And the vegie of the week is... Eggplant!

Hi all
Ok, so we got our aussie farmers box of fruit and veg today, and in it was an eggplant.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
This is good, it's helping me broaden my culinary horizons, I've just never bought one before.
Any ideas appreciated :D

Eggplant is a great addition to any curry. Thai, indian, anything really!
Moussaka is another favourite of mine with eggplant.
ummmmmmm veggie lasagne with eggplant also rocks!

There was a little discussion a while back on recipes for eggplants/aubergines....

Here 'tis..... https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...es-please.html

I remember because I typed out some recipes for Salsa.

just have to type this in... ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

anyhoo.. my fam has always cooked it on the barbie.

I love eggplant, its my favourite.
an easy thing to do is chop it into wedges (like potato wedges) make upa tempura batter and deep fry it (again like potato wedges)

Eggplant Parmigiana!! mmm goooooood...lol

Will hunt it out and be back :)


This one is Ina Garten's Eggplant parmigiana...Works with normal pasta sauce, but if you have time, make your own with the "roasted red pepper tomato sauce" otherwise, just ignore those directions :)
Sooo worth the effort!


Ingredients
Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Sauce:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 roasted red capsicums, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 (28-ounce) cans plum tomatoes and their juices, crushed with your hands
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
3 tablespoons freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley
3 tablespoons freshly chopped basil leaves
1 tablespoon freshly chopped oregano leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Honey, to taste

Eggplant:
5 cups fresh dried breadcrumbs (made from dried day-old bread)
Butter, for greasing the dish
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 large eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons water
2 to 3 medium eggplants (about 2 1/4-pounds), cut into 1/2-inch-thick round slices (need about 18 slices)
All-purpose flour, for dredging
Vegetable oil, for frying
Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Sauce
12 ounces grated mozzarella (not fresh), plus1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
12 ounces grated fontina
3/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano
Fresh basil leaves, torn

Directions
For the Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Sauce:

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute. Add the red peppers and cook for 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes, bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a food processor and process until smooth. Return the mixture back to the pot, add the parsley, basil and oregano and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 10 minutes longer and season with honey, if needed.

For the Eggplant:
To dry out the bread crumbs:
Preheat the oven to 300 degree F.

Evenly spread the bread crumbs on a large baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake for 5 minutes, turn the oven off and let the bread crumbs sit in the oven for 30 minutes or until just dry.

Raise the temperature of the oven up to 400 degrees F. Lightly butter the bottom and sides of a 15 by 10 by 2-inch baking dish and set aside.

Place the bread crumbs into a large shallow bowl. Add the herbs, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. In another medium shallow bowl, whisk the eggs and 2 tablespoons of water together.

Season each eggplant slice on both sides with salt and pepper. Dredge each eggplant slice in the flour, tapping off excess, then dip it in the egg, and finally dredge it in the bread crumb mixture. Shake off any excess breading and transfer the egg plant to a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining eggplant.

Heat 1/2-inch of oil in 2 large straight-sided saute pans over medium heat until the oil reaches a temperature of 385 degrees F. Working in small batches, fry a few of the eggplant slices, turning once, until golden brown, about 3 minutes per batch. Using tongs, transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining eggplant.

Cover the bottom of the prepared baking dish with some of the tomato sauce and arrange 1/2 of the eggplant over the sauce. Cover the eggplant with some of the sauce, grated mozzarella, fontina, Romano cheese and some of the basil. Repeat to make 3 layers ending with the sauce. Top with the fresh mozzarella and remaining Romano and bake until hot and just beginning to brown, about 30 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

These are a couple from Giada De Laurentiis, she fabulous! Makes the most beautiful italian food..

Rigatoni with Eggplant Puree
Ingredients
1 medium eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tub cherry tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, whole
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
Rigatoni pasta
1/4 cup torn fresh mint leaves
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Directions
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

In a large bowl combine the eggplant, cherry tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and red
pepper flakes. Spread the vegetables out in an even layer on the baking sheet. Roast in the oven until the vegetables are tender and the eggplant is golden, about 35 minutes.

While the vegetables are roasting, place the pine nuts in a small baking dish. Place in the oven on the rack below the vegetables. Roast until golden, about 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and reserve.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta into a large bowl and reserve 1 1/2 cups of the cooking liquid.

Transfer the roasted vegetables to a food processor. Add the torn mint leaves and extra-virgin olive oil. Puree the vegetables.

Transfer the pureed vegetables to the bowl with the pasta and add the Parmesan. Stir to combine, adding the pasta cooking liquid 1/2 cup at a time until the pasta is saucy. Sprinkle the pine nuts over the top and serve.

Roasted Eggplants and Tomatoes
Ingredients
4 Japanese eggplants, halved lengthwise Japanese eggplants are baby eggplants, you can substitue for lage ones without a problem, just cut the big ones into thickish slices
4 Roma tomatoes, halved lengthwise
6 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1/3 cup dried plain bread crumbs

Directions
Preheat the oven to 220 degrees F.

Line a heavy large baking sheet with foil. Cut cross-hatch marks over the cut side of the eggplants. Arrange the eggplants and the Roma tomatoes cut side up on the prepared baking sheet. Brush with 2 tablespoons of oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Whisk 2 tablespoons of oil, 2 teaspoons of garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon of oregano in a small bowl to blend. Stir in the diced tomatoes. Season with salt. Spoon the oil mixture over the eggplants. Sprinkle the eggplants with salt and pepper.

Stir the bread crumbs, remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, 2 teaspoons of garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon of oregano in another small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the Roma tomatoes.

Bake until the vegetables are tender and the bread crumb topping is brown, about 30 minutes.


Yummo!