Aubergine

zombiecazz

They can be great as a starter or even main meal with salad.
Grilled aubergine and mozerella
slice into 1/2 inch rounds and pan fry each side.
layer 1 slice aubergine, with a slice of tomato, a leaf of basil, a slice of mozerella, season and a final slice of aubergine.
drizzle with a little olive oil or chilli oil and grill until the cheese has melted.

My OH is a real meat eater so I often add a slice of pepperoni as one of the layers.

Moussaka is fab
Moussaka recipe
It's basically a bolognaise recipe flavoured with allspice and cinnamon, topped with aubergine, white sauce and some cheese. Can use any mince, although lamb is traditional.

One of my favourite vegetable

thriftlady_2

I never salt them ! Modern varieties are bred to be less bitter and don't need salting.

The thing to remember with aubergines is to cook them well - till really soft, otherwise they have an unpleasant texture. They soak up a lot of oil ,or if you don't want to use a lot of fat you can bake them.

Aubergine parmigiana is nice - layers of aubergine, tomato sauce and mozzarella, topped with parmesan and baked. Serve with crusty bread and salad.

Penny-Pincher!!

You can make into thin crisps which are delish!

PP
xx

culpepper

If it has lost its shine it will be bitter otherwise it'll taste okay unsalted.
We added one to a bolognaise sauce last week and even my fussy DS ate it happily.

Penelope_Penguin

impy78 wrote:

You need to salt them first, or they will taste rank.

I haven't salted aubergines for years. I agree with Thriftlady - modern varieties are bred bitterless! Similarly, modern parsnips don't need "frosting" before they're good to eat.

I chop into 1cm chunks (no peeling or deseeding required), then slow cook with onion, garlic, chilli, black pepper. When cooked, and tinned tomatoes. Place cooked pasta in a gratin dish, spoon sauce over the top, add fresh basil, mozarella chees. Cook in oven until cheese is melted.

Penny. x

dixie_dean_2

I think its to do with faster transportation from where they are grown that you no longer need to salt them, not the way they are bred. Interestingly, Gordon (like Madonna, Pele and Britney) salted his last night on the F-word.

molesworth

This is a wonderful Sicilian recipe for caponata - food of the gods in my opinion. We love it with good quality burgers and flatbread but any nice bread like ciabatta would do. It would also go with chops

Serves 4
olive oil
2 large aubergines cut into large chunks
1 heaped teasp dried oregano
salt and black pepper
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 small red onion finely chopped
small bunch flat-leaf parsley finely chopped
2 tbsp capers
handful of green olives, stones removed
2-3tbsp wine vinegar
5 large ripe tomatoes

Method
Pout couple of glugs of olive oil into large pan and heat. Add aubergoine chunks and oregano, season with a little salt and toss so aubergine evenly coated with oil.

Cook on high heat for 4-5 mins, giving the pan a shake now and then. (Depending on the size of your pan you may need to cook the aubergine in batches)

When the aubergines are nice and golden on each side add the onion, garlic and half the parsley and continue cooking for another couple of minutes. Add a little more oil if you feel it's getting too dry. Throw in the drained capers and the olives and drizzle over a little wine vinegar.

When all the vinegar has evaporated add the tomatoes and simmer for around 10 mins or until tender. Taste before serving and season if you need to with salt,pepper and a little more vinegar.

Drizzle with some good olive oil and serve sprinkled with remaining parsley.

minskerella

Bought it in a moment of madness, but don't know what to do with it now! Would rather not throw it away. Any ideas??? Thanks!!

**purpleprincess**

Thinly slice it and grill or shallow fry. :drool: Moussaka, in a veggie lasagne, chop up with lots of other veg and cook with a tomato based sauce and have with pasta. There are loads of things you can do with it!! Love aubergine :drool:

GardenMillie

A friend made this for me once and it was delicious. Slice the aubergine lengthwise about 1cm thick, lay on a baking tray, put some chopped tomato, grated cheese and breadcrumbs on top of each slice, season and bake in the oven for 30 mins. Tasty!:j