How to Cook Eggplant

Eggplant is a wonderful, meaty-tasting vegetable with a nice chewy texture. Eggplants can be fried, put into soups, casseroles and even stuffed. Here are a few easy steps to cooking an eggplant, which is a vegetable known to lower high blood cholesterol.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Eggplants

1. 

   Learn about the different types of eggplants. In addition to the common globe eggplant, there are thinner Italian, Chinese, Japanese and Indian eggplants.

2. 

   Salt only large eggplants. Sometimes the globe eggplants can be bitter, so these are usually sliced into rounds, sprinkled with salt, and left to sit in a colander for 20 to 30 minutes so the bitter juices can drain out. Rinse, then chop and use. The smaller varieties of eggplant typically don't need to be salted.

3. 

   Fry eggplant rounds in olive oil for 5 to 7 minutes per side, or until golden brown and tender. Don't use too much oil; eggplant is rather like a sponge when it comes to oil. Whatever you use, it will absorb.

4. Grill lightly oiled eggplant slices over medium to medium-high heat, about 10 minutes per side or until tender.

5. Broil lightly oiled eggplant slices for about 5 minutes per side, until brown and tender.

6. Cut slits into a whole eggplant, stuff a few slices of garlic into each slit, and roast the eggplant in a 400-degree oven for 40 to 60 minutes, or until collapsed and completely tender. Peel the eggplant, then chop or mash into a puree.

7. Pair eggplant with tomatoes, garlic, and herbs such as basil, parsley and mint.

8. Stir-fry eggplant with garlic, red chili and a little ground pork for a classic Chinese dish.

9. Discover Indian cooking. Indians do magical things to eggplant.

Tips & Warnings

• Make a quick, tasty pasta dish by tossing penne or rigatoni with cubes of broiled eggplant, plus a little tomato sauce and some parmesan cheese.