Cooking with Eggplant

by Jen (March 18, 2008)

People tend to either love or hate eggplant because it’s got a distinct flavor that can be muted in some recipes, but never lost. If you love it, you’re in luck - it’s a very healthy, filling veggie you can use as a substitute for fattening meats.

How to pick the right eggplant:

1. The color should be a deep, glossy purple. Some grocers use wax to keep veggies shiny, but if you hold it up to the light, you can learn to tell the difference between healthy shiny veggie skin and the dull shine of wax.
2. The stems and caps should be green, not brownish.
3. It should be heavy. When you gently squeeze it, it should yield a little bit but not much. You don’t want it to be so firm it’s dried out, nor so soft that’s it’s mushy.
4. Avoid plants with “rust” spots (green or brown spots), or shriveling, worm holes or other bruises.
5. The best plants are usually about 3 to 6 inches long. The plumper they are, the juicier they’ll be, which is great for baking. Long and slender are less juicy and may be better for frying.

Eggplant Recipes

• Baked eggplant slices. This is a very simple recipe that anyone can make, but you can embellish it, too. Add some cheese, and suddenly you go from side dish/light entree to real, filling entree. Add some pine nuts or pumpkin seeds. Try olive oil and garlic instead of the vegetable oil and spaghetti sauce. Try fresh or sundried tomatoes. Mushrooms! Onions! Bread crumbs! Peppers! Etc. Get creative, and feel free to come back and share ideas in the comments.
• Eggplant Parmesan. The classic Italian eggplant dish. This is a fairly easy recipe, which includes the sauce.
• Eggplant sauces or dips can be a fantastic way to introduce reluctant people to this vegetable. The flavor of the eggplant blends so perfectly with the other ingredients that they may not even ask what they’re eating. Baba Ghanoush is absolutely one of my favorite eggplant dishes, great served as a sauce or dip. Eggplant olive sauce and Emily’s Super Eggplant Sauce both make great, filling replacements for meat-based spaghetti sauces (Emily’s will retain more eggplant flavor than the eggplant olive sauce). This recipe called Eggplant Salad is more of a dip or sauce than a salad (though I could eat spoonfuls of it). Note the comments which mention this recipe cooks down more than you might expect and use bigger portions.
• Roasted Eggplant Soup with Mozzarella Croutons. Napa-style California cuisine at its best.
• EatingWell offers a whole list of healthy eggplant recipes.

Remember, too, that a simple piece of grilled eggplant can replace meat on a sandwich.

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