We can find a few varieties of eggplants in the market: purple, striped, white, long, etc. In general, we can cook the same with all of them, although the biggest difference is that long eggplants, Chinese and Japanese, tend to be less bitter.

Eggplants, very versatile in the kitchen, can be cooked in various ways. Something that we must keep in mind when cooking eggplants is that they are very light for their size, because Its interior is spongy, full of air. When purchasing them, choose the ones that are heavier for its size, with shiny and smooth skin, without wrinkles, and that are not too hard

When the eggplants are very hard, they are usually green and more acidic, even a little more tasteless. On the other hand, if they are soft, they are usually overripe, they will have large seeds inside and the flavor will be more bitter.

If you are not going to cook the eggplants that day, make sure to preserve them well. For this, store them in the least cold part of the refrigerator (for example in the vegetable drawer). At less than 10ºC they can turn brown and soft quickly, just as if it is very hot (over 22ºC), so it is best to store them for a short time and consume them as soon as possible.

Here you have a video with an original idea to prepare eggplants and remember that if you want to discover more delicious vegetable recipes, you have available the ebook 100 healthy meals and dinners from Bodymente.

4 ways to cook eggplants

The color of the skin of black and purple eggplant is due to its content of anthocyanins, pigments that are sensitive to the pH of the cooking medium and temperature. The more acidic it is, the more reddish it is. If you want to preserve the color of eggplants Pink or purple in color, you can soak them in water, salt and a pinch of vinegar.

When cooking eggplants, especially if cooked in the oven, some dehydration occurs and the skin may become more brown. To prevent it from turning so brown, you can cook the eggplants at a lower temperature and protecting the skin with liquids (for example, broth). Anyway, it’s just an aesthetic question: eggplants they will be just as good.

1.Stuffed eggplants

To stuff eggplants it is better to use large, oval piecesthat we can cut in half lengthwise and put a good amount of our filling. We can use stir-fries and sautéed vegetables, cereals (brown rice, millet, buckwheat, etc.), legumes (lentils, beans, chickpeas), or a little bit of everything.

For example We can stuff some eggplants with whatever we have left over with a lentil curry, or with textured soy stew, or with roasted chickpeas with spices and a bechamel made with vegetable milk.

Since the filling is usually already made, first we will cut the eggplants lengthwisewe prick them with a fork, We sprinkle salt and let them rest half an hour. Then we wash and We roast in the oven at 200ºC until they are tender.

We take them out, with a spoon and a knife we remove the central meat of the eggplant (to put the filling) and we mix this meat with our filling.

We stuff the eggplants and we put them back in the oven until they are golden brown and the filling is slightly au gratin.

2.Sauteed eggplants

For me The best way to sauté eggplant is to steam it first..

Cut them into cubes and put them in a bowl with water and salt for 30 minutes. Drain them, wash them very well and steam them for 6-7 minutesuntil they are tender (but not falling apart).

Then add them to the pan to sauté them. They will be very tender, juicy and golden, without absorbing too much oil.

3.Roasted eggplants

Eggplants are one of the best vegetables to prepare roasted. Sometimes, what I do is roast a bunch of vegetables at once so I have enough for the whole week. In the case of I put the eggplants whole, just pricking them a little with a fork, and baked.

With these roasted eggplants, whose meat will be very creamy, we can make vegetable pates such as mutabal or babaganoush, pasta sauces and accessories for any dish.

With the meat of roasted eggplants I also make vegetable burgers (you just have to mix it with the rest of the ingredients), toppings for pizzas, an eggplant quiche, etc.

4.Fried eggplants

I do not recommend frying eggplantstend to absorb a lot of oil given their internal structure, which is almost all air. The best thing we can do for fried eggplants is to first let them soak in water and salt (half an hour, drain, wash) and then bread or coat them to prevent too much oil from entering the inside of the eggplant.

For example when we make a vegetable tempura, We can add the eggplant by cutting it into strips or sticks, letting it soak in the salt and then passing it through the tempura and into the pan with the hot oil (do not add them until the oil is very hot). After let them rest on absorbent kitchen paper.

How to reduce the bitterness of eggplants

The most bitter eggplants are the purple or black onesespecially if they are very ripe, because They contain more phenolic acids with a bitter and strong taste. Part of these compounds are eliminated or neutralized by cooking, but we can eliminate a little more by osmosis.

Cut the eggplants into cubes, slices or in half lengthwise (depending on how you are going to prepare them), Sprinkle them with salt and let them rest for 30 minutes. After that time you will see that the eggplant has “sweated”. Drain them, wash them under running water and dry them with kitchen paper.

The grains of salt that we have sprinkled they release water and some of the bitter-tasting compounds of the eggplant cells, resulting in those droplets that we will see above. These drops continue to draw liquid from the inside in a slow process, which is why it is advisable to leave them for half an hour.

With this method we have more whole eggplants, which They don’t come apart so easily. It is especially recommended if you want to grill them, grill them or in a stew with more ingredients.

We can also do it by soaking the pieces in water and salt, an equally effective method but more advisable if what we want is for the eggplant to absorb water and is even more tender. The eggplants are more meaty, tender, soft and juicy, but they are also easier to fall apart.