Discussion Board

I have tried three eggplant recipes that all bombed. The casserole (wonderful aroma but blah) and "chips" and the dip with cumin. All smelled so lovely but tasted...blah.

Anyone have a tried 'n true for eggplant? It's one of my favorites and I am determined to find a way to make it on MWL.

Thanks!! (and yes, I did do searches...found little that came up in posts although lots of eggplant references)

Have you tried the popular Middle Eastern dish baba ganoush?
Basically it's the flesh of a baked eggplant (I microwave the eggplant for a quicker result - about four to five minutes). Add lemon and spices! Usually lots of olive oil is added which I don't and which is not required. Blend ingedients until you have a smooth consistency.
You could add sweet potato or winter squash to it for a variation on this.
Otherwise I find that eggplant is good in stews as it absorbs the sauce and flavour of the stew.
For a quick meal I microwave an eggplant and top it with tomato sauce, mustard or chopped tomatoes.

Lots of eggplant recipes here, though some will need to be modified for MWL.

http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/tag/eggplant

This is one of my all time favorite eggplant recipes from Dr. Gabe Mirkin.
 
Dr. Gabe's Famous Bean-Eggplant-Tomato Casserole
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper, chopped
1 28-ounce can plum tomatoes,
undrained, broken up
1 tablespoon oregano
pinch cayenne, or to taste
1 eggplant, cut in 1/2” cubes
2 16-ounce cans kidney beans, drained
Cooked whole grains of your choice

Combine the onions, garlic, pepper, tomatoes, and seasonings in a large pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer while dicing the eggplant. Add eggplant to the pot and simmer 10-20 minutes. Stir in the beans and heat through. Serve over cooked whole grains.

6-8 servings

Kate

Katydid, do you peel the eggplant or leave the skin on?

I've made this one a couple times:
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/08/eg ... arlic.html
I don't know if it will work for you on MWL, but you could tweak it.

I like baingan bharta (eggplant and tomato). You can use either roasted or peeled, boiled eggplant to make it. You don't have to use oil to saute the onion. Scroll way down on this page for a recipe. http://www.holycowvegan.net/search/label/Eggplant

You'll find you often have to tweak recipes to your taste. Make them your own. Some folks like lots of bold flavor and spice, and some folks prefer milder food.

How did you like your eggplant prepared before MWL?

Lots of good ideas and I can't wait to try some of them!

Before eating the new way, I used to make eggplant as an oven bake with rice and LOTS of cheese. I suppose I could try using just an italian red sauce...there are even some without added oil and sugar or make my own. That may be good.

I am finding this to be alot of fun...thanks!!

I love eggplant, too. Isa Chandra has a recipe for Eggplant Potato Moussaka on the PPK website that I thought was very good. I made it without the oil. You could leave off the topping if it's not MWL and I think it would still be good. I've also made this recipe as a lasagne, using the basic recipe as the filling. (I kept the potatoes in the basic recipe and it was okay, but I might try without them next time.)

I always peel mine because I usually buy conventional fruits and vegetables. I suppose if you were to buy an organic eggplant you could leave the skin on.

Kate

Thank you. I'm going to fix this for dinner soon.

If you enjoy Chinese food this is superb:

Szechuan Eggplant

2lbs eggplant, diced
Minced garlic to taste (I use a lot)
1T minced fresh ginger (or more)
4 scallions, minced
2T rice wine, cooking sherry or whatever wine you have in the cupboard
1T soy sauce
½ cup vegetable broth (or mushroom soaking water)
8-10 shiitake or other mushrooms, cleaned and diced, (soak if you are using dried
mushrooms)

“Stir fry” eggplant in a dry non-stick pan for a few minutes until it starts to turn that “clearish tan”. Add remaining ingredients. Reduce heat and stew 10-20 minutes or until eggplant is tender. Add more liquid as needed. Serve with brown rice.

Family style Chinese eggplant with beancurd can be cooked really simply. You can buy a jar of fermented soy beancurd at any Chinese market, about $2 or so, refrigerate after opening. Fermented soy beancurd is good for your health, improving the balance of bacteria in your small intestine and digestion.

Cut up the unskinned eggplant into 1/2" thick slices, and quarter each section. Add water to cover the eggplant, and a piece of beancurd (the jar contains small chunks for easy use). Cover and cook slowly until very soft, perhaps 20-30 min. You can add onions & garlic, low-salt soy sauce to suite, but they are not essential. The excess liquid/sauce is great over brown rice!

I wasn't a fan of aubergine (eggplant) until I tried a recipe from Ann Esselstyn (prevent and reverse heart disease book).

Peel an aubergine and make slices. To the slice add garlic powder and onion flakes. Then top with a heaped teaspoon of hummus and a slice of tomato. Try and buy larger tomatoes so they match the size of the slices.
Bake in the oven for 15 mins until the aubergine is soft.

I like to use a hummus like roasted pepper (from the same book) but plain is good too.

Eggplant works really well in Indian curries.

The bad thing is that most restaurants cook it in so much oil it's greasy and really unhealthy. Did you know eggplant is the most oil absorbing vegetable? It becomes 50% fat by calories when you cook it in oil.

So I made an OIL FREE Vegan Eggplant And Chickpea Curry Recipe:



http://lowfatveganchef.com/fat-free-vegan-eggplant-chickpea-indian-curry-with-fire-roasted-tomatoes/