Cooking Assistance? my eggplant tastes like dry wall! :/

pestopoli

Seriously guys, eggplant: No matter WHAT I do to it, or what recipe I follow, it comes out tasting like dry wall smells. And the texture is pretty icky, too. I want to broaden my circle of vegetable sides, but eggplant won't cooperate with me. Any tips?

mdcoug

How long do you let it sweat before preparing it? Most recipes I've seen call for 30 min., but I think it needs longer. Also, eggplant is one of those things that tastes better when it's fully cooked and almost mushy, IMO.

Acg67

Seriously guys, eggplant: No matter WHAT I do to it, or what recipe I follow, it comes out tasting like dry wall smells. And the texture is pretty icky, too. I want to broaden my circle of vegetable sides, but eggplant won't cooperate with me. Any tips?

Salt it and let it sit for a while before cooking

bread and fry

roast @ high heat

caponata

pasta alla norma

etc

etc

nvpixie

I like dousing it in olive oil, a few shakes of salt, pepper, and dried basil or Italian Seasoning. Then I grill it until it's tender. Sometimes I add more salt if it seems to need it after I taste it.

Kupe

Cut the eggplant in half, studded it with pieces of garlic and rub olive oil onto the exposed flesh.
season with salt and pepper
Wrap it in tin foil and bake in a hot oven (180*c - 200*c) for 20 - 25 minutes
Leave in the foil until cool to touch
scrap out of the skin, try avoid breaking the skin up as this is inedible.

Once you have all the flesh scrapped out, rough chop add fresh herbs and reheat in a sauce pan.

alternative

More fatty but much more tasty

Cut into 1.5cm rings
salt the rings and allow to stand for 15min
the salt will draw out the water
pat dry
dredge in flour and shallow fry in olive oil until golden brown.

Enjoy

pestopoli

Cut the eggplant in half, studded it with pieces of garlic and rub olive oil onto the exposed flesh.
season with salt and pepper
Wrap it in tin foil and bake in a hot oven (180*c - 200*c) for 20 - 25 minutes
Leave in the foil until cool to touch
scrap out of the skin, try avoid breaking the skin up as this is inedible.

Once you have all the flesh scrapped out, rough chop add fresh herbs and reheat in a sauce pan.

alternative

More fatty but much more tasty

Cut into 1.5cm rings
salt the rings and allow to stand for 15min
the salt will draw out the water
pat dry
dredge in flour and shallow fry in olive oil until golden brown.

Enjoy

Both of these sound amazing! Definitely going to try suggestion 1. Suggestion 2 is a cheat meal option :P

gracebellia

I use eggplant diced into my tomato sauces. I fry in spray oil onions and garlic together with eggplant, then add some minced beef or chicken and tomatoes either fresh cubed or tinned. season add spices or herbs to your taste and simmer until consistancy is that of a thick sauce. Yummy

barb1241

Go to eatingwell.com and search for eggplant recipes. They have one there for an eggplant parm that is really, really good-and if you use reduced cal ingredients, pretty easy to fit inot calories. I'm sure there are other tasty/healthy recipes for it there, too, but I usually stop when I find something I like and just make the same thing. I HATE eggplant except for that one recipe.

gentlebreeze2

Here's my recipe for baking:

I eggplant
salt & pepper
1/4 cup flour
1 egg
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup dried Italian bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
Pizza Quick

Slice eggplant into 1/2 inch pieces. Set up a breading station using 3 dishes. In the first dish, add seasoning to the flour. In the second dish, whisk the egg and water together. In the third dish combine the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese ( you could add salt and pepper too if you wish). Dredge each slice in the flour mixture, then the egg wash, and then the breadcrumb mixture. Arrange the eggplant in a dish that has been sprayed with a cooking spray. Spray more cooking spray on top. Bake at 375 degrees for about 25-30 minutes. Then top each with pizza quick, mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with a bit of parmesan cheese. Put under the broiler for 3-4 minutes until cheese bubbles.

When freezing I find it works best to do the breading, but do not bake. When you're ready to use the frozen eggplant, let it thaw then follow the baking directions above. 185 calories per serving

MelsAuntie

two words; baba ganoush.

pestopoli

two words; baba ganoush.

two more words: Hell yeah! :D