Even as a child I appreciated the beauty of eggplant; it was the taste I didn't care for. Things have changed though, and I have learned to love this veggie. Considered unglamorous by many, eggplant is making a comeback. It is part of the increasingly popular Mediterranean diet in the pureed form of baba ghanoush or simply grilled with other veggies.
Because of its rare deep purple coloring, eggplant is high in some hard to find antioxidants. One of those being the phytonutrient nasunin, which protects brain cells and the other being chlorogenic acid, a powerful scavenger of disease causing free radical. But don't skip the skin when eating this nightshade because the skin is where these valuable micronutrients are found. Eggplant is also high in B vitamins as well as potassium. This veggie is also a good source of fiber, and a low calorie food as well. I would avoid frying eggplant however, because it will soak up copious amount of oil, transforming quickly into a high calorie food.
Eggplant is in season now through October. Not only is it good grilled or roasted, it is great in curries too. I like to use it grilled in eggplant stacks with basil and fresh mozzarella, and YumSugar has many recipes for you to experiment with eggplant.
Do you love eggplant, or do you hate it? Tell me in the comments section below.
Chantelle
Sebastian
Aminaka Wilmont
My mom makes THE BEST eggplant dish - I LOVE IT. I also love eggplant in moussaka (sp) ... mmmmm.
1To make a healthier eggplant parmigiana bake the eggplant instead of frying it. YUM!
2i am learning to appreciate it.
3We always get eggplant....aaaaand then never know what to do with it
4wow - this is great news!!! it's making a comeback! it's kind of funny - my mom has a veggie garden and this year i've asked her to plant eggplant and we've been able to grow and eat 3 so far and there are 2 more that are on their way. i didn't know about the brain cell part but that's a nice benefit!
i've learned a few new ways to cook it too so that's one of the reasons that i'm a big fan. i was scared of it when i was younger but as i've gotten older i've learned to branch out and try new things and it's paying off since my palate is expanding.
5i loooooooove eggplant. it's delicious!
6um I love it but we always skin it. how can you fry something with the skin on the sides?
7I love eggplant. Just had a huge plate of fresh homemade baba ghanoush last night. My favorite!!
8Eggplant fritters! you cook, mash and mix it with spices and onion and cracker crumbs and then make patties and fry them in oil.MMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmm
9***cook=boil
10Baba ghanoush... yum yum.
11Since becoming vegetarian several years ago, I've really learned to love eggplant, though I still haven't ever tried cooking it myself. I'll definitely be trying out some recipes in the coming months.
12I'm sure this distracts from the healthy parts but to combat the chewiness issue some people have with eggplant, you can slice it thin, layer it on a paper towel, sprinkle a little salt, add paper towels to the top and put a few plates or something weight on top.
This draws out the additional liquid and makes it a good consistacy for baking, ect.
I hear baba gonoush too. My aunt is Lebanese and makes the best! She roast the eggplant in the oven for hours.
13very smokey. mmmmmm.
14very smokey. mmmmmm.
15The NYTimes has some great eggplant recipes too! And a profile on it...
16Eggplant is trendy!
My favorite vegetable hands down. I love everything about it from the inside out.
17FatFree Vegan has a lot of great eggplant recipes on her site. I especially like one she has made with sesame oil and tofu.
Also, don't discount Indian recipes too. I grew up on a slew of different eggplant recipes.
18no me gusta. i hate the texture.
19I've been vegetarian for quite a long time, but eggplant is one of the things that I haven't really done a lot with yet. I've recently been inspired by Fatfree Vegan too, though - all her recipes look so good!
I won't be trying eggplant until it's in-season, however! It's only just turned into spring in the southern hemisphere. I bought ONE eggplant a couple of weeks ago without realising what the price was ($19.95/kg) and didn't notice until I was reading my receipt later that it cost me NZ$9.00 for the one vegetable. YIKES!
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