Recipe: Eggplant Oven Fries

Here's another delicious and healthy late-summer veggie recipe to add to your list of "how-to-use-up-all-these-veggies recipes."

If you love fried zucchini sticks, you've got to try this "fried" eggplant recipe! The best part is, they're not even fried at all - they're baked! These crispy "fries" include a great herb mixture that is sure to satisfy, and they're great served with marinara sauce or a spicy mayo.

Eggplant Oven Fries

Ingredients: 

1 medium eggplant
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups breadcrumbs
1 cup grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
Coarse salt and pepper

Directions:

• Put your rack near the top of your oven and make sure there is space for your baking sheet and eggplant. Set the oven to the broil setting. 
• Cut your eggplant into wedges, making them fairly thin, so the eggplant will soften when you broil it. Set aside. 
• Whisk the eggs in a shallow bowl or baking dish. Set aside. 
• Combine the breadcrumbs, Parmesan, oregano, basil, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl or baking dish. Set aside. 
• One by one, dip your eggplant wedges into the egg mixture and then the breadcrumb mixture, ensuring they are completely coated. 
• Place each wedge on a greased baking dish as you complete them. 
• Broil for 3 minutes per side. 
• They’re done when they’re golden brown. 

Recipe: Quick & Easy Baba Ghanoush

Baba Ganouj is an amazingly tasty and healthy dip. It is so creamy, yet it contains no dairy or dairy substitutes whatsoever.

Great with pita bread, veggies and more, this is usually a more involved dish which requires slow-roasting a whole eggplant, but in this quick, easy, version, you can be ready to eat in just a few minutes!

Quick & Easy Baba Ghanoush

Prep Time: 10 min.
Cook Time:  15 min.

Ingredients: 

1 eggplant
2 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1/4 cup tahini
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 400 F. 
• Cut the eggplant into 2 inch chunks, wrap them in foil and bake in the oven for approximately 15 minutes, or until the flesh is soft. Remove from oven and let cool. 
• Remove the skin from the cooled eggplant and place flesh in a blender. 
• Add the garlic, parsley, tahini, lemon juice and olive oil. Blend until smooth. 
• Serve with carrots, celery, peppers, or other dipping veggies, or pita chips or pita wedges.
• The dip tastes great right away, but letting the flavors blend in the refrigerator for a couple hours will make it even better!

Recipe: Cheesy Eggplant Lasagna

This simple and tasty low-carb recipe uses eggplant as the "noodles" in this fun take on lasagna. Use medium-sized long or oval eggplants if you can, so you can get the slices to approximate lasagna noodles in size. This is another great way to use up all those fresh tomatoes, basil, and eggplants your garden may be full of this time of year! Packed with healthy goodness, this one is also a good recipe for those on a low-carb or gluten-free diet.

Cheesy Eggplant Lasagna

Ingredients:

2 medium eggplants, sliced in thin lengthwise strips
1 cup tomato sauce
1 pound tomatoes, sliced thin
1 cup ricotta cheese, softened
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tsp dry basil or 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil
2 tsp Italian seasoning  
salt and fresh black pepper, to taste
cooking oil spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Season eggplant slices with salt and pepper. Arrange slices evenly in a nonstick baking pan and bake for fifteen minutes.
3. Spray a glass baking dish with cooking spray and arrange eggplant slices evenly on the bottom. Pour half of the tomato sauce over the eggplant, then top with a few tomato slices. 
4. Sprinkle salt, pepper, basil, and Italian seasoning over this mixture, then spread a little of the ricotta cheese over the tomatoes. Sprinkle some mozzarella on top. 
5. Repeat in layers, topping with mozzarella as a final step.
6. Bake for twenty minutes, then place under a broiler just until cheese turns golden brown.
7. Slice lasagna evenly and garnish with Italian seasoning.

Recipe: Eggplant Italian Garden Pasta

Although it was far from a favorite of mine as a child, in recent years I've come around, and eggplant has now become a common ingredient in many of my summer dishes. The creamy texture and rich, mild taste of cooked eggplant is wonderful with another summer favorite - tomatoes. It goes great in many Italian dishes, such as this one, below, and is an excellent way to use up some of those excess summer veggies you have piling up in the fridge! This vegetarian recipe is a great idea for a "Meatless Monday" dinner, or add some fresh Italian sausage to the saute if you want to spice it up. Because eggplant cooks down so well, it is often hard to tell it is in the sauce, so it's a good way to "sneak" some into a meal even if your family doesn't care that much for eggplant.

Eggplant Italian Garden Pasta
(Serves 6.)

Long slender eggplants. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ingredients:

2 yellow bell peppers
1 small eggplant, peeled and cut in 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup water
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 tbsp minced fresh oregano
2 tbsp capers
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
6 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
12 ounces bucatini or linguine
3/4 cup grated Romano cheese

Directions:

• Turn your broiler on to preheat, setting the rack at about 6 to 8 inches. Choose a broiler pan or baking sheet and cover it with foil.
• Cut bell peppers in half lengthwise, remove inside membrane and seeds. Place halves skin side up on prepared pan. Put under broiler for about 8 to 10 minutes or until blackened. (You can also do this on a preheated grill if you wish.)
• Turn oven to bake at 425 degrees.
• Remove pan from oven and carefully place peppers (while still hot) in a Ziploc bag, seal, then let stand for 15 minutes. Peel off the skin and charred bits, then cut into strips and set aside. 
• Arrange eggplant cubes in a 2-quart baking dish in one layer. Pour 1 cup water over the eggplant and bake in 425 oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until tender, adding water as needed. Remove from oven and set aside.
• Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add capers, oregano, and garlic and sauté for one minute. Stir in salt, black pepper, cooked eggplant, roasted bell peppers, and tomatoes. Cover skillet and reduce heat, simmering 15 minutes and stirring occasionally.
• Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta over a bowl, reserving 1/2 cup of this cooking liquid.
• Toss pasta with remaining 1 tablespoon oil, then add to bowl with eggplant mixture; add reserved cooking liquid to coat the pasta; toss. 
• Sprinkle with grated Romano cheese and serve immediately. 

Eggplant: Royalty In The Garden & The Kitchen

Despite being one of my most despised vegetables as a kid, eggplant is one of the most unique looking vegetables in the produce section, and is incredibly delicious in a number of dishes. The deep purple color gives it that royal look and is difficult to miss among the reds, yellows, and greens of a typical produce market. Eggplant catches our eye first, and gives us a great reason to walk over, pick it up and take it home for dinner. But what is it and what do you do with it when you get it home? Let's take a deeper look at this versatile vegetable.

What is It?

Eggplant (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Eggplants belong to the nightshade family of vegetables. Some of their family members also include tomatoes, sweet peppers, and potatoes. Eggplants grow in a manner much like tomatoes, hanging from the vines of a plant that grows several feet in height and has big leaves to protect the vegetables from the sun.

There are hundreds of varieties of eggplant, and while the different varieties do range slightly in taste and texture, one can generally describe the flavor as having a pleasant deep and musty taste and spongy texture. They are available in your local market year-round, but they are at their peak between August and October. Check your farmers markets for the best and freshest eggplants if you can.

History

Thomas Jefferson, who used eggplant in many of his experiments, is credited with introducing eggplant to North America. Before then, the ancient ancestors of eggplant grew wild in India and were first cultivated in China in the 5th century B.C. For centuries after its introduction into Europe, eggplant was used more as a decorative garden plant than as a food.

Although it has a long and rich history, eggplant did not always top the list of favorite veggies. Before domestication and cross-pollination, eggplant was extremely bitter and had to be cooked very well to even begin to dilute the taste. The majority of eggplant we see in stores today is grown in Florida since the weather stays mild most of the year. But New Jersey, during the summer months, is also a major supplier of fresh eggplant to  produce markets. It grows pretty well throughout the United States, so you can most likely find it fresh at local farmers markets almost anywhere during the late summer months.

Health Benefits

Eggplants are extremely versatile in the kitchen and they also have several health benefits. Studies have been done on eggplant to find their deep purple skin contains an anthocyanin phytonutrient called nasunin. Nasunin is a water-soluble antioxidant (which means that it breaks down easiest when in water) and free radical scavenger that has been shown to protect cell membranes from damage. This becomes especially important in brain cell membranes which are mostly made up of lipids and are responsible for protecting the cell from free radicals and letting nutrients in and wastes out.

Three varieties of Eggplant (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Fun Fact

Another name for eggplant is Aubergine, which describes the rich purple color. You may also hear eggplant referred to as a fruit, which is accurate since that is its botanical classification. Even more confusing is eggplant is also botanically classified as a berry.  And, if that's not strange enough, the seeds you see when you scoop out the inner pulp are edible, but you may not want to eat them when you hear they contain nicotinoid alkaloids. Sound familiar? Eggplant is closely related to tobacco, although the seeds are not addictive!

How to Eat

It is important to use a stainless steel knife when cutting eggplant to avoid the brown look from oxidization when using a carbon steel knife. This browning or oxidization happens fast, so only cut it when you're ready to prepare it. While eggplant can be eaten with the skin on or off, for larger fruits the peel may be tough, and  it is important to “sweat” the eggplant by slicing and salting it. This will draw out some of the water and, surprisingly, a lot of the bitter taste that goes with it.

Once you have the eggplant sliced and sweated, you can add it to just about any dish you want. A classic dish of Eggplant Parmesan is always a family pleaser.  A great middle eastern snack is babaganoush which is pureed roasted eggplant. Serve it with some toasted pita chips and you have one incredibly yummy snack. It also absorbs the flavors of the ingredients it is cooked with, and when cooked well it tends to disintegrate so it is a great way to incorporate extra vegetables into sauces without the kids even knowing!

If you haven't tried eggplant yet, now is the time! This time of year it is cheap and plentiful. That gorgeous color is enough to make you fall in love at first sight.  But the versatility will keep you a fan for life.

Still not sure how to use this unique vegetable? Be sure to check back later this week for some tasty eggplant recipes!