Eggplant Suggestions?
I am making some eggplant rolls for dinner tonight (can't think of the official name right now). Eggplant sliced long and filled with angel hair pasta, rolled, and baked with marinara sauce.
Do any of you soak your eggplant with salt before frying to extract excess moisture? I did it once and the eggplant was too salty.
Also, can I avoid having to fry it by roasting it in the oven? What's the procedure for oven roasting and do I need to salt it first (the moisture thing) if I choose that method?
Thanks for any suggestions.
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13 Comments:
I don't find that salting is needed for most eggplant recipes if my eggplant is a young, small fresh one with light colored seeds, but if I feel I need to, I just very lightly salt the slices and pat them dry with paper towels before cooking and lightly oil them before baking in a hot oven on parchment paper till pliable. Don't over cook them or the slices might fall apart if you are using thin slices. I've also had success using thicker slices (for eggplant parmesan or eggplant sandwiches) on my contact grill (mine's a Cuisinart but a George Forman is the same thing).
I love eggplant. Last night I prepared it sliced, breaded in panko and pan fried. I also think I like some of the Asian varieties I'm finding lately. They seem to be less bitter than the chubbier ones we usally see in super markets.
kathyvegas at 4:00PM on 02/08/09
When I salt them, I wipe them off, sometimes even squeezing them between paper towels, to remove the last of the extra moisture. That seems to take care of it.
Yes, the little Asian eggplants are sweeter than the big purple guys. There was a tasty eggplant recipe earlier this month in the NY Times, and we're having it for dinner tomorrow night.
lemons at 4:18PM on 02/08/09
I always bake my slices when I make eggplant parm, but I always peel it because I find the skin adds bitterness.
WSLunch at 6:09PM on 02/08/09
I have done it both ways... when salting the eggplant I rinse them afterwards and squeeze them dry before roasting them in the oven. I have also just fried them dunking them in a batter or soaking them in buttermilk and then dredging them in breadcrumbs. All these methods have worked great so far...
For your particular dish... I would just cut the eggplant real thin, salt it, purge it a little bit, rinse them, squeeze then dry carefully as to not to tear them, season them with olive oil/Salt/Pepper/Herbs and use them like that to make the bundles. You could fry them if you want, but I think they would also work without that extra step and oil.
Madelyn
KarmaFreeCooking
MadelynRodriguez at 6:58PM on 02/08/09
@soozm32 - I think the aka for your eggplant rolls is Eggplant Rollatini. When I was youing, my grandfather was in charge of "pressing the eggplant." This was considered an essential step @ preparing eggplant dishes, to drive out the evil that resided within. No joke. In the basement, next to the furnace, he kept a giant rectangular stone - probably 12"x12"x6" thick. (And it was a HEAVY sucker - I could never pick it up as a youngster!)
He would begin by carefully peeling the eggplant, and then slicing the thing lengthwise. He'd try to make each of the slices about 1/4" thick. That done, he'd stack them inside a towel and flip the ends up, effectively wrapping the top, bottom and sides (ends stayed open). He folded a second towel. That went onto a giant plate he kept for this purpose. The eggplant package was placed onto the folded towel, and the plate went onto the counter. Finally the giant stone was placed squarely atop the towel wrapping. And there it sat, for at least a few hours.
Did I mention that this entire process would take place in the basement? Only after the eggplant had been "drained" of the evil, would the sliced veggie be brought upstairs into the kitchen, for my mother to prepare.
I don't do anything so elaborate. When I'm going to use sliced eggplant, I do begin by removing the skin (hate the taste), and slicing it lengthwise. I like cooking w/ the 1/4" thickness, so I do that. Then I drop the slices into cold water into which I've sprinkled both salt, and a bit of lemon juice. The slices float, so I try to mix them up with each succeeding slice. I leave them in there for only a few minutes after I've finished all of the slicing. Then I pat them dry and lay them on paper towels.
If I'm frying them, I drop them in an egg bath before putting them into the frying pan. If I'm not frying them, I line a cookie sheet w/ parchment paper, and then brush each slice (both sides) w/ olive oil and sprinkle lightly w/ salt. Then they go into a 375F oven for 15 minutes or so. then I flip 'em, and put them back for another 10 to 15 minutes.
After that step - frying or baking - they're ready for whatever recipe I'm planning. (Personal favorite: eggplant lasagna!)
Robbo at 9:52PM on 02/08/09
Thanks for the input!! I've used eggplant in several dishes. The Eggplant Rollatini, however, (thanks for the aka, Robbo!) has been problematic for the very reason that I do not like the excess grease that goes along with frying the eggplant "naked". Tonight, I salted the 1/4" slices (used my mandoline), salted and left them for about 30-45 minutes to extract the liquid, then rinsed them and dried between two paper towels. I then lined my baking pan with parchment paper brushed with olive oil and set the eggplant slices on, then brush the upside with olive oil and roasted in a 400 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes. At that point I used the slices to assemble my dish. To my disappointment, the slices still imparted too much salt into the dish. I do like the results of texture, consistency of the eggplant, but I am still bothered by the overly salty flavor. I made sure not to salt the other components of the dish, given the eggplant procedure. Robbo, I may use your method with salty water, lemon juice, etc. for my next attempt, as I still have another eggplant in the fridge.
Overall, the fam enjoyed the dinner, but me, being the overly self-critical perfectionist, will change up my method, hoping for better results on the next try.
Thanks all, for your help!
soozm32 at 12:46AM on 02/09/09
When weather permits, I get just as many request for my grilled eggplant slices as I do my grilled sweet potatoes.
Love to stuff smaller eggplants and serve one per person.
Cube salted eggplant and saute in olive oil - set aside. Brown sausage (out of casing). Add onion and garlic. Add 1 can whole peeled tomatoes and mush them up in the saucepan. Return eggplant to saucepan and add shredded basil, S&P. Serve over macaroni.
One of my earliest (and last) memories of my mother and father doing ANYTHING together was pickling eggplant. Unfortunately, I found the smell so noxious I spent most of that cooking time with my head out a window.
chiff0nade at 7:09AM on 02/09/09
Here's my no-fry way of cooking eggplant. I remove about half of the peel by peeling away lengthwise strips -- this is because, as others have said, the peel can be bitter; but I like a little bitterness. I don't bother with salting. Then I slice crosswise and place on an oiled baking sheet and brush the tops with oil. Then under the broiler, turning once, until nicely browned.
For an Asian side dish, brush the rounds with a mixture of 1 tb soy sauce, 1 tb sesame oil, 1 tb rice vinegar and 1 tb minced garlic and broil for a few minutes longer.
For an out of this world pasta dish, cut those broiled rounds into strips and add to a tomato sauce (made with lots of garlic and fresh chopped seeded plum tomatoes). Toss with angel hair pasta and diced fresh mozzarella. Heavenly.
Dee at 7:47AM on 02/09/09
I never salt eggplant. I just cook it straight up. Never had a problem with it being bitter.
If you have some eggplant (eggplants?) leftover, try my spicy eggplant dish. It has only a few ingredients, but tasted great! http://mangotomato.blogspot.com/2009/02/spicy-eggplant-and-red-onions-with-cous.html
I also like eggplant to lasagna.
orchidgirl at 10:52AM on 02/09/09
I usually salt, i think it makes the eggplant less greasy. @Robbo, I love the story about your grandfather! It reminds me of my host mom when I studied in Spain; she insisted that you must salt the eggplant to get rid of the "poison"!!
Embackus at 4:01PM on 02/09/09
I don't fry my eggplant, because I also think it becomes too greasy. I cut the eggplant into 1/4" slices and run it under the broiler for about 3 minutes on each side, until it's soft and browned. I do tend to season the slices with salt and pepper before I broil them, but you could skip that step.
Amandarama at 4:05PM on 02/09/09
I like to grill my eggplant and I season it to taste, I have never been concerned with excess moisture or the bitter thing. But then again I always use fairly small to medium sized eggplants.
Pavlov at 5:46AM on 02/10/09
We made this dish a few months back...IMO it was tasty but sort of not worth the rolling effort. I prefer eggplant parmesan. If what you are talking about is Maccheroni e Melanzane, here is the recipe we used http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Macaroni-and-Eggplant-231983 except we didn't fry the eggplant. We broiled the eggplant then rolled it around strands of buccatini (hollow spaghetti). I spread the eggplant slices on a cookie tray, brushed both sides with olive oil and then broiled until golden and flipped each side and repeated the oil brushing. Good luck!
nithya at hungrydesi at 11:32AM on 02/10/09