Friday Foodie Fix
This week’s Secret Ingredient for the Friday Foodie Fix is Eggplant. If I asked you where eggplant is native to or where it most likely originated would you guess India or Burma? Experts can’t agree which of those two countries it was, but with all of the great eggplant ethnic eggplant recipes (e.g. eggplant parmigiana or ratatouille) out there you could be excused for coming up with Italy or France. Turkey alone is thought to have over 1,000 recipes for eggplant. There are many varieties of eggplant which range in color, shape and size. I have seen the ones that are black, pink and white striped, and lavender but have yet to see the varieties that are yellow, orange, green or brown.
The great debate about eggplant is to salt or not to salt. Some say that salting takes away any bitterness and others say it collapses air pockets so it won’t soak up so much oil. No matter how you prep your eggplant you can cook it by baking, grilling, sauteing or frying. I used to dice it and cook it up in a pan with peperoni. This way I could hide it on the pizzas I made. I’ve not done that in some time but it’s always a possibility. Since eggplant takes on the strength of the flavors that you cook it with, you can hide the fact that you’re using if you have finicky diners who might rebel against the very idea of eating it.
I don’t have any eggplant recipes on this blog yet so I’m counting on you to share with me some options. I can’t wait to see what you share. If you need info on the rules for Friday Foodie Fix click here. Oops, I forgot to share what next week’s Secret Ingredient will be. Next week’s Secret Ingredient will be …………. Onions!
Great info on eggplants, Diane! Mr. GFE is quite a fan of them. He even had an eggplant and crabmeat dish at an awesome restaurant on our motorycle trip. Not gf though unfortunately. When I get inspired and make a gf version, I'll come back and share a link. 🙂
Happy Friday! Looking forward to lots of eggplant concoctions here,
Shirley
Shirley- Wow, eggplant and crab. I do love crabs. Can't wait to see you gfe version!
Great info on eggplants, Diane! Mr. GFE is quite a fan of them. He even had an eggplant and crabmeat dish at an awesome restaurant on our motorycle trip. Not gf though unfortunately. When I get inspired and make a gf version, I’ll come back and share a link. 🙂
Happy Friday! Looking forward to lots of eggplant concoctions here,
Shirley
Shirley- Wow, eggplant and crab. I do love crabs. Can’t wait to see you gfe version!
I totally forgot to buy eggplant this week! I typically do salt eggplant, just like I salt zucchini. Never really thought about why though, just habit! I love to grill eggplant, or bread and fry it 🙂
Jenn- I think even if you salt the eggplant upfront and let it drain it still soaks up lots of oil. That also requires lots of forethought which I don't often utilize. 🙂
I totally forgot to buy eggplant this week! I typically do salt eggplant, just like I salt zucchini. Never really thought about why though, just habit! I love to grill eggplant, or bread and fry it 🙂
Jenn- I think even if you salt the eggplant upfront and let it drain it still soaks up lots of oil. That also requires lots of forethought which I don’t often utilize. 🙂
My husband likes it dipped in egg, then in corn meal, then I fry it in a pan. I skip the corn meal and just fry mine in olive oil. I don't use salt when I cook. I'm looking forward to new ways to try it!
Michele- I like keeping it simple. I like my eggplant fried up with sausage. Can you tell I have a pork thing.
My husband likes it dipped in egg, then in corn meal, then I fry it in a pan. I skip the corn meal and just fry mine in olive oil. I don’t use salt when I cook. I’m looking forward to new ways to try it!
Michele- I like keeping it simple. I like my eggplant fried up with sausage. Can you tell I have a pork thing.
I am sorry, I posted the zucchini recipe in the wrong section by accident…oops 🙁
Rachel- No worries. I see you got it in the right page so I'll just take this one out. Keep sharing I love to see what you're cooking!
I am sorry, I posted the zucchini recipe in the wrong section by accident…oops 🙁
Rachel- No worries. I see you got it in the right page so I’ll just take this one out. Keep sharing I love to see what you’re cooking!
I left a link to my Herbed Cheese Eggplant Rollups in Mr. Linky. I also want to point out the Turkish Pilaf with Pistachios and Chickpeas from http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2008/05/turkish-pila…. It's an easy and delicious vegan and gluten-free meal.
Patti- Thanks for sharing. I love seeing how people use ingredients. Hope you'll continue to share.
I left a link to my Herbed Cheese Eggplant Rollups in Mr. Linky. I also want to point out the Turkish Pilaf with Pistachios and Chickpeas from http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2008/05/turkish-pila…. It's an easy and delicious vegan and gluten-free meal.
Patti- Thanks for sharing. I love seeing how people use ingredients. Hope you’ll continue to share.
I ususually make baba ganoush, so the ratatouille was new for us. I think it was inspired by the kids re-watching the movie last week.
Wendy- Love that movie. Now I have to go find it and watch it again. Saw Remy at Disney last week. He's so cute.
I ususually make baba ganoush, so the ratatouille was new for us. I think it was inspired by the kids re-watching the movie last week.
Wendy- Love that movie. Now I have to go find it and watch it again. Saw Remy at Disney last week. He’s so cute.
I've just begun to experiment with eggplant. I love it! There are so many ways to prepare this wonderful purple plant.
Travis- Hope you will share your eggplant creations with us on Friday Foodie Fix anytime. Just go to the top nav bar and go right to that page. You can add in recipes anytime.
I’ve just begun to experiment with eggplant. I love it! There are so many ways to prepare this wonderful purple plant.
Travis- Hope you will share your eggplant creations with us on Friday Foodie Fix anytime. Just go to the top nav bar and go right to that page. You can add in recipes anytime.
Since it looks like Ratatouille is the staple for eggplant lovers I though I'd add my summer time version since it is summer time when many of us can get eggplant in the garden or at the market! Thanks for this resource Diane.
Jessie- Thank you for adding in recipes!
Since it looks like Ratatouille is the staple for eggplant lovers I though I’d add my summer time version since it is summer time when many of us can get eggplant in the garden or at the market! Thanks for this resource Diane.
Jessie- Thank you for adding in recipes!