Any good recipes for eggplant? Usually I despise it because of how acidic it

[tigereye]

is, but we have two organic ones and I hate to see em go to waste.


Thanks! :hi:

[The empressof all]

1. The easiest....

Roast it and scoop it out of it's skin. Mix it in some Hummus for a "better than" Baba Ganoush. I add a little extra garlic to it and maybe another squeeze of lemon.

There's always ratatouille and Parm or just roasted with some bread crumbs on top.

For an easy way to make a parm...Slice the eggplant and roast it. Layer the roasted eggplant with the sauce and cheese (I throw in a thin layer of fat free cream cheese mixed with pesto). Top with a heavy layer of bread crumbs and melted butter or drizzle of evoo. Bake until crunchy on top

[tigereye]

4. that's good one - I didn't think about baba...

and the parm sounds really good, too.


Thanks! :hi:

[Stinky The Clown]

2. Grill it

Slice it lengthwise about 3/4" thick.

Spray (or brush or rub) some olive oil on it. Salt it.

Grill it right away. No need to let the salt draw out moisture.

[Gormy Cuss]

6. And grilled slices are good in moussaka...

which is what I'm making with this week's eggplant haul.

[Vinca]

8. I've been looking at a couple of eggplants in my garden wondering

what to do with them and moussaka is the perfect answer. Thanks for mentioning it!

[Warpy]

3. If you're noticing that flavor that Alton Brown described

as cigarette butts in vinegar, then you need to slice, salt and drain that eggplant first. That brown juice is what gives it the nasty flavor.

After you do that, the vegetable will be a nice, mild pussycat and you can use it in any great recipe.

Some people are very sensitive to the nasty flavor of eggplant juice while others seem not to notice it. I notice it. You probably do, too.

[tigereye]

5. the only thing about the salt is that my husband is on a low salt diet...

will it still work with salt substitute?


Yes, it always burns my mouth - it's the only food that affects me that way.

[The empressof all]

7. I don't think light salt will work for this

Rinse the salt off after it leaches out the brown stuff. Most varieties of eggplant now a days are very mild but if you aren't sure it's always better to salt it and let it drain. You also might try peeling it. I never peel my eggplant but the peel has a stronger flavor.

[Warpy]

9. You rinse the salt off

and most of it will be in that nasty brown juice, anyway.

[Stinky The Clown]

11. It makes Sparkly's lips tingle .....

..... kinda like how fugu makes one's lips tingle.

[salvorhardin]

13. Interesting

How do you feel about cilantro?

I can't say as I've ever noticed the taste of eggplant juice but cilantro tastes like dish soap to me. Apparently many people have similar experiences with cilantro. I've seen some half-baked theories out there but nobody has ever explained why some people can't stand the taste of cilantro while others seem to love it. Not that I know of anyway.

[Warpy]

14. It's genetic

It tastes like soap to me, too, unless it's in salsa, Chinese sauces, or posole. I miss it when I leave it out of those things.

Just don't expect me to eat it plain and pronounce it yummy.

However, it is a genetic thing. Either you have it or you don't.

[salvorhardin]

15. Oh yeah, everyone assumes it's genetic

It makes sense and explains the anecdotal data. It's just that no one has ever studied it formally that I'm aware of.

I can't stand cilantro in salsa either but I tend to like Chinese sauces quite a bit.

How about PTC? Are you able to taste that? I can't but both my brother and father can.

[Warpy]

17. PTC is probably the component that makes me hurl

whenever I get a face full of smoke from some clod, just before my bronchii spasm shut. Since I've never tried to chew the nasty stuff, I can't report on the flavor.

The genetic component to cilantro tasting like soap is mostly speculation, based on the fact that Europeans tend to taste it and non Europeans don't. There are statistical exceptions to every norm, so if you're lily white and adore the stuff, don't bother to post it here.

One discussion is at http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Cori_sat.html Note that limonene is one of the several flavors of cilantro and that it is also present in large quantity in soaps.

Cilantro isn't the only nasty tasting herb (to me) that I miss when it's absent from salsas and other things. While a light hand is needed, the flavor is essential to the whole, soap and all. The other truly nasty herb I use is epazote, one that is generally described as smelling like gasoline when it's fresh and raw. It does magical things to a pot of beans, though, and I bug the produce guy to keep it in stock.

I understand completely the sentiment of a poster above about the cilantro craze in restaurants. They tried to cram as much cilantro into everything and then sprinkle the top with a chiffonade of it. It was foul, and that's about the time I stopped going to restaurants.

[The empressof all]

16. And don't forget that side affect to Asparagas

I'm the only one in my family who suffers from that one. I still love it and eat it like crazy when it's in season. I don't care for cilantro either but love the eggplant. Since it's a nightshade plant I alas keep it to a minimum.

[hippywife]

10. I was going to give you my

eggplant parm with gorgonzola recipe but with the salt restriction, I would say go with Stinky's suggestion. The best eggplant I've ever tasted was off the grill. Gives it just the most lovely flavor. And the grilling really mellows it out. :9

[Tangerine LaBamba]

12. Caponata -

find a recipe that appeals to you, and fix a batch.

Have some good French or Italian bread on hand, and have a ball!

Nothing better than a good caponata....................

[tigereye]

18. that looks so good!

[Tangerine LaBamba]

19. Anyone who hates eggplant would love caponata -

it's THAT good, and so easy to make.

It's essentially an Italian ratatouille, only without the zucchini.

I make mine from memory, because it's the kind of dish you can throw together, and it's never quite the same twice, but it's always good.

This is the recipe that's closest to how I fix mine - http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Caponata - except I don't use anchovies in it.

It's also better the next day. A slice of crusty bread, a dollop of caponata on the bread, and, oh, man, it is SO good! Around here, it's often a meal - just that, a good red wine, and maybe a chunk of Cambozola, another favorite, with an apple or a peach.

Four a.m., and I'm hungry. Ah, well.

Let us know what you eventually did with the eggplants, please? I love queries like yours................

:toast: