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August 2015 Challenge - Eggplant

9K views 64 replies 22 participants last post by  chefbuba 
#1 ·
Eggplant

The species of nightshade grown for its' edible fruit comes in as this month's food challenge.

Give me your best shot!!!
 
#5 ·
Nice!

When I try out a new Chinese restaurant my two test dishes are their hot and sour soup and eggplant in garlic sauce.

And oddly enough one of my garden plants I thought was going fall over and die surprised me:


Yep, a white eggplant. Before the end of the month maybe I'll submit a dish using some of these.

mjb.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Nice!

When I try out a new Chinese restaurant my two test dishes are their hot and sour soup and eggplant in garlic sauce.

And oddly enough one of my garden plants I thought was going fall over and die surprised me:


Yep, a white eggplant. Before the end of the month maybe I'll submit a dish using some of these.

mjb.
Love eggplant. I so want Mousakka right now.

One of my favorite's is Chinese eggplant wiuth garlic sauce, too @teamfat. I had the bestest cold ep salad w/ peanut sauce at the market's salad bar. Could never find it again. Guess the chef stopped making it.

The white eggplant is so pretty/unusual. I'm hoping to find one at the market someday, and give it a try. I never see them. Do they differ in taste from Globe, etc?

Eggplant ideas/dishes for thought:

Eggplant "meat" balls (eggplant replaces the meat"

Imam Biyaldi (sp)

Little shoes (can't think of the name right now. It starts w/ a "P" - similar to stuffed eggplant "boats." Greek, I think.

Cold grilled eggplant caprese salad drizzled w balsamic

Eggplant parm pizza

Pasta alla Norma

Want to give this rustic eggplant tomato galette a go (w/ mozzarella. Reminds me of crostada.)

http://www.forkknifeswoon.com/food-...oom-tomato-and-eggplant-galette/#.VcBpjfkwZWB

YUM! Eggplant :)
 
#9 ·
Love eggplant. I so want Mousakka right now.

One of my favorite's is Chinese eggplant wiuth garlic sauce, too @teamfat. I had the bestest cold ep salad w/ peanut sauce at the market's salad bar. Could never find it again. Guess the chef stopped making it.

The white eggplant is so pretty/unusual. I'm hoping to find one at the market someday, and give it a try. I never see them. Do they differ in taste from Globe, etc?
To be honest, I've never had any variety of white eggplant, no idea of taste differences. Hope to find out soon.

mjb.
 
#11 ·
I grow eggplant in the garden. I don't like them to get larger than 3 inches. I find that the small ones aren't bitter (the seeds are what make them bitter). I don't salt the baby eggplant. I am hoping someone offers up a recipe using those eggplant marbles I have seen at the African market...no idea what to do with those.
 
#12 ·
I made ratatouille tonight. Really, forgot to take many pics. I used a two varieties of eggplant, the round green kind and the round purple kind.

First a simple tomato sauce. Then I roasted the whole eggplants and the cut them in half for service. Finished it off with basil oil. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of the final product. I'm kinda like that sometimes.


 
#14 ·
Thanks everyone.

I'm holding out hope that they will bare fruit this year.

I enjoy eggplant in Mediterranean cuisine.

Baba Ganoosh, Motabel, and of course Moussaka.

Eggplant Parmesan.....is a great alternative to meat.

How about some other ideas.......

Pictures please too.
 
#18 ·
I like to cut them up into pieces so that they almost look like little steaks.

Then I lightly coat them with some olive oil and put salt and pepper and some BBQ spice.

Put them on the BBQ and grill just like you would a steak. It is delicious.

Enjoy!
I never thought about BBQ sauce. I have smoked them before. Can't let them go to long, just a little smoke flavor is great when you mix them with other ingredients.

Over the last couple of years, I've developed a friendship with Nikhil. A vendor who sets up at one of our suburban farmers markets. He was a well known chef consultant in India.

He has a big following at the market. He will give me a call if he happens to retrieve above average produce picked that day when out on his hunt.

He get fresh coconuts flown in and he makes his own milk. He has a source for fresh picked hydroponic ginger. He also has a great source for spices and seeds. He has taught me

to make one of his favorite blends.

Seeds, mix of cumin,nigella,and sesame. all equal parts. I hand grind equal parts fenugreek,chili powder, coriander and turmeric.

One of the dishes we've made many times at my house is his eggplant. It's quick. cook the baby eggplant in oil until golden. set aside, pan tilted to drain any liquid.

Then in a separate pan, cook seeds in oil, add some garlic, onions, ginger,Cook a bit.

then some jwala(careful hot!), When the oil starts to separate we add ketchup (he makes it with the spices and a tomato puree) Add that and cook it down some. Back in with the eggplant

and simmer for a bit then stir in the fresh coconut milk until it is mixed and lightened in color. OMGosh. Made this a week ago. No pics though. It will be made again before the challenge is over.
 
#19 ·
I never thought about BBQ sauce. I have smoked them before. Can't let them go to long, just a little smoke flavor is great when you mix them with other ingredients.

Over the last couple of years, I've developed a friendship with Nikhil. A vendor who sets up at one of our suburban farmers markets. He was a well known chef consultant in India.

He has a big following at the market. He will give me a call if he happens to retrieve above average produce picked that day when out on his hunt.

He get fresh coconuts flown in and he makes his own milk. He has a source for fresh picked hydroponic ginger. He also has a great source for spices and seeds. He has taught me

to make one of his favorite blends.

Seeds, mix of cumin,nigella,and sesame. all equal parts. I hand grind equal parts fenugreek,chili powder, coriander and turmeric.

One of the dishes we've made many times at my house is his eggplant. It's quick. cook the baby eggplant in oil until golden. set aside, pan tilted to drain any liquid.

Then in a separate pan, cook seeds in oil, add some garlic, onions, ginger,Cook a bit.

then some jwala(careful hot!), When the oil starts to separate we add ketchup (he makes it with the spices and a tomato puree) Add that and cook it down some. Back in with the eggplant

and simmer for a bit then stir in the fresh coconut milk until it is mixed and lightened in color. OMGosh. Made this a week ago. No pics though. It will be made again before the challenge is over.
That sounds amazing. Love the way Indians use the difference spices in their food. Thanks for sharing.
 
#23 ·
I slice a slender purple eggplant into 1 cm thick slices, skin on. I make a vinaigrette with olive oil and whatever vinegar I feel like (balsamic or red wine vinegar usually). The other day I used a mixture of sherry vinegar and a dash or two of red wine vinegar. Then I add crushed garlic, dried herbes de provence, sea salt and fresh-ground black pepper. I brush the vinaigrette on the eggplant and let it rest an hour or so, then grill on oiled grates just until soft. Remove to a plate, cover tightly with foil for a few minutes, and enjoy. It's great leftover, cold the next day so I often make a double recipe and have just the eggplant for lunch.

My Romanian-Jewish grandmother made what she called potlagiana, which my mom translated to eggplant caviar. The whole eggplant was roasted on the oven rack (pierced first, I think), cooled then peeled. It was mixed with minced onion, garlic, oil and white vinegar. We ate it on rye bread, I think. Gosh, that was when I was a child.... just a few years ago. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif
 
#24 · (Edited)
#26 ·
He's my grandson and we have him three days a week, but they live next door so we see him every day. He helped me build the chicken coop, fix the tractor, the wheelbarrow, hammer nails down. He can cut up fruit with a plastic knife too. Hopefully he takes a shine to cooking when he's older. Two more years and he starts school I'll probably get a part time job then. He stands to inherit some nice toys - I mean tools. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/lol.gif
 
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