ISO Eggplant Recipes

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

carolelaine

Senior Cook
Joined
Aug 29, 2006
Messages
470
Location
Tennessee
I am overwhelmed by eggplants at the house. I usually don't have this many, they must like drought. Has anyone frozen them before? Please tell me all of the great things you make with them. I grill them, make a casserole with tomatoes and cheese, and eggplant parm., but I really could use some other suggestions. Thank you!
 
I was thinking eggplant lasagna, but couldn't help but wonder if it would be more or less the same as your casserole with tomatoes and cheese that you mentioned.
 
Make a traditional mousaka - a little bit like a lasagna but with layers of eggplant between the meat layers. The topping can vary as well. I used have a recipe for a great yoghurt based topping which made almost a cake top.
 
Deep fried breaded eggplant is very good. You can also cut the fried eggplant into small pieces and use for salad or top the traditional green bean/mushroom soup casserole. (of course you can use it raw in a salad, too.)

You can cut it into slices, top with thin white fish fillet, brush lightly with peanut oil, and grill or broil until fish is cooked (about 10 minutes or less). Sprinkle with thyme and lemon juice. S&P.

Add baked eggplant to cooked wild rice and add walnut dressing.

Top a slice of eggplant with a slice of onion, another eggplant and top with the onion. Wrap a bacon slice around the bundle and a second one around the other side. Secure bacon with tooth picks. Grill or cook in a skillet turning once.

If you cube up eggplant for the freezer, use it by Thanksgiving as it will not have a long storage life.

Give some to the food bank. They are very dependent on gardeners during the summer.

Eggplant is selling for .99 cents a pound at the grocery store. The least that I paid for it last year was .79 cents per pound.....enjoy!

There some decent eggplant stuffings but not many.
 
They can be frozen. Do a google search. If I remember correctly they need to be blanched in water with lemon juice to prevent discoloration. The frozen ones are mushier and tend to be used in casseroles and such. If you love eggplant it's worth the work!
 
I put a recipe on here ages ago, but basically I just sliced the peeled eggplant, dip in egg, then italian bread crumbs, fry in a bit of canola to brown, drain, and then layer it up like lasagna, using eggplant slices, hard salami, sliced fresh tomatoe, mozzarella, and continue layering until you have used all the ingredients. I think a bit of fresh basil would add lots of flavor.
 
One of my family favorites is to slice your eggplant into rounds, dip in a mix of bread crumbs and flour,salt,pepper,then into egg and back into the crumb mixture..Set on parchment , wax or foil, cover with more of same then press lightly to set the breading, fry in hot peanut oil til golden and then place on a sprayed with pam cookie sheet, now top with swiss,or mozz, or monterey jack or any cheese you love, top with another eggplant slice to make a sandwich..While this is baking to melt the cheese in the oven I make a butter,white wine,lemon juice ,crushed garlic reduction and when serving the sandwich drizzle some of this over it..If you don't want to heat up the kitchen do this in a covered fry pan and use the lid to help the cheese melt.

kadesma:)
 
They are wonderful grilled with or without other veggies------ peel them, slice them, salt them, place in colander lined with paper towels, more paper towels on top, and some weight on that (heavy plate or pot, etc) to extract the bitter juices for about 30 minutes. Then you're ready. I like to marinate them and other veggies for about 20-30 minutes--no longer---in a marinade of: 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1 cup soy sauce 3 Tbsp. brown sugar, 3 mashed cloves garlic, 1 T grated fresh ginger, 2 T sherry or dry white wine---adjust amounts to how much on hand---a whole lot less if it's just eggplant but you have the general idea of ingredients) and grill them on the barbie until done. Yum!
 
Eggplant Rollatini

Eggplant pizza

Capanata

Bruschetta (w roasted tomatoes or roasted red peppers, chopped red onions, evoo S&P, top w mozzarella & place under the broiler til cheese is melted)

Pasta topping - eggplant, garlic fresh diced tomatoes, evoo, s&p

This is a yummy-looking recipe that's on my list, because of the mixture of pine nuts, sun-dried tomatoes, raisins Romano and bread crumbs:

Eggplant Bundles
 
Last edited:
carolaine, i have a few eggplants ready to be picked in the garden, so i'm gonna try out a new recipe that i'm stealing/modifying from a "giada" episode.

halve the eggplant lengthwise, carve out the center but not all the way through so you make 2 boats. dice the removed centers, and set aside. in a skillet, sweat some diced fennel, then some diced onions and garlic. add the cubed eggplant centers, sautee for a minute more, toss in some capers, then use this mix to fill the eggplant boats. drizzle with evoo, then top boats with toasted breadcrumbs. bake at 350 until the boats are soft and cooked thru.
 
Last edited:
Hey BuckyT

Next eggplant throw in some green pepper, cayenne, parsley, a pinch of thyme, and a big handful of crab and/or chopped shrimp! Get Back!!!:LOL:

BT. The capers will be a nice addtion. Also if you Creole-ize the stuffing sometimes, drop the fennel

Enjoy!
 
Last edited:
wow, sounds great uncle bob! thanks.

oops, i just realized that i forgot to add capers. going back to edit.
 
This is one of my favorite ways to prepare eggplant. I played around with several different Szechuan eggplant recipes, but this one is definitely my favorite so far. Sometimes to add a bit more color to it, I'll add some sliced bok choy in along with the eggplant pieces.

Braised Eggplant, Szechuan Style

(Adapted from Madame Chu’s Chinese Cooking School by Grace Zia Chu

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant, or several small oriental-type eggplants
2 tablespoons of fermented black beans, soaked in warm water to cover for 20 minutes
1 tablespoon hot Asian chili paste/sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4-1/2 pound ground meat (beef, pork, chicken, or turkey)
Vegetable oil
Water
Wok or large skillet with a cover
White, brown, or Jasmine rice for serving

Preparation:

Slice eggplant, unpeeled, into approximately 1-1/2” thick slices, then cut the slices into quarters. Make 2 cuts not quite all the way through on each quarter. This will allow the eggplant pieces to cook quickly & evenly, as well as help them to absorb more of the sauce.

Drain the soaked fermented black beans & mash with the minced garlic to a rough paste. Add the chili paste, sugar, soy sauce, & ¼ cup cold water. Stir.

Cooking Procedure:

Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a wok or large skillet until hot, but not smoking. Add ground meat & stir fry for about 2 minutes. Add minced ginger & continue stir frying for another minute. Add eggplant pieces & continue stir frying for another 5 minutes. Add in the sauce mixture & stir thoroughly until well mixed. Sprinkle 3-4 tablespoons of water over all, turn the heat down to low/medium low, cover, & allow to cook for another 5 minutes or until the eggplant pieces are tender to your preference. Serve hot over rice.
 
Last edited:
BreezyCooking: I was thinking black beans earlier but couldn't quite figure the recipe through. This will be a TNT recipe for sure. I have some black beans begging for a new recipe....Thanks.
 
StirBlue - just a note that the black beans in the recipe are Chinese "fermented" black beans, not just regular black beans.

I only mention this because a friend of mine couldn't figure out why her recipe didn't turn out like mine until she realized that regular black beans weren't the same as the Chinese preserved/fermented type.

If you can't find plain fermented black beans (which, by the way, last virtually forever in the pantry if you stuff the plastic package they come in into a glass jar), you can substitute "Black Bean Sauce", which is available in many supermarket Asian food aisles. Just nix the soaking part in the recipe.
 
Thanks for the heads up on the black beans. I will look for the Chinese "fermented" black beans. Yes, that would make a big difference.
 
Sautee one red pepper and one tomato with couple cloves of garlic just till it soft, season it with some salt cayne pepperand paprika to taste. Sat aside. Deep fry or fry on both sides slises of eggplant, spread the tomato/pepper mixture over the egg plant, sprinkle with more fresh garlic. Servw it hot.
 
Thanks everyone for all of the great ideas. I forgot about Mousaka, I've never tried fermented black beans, but I will. I made the Giada boats last year, I liked them but the family didn't. I hope yours come out well. Thanks, Carol
 
Mmmm! I love eggplant and grow Ichibans every year. I've made all of the recipes the others have listed here, including Amy's roll-ups http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/QSis/Eggplantroll-ups.jpg

and Breezy's szechuan (excellent!).

You can stuff the boats with anything (except FENNEL, BT! Yee- uck!) I love a ground lamb/rice/tomato/onion mixture with Greek oregano and mint. Serve with a Greek salad.

And don't forget Baba Ganoush with pita bread.

Here's one recipe RecipeSource: Baba Ganoush

Lee
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom