Preparation
Wash the eggplant well. Depending on your preparation, you can peel it with a vegetable peeler or paring knife or leave the peel on. Leaving the peel on increases its fiber content. However, the larger deep purple eggplants sometimes have a bitter skin along with a thin layer of bitter flesh just under the skin. Lengthy cooking, about 20 to 30 minutes, usually tames the bitterness.
When cutting the eggplant, use a steel knife to avoid blackening the delicate flesh. Carbon knives cause discoloration.
Eggplant's versatility makes it an all-purpose delectable that can be baked, sautéed, fried, grilled, boiled, and braised. Slice it lengthwise, crosswise, or at an angle. Shred it, cube it, dice it, puree it, chop it. Employ your creativity. You can stuff it, puree it and make it into a sauce, use it as a wrapper, include it in a stuffing, or employ it as a soup thickener.
Eggplant is best cut shortly before cooking. Once peeled, eggplant flesh turns brown or oxidizes quickly. Cook it soon after peeling or brush it with lemon juice.
Because the flesh of the eggplant is so porous, it has a tendency to absorb oil quickly. Avoid dipping slices into oil or they will absorb enormous quantities. Instead, brush on a light coating of oil just before cooking. To prevent overuse of oil when sautéing eggplant, add a little water to the pan along with the oil. Salting the eggplant before cooking may also prevent it from absorbing excess oil. An Australian study revealed that when the eggplant was deep-fried, a single serving had absorbed 83 grams of fat in 70 seconds.
Be sure to cook eggplant thoroughly to bring out its sweetness. Raw eggplant, especially a slightly overripe one, does not have a pleasing flavor.
Salting
Salting the eggplant to leach out the bitterness is a long-standing tradition among Middle Eastern and European cooks. This technique usually applies to the large, plump eggplants rather than the long, thin variety. The thin eggplants tend to be drier in general. Some cooks say the salting process may or may not actually release the bitterness but find that salting the eggplant prevents it from absorbing excessive amounts of oil, and releases excessive moisture.
Salting, however, is not essential. Truly fresh eggplants have a deliciously delicate sweetness and would be much better left alone.
If you prefer to salt, the salting process is easy. Slice the eggplant, sprinkle salt on each slice, and layer slices in a colander with a dish underneath to catch the moisture that drains out. Set aside for about 20 to 30 minutes, then wipe slices with a paper towel or rinse off the salt before cooking.
Another method of ridding the eggplant of acidic flavor is to blanch it for no more than one minute before the desired preparation. To blanch: bring a pot of water to boiling and drop in the eggplant. Boil for one minute and remove with a slotted spatula.
Excellent companions to eggplant cookery include olive oil, onions, tomatoes, garlic, lemon, olives, nuts, and spices like pepper, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, chili powder, and ginger.
While the focus is on brief cooking times for most vegetables to help retain their valuable vitamins, eggplant has few vitamins, and lengthy cooking does not destroy its minerals. Undercooked eggplant can taste somewhat astringent and unpleasant.
To prevent discoloring the eggplant, avoid cooking it in aluminum pans which tend to react with acidic vegetables.
RAW
According to the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, a division of the Center for Disease Control, eggplant should not be eaten raw because of its toxin containing solanine that may cause gastrointestinal upset.
COOKING
Roasted or Grilled: Traditional preparation throughout the Middle East is to roast the whole eggplant over a gas flame or barbecue grill, turning with tongs, until soft and blackened to give it a definitive smoky flavor. This method is a typical beginning for preparing Baba Ghanoush.
Prepare an Eggplant Caviar appetizer by cooking a large whole eggplant over gas flames, turning frequently until soft and well blackened. Cool, scoop out flesh, and season with lots of chopped onions, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and a little olive oil. For more expressive caviar, add garlic, olives, or tomato paste.
Sautéed: Another great starter is Caponata, a traditional Italian appetizer. Chop a whole-unpeeled eggplant into bite-size cubes, and sauté them in olive oil with onions and green bell peppers until soft. Add fresh tomatoes, chopped green olives, capers, and a little wine vinegar. Season to taste with salt and a pinch of sugar.
Sliced eggplant can be dipped in a breading mixture and sautéed in oil, then drained on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
Oven Roasted: Enjoy an Eggplant Sandwich that suits your palate. For a lean meal, slice a plump eggplant crosswise into thick slices, and roast it on a lightly oiled baking sheet at 375 F. (Gas Mark 5) for 25 minutes. Slip it into a whole-wheat pita with sliced tomatoes, sweet onions, romaine lettuce, and your favorite condiments. For a more lavish treat, fry the eggplant slices in olive oil until tender and spread your pita or bread with vegan mayonnaise or an olive tapanade. Add your favorite fixings like lettuce and tomato and enjoy.
Baked: Baked eggplant is an easy cooking method that requires practically no effort. Prior to baking, be sure to pierce the eggplant in several places with a fork to prevent it from exploding in the oven. Bake at 350 F. to 375 F. (Gas Mark 4 to 5) for about an hour. When cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and season to taste.
Braised: Prepare a delicious Ratatouille, a well-known French vegetable stew, by sautéing eggplant chunks along with zucchini, tomatoes, onions, and garlic in olive oil. Add tomato juice and traditional herbs and seasonings, cover the pan, and allow it to simmer about 20 minutes.
Broiling or Grilling: Slice eggplants thickly, brush with oil, and place under the broiler or directly on the barbecue grill. Watch them carefully to avoid burning. Cooking will be brief, probably no more than 5 minutes on each side. Season as desired.
A hearty Mediterranean dish with Greek ancestry, this entrée is pure heaven to walnut and eggplant lovers. Its exceptional flavor comes from the combination of cinnamon, tomato paste, and capers. Because the stuffed eggplant is so special, I keep the rest of the meal simple with stir-fired or steamed vegetables, bulghur wheat, and a tossed salad.
Walnut Stuffed Eggplant is one of the delicious recipes from Zel Allen's cookbook The Nut Gourmet: Nourishing Nuts for Every Occasion published by Book Publishing Company in 2006.
WALNUT STUFFED EGGPLANT
Yield: 4 hearty servings
2 1-pound eggplants (450g each)
1/2 pound (225g) tomatoes, chopped
1/4 pound (115g) cremini or button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup (240 ml) chopped onions
4 large cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup (160 ml) walnuts
1 6-ounce (170g) can tomato paste
3 heaping tablespoons capers, well drained
2 to 3 small ripe tomatoes, sliced
Salt
- Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, slicing through the stem end. Using a curved, serrated grapefruit knife, scoop out the flesh, leaving a 1/4-inch (.5 cm) thick shell, and coarsely chop the flesh. Put the chopped eggplant into a large, deep skillet or flat bottom wok.
- Rub the inside of the eggplant shells with a small amount of olive oil and place them on a baking sheet. Place the eggplant shells under the broiler and broil them 3 inches (7.5 cm) from the heat source for 5 to 10 minutes, until fork tender. Watch carefully to prevent burning. Remove the eggplant shells from the broiler and set them aside.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees (Gas Mark 5). Add the chopped tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, garlic, olive oil, salt, cinnamon, and pepper to the skillet with the chopped eggplant, and cook and stir for 7 to 10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
- Coarsely grind the walnuts in a nutmill and add them to the skillet along with the tomato paste and capers. Mix well.
- Fill the eggplant shells with the vegetable mixture and top with tomato slices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake, uncovered, for 25 to 35 minutes. .