Tag: eggplants

Eggplants are addictive: 20 ways to bring it to the table – Italian Cuisine

Fried, in a pan, in the oven: any excuse is good for cooking them, from north to south.

Fried, baked, in a pan, in the sauce, stuffed with meat, fish or other vegetables: the eggplants they are truly an incredible ingredient to bring to the table, especially in this season in which there are many varieties, one tastier than the other. The recipes in which they can be found are infinite, starting from regional specialties such as the caponata and the parmesan. Resisting their consistency is impossible, make a reason for it.

How to choose them

The best ones have beautiful firm and shiny skin, the green petiole fresh and not withered. No stain on the peel, which must be compact to the touch. A slightly extended skin hides an old vegetable, probably full of seeds that make its pulp bitter and spicy.

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Baked or fried?

The fried is eggplant like cheese on macaroni, everyone knows it. The only contraindication for this method of cooking calories. You can contain the fats and obtain an equally irresistible dish: you can simply cook them in non-stick pans with a minimum amount of oil, stirring them often, so that each piece absorb a little seasoning, thus avoiding the "cardboard" effect. Another alternative is the oven: you can brush them with oil and place them on a sheet of baking paper. You will have slices with a soft pulp that melts in your mouth.

And now some recipes from our archive to bring the aubergines to the table.

Eggplants, go with the filling! 10 recipes to indulge yourself – Italian Cuisine

Have you ever thought that eggplants can be an excellent and tasty container? From meat to cheese, from cereals to other vegetables, here are 10 ideas for filling them

Fried, grilled, baked, in a pan or on the grill. The eggplant they are very versatile vegetables with which you can prepare many recipes of appetizers, first courses, main courses and side dishes. And since the best ones are back on the market this season, we give you some ideas for cook them stuffed in original dishes to present to friends or to take to work, because even cold they are delicious.

How to cook eggplants in the oven

Before filling the aubergines with the other ingredients you must soften and dig them. Then cut them in half lengthwise after washing and drying them and cut the pulp without cutting the base. Alternatively, you can wrap them in whole tinfoil after puncturing them on the outside with a fork. Once cooked in the oven at 200 ° for about 25 minutes, remove the pulp and empty them gently.

recipes-eggplant-stuffed

What do you do with the pulp?

The pulp usually comes reused for the preparation of the filling and then sauté in the pan with other vegetables or with minced meat, with cheese or with cereals. But with the pulp you can also prepare an excellent Middle Eastern sauce called babaganoush. Here is the recipe.

Babaganoush recipe

Blend the pulp of the aubergine cooked in the oven with a spoonful of tahina (sesame cream), lemon juice, a minced garlic clove, extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh mint.
Complete everything with a pinch of paprika and serve with raw vegetables or with croutons or with chickpea meatballs (falafel) inside a pitta or a hot Arab sandwich.

Which eggplants can be filled?

To make stuffed aubergines, we suggest those dark ovals and those light round. The first if you love a more decisive taste, the second for delicate recipes. Always choose them firm and with homogeneous skin in shape and color.
What if they should be bitter? No problem, baking in the oven sweetens them.

Very simple stuffed aubergines

Do you want to try a very simple recipe with stuffed aubergines?
First cut the pulp and then put the cuts inside feta, cherry tomatoes and small pieces of garlic.
Season with oil, oregano and salt and bake at 200 ° for about 35 minutes.

Tomato aubergines

Another easy recipe to prepare eggplants stuffed with Mediterranean ingredients.
Bake them in the oven cut in half, remove the pulp and mix it with cherry tomatoes or plain tomato sauce, diced mozzarella, parmesan, capers, black olives, oregano and basil.
Sprinkle with parmesan and cook again in the oven at 200 ° for 10 minutes in grill function.

Stuffing ideas

We told you that the pulp it is an important element that serves to amalgamate everything else. You can mix it with del rice, spelled, quinoa or other cereals, or with the pasta if you prefer to present this recipe as a first course.
For a vegetarian or vegan dish you can add other stir-fried vegetables and tofu for a protein part.
Parmigiana lovers can recreate it inside the aubergine frying the pulp and then mixing it with the tomato sauce, mozzarella and parmesan, a bit like the recipe we proposed to you.
Finally, those with a sweet tooth can prepare a filling with the minced meat.

10 recipes for stuffed eggplants

If we have enticed you and you have already run to buy the aubergines, you just have to scroll through our gallery to find out 10 super tasty ideas to try.

White eggplants: have you ever seen them? – Italian Cuisine

There are many varieties of aubergines, but there is one really rare: here is the white aubergine, its origins and the differences with the traditional one

The white aubergines They exist. You don't see around in supermarkets, but there and how. They are almost identical to the most common purple-peeled aubergines, but have some differences in addition to color. Let's start first of all from their origin.

Where do white aubergines come from?

Their origin is not known with certainty, but they probably originate from Turkey: white eggplants do not like cold and are cultivated more easily where temperatures are high.

Where can they be found? White eggplants are more widespread in some regions of southern Italy, such as the Sicily, the Basilicata or the Puglia, mainly in family gardens. They are very difficult to find on the market and are instead suitable for home cultivation, being a more robust and resistant vegetable.

The differences between white aubergine and purple aubergine

White eggplants are smooth, of a bright color and can have both a round and an elongated shape. Their peel it's more thin compared to that of the classic aubergine and they are almost seedless.

aubergine-white

The external aspect is the characteristic that differentiates it the most: the taste it's almost the same, slightly more delicate and less bitter, still maintaining that strong and spicy flavor typical of classic aubergines. Being quite compact, it succeeds absorb less oil, so it's perfect to be fried!

For all these reasons, white aubergine lends itself well to traditional preparations and recipes. If you can find it or if you are lucky enough to receive it as a gift, its unusual color will surprise the guests. For the rest, you can treat it just like its most famous relative: cook it to grid, to the oven or fried, Use it to dress pasta or bruschetta, to prepare the parmigiana, the caponata or from rolls creative.