Anybody have any good eggplant recipes to share?

[China_cat]

I only have 3 plants but they are producing at a rate that would make zucchini jealous. (Asian eggplant, the long thin kind)

Sure could use some more ways to use them.

[MissMillie]

1. check foodnetwork.com or epicurious.com

oh, and I'm happy to give you my address if you'd like to ship some my way.

[China_cat]

5. I've seriously considered putting

a 'free to good home' sign on my fence.

I wanted to try -1- plant. Just to see if it would grow and what the fruit would be like. (There's only me and my husband...the dogs don't like eggplant) He brought home -3- because he didn't think one would do anything. We've already harvested almost a bushel, there's 30 more on the plants and 50-75 blossoms.

And you thought rabbits multiplied fast.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

2. flvegan posted a recipe a while ago. sounded great~

[Gormy Cuss]

3. I'm having a banner year with eggplant too.

Mine are the Italian globe variety. Asian eggplant can be used in many of the same ways. Slice and roast or grill it, then add those pieces to tomato-based pasta sauce or to top a pizza.

Then are many different cultures with eggplant spreads and they use a LOT of eggplant at once. It's a little more work with Asian eggplant because of the skin to flesh ratio but I've done it when I had your "problem." Poke a few vent holes in the eggplant, trim off most of the stems and roast or grill them whole until thoroughly cooked (they'll deflate like balloons at that point.) Let cool, then scrape the pulp into a bowl. Some seeds are ok if light colored. If you have masses of dark seeds, scoop them out.

Now, with that mash you can make baba ganoush, melitzano salata, imam biyaldi, etc. Google those words or "roasted eggplant spread" to get recipes.


Then there are all of the other sliced or cubed dishes like caponata or ratatouille. Both of those freeze well.

Indian and Thai curries are another good way to use'em up.

[grace0418]

4. Mmm. Asian eggplant is the only kind I like. We stir fry ours with green beans,

tofu, ground chicken, panang or red curry paste, onions, garlic and coconut milk.

Or we use mapo tofu sauce and mix eggplant in with the tofu and ground meat (or just tofu).

[begin_within]

6. Here's how I cook it.

Peel it and slice it into about 3/4 inch thick slices. Sprinkle salt generously over all sides of all slices. Let this sit for 20 minutes, then rinse the salt off and dry thoroughly with towels. This step is not necessary but it draws the water out of the slices and they cook better.

Heat oil, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep, in a frying pan. Dip each slice in a beaten egg, then in flour on both sides to coat. (The flour can contain a little salt and pepper if you want). The slices can sit with this coating for a while as they are waiting to be fried.

Fry each slice for about 2 minutes on each side, maximum. Not very long. Drain every slice on paper towels. Sprinkle with seasoning ("Spike" by Gayelord Hauser is the best). Serve immediately.

You don't need a sauce, but a "ranch" style dressing for dipping, or just yogurt with chopped cucumbers and mint for a dip is good. My Dad taught me how to cook it!