Last weekend at the farmer’s market I noticed eggplant was apparently in season, as several vendors were selling it. So I decided to buy some to make moussaka. Except I couldn’t remember how much I needed, and erred on the side of buying too many.
So now what do I do with the rest of the eggplant? It’s not something I cook all that often; I pretty much only use it in moussaka, and that’s something I only make very occasionally, like maybe once a year. So I am at a loss as to what to do with the rest.
I mean eggplant parmesan comes to mind, except that feels too similar to moussaka, which I have had enough of this week.
I like to slice an eggplant into ~1/2 “ discs, toss them in a bit of olive oil, then grill them, seasoning them as they cook. Get some nice grill marks on them.
Remove them from the grill, allow them to cool, then refrigerate. I then build a salad around a few discs on each plate.
I often roast eggplant, sometimes with zucchini or other vegetables, using a little olive oil and spices. Very good as a side dish or served with spaghetti.
With at least three dozen eggplant plants in the vegetable garden, a fair amount will also be frozen for over-the-winter eggplant treats.
A Persian dish my wife showed me: Peel and slice the eggplant into pieces and bake them with some salt and little bit of oil until they are soft (if you are a little less health conscious, cook them in a pan instead which uses more oil). Then hard boil some eggs. After both have cooled a little but while they are still warm put both in a bowl, add some salt and pepper and break it all up with a fork until it becomes kind of like an egg salad but somewhat chunkier. Then eat. It’s great on toast or crackers or whatever and makes for a great breakfast or brunch.
Our garden eggplant is just coming in. Roasted or grilled they make excellent sandwiches, even better with some roasted red pepper, mayo and lettuce.
We have an eggplant cookbook I got one year when we had a surplus. But the easiest thing to do is to search for eggplant recipes online and scan through them until you find one that sounds good.
I have pretty much always loathed eggplant, though my feelings have softened a bit over the years.
In high school, I had an Iranian friend. One day, we were studying for a history mid-term together at his place. He announced that lunch would be made by his mother and it would be eggplant. I groaned.
Not wanting to be rude, I went along… and it was fucking delicious. It was stuffed and spiced (but not spicy) with I don’t even know what. It’s been so long, I wouldn’t trust my memory of it, but I do recall the vague taste of soy, tomatoes and maybe lamb(?) Many years later, my mom made a stuffed eggplant dish and I belatedly recognized it as the same thing (though not nearly as good).
I’m pretty sure it was a version of dolmeh bademjan.
Pizza! Eggplant parm pizza!
Slice, sweat, dredge in flour, give a drizzle of olive oil, bake until you’re happy with the consistency, put on pizza with a nice tomato sauce, parmesan and mozzarella.
It’s my new favorite pasta dish. The only thing I do differently than this recipe (and tradition) is that I cube and salt the eggplant (to draw out some moisture), then rinse, dry, toss in olive oil, and roast in the oven. 400 degF for 20-ish minutes seems about right. Saves all the hassle of frying, and I like the texture better.
Oh, and I like short-medium pasta as opposed to spaghetti. I think casarecce is ideal (and traditional) if you can find it. Ziti will do nicely as well.