Recipe: Sweet & Smoky Eggplant Spread (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to cooking eggplant? ›

"When you lay them on the tray to roast, make sure they're in a single layer and give them enough room to roast properly. Eggplant is about 80 to 90 percent water, so when you put them in the oven they need space to evaporate all that water and caramelize properly," says Covarrubias.

Yield: This recipe makes six snack-sized servings of Roasted Eggplant Dip; each slightly more than ⅓ cup. Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

If you have an outdoor grill, that's the preferred method to make baba ganoush. The open flame imparts the best smoky flavor! If you don't have an outdoor grill, roasting your eggplants on a gas stovetop is the next best option.

Older recipes call for salting eggplant to draw out the bitter juices, but today's eggplants are less bitter (unless very large), so salting is largely unnecessary. It will, however, help the spongy flesh absorb less oil and crisp up like a dream.

While the skin of a small young eggplant is edible, the skin becomes bitter on larger or older eggplants and should be peeled. When in doubt, the answer to, "Do you peel eggplant before cooking?" is yes, peel it. Use a vegetable peeler or paring knife to remove the skin.

Based on a traditional Bulgarian recipe (and made in Bulgaria to boot), our Eggplant Garlic Spread is stellar on sandwiches, toast, crackers, and crostini, to be sure. But it also makes for a mighty flavorful addition to a traditional ratatouille—particularly when said ratatouille is paired with penne pasta…

Once cool, halve the eggplant, scoop out the flesh, put them in a food processor or blender and mix them until smooth and creamy. Transfer the purée into freezer-safe containers and label. When you are ready to use your purée, simply thaw it in the refrigerator and add it to your favorite recipes.

Trader Joe's Eggplant Garlic Spread with Sweet Red Peppers

A: Label on jar says :Refrigerate after opening. Consume within 10 days after opening for best quality.

In The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, Deborah Madison recommends salting slices or cubes for 30 minutes to remove bitterness, 60 or more to achieve better fried eggplant.

Cut the eggplant into 2cm / 0.8” rounds. Spray each side generously with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brown – Heat a large non-stick pan with a lid over medium high heat, no oil.

Why does my eggplant taste bitter? ›

Age and Size: Whether an eggplant is mildly or extremely bitter can depend on the age and size of the fruit. (Yes, eggplant is a fruit.) Larger, more mature eggplants can be more bitter, typically because their seeds are larger and seeds tend to hold on to the most bitter flavors.

Both have 0% cholesterol and are high in fiber and protein content. Nonetheless, hummus has higher calorie content than baba ganoush, and baba ganoush contains vitamins B and E, which are nonexistent in hummus.

3) Health – Both dishes are very healthy, but baba ganoush has a slight edge here with more vitamins from the eggplant and a lower calorie count. 4) Big meal to come – Get baba ganoush, it's less filling than hummus.

The Arabic term for the dish means “pampered daddy,” the person in question being, legend has it, a sultan spoiled with a concoction invented by a member of his harem.

“The absorptiveness of eggplant can be reduced by collapsing its spongy structure before frying,” he writes. Which you can do by microwaving it before frying (!) or salting slices that'll draw out the water and close up those air pockets, giving you a firmer flesh to work with.

Typically eggplant behaves like a sponge, soaking up heroic amounts of oil when fried. The Terzo Piano chefs use this trick to prevent heavy aubergines: Before frying, soak the strips of eggplant in an ice water bath. They will absorb water and drop in temperature.