some advice on eggplants, please

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i usually post only on ilm, but i need to take advantage of some of the culinary expertise frequently in evidence around here.
i'm making stuffed peppers for a potluck, and i got distracted at the greenmarket and also bought some small purple & white stripey italian eggplants. i'd like to use them in the dish as well but i'm afraid that i need to cook them differently than the peppers, which will be parboiled, stuffed, and baked in marinara for 45mins in a 350 oven.
parboiling eggplant just seems wrong to me, but i don't think they'll cook properly if i stick them in raw with the peppers. i don't want to do anything that would render them too soft too quickly - they need to hold together to be stuffed and not fall apart in the casserole. should i try roasting them slightly first? i'm at a loss... none of my cookbooks cover this aspect of eggplant cookery. help, please!

― lauren (laurenp), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 20:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Slice the eggplants in half lengthways, and scoop out the flesh. Chop this, and sauté it in a little olive poil in a hot frying pan, together with the other ingredients which you are going to use for the stuffing (chopped peppers? red onion? garlic? etc etc). Pile the whole lot back into the eggplant shells, brush with a little olive oil and bake in the oven.

If the eggplants are large ones, it's worth sprinkling salt over the flesh and leaving them to drain for about half an hour before cooking them (rinse with clean water and pat dry first) as this draws out the bitter juices. If they are small ones though, this shouldn't be necessary.

Enjoy your supper!

― C J (C J), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 20:29 (twenty-two years ago)

poil = oil

― C J (C J), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 20:30 (twenty-two years ago)

A great use for any leftovers would be to pelt David Blaine's box with them.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 20:48 (twenty-two years ago)

thanks!
i'm planning on stuffing the eggplants with the same polenta-gorgonzola mixture that's going into the peppers, and roasting the flesh to use in baba ghanouj. or to throw at irritating illusionists.

― lauren (laurenp), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 20:50 (twenty-two years ago)

sounds amazing, have fun!

― teeny (teeny), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 20:52 (twenty-two years ago)

Tep must be reading 'War and Peace' on the can.

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 20:54 (twenty-two years ago)

I wasn't gonna point out my absence here cause I thought it would be arrogant ... but I don't know the first thing about eggplant, strangely -- eggplant parmesan was one of my favorite dinners as a kid, but I've never once made it, and my one attempt at cooking eggplant (in a stir fry) went horribly wrong.

― Tep (ktepi), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 21:14 (twenty-two years ago)

eggplant is a bunch of spongy, bitter nastiness if mishandled, hence my nervousness about introducing into the recipe with easy-to-handle bell peppers.
that said, eggplant parm is fairly simple to make if you know your way around the kitchen. if you've got fresh, high-quality veg and spices to start, then you're pretty much guaranteed success.

― lauren (laurenp), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 21:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, I'd overcooked it when I stir-fried it -- probably I cut it into too-small pieces -- and it was .... bitter like burnt garlic, permeating everything. I definitely grok your concern.

― Tep (ktepi), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 21:28 (twenty-two years ago)

Eggplant's not that tricky, but there are reasons it doesn't show up in stir-fries very often--tiny pieces/intense frying doesn't go well with it. One-inch cubes are good; the salt-and-drain solution is good for less-than-totally-fresh eggplants. They are also major oil sponges, so it's good to, say, saute your onions first, then add them to the onions & saute-steam for a bit so they don't suck up all the oil you're using.

― Douglas (Douglas), Thursday, 18 September 2003 02:01 (twenty-two years ago)

The only thing I'll happily do with eggplant is slice it thinly (either lengthwise or into rings), brush the slices with oil, and cook 'em on a hot grillplate (BBQ grill even better for smoky flavour). Once you got the nice charred lines on both sides, pop into a container, sprinkle with some italian herbs, douse in a load of extra virgin olive oil and chill. That, plus roasted and de-skinned capsicum (sorry... "peppers" ;P) makes a delish antipasto. Mmmm.

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 18 September 2003 02:23 (twenty-two years ago)

eggplant is a bunch of spongy, bitter nastiness if mishandled
Really? Most cookbooks try to convince us/me that aubergines are bitter-tasting vegetables. I really don't fall for that, I have never had a problem with'em. Some books advice you to sprinkle salt on eggplants and so on. I never do.

― nathalie (nathalie), Thursday, 18 September 2003 06:10 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah I used to salt eggplant cos it always said to, and I'd end up with way too salty eggplant. I then read somewhere else that the bitterness thing is a bit of a furphy and only applies to really old floury eggplants, and why would one use that anyway.

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 18 September 2003 06:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Griddling's my standard Aubergine treatment, just light brush with oil etc etc.
Aubergine puree served cold with hot sardines and lime incidentally, is v. good.

― Matt (Matt), Thursday, 18 September 2003 08:37 (twenty-two years ago)

I hate eggplant in general (sometimes it goes so slimy and nasty, and it can taste like fish gone wrong!) but I love eggplant parmesan. I just whip up some fine breadcrumbs (homemade if you're fussy like me) mixed with a bit of good flour and seasoning (salt, pepper, paprika, dried oregano - whatever you like really). Then I cut nice thin slices of a super nice shiny firm eggplant, either rounds or lengthwise depending on your pan and bread them using an egg dip. I bake them at about 350-375F until crispy, turning once (about 20-25 mins I guess)

Then all you have to do is layer the slices with some good tomato sauce (again, homemade preferably) and top it with some good melting cheese. I use cheddar for more flavour than mozz. I then bake the whole thing for another 25 mins at 375F until it's bubbling and brown. You could finish it off with a quick go under the broiler/grill.

I used to cook huge pans of this recipe at a veggie restaurant, and we never salted the slices. I've done that at home, and they did indeed sweat, but I can't say I noticed a difference in the flavour.

(p.s. 375F = 175C approx. for UK cooks)

― elisabeth k, Thursday, 18 September 2003 10:38 (twenty-two years ago)

shouldn't you use parmesan cheese in eggplant parmesan?

― lawrence kansas (lawrence kansas), Thursday, 18 September 2003 12:40 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh duh, I add grated parm to the breadcrumb mix. My bad!

― elisabeth k, Thursday, 18 September 2003 13:21 (twenty-two years ago)

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