What to do with eggplant? Or aubergine, if you will.
I have never, ever bought or successfully cooked an eggplant before today. I don't like them. There was one time when a friend gave us some eggplants fresh from the garden, and I turned them into a badly textured curry mush catastrophe.
So I was facing off against an eggplant in the fridge (more like ignoring it) and was lucky to stumble on this recipe from Thug Kitchen. Warning, that is a website absolutely full of expletives! It's also vegan, and this is a vegan eggplant dip recipe, incidentally.
It turned out delicious and it was super easy. I urge you to start with half the lemon juice and work up to the full amount if you are at all unsure whether your eggplant is indeed 'medium' sized. Otherwise, you can't really go wrong, even if you don't like eggplant at all. This is the easiest thing to do with eggplant, guaranteed.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25-30 minutes
Ingredients:
1 medium sized eggplant (2.5 lbs or so)
2 tbs lemon juice (the juice of half a lemon)
2 tbs chopped parsley
1/4 tb salt
1-2 tbs chili powder
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tbs olive oil and/or tahini (I didn't have tahini on hand, but I love it and will try it next time)
Start by roasting the eggplant. If you like to grill, you can grill eggplants whole. I heated the oven to 190 C (375F). I smeared a bit of butter on the bottom side of the eggplant and set it on a small baking sheet, then I carefully poked a few holes in it with a fork. It took about 30 minutes for the eggplant to get totally soft, which I tested by nudging it with a wooden spoon.
While the aubergine roasts, you can prep the rest of the ingredients. Chop things finely and mix all the other ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Easy eggplant dip = not complicated. Leave out a sprinkle of parsley and chili powder for garnish later.
When the aubergine is squishy soft (it can't be too soft for this so go long on the roast rather than cut it short) let it cool then cut it in half, lengthwise. I didn't let mine cool because I was impatient, but I managed to cut it in half without burning myself. I used a knife and a spoon to scoop, shovel the eggplant meat out of it's skin and onto a cutting board. I then chopped it up a bit to make it easier to stir into the rest of the dip ingredients. Mix it all up and you're done!
Alternatively! You can throw everything into a blender or food processor, or use a stab mixer, and create a super creamy eggplant dip that way. I used a fork to mash everything together and I think I prefer the results, but you're the one who'll be eating this so do what you prefer. If you use a machine, leave out the parsley until the very end.
Enjoy on crackers or bread or with pita or tortillas.
Wasn't that easy? And guess what? It makes eggplant edible.
I have never, ever bought or successfully cooked an eggplant before today. I don't like them. There was one time when a friend gave us some eggplants fresh from the garden, and I turned them into a badly textured curry mush catastrophe.
So I was facing off against an eggplant in the fridge (more like ignoring it) and was lucky to stumble on this recipe from Thug Kitchen. Warning, that is a website absolutely full of expletives! It's also vegan, and this is a vegan eggplant dip recipe, incidentally.
It turned out delicious and it was super easy. I urge you to start with half the lemon juice and work up to the full amount if you are at all unsure whether your eggplant is indeed 'medium' sized. Otherwise, you can't really go wrong, even if you don't like eggplant at all. This is the easiest thing to do with eggplant, guaranteed.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25-30 minutes
Ingredients:
1 medium sized eggplant (2.5 lbs or so)
2 tbs lemon juice (the juice of half a lemon)
2 tbs chopped parsley
1/4 tb salt
1-2 tbs chili powder
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tbs olive oil and/or tahini (I didn't have tahini on hand, but I love it and will try it next time)
Start by roasting the eggplant. If you like to grill, you can grill eggplants whole. I heated the oven to 190 C (375F). I smeared a bit of butter on the bottom side of the eggplant and set it on a small baking sheet, then I carefully poked a few holes in it with a fork. It took about 30 minutes for the eggplant to get totally soft, which I tested by nudging it with a wooden spoon.
While the aubergine roasts, you can prep the rest of the ingredients. Chop things finely and mix all the other ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Easy eggplant dip = not complicated. Leave out a sprinkle of parsley and chili powder for garnish later.
When the aubergine is squishy soft (it can't be too soft for this so go long on the roast rather than cut it short) let it cool then cut it in half, lengthwise. I didn't let mine cool because I was impatient, but I managed to cut it in half without burning myself. I used a knife and a spoon to scoop, shovel the eggplant meat out of it's skin and onto a cutting board. I then chopped it up a bit to make it easier to stir into the rest of the dip ingredients. Mix it all up and you're done!
Alternatively! You can throw everything into a blender or food processor, or use a stab mixer, and create a super creamy eggplant dip that way. I used a fork to mash everything together and I think I prefer the results, but you're the one who'll be eating this so do what you prefer. If you use a machine, leave out the parsley until the very end.
Enjoy on crackers or bread or with pita or tortillas.
Wasn't that easy? And guess what? It makes eggplant edible.
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