Eggplants

Please share some of your favorite eggplant recipes. I'd love something simple as I just don't have a lot of extra ingredients here at home at the moment. I tried sauteing with onions and tomatoes last night but the eggplant was really tough. Otherwise, it was good. I also fried some last week. That was really good but I try to not fry too often.

Eggplant & Tofu Curry

Eggplant & Tofu Curry:

1 large eggplant, sliced into 1/4" rounds
salt
2 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 large pinch of cumin seeds
pinch of coriander seeds
1 red pepper, chopped into 1/2" slices
1 cup cauliflower, cut into small florettes
1 jar TJ's Korma Simmer Sauce or something simmilar
4 oz tofu, cubed
1/2 cup white beans (red kidney beans would be great too or chickpeas)
handful of cashews
small bunch cilantro leaves, chopped

Salt the eggplant slices and place in a colander. Leave for 1 hour. Gently rinse and pat dry. Cut into 1" pieces.

Heat the olive oil and add the minced garlic. Cook gently for 1-2 minutes. Add the cumin and coriander seeds. Cook 1 minute. Add the eggplant, cover, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring as needed to prevent sticking. Add the red pepper and cauliflower, stir well, cover and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the Korma Simmer Sauce and tofu and simmer for 10 minutes until the eggplant is tender. Add the beans and cashews for the last 5 minutes of cooking. Add the chopped cilantro for the last 2 minutes of cooking.

Serve with naan or over rice.

Shel

Hard to know what ingredients you have on hand.
This is a traditional italian way to make eggplants
barchette di melanzane
You need the thin eggplants for this, really, but you can also do them with the more rounded kind you might have found.
remove the stem part
slice in half lengthwise. Then cut with a small sharp pointed knife in cross-hatching that goes deeply into the flesh but doesn;t pierce the other side. They should be half an inch apart
You should be able to press on teh edges and the cuts will open up
salt and pepper them

Separately take a couple of slices of stale bread (you really would need artisan style bread, that gets dry when stale, not moldy!)
wet well in water, and squeeze, then crumble.
add per eggplant:
a smashed garlic clove,
5 or 6 stalks of parsley,
some fresh basil (a few leaves) or origano or thyme
a couple of anchovies, washed (the best are the kind that are preserved in salt, rather than oil, and you have to take out the spine, otherwise the regular oil-packed kind are ok if you can;t find the others.
a few gaeta olives or if you can't get those, greek or italian type dark olives
enough oil to wet the bread (dont be stingy - good olive oil is necessary)
salt and pepper

press on the edges of the eggplant to make the cuts open up and press the filling into them deeply, and let some stay on top

Put a little oil on the bottom of a baking dish that is just big enough to hold them. Lay them cut side up on the dish, packed side by side. Cover with foil or parchment paper.

bake at 350-400 until you can pierce them easily with a knife. Uncover and cook some more till the top shows some color.

and here are a couple of other simpler recipes:

simple grilled eggplants marinated
Slice eggplants in 1/2 inch slices
grill on a barbecue, or on a grill pan till they show the black lines of the grill
marinate for about an hour, or more in a dish layering them with
good olive oil
salt
pepper
crushed garlic
parsley
origano or basil

These are great additions to sandwiches

Grilled eggplant with mozzarella and tomato
Slice and grill eggplant as above without marinating
lay on a baking sheet that has been more than filmed with good olive oil then turn each one so both sides are oiled
Lay on top of each a slice of very good ripe tomato and
a slice of mozzarella
some basil, salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil
bake in the oven till the cheese begins to melt

Shel, thanks for the recipe but I have no clue what this is:
1 jar TJ's Korma Simmer Sauce or something simmilar.....is Korma an ethnic sauce of some kind? We don't have Trader Joe's here without driving 45 miles plus!

Siduri, I love your grilling suggestion! I am a grill nut! I'll definitely give that one a try probably over the weekend. I have everything except the mozzarella so will pick that up on my next grocery run on Saturday. Thanks!

BTW, I have the fat, round eggplants that I am growing in my garden.

Try this Sweet and Spicy Eggplant recipe:-

Ingredients

• 1 plate of sliced eggplant / brinjals (approximately 2 cm thick. The eggplant / brinjals will shrink in size about 25% upon cooking)
• 30 grammes of dried prawns (pre-soaked)
• 4 cloves garlic (chopped)
• 2 red or bird’s eye chilli (remove seeds and chopped)
• 1/2 cup warm water
• Palm Oil (for pan frying and stir-frying)

Seasoning

• 3 teaspoons sugar or more
• 2 pinches of salt
• 3/4 tablespoon of dark soya sauce

Method
Heat up a frying pan and pan-fry the eggplants / brinjals in oil till the flesh is golden brown. Remove and set aside.


Heat up approximately 1 tablespoon oil in wok and saute dried prawns for about 30 seconds. Add garlic and chilli and continue to fry till aromatic. Return fried eggplants / brinjals to the wok and add seasoning whilst stirring well to coat eggplants / brinjals evenly. Sprinkle some warm water to keep the eggplants / brinjals moist and to prevent burning.


Dish up and serve.

That sounds delicious! Boy, I wish I'd had it when the eggplants were going strong! lol The people we shared the garden with ended up sharing the fruits of our labors with a lot of people. I didn't get as many eggplants as I would have liked and don't get me started on the tomatoes. Suffice it to say, I just bought a bushel Monday and am getting another one tomorrow.

Chinese eggplants with goat cheese and walnuts

Chinese eggplants cut in rounds. Then you can sauté them or grill. Place the eggplants side-by-side on the serving platter. Sprinkle with small pieces of goat cheese and walnuts. Drizzle with the pomegranate molasses("Sultan" is my favorite).

Whole, fire roasted (Peeled, mashed). Takes longer than peppers and can be messy if cooked on stovetop. But so goooood with chopped heirloom tomatoes and swwet onions, little Olive Oil, S&P!

C

I've been throwing together a sort of ratatouille from whatever looks good in the market. Eggplant is the base as long as I can find good ones. The pairing with mushrooms works extremely well.

3 (or more) tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 large cloves garlic, finely minced (or more if you like)
4 cups diced eggplant (peeled if you like or if the skin seems thick/tough), 1" cubes
2 medium zucchini, 1" cubes
1 pound sliced white button mushrooms
2 ribs celery and their leafy tops cut into 1/2" lengths (or more than 2 ribs)
2 large tomatoes, 1" dice or 1 large can diced tomatoes in juice
Lots of fresh Italian parsley (1/2 cup roughly chopped- or more)
Lots of fresh dill (1/3 cup roughly chopped- or more
1 tablespoon Penzey's Italian herb mix (oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme, etc.)
4 ounces tomato sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and swish it around a few moments, then add the onion. Sprinkle with a little salt and continue sauteeing a couple of minutes. Add the eggplant with a little salt and pepper. Saute, stirring, about 5 minutes until the eggplant begins to give off its juices. Add the mushrooms (with a sprinkle of salt) and continue sauteeing and stirring until they, too, begin to give off juices. Add the celery and zucchini; stir for a couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes, then stir in the fresh and dried herbs. Cover the pot and continue cooking about five minutes. Add the tomato sauce; stir to blend. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Allow the mixture to simmer, uncovered, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste for seasoning before serving. Top with grated parmesan or grana cheese if you like.

You can also add in green beans, spinach or carrots if you like. I've been known to add leftover veggies to the mix.