I started dabbling with eggplant a couple years back. I honestly still don’t know what to make of it as far as structural placement in a meal, but man can it be good. I’ll go over a few things I’ve learned about it cooking on my own and then see what others have done. It is such a great and unique fruit (yeah on a vine) there isn’t much to compare so I think it deserves unique treatment from a culinary perspective.
I started cooking eggplant because I noticed how savory it could be in roasted vegetable dishes. There was umami there and I couldn’t explain why. So I set out to learn to cook it. The first thing I noticed on web search was all this draining stuff. I’m sure it is great, but it’s a pain and didn’t work for me so I stick to roasting it. So then I noticed it takes a whole lot of oil to soak it if you want to grill it. That’s fine but you really have to watch your temperature, it burns easy. At first I was just stacking it with roasted veggie dishes to make them a little meaty, then one day I thought to throw it in the food processor and inexplicably added sesame oil, garlic, lemon, and parsley. Hello baba ganoush. I didn’t know the recipe, it just worked. Working this sort of hummus angle, I’ve arrived at a great recipe beyond the basic that can serve as both a sauce and dip.
Ingredients
2 large whole eggplant, skinned and diced into 3/4" cubes
1 whole head garlic, roasted
1 whole medium size sweet onion, carmelized
1/2 small handful of parsley finely minced
1/2 large lemon juiced
tbsp paprika
tbsp cumin
tbsp tumeric
tbsp oregano
S/P
EVOO
tbsp sesame oil
Place eggplant into large baking dish. Generously cover with evoo. Salt/pepper. Mix by hand. Cover dish with foil. Roast at 350 for 25 minutes. Uncover. Roast for another 45 minutes while taking dish out to mix every 10 minutes to get carmelization distributed. Place all ingredients in food processor to blend. S/P to taste. Warm this can be used as a sauce mixed with pasta. Or can be refrigerated and used as a cold dip. Simply add garbanzo for hummus.
The eggplant, onion, and garlic make a very sweet paste with tons of umami. What do you guys do?
I love the long thin Japanese eggplant which tend to have less seeds. It is one of my go to’s in a Chinese or Thai restaurant especially with steamed tofu in a spicy sauce.
One of my upcoming birthday sides will be grilled eggplant seasoned with a Middle Eastern spice blend and then mashed and mixed with olive oil and sea salt.
Kenny, your observations about how delicious eggplant can be in savory dishes is an ancient one in some countries. I really think the best food I’ve had in Turkish restaurants have been eggplant based. “Imam Bayaldi” – there is a whole story about how the Imam came to dinner and fainted because of the deliciousness of the food. That is a very famous eggplant dish. In Persian cooking, you have a staple in Kashk-e Bademjan. Bademjan means eggplant, and Kashk is a kind of thick sour yoghurt, it is a very wonderful – I guess you would call it a dip. The Italians also have made really good use of eggplant, probably the most familiar would be eggplant parmigiano. And in the south of France, there is Ratatouille…
I really like the eggplant and onion “hash” from the old Top Chef Miami episode where Dale made it paired with the rack of lamb poached in duck fat. Unfortunately bravotv.com is blocked from my work computer so I can’t get the link but you can probably google for it.
Some times I will scoop out the middle of a purple one, then fry,or saute that eggplant, then make a meatball mix, which the eggplant is put back in, fill the carved out eggplant, and top with marinara and cheese and bake.
When I stir fry, the eggplant tends to get soft and mushy. Should I sautee it separate? I like that the eggplant absorbs the oil and the flavors in the pan, however.
I grew up eating a fair amount of eggplant parmagian as a non-meat dish.
Grilled eggplant is great as are preparations using black bean sauce or fried with a miso glaze.
Having travelled to Sicliy, however, I have a new appreciation for eggplant as prepared in Caponata.
Wonderful combiation of sweet and sour, with eggplant, onions, vingear, capers, sugar, pine nuts, and sometimes golden raisins.
Here is a link for a fairly good recipe:
One of the benefits of Caponata is that it doesn’t taste like straight eggplant or have the “pod-like” texture. That is, when made properly, it takes on a whole new flavor and texture profile different than most eggplant preparations such that those who don’t like eggplant won’t object. Those who like eggplant will think, “hey, Caponata, this is good.” Best of both worlds.
