Do we have an eggplant thread? I have a bumper crop! I started with Julia's classic recipe

J

joe

Well-known member
Julia Child’s Mushroom-Stuffed Eggplant

Aubergines Farcies Duxelles

Serves 6 as a first course or 12 as a side dish.

3 eggplants 6" long by 3" wide (I used six of the narrower Asian eggplants)

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup finely minced onion

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and black pepper to taste

1 pound fresh mushrooms, minced fresh mushrooms

3 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 1/2 ounces cream cheese (I used goat cheese)

4 tablespoons parsley, finely minced

1/2 teaspoon dried basil (I used about 1 Tbs. fresh, minced)

3 tablespoons grated Swiss cheese (or Parmesan or Asiago)

3 tablespoons dry bread crumbs

3 tablespoons melted butter

Stem the eggplants and halve them lengthwise.

Cut striations 1″ apart in the flesh, going down to about 1/4″ above the skin. Try very hard not to go through the skin.

Cit off the green stem covering of the eggplants and cut in half. Cut striations an inch apart in the flesh, going down to within 1/4 inch of the skin. Preheat your broiler in time for the third step.

Sprinkle the flesh with salt and lay the eggplants flesh-side down on the towel for half an hour. This will help remove excess moisture from the eggplant. Gently squeeze the eggplant to remove any excess liquid. Pat dry.

Arrange the eggplant in a single layer in the roasting dish. Put about 1/8″ of water in the bottom of the dish and drizzle the eggplants with olive oil. Broil at moderate heat 10 – 15 minutes, until the flesh is moderately browned and tender.

(I bake the salted eggplant cut side down in an oiled pan. My broiler is not adjustable.)

Leaving the skin intact, remove all but 1/4″ of the eggplant meat with a spoon and chop. Place it in a mixing bowl.

Heat the first 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil in the skillet. Slowly cook the onions in the oil until tender but not browned. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add to the mixing bowl with the eggplant.

Heat the 3 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in the skillet and add the mushrooms. Saute until lightly browned and tender, 5 – 6 minutes. Season to taste and add to the mixing bowl.

Mash the cream cheese in the second bowl with the parsley. Add the basil, taste for seasoning and add to the bowl with the vegetables.

All of these steps can be performed in advance.

About 40 minutes before you are ready to serve the eggplants, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Fill the eggplant shells with the mixture from the mixing bowl.

Combine the bread crumbs and grated cheese and top the eggplants with the mixture. Drizzle with the melted butter. Roast 25 – 30 minutes to thoroughly heat and to brown the topping. Serve, cutting each half into two pieces if you wish

 
My first time to try Richard Olney's Egglant Gratin: really good for dinner last night

Olney does not suggest salting the eggplant in any of his recipes, but I do so anyway.

Eggplant Gratin

For the eggplant:
1 1/2 lbs eggplant, sliced lengthwise into 1/2″ slices
Olive oil for frying

For the stewed tomatoes:
1 onion, finely chopped
1 T olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 lb tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks (a large can of Roma tomatoes, drained and diced, would probably work just as well)
1/2 t sugar
Salt, pepper, pinch of cayenne

For the cheese custard:
4 oz ricotta, or other fresh white cheese (I used goat cheese)
1 egg
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup heavy cream (you can use a bit less; I think we used around 1/4 cup)
salt, pepper
Handful basil leaves
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Cook eggplant in hot olive oil until golden brown and tender. Drain on paper towels

Add more olive oil to the pan, add onion and cook until soft and yellowed, about 15 minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, and turn up the heat until at a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer until tomato liquid almost completely gone, about 15 minutes. Taste for salt.

In a small bowl, mash the ricotta with a fork, add the egg and mix until smooth. Season, then add enough Parmesan to bring the mixture to the consistency of a thick paste. Stir in cream until of a pourable consistency.

Line the bottom of a gratin dish with half the eggplant slices, tear basil over top and sprinkle lightly with cheese.

Add the tomato mixture. Gently press the remaining eggplant slices on top.

Spoon the cheese-custard mixture over the entire surface. Sprinkle liberally with remaining Parmesan and bake for 10 minutes at 450 degrees, then turning oven down to 375 to bake for another 25 minutes. Look for a swollen, golden surface.

 
And here is Anna Casale's wonderful caponata. These older classics are great, but I think I need

some modern inspiration! I would love any and all ideas. I have both Asian and Italian eggplant growing.


SICILIAN EGGPLANT RELISH
Caponata
From Italian Family Cooking by Anne Casale

Caponata can be served with unsalted crackers as an appetizer, or as a vegetable, or as a topping for omelets. It is delicious with cold meats or poached chicken. It can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 days or in the freezer for 3 months.

Serves 12 as an appetizer, 8 as a vegetable. (I usually halve the recipe)


1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups diced celery (strings removed) cut into 1/4-inch cubes
2 cups finely chopped yellow onion
2 medium-sized red or green bell peppers
2 medium-sized firm eggplants (2-1/2 pounds) washed, ends trimmed, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup medium-size black olives, (about 24) well drained and thinly sliced
1/2 cup medium-size stuffed green olives (about 12) well drained and thinly sliced
3 Tbs. capers, rinsed and well drained
1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 Tbs. water
2 Tbs. minced fresh basil or 2 tsp. crumbled, dried basil
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly milled black pepper
1/2 cup toasted almond, coarsely chopped (optional garnish

(I salt the eggplant ahead of time, even though the recipe doesn't require it.)

In a 5-quart Dutch oven, heat olivve oil over medium heat until haze forms. Add celery and cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until barely tender, about 3 minutes. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until soft but not brown, about 3 minutes. Stir in peppers and cook, stirring frequently, until tender when tested with a fork, about 4 minutes. Stir in eggplant and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until barlely tender when tested with a fork, about 5 minutes.

Remove form heat and stir in olives and capers.; mix well.

In a small bowl, combine tomato paste, vinegar, water and sugar. Add to vegetable mixture and blend thoroughly. Add basil and season with salt and pepper.

Turn heat to low and cook caponata partially covered, stirring frequently with wooden spoon, for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature before serving. Garnish with chopped almonds.

 
I make "Greek Eggplant" - at least that's what I call it because my Greek friend didn't have a name

for it. It's her comfort food (she's from Cyprus). No recipe amounts, but here is the gist of it:

eggplant
garlic
tomatoes w/juice (large can)
potatoes
olive oil
salt/pepper

Cut eggplant into chunks and saute quickly in a little hot olive oil (about 1/4 cup); cut potatoes into a little smaller chunks; put eggplant and potatoes into casserole dish. Add LOTS of sliced garlic (oh, maybe half a head for 1 large eggplant). roughly chop the tomatoes and pour over eggplant/potato mixture - be sure and add all the tomato juices. Sprinkle generously with salt and black pepper. Bake about 350 deg. for roughly 2 hours...just check it once in awhile until everything is melded well. Serve with chunks of crusty bread.

 
I'm sure you already thought of Ratatouille. What about Rec: Chinese with Spicy Sauce?

Chinese Eggplant Cooked with Spicy Sauce
In Shanghai the food is sweet, rather than spicy. They frequently use a combination of soy sauce—the dark, sweet version and the traditional kind. If you can’t find the dark soy sauce, use all of the light. Small slender eggplant with the peel on, is best for this dish.

2 Tbsp VEGETABLE OIL
1 lb EGGPLANT, unpeeled, cut into 1” triangular pieces
2 oz GROUND PORK
2 tsp grated, peeled FRESH GINGER
2 Tbsp WATER
2 tsp SUGAR
2 Tbsp TRADITIONAL SOY SAUCE
2 Tbsp DARK SOY SAUCE
1 Tbsp VINEGAR
½ oz CHILI SAUCE
2 tsp CORNSTARCH
2 tsp SESAME OIL

Heat oil in wok or large skillet until hot. Add eggplant; stir-fry 2 minutes.

Add pork, ginger, water, sugar, soy sauces, and vinegar; stir-fry 2 minutes. Add eggplant. Combine chili sauce with cornstarch; mix well. Add to pan and cook 2 minutes or until thick. Add sesame oil. Serve hot.

 
This is our favorite for Japanese version: PF Chang's Stir-fried Spicy Eggplant

1 pound eggplant, peeled, cut into 1-inch dice
1 teaspoon garlic
1 tablespoon cornstarch, mixed with
2 tablespoons water, to make a paste
canola oil, for deep-frying

***Spicy Sauce***
2 tablespoons vegetarian oyster sauce (or regular oyster sauce)
2 tablespoons lite soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon chili paste (Sambal Oleck preferred)
1/2 teaspoon ground bean sauce (Koon Chun preferred)
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil


DIRECTIONS:
Combine all Spicy Sauce ingredients and mix well.

In a wok, deep-fry eggplant at 350 degrees F for 1 minute. Remove eggplant and drain on paper towels.

Meanwhile remove all but 1/2 teaspoon of oil from wok. On high heat, stir-fry garlic for 5 seconds then add Spicy Sauce.

Reduce heat and let sauce simmer 20 seconds. Add eggplant and simmer for another 10 seconds.

Stir in cornstarch paste a little at a time until desired consistency. Serve immediately.

Recipe Source: PF Chang's

NUTRITION:
117 calories, 2 grams fat, 24 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams protein per serving. This recipe is low in fat.

http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/494/PF-Changs-Stir-Fried-Spicy-122604.shtml

 
We love it sliced about 1/4 inch thick, drizzsled with oil, S&P and

some Italian seasoning and grilled. And of course, my favorite way is breaded and fried.

 
About what proportion of potatoes to eggplant? I am going to try it using a bag

of fresh plum tomatoes my FedEx man just brought me. (I reciprocate with Swiss chocolate from my visits to the Swiss grandchildren)

 
Yep, just posted ratatouille above. How essential is the pork here? I'm picturing myself

trying to order 2 oz. of ground pork, chickening out and ordering 2 lbs., then forgetting about it in th fridge.

 
Eggplant Gratin...I thought you might like to see this Barefoot Contessa take on

Richard Olney's recipe. It is easy to make and really delicious. I make it in one casserole dish instead of individual ramekins.

* Exported for MasterCook 4 by Living Cookbook *

Eggplant Gratin

Recipe By : Ina Garten
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time: 0:00
Categories : Main Dish Vegetable


Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

good olive oil, for frying
1 1/2 lbs eggplant, unpeeled, sliced 1/2 inch thick
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
2 extra-large eggs
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup good bottled marinara sauce, such as Rao's

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. Heat about 1/8 inch of olive oil in a very large frying pan over medium
heat. When the oil is almost smoking, add several slices of eggplant and
cook, turning once, until they are evenly browned on both sides and cooked
through, about 5 minutes. Be careful, it splatters! Transfer the cooked
eggplant slices to paper towels to drain. Add more oil, heat it, and add
more eggplant until all the slices are cooked.

3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together the ricotta, eggs,
half-and-half, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon
pepper.

4. In each of four individual gratin dishes, place a layer of eggplant
slices, then sprinkle with Parmesan, salt, and pepper and spoon on 1/4 cup
of the marinara sauce. Next, add a second layer of eggplant, more salt and
pepper, one quarter of the ricotta mixture, and finally a tablespoon of
grated Parmesan on top.

5. Place the gratins on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes; lower the
heat to 375 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes, or until the custard
sets and the top is browned. Serve warm.

Cooking Tip: If you don't have small gratin dishes, layer the eggplant
slices and other ingredients in one large shallow dish and bake until hot
and bubbly.

Comments: The first time my husband took me to Paris we splurged on a
restaurant called Le Coupe-Chou. Jeffrey had a delicious eggplant gratin,
which he's been asking me to make ever since. This version of that dish was
inspired by Richard Olney in his wonderful book Simple French Food.

Recipe Author: Ina Garten

Recipe Source: Barefoot in Paris


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