You will need:
10lbs eggplant
4oz wine
bury the eggplant in the backyard
pour the wine into the cook
make real food for the family
Speaking of horrific threads…heard any Yanni lately?
But regarding eggplant…I fully understand many not finding this the tomato of veggies…took me awhile to appreciate it as well… I have a problem with some mystery ingredient in Mexican food that makes it impossible for me to go into, or even walk by, a Mexican restaurant…I got sick at an early age on canned tamales I forced my mother to buy (this was in whitebread Illinois in the 60’s - the can had probably been sitting in that store since 1940)…ever since then…well, I understand your woe.
I have a friend who cannot see, smell or be anywhere near an onion…his life is hell in restaurants and he has even had to beg out of some pretty great dinner parties as well.
But unless you got sick on eggplant…try one of the recipes above and you might be pleasantly surprised!
Keep in mind that salting eggplant is not done to remove bitter juices. All eggplants taste bitter when raw/undercooked but young fresh ones are sweet and succulent when cooked properly. The bitterness of old stale eggplants cannot be removed at all. The salting removes fluid content to maintain structure particularly when frying.
To give added smokiness to eggplant put Lapsang souchang tea in water, marinate the eggplant for a while and then steam.
If looking for recipes note that it is also called both called aubergine and melongene.
Chicken cacciatore and add eggplant.
I routinely make a pasta sauce with onion, eggplant, mushroom, peeled red bell pepper, ground beef and Worcestershire sauce. Everything is chopped and goes into the pan in that order (brown the onion). Cover with a lid and let it cook for 30 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has reduced and the vegetables get a little sticky. Add tomato sauce, cook a little more and serve over pasta. Fresh basil goes very well with eggplant and tomato (and Parmesan, of course).