This look amazing, I will have to try it! My two boys (3.5yo and 1.5yo) absolutely love fried eggplant. In fact, I took them to the market and told the older one he could have any treat in the market, so what did he want-- he exclaimed, eggplant! The people around us chuckled, but honestly what little kid thinks of eggplant as a treat? Anyway, the point is that fried eggplant is delicious and I can't wait to try this recipe with little japanese eggplants I'm growing in my garden!
Excellent recipe...but next time I will try to ovn roast my eggplant...to lessen calories,reduc the mes and speed up the process. Great recipe that just gets better with age in your fridge and is good cold too.
This was a GREAT recipe. Made it with round, purple and white eggplants, Tropea onion, small sweet tomatoes. Made garam masala from scratch (easy to find ingredients, recipe on Internet). I bake the eggplant after rolling slices around in generous amount of salt and olive oil, 375 degrees, around 20 to 30 minutes, on parchment or foil. Still creamy in inside and crisp on outside. Made chutney with fresh mint from the garden. Used sour cream on top, I know, not tradition, but it was amazing altogether! Thank you Melissa for a lovely recipe.
1
Another winner! I finally got around to this with a little white eggplant from the neighbor's garden. I did soak it to get the brown out- but I guess the babies have very little. I was squeamish too about frying- so no problem improvising - a little less oil, a little lower heat- soft like zucchini gets- and if you're too busy to make the chutney, just add fresh mint at the end. Wouldn't give up the salting, though I myself didn't need the paprika or cayenne.
I toss them in oil, after salting, rinsing and drying in a towel, and then cook them on a stove top raised griddle. Works great. As does a sautee/stir fry with mushrooms.
This may sound a tad weird, but on my grandma's farm she would grow football size eggplants and slice them in quarter inch rounds, fry the rounds in bacon grease and make a sammy on her fresh potato buns, with just picked Romaine and fresh Beefstake 'maters. Unbelievably good.
6
Here is how to enjoy those summer vegetables: Fire up your gas grill with the cast iron grates, clean it, oil it and prepare eggplant, zucchini and yellow squash by cutting them in long slices 1/2 inch thick in a bowl. Toss with minimal olive oil some salt and pepper and very little of whatever else suites your fancy. Lay vegetables on the hot grill, poor yourself a glass of wine and turn them as they brown. If you have some oil left in your bowl you can brush it on very dry looking pieces. Serve warm with tatziki (greek yogurt, grated garlic, grated unpeeled cucumber, salt and pepper).
While you grill is still hot you can throw on some Georgia peaches for desert.
While you grill is still hot you can throw on some Georgia peaches for desert.
1
I rarely cook from recipes, but of the few cooks whose recipes I do follow verbatim, Melissa Clarke is at the top of the list. Yet this one still managed to surprise me. The combination is impossibly good!
I made this yesterday. I was really good, but here is what I would do to make it better next time: don't fry in olive oil, it has a low burn/smoke point. The eggplant needs a lot more than the one tablespoon of oil the recipe calls for. Also you need to salt the eggplant WAY before you fry it to get rid of the water and to make it soften when it fries. I would make this on a weekend and not a weeknight. You need either quinoa/bread/rice or some sort of starch to serve it with. Yoghurt was a great addition to the dish. The chutney however, became super dark-colored within five minutes of processing. It doesn't add much to the dish.
2
The best thing I like to do with eggplant is smoke it. I bake it till tender and then add some char on a gas-range followed by quick wrap in foil to let the smokey aroma settle into the flesh. It can then be used with middle eastern or indian flavors.
For frying, Eggplant fritters are great with a chickpea batter. If done right, they are not greasy and eggplant slices stay ungreased, tender and sweet.
As for Melissas recipe, there is no need to fry the eggplant.
For frying, Eggplant fritters are great with a chickpea batter. If done right, they are not greasy and eggplant slices stay ungreased, tender and sweet.
As for Melissas recipe, there is no need to fry the eggplant.
Would just cook the eggplant slices in a bit of oil, since they'll be covered in that great tomato/chickpea addition. And the flavorful, spicy chutney! A yummy-looking dish. Thanks, Melissa.
To minimize the fat used in/absorbed by frying, I use a trick from Jennifer Yu at userealbutter.com - I "dry-fry" eggplant on medium-high heat, moving it constantly with a spatula until it's browned and crispy. Then I add just a little olive oil and salt at the end of the process. Totally addictive and far less oily.
5
Frying is totally an unnecessary step. If one likes fried egg plant, dip the cut round piece Gram Flour (Besan) that will stick to the cut pieces. One can choose herbs of choice along with salt and pepper. And eat the fried pieces as chips.
1
It is pure simple waste of time and mucking up a perfectly decent vegetable to cut and fry it and make this concoction of adding chic peas. Plus frying just about totally destroy nutrition value of fine egg plant with minimum of seeds.
These skinny verity are at there best when sauteed whole a and stuffed with a sharp tasty hot spicy pesto paste. By all means take a big sized a pound or pound an a half. Bake it first after coating the skin with few drops of olive oil. Skin it and use the chopped pulp and follow what ever style. After chopped garlic, shallots and slices mushrooms, fresh ginger, sweet basil ,herbs of provence and of course diced tomatoes. I prefer Roma. Add is a cup of white wine and the concoction smear on low heat in a lidded pan.
At the end before serving I like to add a few table spoons white truffle extra virgin olive oil and sever with warm pita bread . Or any other kind of flat bread will. Far better may be even thin sliced French baguette to make a meal of it. A nice dry white low alcohol fresh wine is a good to complement the dish.
These skinny verity are at there best when sauteed whole a and stuffed with a sharp tasty hot spicy pesto paste. By all means take a big sized a pound or pound an a half. Bake it first after coating the skin with few drops of olive oil. Skin it and use the chopped pulp and follow what ever style. After chopped garlic, shallots and slices mushrooms, fresh ginger, sweet basil ,herbs of provence and of course diced tomatoes. I prefer Roma. Add is a cup of white wine and the concoction smear on low heat in a lidded pan.
At the end before serving I like to add a few table spoons white truffle extra virgin olive oil and sever with warm pita bread . Or any other kind of flat bread will. Far better may be even thin sliced French baguette to make a meal of it. A nice dry white low alcohol fresh wine is a good to complement the dish.
1
Winemaster2 rule number one in the kitchen is: If it grows together it goes together, so leave the ginger out of Georgia summer veggies, also the wine and the mushrooms.
I sometimes use White truffle oil to drizzle on soups that need a little help, never in summer, only on stuff that has been sitting in the store for a while, like broccoli.
I sometimes use White truffle oil to drizzle on soups that need a little help, never in summer, only on stuff that has been sitting in the store for a while, like broccoli.
"If it grows together, it goes together"?
What a depressingly limiting thought. I've never before heard that rule, and I'm glad. It sounds like a practice my Ohio grandmother would have followed in the early years of the 20th century, sheerly by necessity.
The cooking I like best is about trial and error, unexpected combinations, and openness to new experiences. This is why I'm a fan of Melissa Clark's work.
What a depressingly limiting thought. I've never before heard that rule, and I'm glad. It sounds like a practice my Ohio grandmother would have followed in the early years of the 20th century, sheerly by necessity.
The cooking I like best is about trial and error, unexpected combinations, and openness to new experiences. This is why I'm a fan of Melissa Clark's work.
Love this recipe! I used the eggplant variety called Orient Express from my garden. They have a thin, tender, dark purple skin and practically no seeds at all if picked young and early in the season. They're very sweet and extremely prolific. I cheated on the recipe by bypassing the frying step. Instead, I brushed the slices with extra-virgin olive oil and cooked them on the grill while being very careful not to let them burn. Not as rich, but a lot less caloric.
6
Way too much oil.
very unhealthy.
bake the eggplant or put on grill.
then gently sauté other vegetables paying particular attention to not burning garlic so add at very end.
check out other similar french/israeli recipes for slow cooked eggplant tomatoes onions and garlic along with herbes de provence or basil, mint and tarragon.
very unhealthy.
bake the eggplant or put on grill.
then gently sauté other vegetables paying particular attention to not burning garlic so add at very end.
check out other similar french/israeli recipes for slow cooked eggplant tomatoes onions and garlic along with herbes de provence or basil, mint and tarragon.
2
If one is an eggplant lover (I am), eggplant is good anyone one serves it: Parmigiana, bread and fried, in ratatouille, grilled, etc.
I adore eggplant. Eggplant, no matter what the method, tastes delicious. I love the description in the article; it made me hungry immediately.
2
I try to grill eggplants as often as possible, brushing them with olive oil.
7
I agree, Bob. Eggplant marinated in teriyaki sauce, brushed with olive oil and then grilled is a delicacy that rivals the tenderest, most flavorful steak!
1
At the peak of eggplant harvest I prepare and freeze grilled eggplant for winter use:
Peel and slice the eggplant, brush with oil (sometimes after adding garlic and black pepper), reassemble the eggplant in a steel bowl and allow to sit for a bit, then grill.
After grilling, return the slices to the bowl and put the bowl in the refrigerator for an hour.
Chilled slices then are then:
1) assembled into eggplant Parmesan with is then baked, cut into hero sized portions and frozen
2) frozen in vacuum bags for general use through the year.
Peel and slice the eggplant, brush with oil (sometimes after adding garlic and black pepper), reassemble the eggplant in a steel bowl and allow to sit for a bit, then grill.
After grilling, return the slices to the bowl and put the bowl in the refrigerator for an hour.
Chilled slices then are then:
1) assembled into eggplant Parmesan with is then baked, cut into hero sized portions and frozen
2) frozen in vacuum bags for general use through the year.
Yes indeed "frying...is one of the most classic and luscious preparations. The eggplant’s surface crisps and browns, and the insides collapse, becoming almost impossibly custardy" or delectable. Especially to REAL eggplant lovers.
I would never consider making Moussaka or Pasta alla Norma" with broiled eggplant, regardless of the "fear of frying" health issue: it would never be the same. Frying in Canola oil helps, as well as draining the slices immediately on paper towels.
I would never consider making Moussaka or Pasta alla Norma" with broiled eggplant, regardless of the "fear of frying" health issue: it would never be the same. Frying in Canola oil helps, as well as draining the slices immediately on paper towels.
3
I agree that it's not the same, and I make eggplant recipes prepared with fried eggplant couple of times a year. But some of us must make compromises most days to keep a waist while still indulging our love of cooking and eating!
Example: I adore my own fried chicken. It is a one-way ticket to the bariatric surgery unit, however. Nonetheless, once a year, in high summer, I dig in with abandon, then dream of its deliciousness for the following 12 month waiting period!
Example: I adore my own fried chicken. It is a one-way ticket to the bariatric surgery unit, however. Nonetheless, once a year, in high summer, I dig in with abandon, then dream of its deliciousness for the following 12 month waiting period!
I've baked eggplant after allowing them to absorb salt for 20 minutes and then rinsing the salt off. A great recipe for eggplant; I would just bake it instead. Thanks for this recipe!
4
Someone will probably jump on the contradiction in the first recipe step of Melissa's statements in the video about salting the eggplant (or not). The spoken instruction about "you don't have to salt it" means you needn't try to purge small eggplants of the too-wet, too-bitter juices, not that eggplant shouldn't be salted for flavor. And guess what? Salt before, salt after, salt before and after, or not at all if you like your food on the blander side. Whatever works for you.
I have tried not salting eggplant before cooking it as suggested by some very respectable food mavens: it does not work! The unsalted (before) eggplant tends to absorb too much oil. I either salt it and rinse the salt off, or I soak it in water with ½ cup salt in a large basin as so frequently recommended by Craig Claiborne.
3
I've never ever ever salted eggplant before cooking it.
4
I have found over decades of cooking eggplant every which way that drying it out a bit by salting and draining beforehand improves the final product noticeably. It's a time-consuming pain, but worth it. (Exception: obviously you don't do this when you're baking a whole eggplant until collapse then scraping out the interior.)
I found Melissa Clark's presentation of frying eggplants on a par with some famous drama actresses, it was a pleasure to watch.
The mixture of tomatoes and chickpeas did not appeal to me. Ms. Clark's very useful advice is to use young eggplants that are not as full of seeds as the older ones.
Fried eggplants look appetizing, although my strong preference in eggplant dishes is the Russian "eggplant ikra" (baklazhannaya ikra), a finely chopped and fried mixture of eggplants and onions, cooled, and used as a spread.
The mixture of tomatoes and chickpeas did not appeal to me. Ms. Clark's very useful advice is to use young eggplants that are not as full of seeds as the older ones.
Fried eggplants look appetizing, although my strong preference in eggplant dishes is the Russian "eggplant ikra" (baklazhannaya ikra), a finely chopped and fried mixture of eggplants and onions, cooled, and used as a spread.
3
I must ask: Does the fried eggplant recipe include topping it with mayo afterwards? That's how we do it in Mississippi, the only way.
I do it also with a little bit of mayonnaise. I am not sure what was or is used in Russia: perhaps some vegetable oil?
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/12/dining/fried-eggplant-recipe-video.htm...
I chose this article because it gives me really useful health tips on what to eat. Frying eggplant makes it really delicious, especially with some garlic and olive oil on top. But the question is, is it healthy to fry it or not? From reading many articles, i understood that eggplants absorb oil so basically grilling them might be way healthier than frying. people's opinions on frying might be a little bit inaccurate, as the idea of frying is not always unhealthy it just all depends on what oil do you use. vegetable oils are usually healthier than others, especially olive oil, so this is absolutely healthier than any other. I liked about the article that this is a very useful thing to know how to be aware of what you eat.
I chose this article because it gives me really useful health tips on what to eat. Frying eggplant makes it really delicious, especially with some garlic and olive oil on top. But the question is, is it healthy to fry it or not? From reading many articles, i understood that eggplants absorb oil so basically grilling them might be way healthier than frying. people's opinions on frying might be a little bit inaccurate, as the idea of frying is not always unhealthy it just all depends on what oil do you use. vegetable oils are usually healthier than others, especially olive oil, so this is absolutely healthier than any other. I liked about the article that this is a very useful thing to know how to be aware of what you eat.
3
Eggplant has virtually no nutritional value whatsoever - few vitamins or minerals, almost no protein, and little fiber for a veg. Also, it contains trace amounts of nicotene (!). To make it palatable, one needs to fry it or douse it with salt and/or cheese. It's probably better for you to eat a Snickers.
4
Interestingly, the Hindi name for eggplant is 'Baingun' or 'Be-gun' also a pun on something that has no virtue. :) Just a fun anecdote, of no cooking or food merit whatsoever.
1
The thin slices of seasoned eggplant coated in chick flour (Besan in hindi) and fried consumes lot less oil and give a nice crunch also. One can season the Besan according to ones own taste. Called EGGPLANT PAKORAS.
I also agree that you can get a great result by broiling or grilling the (salted and drained) eggplant instead of frying it.
Wonderful recipe -- a keeper.