Excess Eggplants
August 25, 2024 7:52 AM Subscribe
I planted 2 eggplants in the garden this year on a whim and am getting about 15 a week. I need help figuring out how to use them all.
It also turns out I'm not a huge fan of eggplant, to me it's too sweet (the same way I feel about sweet potatoes so I get that I'm an outlier here). So bonus points for recipes that tone down the sweetness a bit. Also bonus points for simplicity of the recipe and/or quantity of eggplants used. I'm not likely to make something complicated just to get rid of 2 eggplants.
It also turns out I'm not a huge fan of eggplant, to me it's too sweet (the same way I feel about sweet potatoes so I get that I'm an outlier here). So bonus points for recipes that tone down the sweetness a bit. Also bonus points for simplicity of the recipe and/or quantity of eggplants used. I'm not likely to make something complicated just to get rid of 2 eggplants.
I love what eggplant does when it's basically melted into tomato sauce. This recipe uses 2 pounds of eggplant per 8 cups tomatoes, which would be 2 (and a quarter) big (28oz) cans of tomatoes. I provide this recipe only for rough proportions, do what you like with what you have, and then freeze in portions instead of canning.
You can do the same thing in chili, which gives you even more opportunity to cut the sweetness with smoky spices. And I love it in curries.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:10 AM on August 25 [4 favorites]
You can do the same thing in chili, which gives you even more opportunity to cut the sweetness with smoky spices. And I love it in curries.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:10 AM on August 25 [4 favorites]
The New York Times just published this recipe (gift link) for eggplant lasagna, which replaces lasagna noodles with eggplant slices. The slices can be roasted and frozen for future assembly.
posted by mezzanayne at 8:19 AM on August 25 [5 favorites]
posted by mezzanayne at 8:19 AM on August 25 [5 favorites]
Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever heard eggplant described as too sweet. Most of the time it’s described as bitter! I really love it, though, and like to cook it in ways that bring out its savory flavor.
I think you would be well served by making baba ganoush, because you can use up a heck of a lot of eggplants with it, and the tahini is likely to cut a significant amount of perceived sweetness. My favorite way is to cut eggplants in half lengthwise, coat with a neutral oil, and put them cut side down on a foil covered baking sheet. Also cut the top off of an entire bulb of garlic so you can see most of the cloves and cover that with oil too. It all goes in the oven at 350F for about an hour, until the garlic is roasted and the eggplant looks like it is about to collapse in on itself. Put the eggplants in a colander over a bowl and let them cool. They will release a lot of liquid, because you’ve basically steamed them. Once you can handle them, scoop the insides away from the skins, rough chop the results, mix it with salt and place back in the colander to drain some more. After maybe twenty minutes, press on it to get as much liquid out as you can. Reserve some of that liquid and put the eggplant in a big mixing bowl with as much if your roasted garlic as you wish (all of it), some very nice olive oil, more salt, and lemon juice. Mix it together and add tahini to your taste - I suspect you will want more than me. To loosen it up a bit, add a few spoonfuls of the drained eggplant liquid from before. You can freeze portions of this so you can have an impressive dip to thaw out any time you want. Just mix it back up a bit after thawing, and probably add some more good olive oil and a good sprinkle of sumac and some chopped herbs. My favorite way to garnish baba ganoush is with pomegranate molasses but I bet that brings out a sweetness you are looking to avoid. If you have some in your pantry though you might find a drizzle balances out the eggplant flavor into something more to your taste. Worth a try.
posted by Mizu at 8:26 AM on August 25 [4 favorites]
I think you would be well served by making baba ganoush, because you can use up a heck of a lot of eggplants with it, and the tahini is likely to cut a significant amount of perceived sweetness. My favorite way is to cut eggplants in half lengthwise, coat with a neutral oil, and put them cut side down on a foil covered baking sheet. Also cut the top off of an entire bulb of garlic so you can see most of the cloves and cover that with oil too. It all goes in the oven at 350F for about an hour, until the garlic is roasted and the eggplant looks like it is about to collapse in on itself. Put the eggplants in a colander over a bowl and let them cool. They will release a lot of liquid, because you’ve basically steamed them. Once you can handle them, scoop the insides away from the skins, rough chop the results, mix it with salt and place back in the colander to drain some more. After maybe twenty minutes, press on it to get as much liquid out as you can. Reserve some of that liquid and put the eggplant in a big mixing bowl with as much if your roasted garlic as you wish (all of it), some very nice olive oil, more salt, and lemon juice. Mix it together and add tahini to your taste - I suspect you will want more than me. To loosen it up a bit, add a few spoonfuls of the drained eggplant liquid from before. You can freeze portions of this so you can have an impressive dip to thaw out any time you want. Just mix it back up a bit after thawing, and probably add some more good olive oil and a good sprinkle of sumac and some chopped herbs. My favorite way to garnish baba ganoush is with pomegranate molasses but I bet that brings out a sweetness you are looking to avoid. If you have some in your pantry though you might find a drizzle balances out the eggplant flavor into something more to your taste. Worth a try.
posted by Mizu at 8:26 AM on August 25 [4 favorites]
The suggestions above are all great!
Just musing on your comment about eggplants being too sweet… while I love them, like the commenter above I also find them to be neutral to borderline acidic or bitter in their natural state.
I wonder if the sweetness you’ve perceived in the past has been due to commonly paired sauces? For instance in Italian, Thai and Chinese dishes that I’ve had, many standard eggplant sauces are on the sweeter side. I notice this particularly because I am NOT a fan of sweet and savory combos, but I love eggplant, so it is very annoying and memorable to me when I expect a savory dish and it comes out sickeningly sweet. (Ex. Italian places that phone it in often dump a ton of sugar in their standard tomato sauce; or a Thai eggplant garlic stir fry that ends up having a bunch of coconut sugar in it)
You know your taste buds best - hopefully the recipes above work for you!
posted by seemoorglass at 9:29 AM on August 25 [1 favorite]
Just musing on your comment about eggplants being too sweet… while I love them, like the commenter above I also find them to be neutral to borderline acidic or bitter in their natural state.
I wonder if the sweetness you’ve perceived in the past has been due to commonly paired sauces? For instance in Italian, Thai and Chinese dishes that I’ve had, many standard eggplant sauces are on the sweeter side. I notice this particularly because I am NOT a fan of sweet and savory combos, but I love eggplant, so it is very annoying and memorable to me when I expect a savory dish and it comes out sickeningly sweet. (Ex. Italian places that phone it in often dump a ton of sugar in their standard tomato sauce; or a Thai eggplant garlic stir fry that ends up having a bunch of coconut sugar in it)
You know your taste buds best - hopefully the recipes above work for you!
posted by seemoorglass at 9:29 AM on August 25 [1 favorite]
I love this Indian dish. It calls for Japanese eggplants but it works fine with globes. We always make it with a variation that mixes in a few tablespoons of tahini at the end. If you like the recipe, you can apply it to virtually any vegetable you like when eggplant season is over.
posted by obfuscation at 9:30 AM on August 25 [1 favorite]
posted by obfuscation at 9:30 AM on August 25 [1 favorite]
Oh my! Eggplant may be my favorite vegetable. I'm having Parmigiana right now for dinner. But I can actually understand why someone might not like it, because it needs the right care.
First of all, a lot of contemporary recipes say we don't need the salting process anymore, because the bitterness has been bred out of the fruit. I think this is wrong. Because the salting does more than remove the bitterness. It also removes a lot of the water from the fruit, and hence you can fry it without the fruits sucking up all the oil*. So before you do anything, layer your sliced eggplants in a colander with plenty salt. Put a plate and a weight on it. Let it rest for minimum 30 minutes and then rinse with cold water and put the eggplant on a clean towel or kitchen paper. Then try whatever recipe you like.
For my parmigiana, I use this recipe, though as stated above, I start by salting the eggplant. *
This morning, my plan was actually to make Imam Bayildi. I use this recipe regularly, but I watched an old Anthony Bourdain show and noted that someone was cooking an even more onion--forward version, and I was planning to try to replicate it. Until I just sort of needed the parmigiana.
When I make vegetarian lasagna, I use eggplant instead of meat. In this case, I don't salt the eggplant, because it's going to be cooked for ages. I use the same amount of chopped eggplant as meat pr volume, not weight, and otherwise follow the standard recipes for a bolognese sauce. My family prefers this to the meat version, even though no-one is a vegetarian.
But the star of the show is fish-fragrant eggplant. This may be exactly what you need. It's maybe the most delicious dish in the entire world.
*I don't know why this works, but it does.
posted by mumimor at 9:57 AM on August 25 [2 favorites]
First of all, a lot of contemporary recipes say we don't need the salting process anymore, because the bitterness has been bred out of the fruit. I think this is wrong. Because the salting does more than remove the bitterness. It also removes a lot of the water from the fruit, and hence you can fry it without the fruits sucking up all the oil*. So before you do anything, layer your sliced eggplants in a colander with plenty salt. Put a plate and a weight on it. Let it rest for minimum 30 minutes and then rinse with cold water and put the eggplant on a clean towel or kitchen paper. Then try whatever recipe you like.
For my parmigiana, I use this recipe, though as stated above, I start by salting the eggplant. *
This morning, my plan was actually to make Imam Bayildi. I use this recipe regularly, but I watched an old Anthony Bourdain show and noted that someone was cooking an even more onion--forward version, and I was planning to try to replicate it. Until I just sort of needed the parmigiana.
When I make vegetarian lasagna, I use eggplant instead of meat. In this case, I don't salt the eggplant, because it's going to be cooked for ages. I use the same amount of chopped eggplant as meat pr volume, not weight, and otherwise follow the standard recipes for a bolognese sauce. My family prefers this to the meat version, even though no-one is a vegetarian.
But the star of the show is fish-fragrant eggplant. This may be exactly what you need. It's maybe the most delicious dish in the entire world.
*I don't know why this works, but it does.
posted by mumimor at 9:57 AM on August 25 [2 favorites]
came in to drop the NYT Eggplant Lasagna recipe but this turkish eggplant lentil pomengranite molasses stew recipe is a favorite at my house
posted by wowenthusiast at 10:24 AM on August 25 [1 favorite]
posted by wowenthusiast at 10:24 AM on August 25 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for the ideas so far, looking forward to trying these!
About the sweetness, maybe different varieties of eggplants are different sweetness levels? I have the Ichiban variety and I believe I've had Black Beauty in the past and didn't find it as sweet. My husband sautéed some with zucchini (same simple treatment for both). The zucchini was savory and the eggplant was sweet. Not excessively sugary or anything, more along the lines of a sweet potato fry. It was good in lasagna though!
posted by Eyelash at 10:48 AM on August 25 [2 favorites]
About the sweetness, maybe different varieties of eggplants are different sweetness levels? I have the Ichiban variety and I believe I've had Black Beauty in the past and didn't find it as sweet. My husband sautéed some with zucchini (same simple treatment for both). The zucchini was savory and the eggplant was sweet. Not excessively sugary or anything, more along the lines of a sweet potato fry. It was good in lasagna though!
posted by Eyelash at 10:48 AM on August 25 [2 favorites]
I'm very partial to Serious Eats' Baba Ganoush recipe, especially if you do it over a charcoal grill and let it go for a long time to drive off the water and get a nice smokey flavor. It freezes well and is a great side dish to bring along to BBQs.
posted by kdar at 10:58 AM on August 25 [1 favorite]
posted by kdar at 10:58 AM on August 25 [1 favorite]
I just lunched on the last bit of a wonderful eggplant and tomato kuku we made to use up a bunch of eggplants… basically fried eggplant cubes or slices with a mess of tomatoes, Persian spices (dried mint!), enough salt to season, and a lot of eggs, into a casserole dish, bake until the eggs are set. We put some fried sliced eggplant rounds (Japanese-style) on top to make it pretty but that’s really optional. The combination of eggplant, tomato, and egg works really surprisingly well.
posted by graphweaver at 1:12 PM on August 25 [2 favorites]
posted by graphweaver at 1:12 PM on August 25 [2 favorites]
I make this recipe almost every week. It uses eggplant, tomatoes, and garlic cloves roasted in the oven as the base for a pasta sauce. I often add other random vegetables (onion, bell pepper) to the roasting step, and I tend to use more pasta water and less olive oil when I blend everything, but the recipe is great (and easy!) exactly as written too.
I also like roasting cubed eggplant and then using it as a pizza topping.
posted by catoclock at 2:06 PM on August 25 [1 favorite]
I also like roasting cubed eggplant and then using it as a pizza topping.
posted by catoclock at 2:06 PM on August 25 [1 favorite]
The simplest and most delicious eggplant dish: cut eggplant in half length-wise, salt and steam for 10 mins (depending on size) or until soft, dice up, and then sauce it up as you like. I normally use minced garlic, sesame oil, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and a bit of black vinegar. I've also done scallions, garlic, chili oil, and sesame seeds. It's a great side dish warm, or I really like it cold, after marinating in the fridge overnight.
posted by inevitability at 4:49 PM on August 25 [2 favorites]
posted by inevitability at 4:49 PM on August 25 [2 favorites]
A favorite in my house is Molly Katzen's (Moose Wood Cookbook) recipe for Ratatuoille (which is, of course, an eggplant & vegetable stew). I usually tweak it with a Thai Chili, chopped and sauteed with the garlic and mushrooms called for by Ms. Katzen's recipe. I personally aim to spice it to where thet chili taste contributes to the taste the stew without taking it over (but some like it hot and some like it 'not'!).
Note that my copy of the Moose Wood cookbook - and hence, the recipe - is the original 1977 version. I have not seen any of the more recent editions to know if the recipe is still included and whether/how it might been updated. FWIW, I make the same recipe sans eggplant and some of the harder vegetables, as a pasta or pizza sauce. Either version (stew or sauce) is tolerant of the choice of ingredients, freezes well, and is great for "What can we make quickly for dinner?" nights.
posted by TruncatedTiller at 5:22 PM on August 25 [1 favorite]
Note that my copy of the Moose Wood cookbook - and hence, the recipe - is the original 1977 version. I have not seen any of the more recent editions to know if the recipe is still included and whether/how it might been updated. FWIW, I make the same recipe sans eggplant and some of the harder vegetables, as a pasta or pizza sauce. Either version (stew or sauce) is tolerant of the choice of ingredients, freezes well, and is great for "What can we make quickly for dinner?" nights.
posted by TruncatedTiller at 5:22 PM on August 25 [1 favorite]
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023322-charred-eggplant-with-burrata-and-fried-capers?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share
Eggplant. Burrata. Capers. Herbs. Delicious.
posted by slateyness at 7:48 PM on August 26 [1 favorite]
Eggplant. Burrata. Capers. Herbs. Delicious.
posted by slateyness at 7:48 PM on August 26 [1 favorite]
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posted by phunniemee at 7:59 AM on August 25 [4 favorites]