aubergine/egplant inspiration needed

[Phteven]

Every time I go to the shops I see gorgeous aubergines that I find really hard to resist. The problem is I'm out of things to do with them.
Please inspire me

[Nelle]

What have you done with them in the past? My housemate used to make a really yummy eggplant lasagna, it was soooo good.

[Phteven]

I love eggplant lasagne but I'm not sure that DH is ready for it again because I made it last week.
I do parmigiana too.
And dip/spread.

I thought that stuffing and baking them might be nice but I have no idea how to stuff them - I used to do zuccinis stuffed with breadcrumbs and parmisan with a tomatoe sauce. Do yu think it would work for eggplant? How long would I have to bake them?

ETA - I have lots of yoghurt at the moment too. A recipe that involved yoghurt and aubergine would be fab...

If they weren't so smooth and shiny and purple I would be able to resist them

[Rouge]

There's a really nommy recipe which involves chicken mince which has been flavoured with garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil and a touch of oyster sauce, you scoop out the insides of the eggplant and chop finely, cook with the mince and sauces and then pop back into the eggplant and bake in a 150 oven for about 30 mins until the eggplant flesh is soft. I've ad it at Japanese restaurants with chicken and pork and its divine!

[Danni]

yes stuff them! Would take a bit longer to cook than a stuffed zucchini though

And you can stuff them with anything. I love chicken mince stuffing!

[AnyDream]

I slow-bake the small long skinny ones whole in a ratatouille-like tomato sauce. You could do this and add a crumbed/cheese gratin topping on top...yum!

[danniellabella]

I haven't really used eggplant, but I do like the taste of chargrilled eggplant mixed into a tomato based pasta sauce.

[alioops]

Dusty mentioned something in her journal about an eggplant soup. Maybe ask her what she did?

[Rouge]

Oooooer how are these?

Crock Pot Sausage, Eggplant, And Tomato Casserole

Nice, easy eggplant, beef sausage, and tomato dish. Sauteed sausage, onion, garlic with eggplant cooked in a crockpot on low heat.
Ingredients -
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
8 Lean Beef Sausages
1 Large White Onion, chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, crushed
2 Eggplant, peeled and chopped
3/4 teaspoon Chili Flakes
1 (14.5 ounces) can Diced Tomatoes
1 cup Chicken Stock
1/4 cup Flat-Leaf Parsley Leaves, chopped

Preparation:
1. Heat olive oil in large non-stick skillet over medium heat.

2. Add beef sausages and saut? 2 to 3 minutes, turning occasionally. Sausage should be evenly browned.

3. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels.

4. Add chopped onion, crushed garlic, and eggplant to pan. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

5. Stir in chili flakes and diced tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes or until sauce thickens.

6. Add chicken stock and bring to boil.

7. Spoon eggplant mixture into crock pot. Add sausages. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours.

8. Stir in parsley. Season with pepper. Serve with steamed vegetables.

Eggplant French Fries

Eggplant sticks dredged in milk, eggs, flour and cornmeal. Fries are cooked in hot oil until golden brown, and served hot.
Ingredients -
2 Medium Eggplants, peeled and sliced into 3/4-inch sticks, 4-inches long
Salt
1 cup Milk
2 Eggs
3/4 cup Flour
3/4 cup Self-Rising Cornmeal
? teaspoon Salt
Vegetable or Canola Oil for deep frying
3 teaspoons Ranch Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix
Ranch Dressing

Preparation:
1. Salt surfaces of eggplant sticks. Place eggplant in colander 30 minutes.

2. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels.

3. In medium bowl, mix milk and eggs until well blended.

4. In shallow bowl, combine flour, self-rising cornmeal, ? teaspoon salt and seasoning mix.

5. Heat oil in frying pan on high heat.

6. Dredge eggplant fries in egg mixture and then dredge in cornmeal mix.

7. Carefully place fries in hot oil. Fry 3 minutes or until golden brown.

8. Drain on paper towels.

9. Serve hot with ranch dressing.

Annnnnd how could I forget Jamie's amazing Eggplant Pasta...

Rigatoni with Sweet Tomatoes, Eggplant and Mozzarella
by Jamie Oliver
from Jamie's Dinners
(Hyperion, 2004)
Serves 4


This is a dish I've had many times in Italy, on the Amalfi coast. It's one of those dishes that tastes like home — it's comfort food, and it makes you feel good. The interesting thing about it is that the cow's-milk mozzarella is torn up and thrown in at the last minute so that when you dig your spoon in you get melted, stringy bits of it — a real joy to eat. You can eat this as soon as it's made, or you can put it all into a baking pan with a little cheese grated on top and reheat it as a baked pasta dish the next day, if you wish.


convert Ingredients
1 firm ripe pink, black, or white eggplant
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
Two 14-ounce
cans

good-quality plum tomatoes
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 fresh or dried chillies, chopped or crumbled, optional
Bunch fresh basil, leaves ripped and stalks sliced
4 tablespoons heavy cream
1 pound rigatoni or penne
7 ounces cow's-milk mozzarella
1 piece Parmesan cheese, for grating


Method

1. Remove both ends of the eggplant and slice it into 1/2 inch slices, then slice these across and finely dice into 1/2 inch cubes. Some people prefer to season their eggplant with salt and let it sit for a while in a colander to draw out the bitterness, but I don't really do this unless I'm dealing with a seedy, bitter eggplant. This dish is really best made using a firm silky one.

2. Now, put a large saucepan on the heat and drizzle in 4 to 5 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. When it's hot, add the cubes of eggplant, and as soon as they hit the pan stir them around with a spoon so they are delicately coated with the oil and not soaked on one side only. Cook for about 7 or 8 minutes on a medium heat.

3. Then add the garlic and onion. When they have a little color, add the canned tomatoes and the balsamic vinegar. Stir around and season carefully with salt and pepper. At this point, if you wanted to give the dish a little heat you could add some chopped fresh or crumbled dried chilli, but that's up to you. Add the basil stalks, and simmer the sauce nice and gently for around 15 minutes, then add the cream.

4. While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the pasta, cook according to the package instructions until it is soft but still holding its shape, then drain it, saving a little of the cooking water. I like to put the pasta back into the pot it was cooked in with a tiny bit of the cooking water and a drizzle of olive oil and move it around so it becomes almost dressed with the water and oil.

5. At this point add the lovely tomato sauce to the pasta. By now the eggplant will have cooked into a creamy tomatoey pulp, which is just yum yum yum! Season carefully to taste with salt and pepper. When all my guests are sitting round the table, I take the pan to the table, tear up the mozzarella and the fresh basil, and fold these in nicely for 30 seconds. Then very quickly serve into bowls. By the time your guests start to eat, the mozzarella will have started to melt and will be stringy and gorgeous and really milky-tasting. Just lovely with the tomatoes and eggplant. Serve at the table with a block of Parmesan cheese and a grater so that everyone can help themselves.

Even the kids woof down that pasta

[dusty]

Dusty mentioned something in her journal about an eggplant soup. Maybe ask her what she did?

I did Ali and it is yummy! I have put the recipe HERE.