Glossy elastic eggplant is one of those vegetables that do not leave gourmets indifferent. The eggplant season of Russian production lasts from mid-summer to the end of September. If the year turned out to be fruitful, there are many ways to procure local "little blue ones" for the whole winter.
Pick your recipe
How to choose eggplant for harvesting
Eggplants come in a variety of shapes and sizes: pear-shaped, cylindrical, thin and elongated, purple, old, reddish-orange and even striped. Suitable for cooking fruits have a glossy skin, a green stalk, without signs of wilting and, most importantly, they are quite weighty. The brown stalk, wrinkled skin with spots, and even more so with mold, indicate that the fruit is stale. Too many solanins could accumulate in it - toxic compounds that, in a large dosage, can cause serious poisoning. Pay attention to how quickly the flesh of the fruits turns brown - if this happens literally before our eyes, in some minutes, it’s better not to risk and throw away the vegetable.
Do eggplant salt
Many people think that before cooking, chopped eggplant should be salted and left for a while, so that the fruits produce bitter juice, which should be washed off. However, modern varieties of eggplant breeders specifically relieved bitterness. Therefore, this trick is outdated. However, salting eggplant can be done if the recipe involves frying vegetables. Salted eggplant is more aromatic, and their flesh is denser and absorbs less oil.
If you decide to add the eggplant, chop them and then generously sprinkle with coarse salt and leave for an hour or more. Rinse the salt before cooking, and dry the eggplants well with kitchen paper towels.
How to freeze eggplant
Eggplant can be stored frozen. There are several ways to do this, for example, by first blanching them. You will need:
- 5 liters of water;
- 4-5 large lemons;
- 2-3 kg of eggplant.
Squeeze the juice from the lemons. It should turn out at least ½ glasses. To give the fruits more juice, put them in the microwave or press several times on a hard surface. Put a pot of water on the fire. While you wait for the water to boil, prepare the eggplants - cut and discard the ends, cut the vegetables into slices.
Place a bowl of ice water next to the pan. Pour lemon juice into boiling water. Place eggplant in batches, remove after 2-3 minutes and dip it in cold water, and then lay the slices on paper towels. When the eggplants are dry, they can be frozen. To do this, it is best to put them on sheets of baking parchment and so put them in the freezer. Frozen slices can be poured into bags with a zip fastener, sign the date and take for further storage. Frozen eggplant should be cooked without defrosting.
For the preparation of dips, sauces and toppings from frozen eggplant, it is better to bake and puree vegetables first. Cut the eggplant in half, slightly cut the pulp, put the vegetables on a baking sheet with the slice up and bake for 35-45 minutes at a temperature of 180 ° C. Allow the eggplant to cool, remove the pulp and mash with a blender. Lay out the resulting mass in jars suitable for freezing. Before use, put the jars thawed in the refrigerator. Eggplant freezing will be an excellent base for vegetable caviar or paste, pasta sauce, home-made dip.
You can freeze already fried and seasoned eggplant. The main thing before removing vegetables for the winter in the freezer is to cool them. Eggplants prepared in this way can be placed in soups and stews without defrosting.
Mediterranean style canned eggplant
This classic step-by-step recipe will help you easily and easily cook fragrant eggplant in the same way that Mediterranean housewives do.
You will need:
- 6 eggplants;
- ½ kg of salt;
- 500 ml of white table vinegar;
- 1 tbsp. a spoonful of dried oregano;
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes;
- 5-6 cloves of garlic;
- olive oil.
First, cut the eggplant lengthwise into pieces no more than 3-4 mm thick, and then cut these slices into long sticks of the same thickness. Lay the eggplant in a wide colander layer by layer, sprinkling each layer with salt. Put a plate on top and press down with a load. Place the entire structure over the bowl so that it does not touch the bottom. Leave for a day, occasionally draining the released liquid.
Put the eggplant in a bowl. If the strips stick together, separate them by hand. Pour the vinegar over the vegetables. Leave for an hour. Put the eggplant in a colander again and crush it with a load. Put in a bowl so that vinegar flows into it. Leave for 12 hours. Put eggplant in a bowl and mix with dried oregano, chili flakes and cloves of garlic. Mix and place in sterilized jars with a volume of ½ liter. While laying out eggplant, pour olive oil from time to time. Pour 2-3 tablespoons of oil into each jar. The oil level should be higher than the level of vegetables. Close the lid and put it in a cool dark place. Check the oil level from time to time, as the aubergines absorb it, you may have to add new ones. Most deliciously, these aubergines will be in three months, the shelf life of the billet is one year.
Marinated Eggplant with Basil
These oily pickled eggplants can not only be eaten as a snack, but also put in salads, pasta, baked on pizza. A step-by-step clear recipe will allow you to prepare the workpiece quickly.
You will need:
- 5 medium eggplants;
- 100 g of fresh basil;
- 4 cloves of garlic;
- 2 tbsp. tablespoons of coarse sea salt;
- 1 lemon
- 3 cups apple cider vinegar;
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper.
Cut the eggplant into slices about 1/2 cm thick. Squeeze the juice from the lemon. Arrange the slices on a dish, salt and pour with lemon juice. Leave for 1-2 hours. After the set time, rinse the eggplants, dry with paper towels, carefully squeezing the excess liquid.
Boil apple cider vinegar in a small saucepan. Add the eggplant and cook for about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the eggplant and place in a bowl. Grind basil and garlic. Put them together with pepper to vegetables, mix well.
Arrange eggplant in sterilized jars and pour vinegar over it. Shake while removing excess air. Twist the lids and put the jars on the fire in hot water, boil for 10 minutes. Remove the cans and place the lids down on the spread towel. Leave on for 12-24 hours. Store in a cool, dark place. Eggplant can be eaten after 7-10 days.
Canned Eggplant Caviar
Delicious eggplant caviar can be used as a tapenade for crackers, a filling for ravioli or pies, pasta sauce, and an addition to risotto. You will need:
- 3 kg of eggplant;
- 1 kg of onion;
- 2-3 heads of garlic;
- 2-3 tbsp. spoons of chili pepper flakes;
- olive oil;
- salt and freshly ground black pepper.
In eggplant, cut off the tips. Cut each vegetable in half lengthwise. Cut the flesh into a mesh. Put the halves on a baking sheet covered with baking parchment. Season with salt and sprinkle with olive oil. Peel and chop the onion into quarters. For garlic heads, cut off the tops by ½ cm. Put the onions and garlic on a baking sheet to the eggplant, also salt and drizzle with oil. Bake in a preheated oven to 180 ° C. Bake until all vegetables are tender. It takes about 30-40 minutes.
Squeeze the baked garlic mashed potatoes in a blender bowl, add the eggplant and onions. Puree, season with flakes of pepper. Try it and if necessary add more pepper or salt. Put it in sterilized jars, roll them up and store in a cool dark place. Before serving, you can sprinkle the caviar with juice to refresh its taste.
Canned Ratatouille
This is a bright vegetable saute with a clear overseas name one to one like Odessa's grandmother. You will need:
- 1 kg of eggplant;
- 1 kg of zucchini;
- 6 medium heads of onions;
- 6 large tomatoes;
- 4 red sweet bell peppers;
- ½ cup olive oil;
- 8 cloves of garlic;
- ½ cup chopped basil leaves;
- 2 teaspoons thyme leaves;
- salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Cut the eggplant into slices 1 ½ -2 centimeters thick. Also cut the zucchini. Peel and chop the onion rings. Cut the tops of the pepper and extract the seeds, cut the pulp into rings. In a large bowl, combine all the vegetables, salt, pepper and pour olive oil. Shuffle.
Cover the baking sheet with high sides with parchment. Put the vegetables in a single layer, slightly overlapping. Put tomatoes on the same baking sheet. Bake vegetables at 180 ° C for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven. Set the tomatoes aside.
Heat one tablespoon of oil in a wide pan, fry chopped garlic. When it turns golden, add baked vegetables and thyme. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes. For tomatoes, remove the tops, cut and remove the seeds, remove the skin. Cut the pulp of tomatoes into pieces. Add to vegetables. Put chopped basil in ratatouille. Shuffle. Try seasoning balance.
On clean, sterilized jars, lay out the finished stew, leaving 2-3 cm of the top unfilled. Roll up the cans. Store in a cool and dark place.
Stuffed Pickled Eggplant
This interesting recipe comes from the Arab East. Only whole small eggplants are suitable for its preparation. You will need:
- 2 kg of eggplant;
- 2 cups chopped walnuts;
- 1 head of garlic;
- 1 tbsp. a spoonful of hot chili peppers;
- salt;
- olive oil.
Wash the eggplant, cut the protruding part of the stem, but not the peduncle itself. Put the vegetables in a wide deep saucepan, cover with water so that it completely covers the fruits. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10-15 minutes. Eggplant should be a little soft, but not too soft. Throw the eggplant in a colander, let the excess liquid drain.
Peel and mince the garlic. In a mortar, mix chopped walnuts with garlic, pepper, and a pinch of salt. Rub with a pestle into a homogeneous but textured mixture. Cut each eggplant and stuff with the resulting filling. Start laying eggplant in layers in a jar, sprinkling each layer with salt. Turn the jar over and put in a colander. Place over the bowl so that excess liquid can drain. Leave for a day. Turn the jar over and fill with olive oil. Leave at room temperature for 10 to 14 days. Then put it in the refrigerator.
