[Shimmer]

Last night I made baked stuffed eggplant. It was good, but I feel like I threw away a lot of usable parts of the eggplant. I have never handled one before, I've avoided them since I had slimy eggplant parmigan, only to discover later that they don't HAVE to be slimy.

How do I properly take the edible parts out of the inside? How do I separate it from the seeds? Are you even supposed to? I took out all the parts with seeds and ended up with almost nothing.

Sorry for my lack of any knowledge, but so many good vegetarian recipes call for it, and I really want to know how to do it right!

[Isa]

Shimmer,

I always eat the seeds, would be too hard to remove the seeds without throwing a lot of the pulp. If you don't want to eat the skin, you can simply peel it with a vegetable peeler.

One of my favorite ways to cook eggplant is to make eggplant pancakes. You could also do this with the eggplant you scoop out to make eggplant shells.

Cook the eggplant into a mush. Drain well. Add an egg and some pancake mix until the right consistency. Add salt and pepper and maybe a small amount of garlic powder. Cook like you would a regular pancake, but don't expect it to bubble the same on top. In other words, make sure you don't get it too brown. Makes a wonderful vegetable side dish.

[SeattleDeb]

Crudeau...I love eggplant and want to try your dish...do you top the pancakes with anything?

SeattleDeb:

No, I don't top them with anything, but, heh, experiment with it after you taste them and then let me know what you think. OK?

[cape chef]

Crudeau,

That sounds interesting.
I do an eggplant cake that I serve with lamb sometimes. It kind of has a middle eastern flair to it.I rub a whole eggplant with olive oil and perce it a few times with a toothpick, Then I roast it whole at 325 degree's until it collapes and is very tender.I cool it a little then scoop into a chinoise and let drain in the fridge. When cool I pop it is a bowl and a egg yolk,chopped mint,chopped chives,mashed chic peas,chopped calamati olives toasted pinenuts,crumbled feta, some fresh oregano and a little chic pea flour to bind. I saute them in olive oil until golden on both sides. I put it in the center of the plate,topped with spinach flavored with lemon zest and then slices of lamb loin.then I garnish with black mission figs and reduced lamb jus
cc

CC:

That sounds great. What time is dinner? I will have to try that one on my own one of these days.

[cape chef]

Crudeau,

Thank's , I think you will enjoy those puppies. There great on there own to as a vegetable side, or with a salad
cc

[shroomgirl]

Nice addition to a Mez

the fresher the eggplant the more you don't have to salt....I had some great ones last summer that were fine without the salt....picked them myself though...seeds were white.

Baba ganosh...baked eggplant, garlic, tahini, lemon, flat leaf parsley, cumin, green onions (some add a small amount of mayo) cayene ....puree and serve with pita chips.
Eggplant rollups bread an eggplant slice 1/2" with skin on... spray wiht oil bake at 375* for 20 or so minutes turn once. wrap around ricotta, basil, parmesan and egg (s&P)
top with a marinara bake...

Stuffed with seafood, bread crumbs, and NO trinity (celery, onion, garli, red pepper)

[Mezzaluna]

I posted a recipe for rice with eggplant and mushrooms on some thread about rice... don't know where it is, but use the search feature and type in "rice". It's Eggplant a la Pierre (eggplant, rice, onions, mushrooms).

[cape chef]

Shimmer,

No need to remove the seeds.
They are quite digestable and add texture.
Like Sisi said just peel the skin if you don't want it...I leave mine on, and dice,slice etc..whatever your recipe describes.It is importent with eggplant to leach out the akrid acids before cooking simply by tossing the cut pieces with kosher salt and putting in a strainer,cover with saran,put a plate on top and a can of something with some wieght to it on top of the plate and let it drain into a bowl for an hour or so. Throw out the liquid and then procced.also look for male eggplants if you want less seeds...you can tell by the size of the base notch,smaller on males. They are also more slender and firmer to the touch,so more flesh and less seeds
cc

[SeattleDeb]

I don't peel or seed my eggplant. Not sure if others agree with the following, but I followed this "salting" method to make a great eggplant goat cheese dish.


------------
Salting an Eggplant
In season and freshly picked, eggplant is tender and mild, needing neither peeling nor salting to remove bitterness. However, since such fresh eggplant is not always available, salting is imperative.

Globe eggplants — the most common variety — are normally salted to remove their bitterness. There is another reason to salt, too. Not only does the salt flavor permeate the dense flesh, but it also removes excess moisture and helps firm up the texture of eggplant. Salted, rinsed, and dried eggplant will need less oil when cooked. Remember that a dish made with salted eggplant may not need any more salt.

To salt eggplant, slice or cube the vegetable, sprinkle the pieces all over with a generous amount of gray salt, then place them in a colander to drain. After 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the thickness of the slices or cubes, rinse quickly under running water. You are literally washing away its bitterness. To dry the eggplant pieces, press them firmly between sheets of paper towels or tea towels.

[SeattleDeb]

Ooops sorry cape chef...for some reason didn't read yours which basically said the same thing! Couldn't edit mine to remove.

[SeattleDeb]

Ohhh I see we posted at the same time...that's why...so I'm not going nuts )

[cape chef]

That's to funny Deb