he called them "persian." I tried them and found them very firm, even after cooking. I never figured out what they were good for, since eggplants are one of those rare vegetables that you really need to cook thoroughly.

In How to Cook Everything Mark Bittman has a nice recipe where you saute diced eggplant with garlic for a long time. Delicious pure eggplant flavor, and the leftovers are terrific on sandwiches.

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B. Edulis

[Rosie x]

White eggplants are used the same way as purple eggplants. I had lunch recently at Thai Elephant in Millburn, NJ and they served these tiny greenish eggplants the size of an egg. Never saw that before.

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Rosie

eGullet.com Community Coordinator, New Jersey

[Mamster x]

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Hey, thanks for the hype, Jason.  You should also check out:

http://www.mamster.net/food/essays/thai-curry2.html

Which is a much more useful article overall.  Near my house I can typically find a lot of different eggplants, everything from the regular fat purple ones to slender Japanese eggplant, racquetball-sized dappled green Thai ones, and even the Thai pea eggplants, which I love (I'm on a bitter kick at the moment).

I'd rather eat eggplant in Thai curry than any other way, just like the Fat Guy, but a few weeks ago my friend had me over for a barbecue and she made fabulous grilled eggplant.  There was nothing to it.  Some olive oil and garlic and a few minutes on the grill and I ate the slices over toasted bread.  Many slices.

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Matthew Amster-Burton

Publisher, mamster's grub shack

Host, Pacific Northwest forum

[Jim Dixon x]

I usually get the fat purple eggplant, but mostly because they work better for my 2-3 favorite preparations:

1. grilled

don't peel, slice into 1/4-inch rounds, brush with 'cooking grade' olive oil (a cheaper extra virgin, but not the good stuff...go to http://www.realgoodfood.com for my definitions), grill over medium-hot coals until done ('cook until done' is my favorite recipe terminology)..I like them well-browned...serve drizzled with a little balsamic or make salsa verde of flat-leaf parsley, fresh basil (equal amounts), garlic, anchovy, and good olive oil, all hand-diced to a coarse paste (few salt-packed capers a good addition)

2 al funghi

'like mushrooms' typically means cooked with parsley and garlic, altho' I once read that eggplant cooked this way is called al funghi because the cooked pieces look a little mushrooms...I go with the first

dice into 1/4-inch pieces, fry in really, really hot, like just ready to smoke olive oil (see cooking grade above), but just enough to coat the bottom of a heavy cast iron skillet...use a flat spatula to turn often, scraping along the bottom of the pan...moderate heat a little if necessary...don't add oil, at least for the first few minutes...cook, turning often, until done (the pieces will shrivel up a bit and get brown, and they'll give up a little of the oil after a bit, too)..remove from pan...in the same pan combine with a bit of oil a lot of diced garlic and several finely chopped anchovies...cook over medium heat for a couple of minutes, add eggplant back, finish with lots of flat-leaf parlsey when you take it off heat...this is really, really good...drizzle with your best evoo

3 caponata

this one is too long to retype...it's on my web site (from the main page, click on cooking)

Jim

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Spirited & opinionated writing about real good food...who serves it, how to make it, where to buy it, & why to eat it.

http://www.realgoodfood.com

[nyc]

I've just become the happy recipient of a flat of beautiful baby eggplants.

I'm trying to break out of the lasagna/ratatouille rut. In my brief time here, you all seem to take food to the utmost in flavorful.

So I hope you won't mind if ask for your thoughts on favorite preparations and recipes?

Thanks.

NYC

[Saffy]

babaganoush - I hope I spelt that correctly!

[Adam Balic]

When you say baby eggplant, do you mean small versions of the large purple European type of one of the Asian types of eggplants?

[Jinmyo]

Slice in half, hache (cross-hatch) the interior, bend backwards to open the scoring, pour in shoyu (soy sauce) with some wasabi mixed in, push in a few slivers of garlic and ginger, cook in a grilling pan.

[Adam Balic]

Slice in half, hache (cross-hatch) the interior, bend backwards to open the scoring, pour in shoyu (soy sauce) with some wasabi mixed in, push in a few slivers of garlic and ginger, cook in a grilling pan.

Show off!

[Miss J]

Sea-spicy aubergines. Spicy, sour, and salty with the creaminess of the aubergines countered by a little bit of fried, crumbled minced pork. Eat on a big bowl of plain steamed rice.

[Jinmyo]

Adam, it's the only way that I like eggplant. Babaganoush is otay, but a waste of baby (or Asian) eggplant.

[Adam Balic]

I asked about what exactly they were as I find that the baby European types can be very watery and collapse down down to nothing on baking.

On that note I would suggest a Thai curry (red or dry) with snake beans. Preserves the colour and shape of the veg., looks like amethyst jewels on a red velvet cloth.

[Suzanne F]

... looks like amethyst jewels on a red velvet cloth.

Oh dear -- can't top that for poetry!

And here I was going to suggest stuffing them with meat or the old crumb-and-cheese mixture. How prosaic.

[Adam Balic]

... looks like amethyst jewels on a red velvet cloth.

Oh dear -- can't top that for poetry!

And here I was going to suggest stuffing them with meat or the old crumb-and-cheese mixture. How prosaic.

Well that really is the tricky thing with cooking with eggplant. You have to get all verbose with it.

Eggplant

[Ron Johnson]

If they are large enough try this:

Cut off each end if the eggplant

Slice thinly on mandolin longways (or use knife if you are skilled).

You should end up with thin roughly rectangular planks

Season each slice on both sides with salt, pepper, and EVOO.

Grill (grill pan is fine) on each side until good charred grill marks appear.

Set aside to cool enough to handle.

Place a dab of soften goat cheese with herbs on one end and roll to thickness of a cigar.

Place on baking sheet.

Right before service sprinkle with some parm reggiano and run under the broiler for a minute or so until hot.

Serve with tapenade, marinara, or any other sauce you like and some crusty bread.

[Suzanne F]

You have to get all verbose with it.

Do you mean, if you're growing them in your garden, you have to spend a lot of time talking to them? They're not happy with just listening to the complete Beethoven String Quartets, or all of the Ella Fitzgerald "Songbooks"? Sheesh, now I know why I don't try to grow anything!

[Adam Balic]

Nah, you just have to give the finished dish a long winded name.

[Jinmyo]

Ron, I've done that (more or less; mine involved panchetta and pecorino). And it's great for large eggplants. I won't eat them but other people will.

[Suvir Saran]

Adam, it's the only way that I like eggplant. Babaganoush is otay, but a waste of baby (or Asian) eggplant.

Agreed...

I prepare them as bagharey baingan (baby eggplants with a spice and nut tempered stuffing) ... once Jinmyo has eaten this preparation.. she will be hooked for life..

Even those that hate eggplant, fall into that trap..

Prepared Hyderabad style... Stuffed and cooked with a thick sauce that seems creamy without having any cream.

Curry leaves, garlic, ginger, sesame, peanuts, white poppy seeds, and yogurt are the main ingredients.... and then a lot of love.

This dish is always made with the tinest of tiny baby eggplants... and is magical at every bite.

[Adam Balic]

Suvir - the eggplants that you use for this dish are they the same as what are called "Indian eggplants" on this site?

Indian Eggplant?