What are some ways to use eggplant?

Question

I usually make grilled eggplant, or eggplant parmesan, or I've also made a turkish style ratatouille with eggplant. I've also tried it with lemon and olive oil and garlic, and in baba ganoush. I love the vegetable, but I am out of new ideas on how to use it. Any ideas???

Recipes please.

Once, in a Lebanese Restaurant, I had eggplant and ground lamb, and it tasted like cinnamon, I think. I loved that!!! Anyone know what I am talking about? (The restaurant closed.)

Answer 1

Timbale of Eggplant and Ground Lamb

Ingredients

1 large eggplant

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground allspice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

coarse salt

fresh ground black pepper

1 1/4 lbs lean ground lamb

1 teaspoon paprika (or to taste)

2 tablespoons tomato paste

Directions

1 Trim the ends from the eggplant, and peel it--here's the tricky part--in five, long peels, using a large knife--the easiest way is to stand the eggplant on end, mark the other end in fifths and saw off the skin, allowing some pulp to be attached.

2 Cube the remaining eggplant and grill or roast it lightly (this instead of saute-ing which uses much more oil).

3 In a large skillet, heat the oil and then saute the eggplant peels, skin side UP, by covering the pan and cooking over moderate heat about five minutes, or until the pulp is lightly browned.

4 Remove the slices and allow them to cool slightly.

5 Arrange them in a one and a half quart round baking dish star fashion, with the narrow end in the center of the bowl and the wide end hanging over the top edge; the five pieces of peel should be equidistant from each other and should overlap in the bottom.

6 Set aside.

7 In the warm skillet, saute the onion and garlic until lightly browned, then add the grilled or roasted eggplant and combine with the 3 tablespoons of tomato paste and the allspice and cinnamon. Season to taste with salt and pepper, mix well, remove from heat and set aside.

8 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

9 Mix the ground lamb with the paprika and tomato paste and, if you like some salt and pepper.

10 Wet your hands, and, little by little, press the lamb onto the bowl, on top of the peels and without disturbing the pattern formed by the peels; the inside of the bowl should be completely covered with the lamb mixture, though it need not come all the way to the rim of the bowl.

11 Spoon the reserved eggplant/onion mixture into the meat -lined bowl and fold the ends of the eggplant peel over the top.

12 Cover the bowl closely with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.

13 Remove from the oven and let the bowl rest for 15 minutes before removing the foil.

14 Invert carefully onto a platter and serve, surrounded by rice or orzo and accompanied by a tomato sauce.

Answer 2

I like just frying it up in a little olive oil. Not breaded or anything, just sliced and then fry til they are golden brown.

I put them on my sandwiches (deli meats and cheese and a few slices of eggplant, OMG, to die for!)

I love the vegetable too, I can't get enough of it!  

Answer 3

Rustick Sicilian Rigatoni with Eggplant and Fresh Mozzarella  

(Serves: 6-8)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 small (3/4 pound each) eggplants, stem removed, not peeled, chopped

1 onion, chopped

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 pint cherry tomatoes, crushed

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 pound fresh mozzarella, chopped

Extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound dried Rigatoni

Salt

1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese, plus extra for serving

Handful fresh basil leaves, cut in a chiffonade

Method

Tomato sauce: Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the eggplant and cook, stirring, for 7 to 10 minutes. Add onion and garlic and cook until the vegetables are softened but not browned. Add the cherry tomatoes, crushing them in your hand to break them up. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the sauce is warmed through. Toss with fresh mozzarella just before adding to pasta. While sauce is cooking; bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. Drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook until al dente, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain. Add the drained rigatoni to sauce; stir to coat. Add the 1/2 cup cheese, basil, and a little drizzle of oil; toss gently. Serve immediately.

The eggplant becomes sweet when sauteed with the skin on; try it you'll like it.

Answer 4

http://members.shaw.ca/leonidio/recipies...

http://www.science.uva.nl/~mes/recipe/ga...

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/collec...

http://southernfood.about.com/cs/eggplan...

Answer 5

The Lebanese specialty you remember might be

Baba Ghannouj. It's really easy once you have the ingredients. (Tahini might take some searching. It is a sesame paste that is highly flavored. There's really no substitute, though it occurs to me that smooth peanut butter with a bit of sesame oil might be interesting.) It makes a scrummy dip for pita bread or pita chips.

Here's a recipe from Alton Brown on the Food Network:

1 eggplant

2 cloves garlic

2 ounces fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons tahini

1/2 bunch parsley, leaves only

Salt and pepper

Pierce some holes in the skin of the eggplant (to avoid explosion) and grill over medium-high heat turning every 7 minutes, until the skin is blackened and the body is nice and soft. Total time for grilling is about 30 minutes. If you do not have a grill you can roast your eggplant in a 375 degree F oven for about 30 minutes.

Remove eggplant from the grill and let cool.

Once the eggplant is cool enough to handle, peel away the skin and discard. Place the eggplant flesh in a colander and drain for 10 minutes. In a food processor, combine garlic, lemon juice, tahini and parsley and pulse to combine. Add the eggplant flesh. Season with salt and pepper and pulse to combine. Adjust the flavor with more Tahini or lemon juice if you prefer. If it's bitter, some sugar or honey will help. Research shows that the white variety of plant is sweeter in flavor.

Answer 6

I like to grill my eggplant.The way I do this is wash the eggplant, Cut it into little circles, Drizzle olive oil, salt, pepper, and place on your grill until tender.They are great this way.

Answer 7

Here are 1,600+ recipes for you:

http://www.cooks.com/rec/search?q=eggpla...

Answer 8

Hey Girl,

It sounds like you're describing Lamb and Eggplant Moussaka.  I've adapted a recipe so that it gets put together faster than is traditional.  I like to cook, I just don't want to do ONLY that.  The recipe goes faster than it looks.  Most of the time it's in the oven baking, and you're not standing over it.

Recipe: Moussaka

(Lamb-Eggplant Casserole)

Recipe origin: Greece

Ingredients

2 medium eggplants, thinly sliced

3 Tablespoons olive oil

2 medium onion, diced

2 green peppers, seeded and diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1½ pounds ground lamb or beef

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon black pepper

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¾ cup plain yogurt

4 egg yolks

1 Tablespoon flour

Procedure

Preheat oven to 400* F.  In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and brown the onion, peppers, and garlic.

Add the ground meat, paprika, pepper, salt, and cinnamon. While the meat is cooking in the skillet, spray a cookie sheet with olive oil spray, and lay out the slices of eggplant to fill the sheet pan.  Spray the top with olive oil, and put in the oven until the aubergine/eggplant is taking on some color.  Flip the now browned eggplant over, and spray the top with olive oil spray and bake until brown on top. If the eggplant is finished before your meat is browned, then set it aside on the counter and finish browning the meat.

Meanwhile in the frying pan, when the meat is crumbled and cooked, put it in a bowl and set aside.

In a large casserole dish, alternate layers of the the browned eggplant and the meat mixture. Place cover or aluminum foil over the dish. Bake for 30 minutes. Turn down the heat to 350*. Quickly mix the next layer.

In a mixing bowl, beat together the yogurt, egg yolks, and flour. Remove the casserole from the oven and remove cover.

Spread the yogurt mixture over the top of the moussaka.

Return uncovered casserole to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Serve hot.

Serves 6 to 8.

Or how about pickled eggplant, so you can stretch out the bounty to the winter/fall months?

PICKLED EGGPLANT  

3 eggplants

3 c. white vinegar

1 c. olive oil

1/4 c. white vinegar

1/2 c. wine vinegar

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 lg. red peppers, diced

Oregano

In large bowl, slice 3 eggplants (without skin). Place in colander, sprinkle with salt and layer between paper towels. Put a heavy bowl on top. Set aside for 2 hours. In large bowl combine 3 cups of white vinegar with drained eggplant and leave overnight.

Next morning, wring out each slice twice and cut into strips. Put in large bowl mixed with 1 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup white vinegar, 1/2 cup wine vinegar, 3 garlic cloves minced, 2 celery stalks chopped, 2 large red peppers diced and a dash of oregano (optional).

Mix well and put into Mason jars and refrigerate. Lasts 2 to 3 months



I hope this gives you some inspiration to use up your eggplant.  My children like the moussaka, but not the pickled eggplant.  They're young yet, but it sounds like your tastes are more sophisticated.