I used to dislike eggplant for no other reason that as a kid I thought it was one of those foods one was supposed to dislike. Maybe I have a bad eggplant experience hiding in my past that I can't remember. That's okay — I feel no need to recover any such childhood memories of horror. But I do remember the first eggplant dish I fell in love with.
We were dining with friends at a Chinese restaurant in Pittsburgh some years back, and they insisted that we try the eggplant with pork. Slices of eggplant were split to make a pocket with a bit of ground pork stuffed inside and stir-fried with, if I remember right, black bean sauce. It was the dish that made me realize that eggplant was not the great dark evil fruit of yuckiness. It is a dish I still dream about.
In spite of that revelation, I did not start cooking eggplant myself until this year, when eggplant came as a part of our CSA farm share from Tantré Farms. Like many previously not-used-in-this-house-vegetables, it was cook it or lose it.
But I had a challenge to overcome: find eggplant dishes that even Joe would like.
It was something of a struggle. He has long voiced his dislike of eggplant. Fortunately for me, he'll try anything I cook at least once, and when I saw I was cooking eggplant tonight he said that he would taste it but, "Don't ask me to try brussel sprouts."
I promise, Joe, I will never cook brussel sprouts. (Do I get a ring to go with this promise? Oh wait, I already have one. Can I have another?)
When the eggplant was done, I asked him how he liked it. "It's pretty good," he said.
Yippie, I thought. That's sky-high praise for a normally despised food.
"Mostly because I couldn't taste the eggplant," he added.
Of course not. The eggplant was soaked in salted water. Not a bitter bite in the entire batch...
Well, and it was battered and deep-fried... (You know what they say: "if you don't like it deep-fried, you'll never like it at all..")
And dressed with honey, mint, and toasted sesame seeds.
Kinda hard to go wrong with that combination.
Fried Eggplant with Honey, Mint, and Sesame Seeds
Penelope Casas's La Cocina de Mama
One 1/2 pound eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/8 inch crosswise slices
1 1/8 tsp kosher or sea salt
1 1/2 Tbs sesame seeds
1/3 C flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 C. milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
mild olive oil for frying
1 1/2 to 2 Tbs honey
1 Tbs minced fresh mint leaves
Preheat oven to 350.
Soak eggplant in 2 cups water with 1 tsp of the salt for 30 minutes.
Scatter sesame seeds on a tray and lightly roast for 5-8 minutes. (In truth, I skipped the oven bit and did this very quickly in a pan on the stove top, but you have to stir and watch the seeds constantly or they will burn.) Set aside.
Drain eggplant and dry well on paper towels. In a small bowl mix together the flour, remaining 1/8 tsp salt, and baking power. Whisk in the milk and egg.
Pour the oil into a large skillet to a depth of at least 1/2 inch and heat until it quickly browns a cube of bread (approx. 375 F). Dip eggplant slices in batter, coating well, then place immediately in the oil. Cook for about 30 seconds on each side. Drain on paper towels.
Warm honey in a small saucepan or in a microwave. Drizzle lightly over the eggplant, sprinkle with the sesame seeds and mint. Serve right away.
I used long narrow Asian eggplants with thin skins, and so I didn't peel them. I think I would do this with larger eggplants in the future mainly because it will be easier to batter and fry larger slices. With so many coin-sized slices, getting them all battered and into the oil without clumping took a bit of time.
Hey, you've already got two rings!
This is actually the second way I've found that I like eggplant. The first is that Russian "eggplant caviar" a friend of ours used to make back when we had blini parties back in law school.
Come to think of it, a blini party would make a pretty cool Kitchen Chick post...
Posted by: Joe | October 05, 2006 at 02:36 PM
my mom does this simialrr thing with egg plant but indian style. stuffs them with indian spices and what not. its pretty good.
Posted by: Gustad Mody | October 05, 2006 at 02:39 PM
That looks good! And I don't even like eggplant. Actually, I think I'm mildly allergic to it; it makes my lips tingle unpleasantly, and I don't like the taste much.
But, if I could eat it, I'd eat that in a second, minus the honey.
Posted by: Malcolm | October 05, 2006 at 05:29 PM
I've never heard of anyone being allergic to eggplant. Aren't food allergies weird? I have a few minor ones, too, where I can still eat the food, but prefer not to.
Posted by: Kitchen Chick | October 06, 2006 at 10:07 AM
Eggplant is great, I'll have to give your recipe a try.
I make a very simple grilled eggplant which is a hit in salads or sandwhiches http://www.docook.com/2006/10/01/grilled-eggplant/
Posted by: Ted | October 07, 2006 at 06:06 PM
Ooh, i wish i'd seen this recipe before i "lost" our eggplant to the compost pile! I did try grilling some earlier in the season, but i didn't soak it properly and the result was kind of mediocre. Maybe i'll print this and put it in my "as to z" cookbook for next year...
Don't tell Joe, but fresh brussels sprouts cooked properly are suprisingly good. unfortunately, i forget the details of the recipe i overheard during pick-up last year - something like slice in half then pan saute with lots of garlic...
Posted by: Tricia | October 08, 2006 at 07:07 AM
We've had other people, some very good cooks, claim that about brussel sprouts, but neither of us have yet to taste any brussel sprouts that we've liked.
Posted by: Kitchen Chick | October 08, 2006 at 05:48 PM
Actually, I thought the Asian-style sauce that Tammy used was pretty good, but, well, they were still brussels sprouts.
Posted by: Joe | October 08, 2006 at 06:08 PM
Ack! Couldn't stand 'em myself. Nothing to do with the sauce -- just that brussel sprout flavor and texture underneath.
Posted by: Kitchen Chick | October 08, 2006 at 06:10 PM
so do you all like cabbage? my mother-in-law has the notion that people who don't like cabbage also don't like brussel sprouts. i'm not big on cabbage myself, and wouldn't go out of my way for brussel sprouts, but the fresh ones from tantre have such a different character from what i had as a kid!
Posted by: Tricia | October 09, 2006 at 10:39 PM
I like cabbage just fine -- though I generally prefer it raw and shredded, rather than cooked. Unless we're talking about cabbage rolls, which can be really good.
Posted by: Joe | October 10, 2006 at 07:53 AM
Ditto that almost exactly word for word. We both like sauerkraut, too.
Posted by: Kitchen Chick | October 10, 2006 at 09:33 AM
It's also good marinated in vinegar and fried with just salt and flour. Hunter Cashdollar
Posted by: Hunter Cashdollar | October 13, 2006 at 03:43 PM
Mmmm, this looks great, I like eggplant but I'm not very good at cooking with it.
Posted by: Brilynn | October 14, 2006 at 04:27 PM
FYI Kitchen Chick - I threw myself on the proverbial bomb this week by taking the whole share of brussel sprouts from the CSA. Or rather, threw my dad and J on the bomb, since they both expressed a desire to eat said vegetable. I figure I'd spare you two from them. ;-)
I don't much like cabbage, so not liking sprouts either isn't a stretch to my mind.
Posted by: KGS | October 14, 2006 at 04:54 PM
They are welcome to it! Is J going to cook them himself?
So the Thanksgiving share... does your dad and J want the brussel sprouts? If not, I'm sure Tammy will take them.
Posted by: Kitchen Chick | October 14, 2006 at 05:52 PM
No, I'll probably cook them for J at some point. It will be a challenge!
As for the Thanksgiving share, I'll wait to see if either of them like the sprouts they've got now. Otherwise Tammy is welcome to them.
Posted by: KGS | October 16, 2006 at 09:48 PM