Grilled Eggplant

[puka2005]

Yummy. I bought some tiny eggplant last weekend (sizes from a walnut to a lime). I just split them in half lengthwise, brushed with olive oil and grilled them. I put them in a container with more olive oil, sliced garlic, red pepper flakes, fresh ground pepper, sea salt, lemon zest, and Greek oregano. I'll let it sit for a couple of days, then serve with an antipasto. mmmmm.

 

[Benjaminna]

I've never had eggplant before. I would like to try it though. Did you grill them outside or inside? You just cut them in half or cut them in peices?

 

[mamacita]

Yum. Does the eggplant get soggy if you let it marrinade for a couple of days?

 

[puka2005]

Hiya - to answer your Qs
- I grilled the eggplant indoors on my grillpan on my tiny little 3-burner Princess stove (don't think I'm kidding)
- Because the eggplant are so small, I split them lengthwise
- You need to have your grill oiled and also brush the eggplant with oil so it won't stick
- If you serve it right away, its not soggy. If you put it in a container with olive oil like I did, get, it will get slimey, but I'm using it for antipasto
- You can find the tiny eggplant (they'll probably be green instead of prurple) at Asian markets, or if you have a good green grocer, they'll have a few kinds. Mine had at least 5 types - from the giant ones for eggplant parmesan to the wee ones that I bought.

My mom use to do this as a cheap snack: peel and cube a big eggplant into ~2 inch pieces. Dip them in flour, egg, and italian breadcrumbs. Deep fry til dark golden brown. Then dip in Hellman's mayo. Sounds a little gross, but its really yummy.

 

[puka2005]

KZ - you're Eyetalian? I have a couple of greatgrandfathers that were born in Trieste, but that's when it was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire - so we're still schnitzl eating Weeners.

There's a lot of eggplant recipes here: http://eggplant-recipes.epicurean.com/asc_results.jsp?title=Eggplant

I keep meaning to try a spicey asian eggplant recipe - add it to my repitoire now that I've masted shrimp shu mai.

 

[puka2005]

I am just 1/4 by blood and I prefer "Dago" :biggrin:...most of my blood is a hysterical Celtic mix. I have a terrible temper .

oy! I have a hard enough time convincing Steve that I'm really not from NH.

 

[mamabear]

Here's a filipino recipe for the Asian long and slim purple eggplant: its called tortang talong[pronounced with short a]. Talong is eggplant in filipino

grill eggplant in your stove until the skin gets off
1 egg beaten, add salt and pepper to taste

Flatten the eggplant with a fork after removing the burnt skin and dip it in egg and fry in vegetable/olive oil until golden brown. Eat alone or with rice. Yummy!

We have a special dipping fish sauce for this mixed with lemon. Its available in Asian food stores.

 

[puka2005]

mmmm. Sounds good! We love eggplant. Me, the blackthumb, actually grew it one year. Its so versatile. The only thing I don't like is how much oil it absorbs.

 

[Corganiacs]

Yea we did the whole Guinea routine, breading, frying, cheese and sauce. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrossss!!

Isn't there some dish where you cube it and add some other junk and then put sour cream on top?

I love fried eggplant. I had it once in a mediterranean restaurant and another time at an italian restaurant! over pasta is muy delish!! Great vegetarian dish!