I bought an eggplant... now what?

Eggplant is better if you sweat it first. Cut it up then sprinkle with salt. Let sit for thirty minutes then rinse to remove salt. Then prepare as normal

Best rule of thumb: If you don't know how to cook it, fry it! lol

I've also heard about people using it (as well as zucchini) in lasagna in place of the noodles. I think that would be way too risky for me though, I need my pasta lol but maybe if you dice it up and throw it in, that might be okay. Same with spaghetti.

Other than that, I don't know... but that's a good resolution, if I do say so myself! I made one like that as well, so yesterday I went out and bought a spaghetti squash... gonna try it out tonight and see how it goes!

Love and Alohas,
Ihilani Kapuniai

Throw it away! Bleh, I hate those things. Lol.

Eggplant seems like a tricky food from what I've read. A lot of people recommend slicing it up and salting it then letting it sit for half an hour to drain excess moisture. I tried making baba ghanoush (made from eggplant) a couple of weeks ago and that turned out kind of disasterous, but...

My fave would be making it lasagna style but with eggplant in place of noodles. Get some good light cheese and a tomato/marinara sauce of some kind, maybe even some spinach. Layer it as you would a lasagna.. bake. So good. Last time I made this my BF looooved it, but I felt too naughty as it tasted like a really decadent meal.

This post title made me laugh! I too, have secretly been wanting to try eggplant - especially eggplan parmesan for a while now. I might just have to go and do it now!

The Perfect Primal Pizza
1 lb shredded fresh eggplant
½ cup (60 grams) shredded parmesan cheese
½ cup almond flour (or whole wheat, coconut flour, your choice)
1 egg white
oil or butter (to grease the parchment and baking sheet)
your favorite primal pizza toppings (or regular non-primal pizza toppings)

1. Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a large bowl.

2. Transfer mixture to a baking sheet lined with a large sheet of greased parchment paper.

3. Use your hands to pat and form the ‘dough’ until it is approximately ¼ inch thick and your desired shape. I like to make either one large round pizza or two smaller individual pizzas.

4. Bake crust at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

5. As you hold the parchment, flip the pizza crust over onto the greased or non-stick baking sheet. Discard the parchment and return the crust to the oven for 5 more minutes.

6. Remove the crust from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.

7. Top the crust with your favorite toppings and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until toppings are melted and or heated to your taste.

Serves 2. Enjoy!!

I love eggplant so I though I'd share this recipe with you guys. It's like a souffle and served with a green salad.

INGREDIENTS FOR EGGPLANT
2 fairly large eggplant
olive oil for brushing eggplant surfaces
Sea salt and pepper
3 large eggs
1/4 cup of milk or cream
4 oz of chevre (goat cheese) crumbled.
1 tbsp of fresh oregano...mixed into the goat cheese.

INGREDIENTS FOR SALAD.
12 small tomato's....cherry, pear, heirloom
handful of greens, your choice
2 tbsps of evoo
1 tbsp of vinegar.....balsamic or white wine
2 cloves of roasted garic or 1 clove of fresh minced.
salt and pepper.

METHOD FOR EGGPLANT
Heat oven to 400. Slice 1 eggplant lengthwise 1/4" and brush with olive oil and cook in the oven until soft. Turn oven down to 375. Cut the other eggplant in half lengthwise and brush cut side with olive oil and cook on a sheet pan in the oven until very soft, about 35 minutes. Scrape the flesh from the eggplant halves into a bowl, let cool as bit. Add the eggs and milk and season with salt and pepper. Line 4 to 6 ramekins or muffin tins, which is what I did, with the eggplant slices leaving so they overhang a little. Spoon in some eggplant mixture (half way up) add the goat cheese and add more eggplant mixture.....fold the eggplant slices over to cover. Set on a baking sheet and cook for 20 minutes, and then let it rest for 10 minutes.
METHOD FOR SALAD
Cut tomato's into quarters or halves, your call. Mix the oil and vinegar and the garlic to make a dressing. Mix greens, tomato's and dressing together and season with salt and pepper.

PRESENTATION
Turn out the eggplant souffles and serve a large spoonful of the tomato salad along side.

Try baba ganoush, a lebanese dip:

- Roast the aubergine, a sliced onion and 3 garlic cloves with a tbsp olive oil until the aubergine is cooked and the onion is caramelised.

- Scrape the flesh out of the skin and blend it with the oil, onion and garlic.

- Season with salt, tahini, ground cumin, lemon juice to taste.

Calories: about 2 per gram - but you can work out your own for accuracy

Thanks SO much for this, I love baba ganoush, and we always have it when we're in the Middle East, but I have never known exactly how to make it. I bet I could do a really really healthy version YUM!

I'm rather happy at that thought.. :bigsmile:

EDITED TO ASK: Do you roast the aubergine whole, or cut it in half / quarters? And er... how do you know when the aubergine is cooked enough?

Yum! I love eggplant. My favorite way to eat it is breaded. Just cut it up (either slice it or make french fry shapes) and dip it in egg. Then, dip it in breadcrumbs. Put it on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake it until golden brown.

Breaded eggplant is so good dipped in marinara sauce! Bonus points if you add oregano to your breadcrumbs. Super bonus points if you decide to make an entire meal with some eggplant parmesan by taking the breaded eggplant, whole wheat spaghetti, marinara sauce and some mozzerella and parmesan cheeses... oh I could go on and on about how good this is.

I might have to go out and pick up an eggplant tomorrow.

this sounds amazing!! i hope my kids like it i used to be a kitchen manager for olive garden and we had eggplant parm. but it was not healthy i love this idea thanks!!!

I eggplant, seriously. You can do so, so, so much with it. Cut it first and sprinkle it with salt and let it sit or soak it in salt water for about 30 minutes (until brown liquid comes out), it will make it cook better, quicker, and be less bitter at the end.

Then, anything.

I like to do eggplant sandwiches. Roast the eggplant with a little olive oil, then put hummus on top (I'm guessing you wouldn't even need the bread for this). Or, prepare it the same way and combine it with a little tahini and feta cheese. Or with some tomatoes and onions and italian seasonings.

Or, you could put it in a stew (http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-make-georgian-eggplant) with some onions, tomatoes, garlic and olive oil. Top with parsley and/or cilantro. You can add various spice combinations to that, cumin, cayenne and oregano (mexican), cumin, coriander, cayenne and cinnamon (morroccan).

My dad also roasts them whole in the oven, then puts them with plain, unsweetened yogurt, and spices.

All healthy recipes, and about the tastiest things in the world.

I can't believe no one has mentioned moussaka!

Moussaka is great! It's greek I think and is made with tomato sauce and TVP (or minced meat for you omnivores out there) but based on eggplant.

Oh, and there are some great ideas for how to cook eggplant in this thread. Thanks everyone!

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my daughter and I have decided to try eggplant and I appreciate the ideas!!

I chop mine into cubes and saute it with some chopped red onion, garlic, olive oil, and rice wine vinegar until the eggplant is cooked. I love it cold!

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