Eggplant ideas?

[mathteacher]

HELP!!!!!! (Please... :o )

I got a rather large eggplant in my CSA box this week, and am wondering what to do with it. I found the recipes in Alissa's book but was wondering what other ideas anyone has.

Also, one of Alissa's recipe says to soak the eggplant in salt water; the other one does not. Is soaking a recommended prereq for eggplant?

Thanks so much! :)
Mickie

[gpond]

My wife prepared this for me. It is from RHIO's book: Hooked on Raw. I found it very unusual and spicy -- with each bite I felt like it (figuratively) blew the top of my head off with strange strong flavor. But, in fact I really loved it. See if this kind of thing might be your cup of tea, or not.

SOME LIKE IT HOT MARINADE

2 lemons, juiced
2 oz. olive oil (add a dash of flaxseed oil for the benefits)
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tsp. cumin powder
1/8 - 1/4 tsp. cayenne (or to your taste)
2 tbsp. fresh minced cilantro (optional, but good with eggplant)
Nama Shoyu and/or Celtic sea salt, to taste

1) Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:
*- This is excellent for marinating very thin sliced eggplant (see recipe for Eggplant Marinade - opposite page).

EGGPLANT MARINADE

I got this idea from listening to chefs on the TV Food Network saying that you could "cook" fish in a lemon or lime juice marinade. So I thought, why not apply a marinade to eggplant to see if it would take the bitterness out and soften it up enough to enjoy raw... and it works beautifully.

1 eggplant
1 recipe of Some Like It Hot Marinade

1) Make 1 recipe of Some Like it Hot Marinade.
2) Slice 1 peeled or unpeeled eggplant very thin with a Mandoline, V-Slicer or similar kitchen utensil. Dip each slice of eggplant into the marinade to coat both sides, then place into another bowl. After dipping all the eggplant, pour the rest of the marinade over the eggplant. Let marinate at room temperature for 2 hours, then refrigerate until ready to use. If you're not going to use it with-in the same day, then drain the marinade out after 4 or 5 hours, otherwise the eggplant gets soggy and all its flavor drains out.

Serves 2. Keeps for 2 days in the refrigerator.

NOTE: The drained marinade liquid can be used as a base for salad dressings or sauces and it's very tasty just on its own.

----
Anyway, I enjoyed the recipe very much and am looking forward to harvesting the 2 eggplants currently growing in our garden. May not be for everyone -- has a very strong exciting taste.

PS. We do not have a Mandoline or V-Slicer, so my wife just used a (high quality) vegetable peeler to make thin slices. It is a nice peeler and does the job very well.

[mathteacher]

Thanks so much!

[JEN]

There is a great eggplant taco recipe somewhere in this blog. www.mawintheraw.blogspot.com. It was delicious.

[ellenalesa]

You could slice it lengthwise and dehydrate and make a pizza, using the eggplant as the crust. Or, you could dehydrate it until it's mushy and then add a little olive oil, garlic, onion, parsley and other stuff and make baba ganoush and serve it on flax crackers.

Hope this helps. :)

Ellen

[blessed]

:D It's true i'm stuck on eggplants.
Today if took two large collard green leaves, laid them end to end overlapping them.
I cut a medium egglant in half lenthwise and scooped out the middle, then laid in on the collard greens, filled the middle with sliced onions,okra, cubed tomatoes and banana peppers, seasoning of choice.
Then folded the collard greens leaves around it and tucked it to make a package and placed it in my convection oven on low for about 2 hours.
I can't believe how tasty it is everything came out so delicious.
I love eating this for dinner. :D :D

Ann

[Lay-Lay]

eggplant bacon