Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Eggplant

Eggplant.
There are many folks who will tell you that they do not like eggplant that it is rubbery or slimy.
Those folks have not been treated to or tried the eggplants of today that can be creamy and sweet.
I can not tell you where my like of eggplant came from but I was always looking for ways to prepare eggplant.

Back in the dark ages I would buy those big,tough,purple guys from the store. Wash,peel,salt,weight and get all the bitterness I could out of them.
Move to today and you can buy these lovely small,tender, sweet eggplants that are so good.

We like to wash, slice, marinate them with good oil and vinegar then grill them.
At the end add tomato, cheese and fresh basil.
Good fresh, better the next day as a sandwich.

The small ones are good for stir frying or great in Red Curry, just use them instead of meat. The red curry and coconut milk over rice.....yum. Add them to any stir fry.

Then our all time favorite: Preheat the oven to 450 get out a glass pan, heat proof.
place 1/4 cup of good oil and at least 3 TBS. balsamic vinegar.
Salt, pepper, bay leaf, oregano, basil, whatever...
cut and slice onion, red peppers,mushrooms.
Crush some garlic
 Peel and cut eggplant-toss this all in the pan as you are going along
If you have fresh tomatoes peel,cut and drain them.
Toss them in.
If you don't use 1 large can, drained.
Then cover with foil and bake at 450 for 20 minutes.
Uncover and bake for 10 minutes.
Turn down to 400 or 375 and stir every 10 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed and the eggplant creamy,---  40 minutes tops but I will go 50 if I need to. I toss in 1 TBS. tomato paste in the last 10 minutes.
Now- you can add squash after the first 20 minutes and you can add fresh basil some where close to the end. You can hit this with some hot sauce. Do what ever you like. Serve this with rice or pasta and a good red wine.
I will eat it hot, I will eat it cold I will eat it here or there or anywhere.
I do so like eggplant Sam I am....
No pictures, it's all about the food.
Cheers,
Back to pots soon.
M


10 comments:

Judy Shreve said...

oh yum!
xx

Anna M. Branner said...

Hm. Maybe I have to give eggplant another chance...

Tracey Broome said...

hmmm.... not sure I could be convinced, even as good as this sounds. I will eat almost anything, but I have never been able to come to terms with eggplant. I love the color, the shape, but the taste, I'm not there yet. However,this recipe could just maybe persuade me to try once more :)

Julia said...

I love eggplant, too - there are so many different varieties! We grew some last year that were small yellow fellows, sweet as grapes and just lovely fresh or cooked. I've never grilled them, though - I am going to try it!

Great post!

Dennis Allen said...

I'll have Tracey's portion please.

smartcat said...

One reason I started growing my own was to get the little ones. Now they are available in the markets. I brush with olive oil and stick it in the oven when recipes call for frying or precooking. It uses a lot less oil.

These recipes sound so good. Do you do ratatouille? It's a late summer, fall treat in our house.

Gary's third pottery blog said...

I know, eggplant marinated then grilled = !!!!!

Michèle Hastings said...

I LOVE eggplant
Jeff HATES eggplant
= more for ME!

Shortstuff said...

I used this recipe just last week. It's a definite winner. John went back for seconds.

cookingwithgas said...

John had seconds! This recipe has turned over many eggplant haters. Most do not even know it is there.
If you doubt just come over and we will whip some up!