Eggplant

[LED]

One of the girls that's staying with me has decided she doesn't like eggplant because her mom got her one once and she ate it raw and it was obviously gross. She's agreed to try it again, so give me all your favorite eggplant recipes so I can show her how amazing they are!

[sudokufan]

Ratatouille was my introduction to eggplant; this one has sausage for some protein. YUM.

Ratatouille with Sausage
Ingredients
1 large eggplant (1 1/2 pounds) cut into 1-inch chunks
3 small zucchini ( 3/4 pound), cut into 1-inch chunks
7 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
1 large onion, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 red pepper, cored and cut into 1-inch chunks
3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 1/2 pounds plum tomatoes
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or basil.
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. For the ratatouille: In a bowl, toss eggplant and zucchini with 5 tablespoons oil; season with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Spread vegetables in a single layer on one or two large baking sheets (do not crowd vegetables). Transfer to oven and roast, tossing occasionally, until golden, about 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a large, deep, preferably oven-proof sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil. Crumble sausage into pan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 7 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer sausage to a paper towel-lined plate.
4. Return pan to medium heat and add remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Stir in the onion, pepper, garlic and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and thyme sprigs; simmer gently until tomatoes are cooked and mixture is stew-like, about 10 minutes. Stir in the sausage, roasted vegetables and parsley. If you are not using an oven-safe pan, transfer mixture to a 2-quart gratin dish or baking pan.
5. If you want to make this a potpie, divide biscuit dough into six equal balls. Use your palm to flatten each ball into a 1/2 -inch-thick disk. Arrange on top of ratatouille mixture. Brush biscuits lightly with milk.
6. Transfer skillet or pan to oven and cook until biscuits are golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.
Note
This recipe was originally for a cornbread topped potpie. If you want to make a potpie, use your favorite cornbread recipe and follow step 5. I also have been known to serve it over polenta.

[HASH]eggplant [HASH]maindish

[tinyjoys]

I like it just diced into 1 inch or so chunks & roasted with garlic, olive oil, salt & pepper.

[indaclub]

I actually just made these eggplant pizzas last night and they were amazing.

www.primaverakitchen.com/eggplant-pizza-bites-recipe/

I did not make my own pizza sauce though and just bought a jar at the supermarket

[pippiann]

Eggplant parmigiana
Thinly slice eggplant and fry
Then layer 3-4?
Eggplant
Tomato sauce
Mozzarella and parm
Cook at 380, 20-30 mins
(Freezes well too)
Eggplant pasta
Fry thinly sliced eggplant
Make tomato sauce for pasta
Cook pasta
Mix pasta and sauce, put slices of eggplant on top with parm


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[starrynight]

We really like this eggplant parm recipe. It doesn't have as much cheese, and it is baked. I thought I would miss the cheese, but I don't.

cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1901-jamie-olivers-eggplant-parmesan

[loony]

My favorite prep is sliced with red peppers and red onion wedges, tossed in oil and balsamic and grilled in a grill basket. The skins get caramelized and the flesh is soft.

[cyprissa]

Peel and dice a medium eggplant. Salt liberally and place in a colander with a bowl under to catch juices. Put something on top to weight it down and press the eggplant overnight in the fridge.

Chop a pound of plum tomatoes and add 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced, a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and fresh basil. Let stand for a few hours to marinate.

Rinse and dry eggplant. Saute eggplant in olive oil until very tender. Add the marinated tomatoes and briefly sauté just until heated through but the tomatoes are still firm.

Mix with a pound of hot pasta and top with chunks of smoked mozzarella cheese.