Top 5 – Ways to cook Eggplant

OK so I’ve mentioned once or twice that this has been a really good year for eggplant and I’ve just realised I haven’t done a top 5 on it yet, so here it is – my Top 5 ways to eat Eggplant.

Listada de Gandia

Eggplant MasalaI just love this recipe.  I love the flavours.  I love the texture.  I love the mix of spices.  For me this is the perfect eggplant recipe.

Baba ghanoush – Middle Eastern mezze is one of my favourite things to eat and no mezze would be complete with baba ghanoush.   I make mine by cooking an eggplant whole on the barbecue, then puree the cooked smoky flesh with garlic, olive oil and lemon juice.  Sometimes I also add tahini, other times I add a bit of chilli, or both.  Just delicious.

Pasta alla Norma – I am the only member of my family to really enjoy eggplant so I often find myself preparing it in ways that I can enjoy while not inflicting it on the others.  Pasta alla Norma is a great in this respect as I can easily substitute something else (usually bacon) for the eggplant in everyone elses dishes.  If you aren’t familiar with the dish Pasta alla Norma is pasta with eggplant and ricotta in a tomato sauce.  Diary of a Tomato has posted a great Pasta alla Norma recipe, you can find it here.

Stew with Lentils and Pomegranate – Michelle from From Seed to Table has mentioned this stew a number of times but I only started making it recently.  The recipe itself is from the Food and Wine website and is a lovely, healthy, full flavoured way to use  eggplant.

PickleI find that eggplant is one of those vegetables that is definitely a little feast or famine.  Once they start coming you get tend to get lots at once or none at all.  As a result you need a way of preserving it.  I tend to favour Indian pickles but Harvest with Glee and Nina both recommend a more Italian method of preserving it.  If you look through Nina’s comment on this post you will find a great recipe.

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19 Responses to Top 5 – Ways to cook Eggplant

  1. Bek says:

    So many great ideas. I’ve not cooked eggplant any of those ways so I now have lots of recipes to try. Cheers. I’ve always wanted to do baba ganoush but I have an electric oven/hotplates and no bbq (yet) so feel I wouldn’t be able to get enough heat to properly blacken the eggplant and get that delicious smokey flavour. One day.

  2. I love eggplant. Haven’t made baba ganoush for years might give it a go this week.

  3. Michelle says:

    Some day when my eggplant are all grown up and producing fruits I’m going to have to make your Eggplant Masala, it sounds so good!

    You are so right, eggplant seems to be none or a ton, so I’m always looking for new ways to prepare it in season. A few years ago I had an eggplant bruschetta in Italy that I tried to replicate when I got home (it helped that I was given some basic instructions), it is really simple, the flesh of a large roasted eggplant, chopped and mixed with mint, garlic, chiles, salt and plenty of olive oil and piled on grilled rustic bread. I like to roast the garlic too, but it’s not necessary. And sometimes I use a dash of fish sauce instead of salt. I thought I had this on my recipe blog, but no, it’s not there…

    Another favorite here is a sort of eggplant parmesan that I make with grilled eggplant slices and often times with ricotta and perhaps a slice or two of prosciutto.

    • Liz says:

      Both these sounds just fabulous. Something to try over the weekend me thinks…. I’d forgotten eggplant parmigiana. An old boyfriend taught me how to make his Austrian mums recipe and it was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten. Not a low fat option though, but just delicious… I might have to try to make it again soon, if I can remember how.

  4. No ubiquitous ratatouille?

  5. Debbie Head says:

    Great recipes,my seedlings are only about 5cm high so will need to remember these recipes in about 4-5 months time when they actually have something worth picking

  6. Sarah says:

    Eggplant masala sounds good! There was a recipe for eggplant and parsley pesto in the paper at the weekend – of course, I had to try it… it made a fab topping for bruchetta.

  7. I love eggplant! We’ve been making heaps of babaganush this year!

  8. Andrea says:

    Great timing with this post Liz……..I’m going to try one of the first 4 tonight as I have 2 large ones in the crisper and another 5 just on ready! Sarah’s recipe of eggplant/basil pesto sounds worth a try too!

    • Liz says:

      It does doesn’t it? I have similar amounts in the crisper too. I’m hoping I get a chance to try out your pickle recipe.

  9. Julie says:

    I always want eggplant until I’ve harvested about ten of them and then I’m tired of them! I need to be a bit more creative with eggplant recipes.. I think the idea of pickling them sounds promising. That way I can have some eggplant in the middle of winter when I actually want them.

    • Liz says:

      They do get a bit like that don’t they? I do enjoy the pickles – an easy way to add a bit of a side dish to a curry too.

  10. Nina says:

    I thought I’d remind myself of what I said and when I clicked on the link – I was asked for my WordPress name and password – I don’t have either of those!

    I also notice that your ‘captcha’ isn’t always active – for example – just now it’s asking me for my name and email address (which I need to type in each time I comment) but sometimes it wants captcha and sometimes it is just those ‘pick-up-sticks’ without any numbers in amongst it.

    Not complaining. Just saying! I thought you might want to know.

    And I’ve still got just one pathetic eggplant – must pick and use so it doesn’t get wasted.

    • Liz says:

      Thanks for letting me know!!! The captcha I just turned off because others have also been having issues. I think I’ll leave it off and let my anti spam thingy catch it instead. The other issue was my error – I put the wrong link in so it was trying to connect to the my admin page which requires a login. I have fixed it now though.

  11. Thanks for the shout-out! The eggplant season here is all too brief, and am looking forward to trying them out in your masala. I’ve also tucked away a recipe for pasta al forno that pairs fried eggplant with a smoky scamorza…

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