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

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pestopoli
pestopoli Posts: 111 Member
in Food and Nutrition
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?

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  • mdcoug
    mdcoug Posts: 397 Member
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    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
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    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
    nvpixie Posts: 483 Member
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    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
    Kupe Posts: 758 Member
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    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
    pestopoli Posts: 111 Member
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    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
    gracebellia Posts: 5
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    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
    barb1241 Posts: 324 Member
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    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
    gentlebreeze2 Posts: 450 Member
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    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
    MelsAuntie Posts: 2,833 Member
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    two words; baba ganoush.
  • pestopoli
    pestopoli Posts: 111 Member
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    two words; baba ganoush.

    two more words: Hell yeah! :D:D

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