Sausage Stuffed Eggplant Boats - An Easy Baked Eggplant Recipe! (2024)

FAQs

Does eggplant need to be soaked before baking? ›

Soak eggplant slices or cubes in milk for about 30 minutes before cooking. The milk not only tempers the bitterness, but it actually makes for eggplant that is extra creamy, since the vegetable acts like a sponge and soaks up a good amount of milk in its flesh.

One of the secrets to cooking tender-but-never-mushy eggplant is salt. First, Stilo cuts her eggplant into the desired shape (rounds, cubes, planks, etc.), and then sprinkles the eggplant evenly with a generous amount of salt.

While the skin of a small young eggplant is edible, the skin becomes bitter on larger or older eggplants and should be peeled. When in doubt, the answer to, "Do you peel eggplant before cooking?" is yes, peel it. Use a vegetable peeler or paring knife to remove the skin.

I tend to soak the slices in a bowl of water with a couple of tablespoon of salt for about 30-45 minutes. It doesn't have to do with bitterness, but I find that in doing this, the fried eggplant turns out less greasy," Jenkins says.

Slice and Salt: Slice the eggplant into even rounds, salt generously, and let them sit for about 30 minutes. This helps draw out excess moisture. Pat Dry: After 30 minutes, pat the eggplant slices dry with paper towels to remove the released moisture.

Here's how to do it:Slice or cube the eggplant as desired. Sprinkle salt over the eggplant pieces and let them sit for about 30 minutes. Rinse the salted eggplant under running water to remove the salt. Pat dry with a clean towel before using in your recipe.

Not cooking it in enough fat.

You need to be a little more generous in order for there to be enough oil on the outside of the eggplant to cook properly.

Salting: Salting removes excess liquid and some of the bitterness. Today's eggplants are bred for mildness, though, so it's not as important as it used to be (if you are frying eggplant, salting will ensure a creamy texture and rich flavor). This method works for eggplant slices, cubes, or planks.

When looking at the exterior of the eggplant, check the stem and cap. Both should be green and fresh-looking. If they are starting to fade in color, that's an indicator that the vegetable may be spoiling. You'll also want to toss the eggplant if there is any mold on the stem or cap.

A raw eggplant is crunchy and flavorless, like a raw potato. When it's cooked, “it should turn fully tender, all the flesh should be somewhat custardy. If you have to, hammer it a bit, knock it around, let it start to collapse.”

How do you stop eggplant from itching? ›

Your healthcare provider may prescribe certain medications to take in case you accidentally eat eggplant and experience an allergic reaction. For a minor allergic reaction, an antihistamine, such as Benadryl (diphenhydramine) or Claritin (loratadine) may be used.

Salting eggplant is often explained on two points: The first point contends that eggplants can be quite bitter, and salting helps cut the bitterness. (No, salt doesn't draw out bitterness. It just helps hide it.) Second, salting eggplants reduces the sponginess and leaves you with a creamy, silky texture.

Age and Size: Whether an eggplant is mildly or extremely bitter can depend on the age and size of the fruit. (Yes, eggplant is a fruit.) Larger, more mature eggplants can be more bitter, typically because their seeds are larger and seeds tend to hold on to the most bitter flavors.

Rinse the salt off.

Run the eggplant under water for a minute or two, making sure you get most of the salt off.

Submerge the pieces in the salted water. Use an upside-down plate or pot lid to weigh down the eggplant so it is fully submerged in the water. Let the eggplant sit in the brine for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour. Drain the eggplant and pat it dry with a clean kitchen towel or layers of paper towels.

Salting eggplant is often explained on two points: The first point contends that eggplants can be quite bitter, and salting helps cut the bitterness. (No, salt doesn't draw out bitterness. It just helps hide it.) Second, salting eggplants reduces the sponginess and leaves you with a creamy, silky texture.

Next, soak the eggplant in ice-cold water: The chill shocks the surface of the vegetable and fills tiny air pockets between the cells, preventing the oil from entering them.

Soaking eggplant in water and vinegar helps remove some of the vegetable's natural bitterness. This step also helps preserve some of the skin's color so it stays a vibrant purple even after cooking.