Question for NRaleighLiberal or anyone else who knows

[hatrack]

This is hatrack's wife, hijacking hatrack's DU account to post this question.

We're about to get an explosion of eggplant in our garden, and I had a vague memory that I had read on this board at one point that someone makes breaded eggplant rounds to freeze to use later or makes breaded, fried eggplant rounds and freezes them to use later.

I just did some poking around in DU's search engine and found an old post from NRaleighLiberal that mentions this.

Would you mind sharing details about how you prepare this and whether it's just breaded and frozen or breaded and cooked in some way before being frozen?

We planted the heck out of our garden this year, and I want to make the most of what we produce.

Thanks for any help you can provide!

mrs. hatrack

[cbayer]

1. Well, hi there, Ms. hatrack!

You should open your own account and join our cooking group.

Lots of great ideas for fresh produce.

We love eggplant. Personally I wouldn't bread it in advance. But I would make ratatouille and other eggplant based dishes where the eggplant has been cooked first. It has so much water in it, I would be afraid of ice crystals which would later thaw and make it too mushy to fry.

But I would also defer to NRaleigh, as he has much more expertise than me on these things.

Welcome!

[Aerows]

2. Ooo Ratatouille

Yummy. Do you have a good recipe for it? Not to hijack the thread, but it's one of my favorites, and it goes along with an eggplant thread

[cbayer]

3. This is the basic recipe, but you can substitute any number of the other

veggies and spices.

I think the letting it chill is an important step. That way the flavors blend and the eggplant loses whatever bitterness it might have retained. I also eat it cold.

1 onion, sliced thin
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 tablespoons olive oil
a 3/4-pound eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
1 small zucchini, scrubbed, quartered lengthwise, and cut into thin slices
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3/4 pound small ripe tomatoes, chopped coarse (about 1 1/4 cups)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shredded fresh basil leaves
preparation
In a large skillet cook the onion and the garlic in 2 tablespoons of the oil over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons oil and heat it over moderately high heat until it is hot but not smoking. Add the eggplant and cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes, or until the eggplant is softened. Stir in the zucchini and the bell pepper and cook the mixture over the moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 12 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and cook the mixture, stirring occassionaly, for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Stir in the oregano, the thyme, the coriander, the fennel seeds, the salt, and pepper to taste and cook the mixture, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the basil and combine the mixture well. The ratatouille may be made 1 day in advance, kept covered and chilled, and reheated before serving.

[Aerows]

4. Thanks for the recipe

that looks delicious!

[cbayer]

5. I recently attended a party where a woman had made a fantastic eggplant dish.

She told me the recipe, but I don't remember all the specifics.

Basically, she sauteed big pieces of eggplant in oil and spices, then marinated it with mayo in the fridge overnight. It was silky and delicious. Served cold on bread.

[Aerows]

8. Interesting

It doesn't sound like my cup of tea, but you never know. Weird things can go together to create delicacies like cream cheese and cucumber sandwiches

[Curmudgeoness]

6. You might want to cross post this in Gardening group.

NRaleighLiberal is often spotted there......and I have no doubt that others who are growing eggplant will like to have recipes as well.

[hatrack]

7. Good idea! Thanks for the suggestion

And thanks to all who have replied so far.

(Will consider getting my own account, cbayer -- I've been a lurker through hatrack's account for years....)

[Warpy]

9. I think it would work well

if you did two things: salted and drained a lot of that nasty black liquid from the eggplant first and then breaded and fried it. I think it would work better cooked because it would be dry and less prone to turning into mush.

Alton Brown calls that nasty liquid "cigarette butts in vinegar," so you know it adds nothing to the flavor of the finished dish.

[A HERETIC I AM]

10. You could make and freeze Moussaka.

I put up a thread a while back about Moussaka. It came out pretty good, except that I used too little Eggplant! It froze fairly well and comes back to life in the microwave if done carefully - that is to say, nuke for 2 minutes, let rest for 3, nuke for 1.5, rest for 1, etc. In other words, bring it up to temp slowly. The Bechamel sauce suffers, but is still tasty weeks and weeks later;

http://www.democraticunderground.com/115725947

Just slice the leftovers into squares and wrap in Ally foil & freeze.

I did that in late May and just had the last hunk the other day. Just as good as the first! Though not quite as good as when it came out of the oven.


Lots and lots of fresh lemon makes it really yum.

And I second the motion that you set up your own DU name. You are most welcome!

[The empressof all]

11. I think you can just dip them in egg and bread them

Freeze them flat on a cookie sheet and then once they are hard frozen you can stack them between sheets of wax paper or parchment like you would burgers. I would keep them raw then cook them from frozen when you are ready to use them. I think that frying then freezing could be problematic as eggplant soaks up a great deal of oil to begin with and you could have a greasy mess on your hands when you went to heat them up.

Anyhoo...I have never done it myself but that's what I would do.

[NRaleighLiberal]

12. Here is exactly what we do....

You get the most bang for the buck with the round/tear dropped shaped ones, but it works fine for the skinny ones too (just more work!).

All you need is two eggs beaten with 1/4 or so of milk to thin it out, in a wide bottom bowl, a plate with bread crumbs (we've gone to the panko type, but the progresso ones are fine as well), and cookie sheets sprayed with oil spray.

Cut the end off an eggplant and peel - slice into slices between 1/8 and 1/4 inch or so. Dip into the egg milk mixture, then into the bread crumbs and place on the cookie sheets. if you wish, add a pinch of grated parmesan to the top of each. Spray lightly with oil spray and place in a preheated 400 degree oven - bake for 20-25 minutes, until nicely browned.

Either use them right away for making eggplant parmesan or just eating as a side dish, or let them cool, then place them into freezer bags. They freeze just fine for up to a year - wonderful to have on hand for fall, winter and spring meals! The texture is much lighter (and they are much healthier) than if you saute them in oil - eggplant are fat sponges!

With fresh grown eggplant, there is no need at all to salt - they are not bitter, and not too wet!

[hatrack]

13. Thank you so much! I will definitely try this.

And thanks for the quick reply!

[rdharma]

17. Thanks for the advice on freezing eggplants.

I got a bunch of these for really cheap at the local farmers' market. I was clueless as to what I would do with them all.

[noamnety]

14. Make peanut butter eggplant stew!

Yes, I am fully aware of how repulsive that sounds. When my vegan daughter mentioned it to me, I rolled my eyes and consoled myself with the thought of strip steaks.

But it's now one of my favorite things ever, a go to dish for pot luck parties, something that people request me to bring again.

http://www.theppk.com/2008/10/spicy-peanut-eggplant-and-shallot-stew/

I liberally change things up as needed, onions instead of shallots, regular oil instead of peanut oil, no green beans or cilantro, and sometimes hit it partially with the stick blender to thicken the broth. But the point is: Peanut butter, eggplant, tomato paste, curry.

[locks]

15. Sounds so good

As soon as it cools down I'm going to make this. I will add my recipe for a great unsweetened chocolate and peanut soup as soon I can find it!

[rdharma]

18. I'm going to try this soon!

Thanks!

[grasswire]

16. I have found that some panko crumbs...

.....mixed with your breading crumbs will ensure a nice crunch. I use about 1/3 panko to 2/3 crumbs made from sourdough bread and some dry Italian herbs.

[dem in texas]

19. Wyatt's Cafeteria Eggplant Casserole

There was a once chain of local cafeterias, Wyatt's in Dallas. Some of their dishes were legendary and this is one.

Wyatt’s Cafeteria Eggplant Casserole

1 small eggplant
4 oz. Dry white bread
1 small can evaporated milk
¼ cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
¼ cup chopped celery
3 TB. Butter melted
1 TB chopped pimento
1 egg beaten
1 teaspoon sage
½ teaspoon salt and pepper
1 firm tomato thinly sliced
2 oz grated cheddar cheese

Soak Eggplant overnight in salt water. Boil until done; drain. Soak bread in milk
Saute’ onion, celery and bell pepper in butter. Combine eggplant, bread, saute’d vegetables, pimento, egg and seasonings. Mix well. Pour half into greased baking dish, add layers of sliced tomato. Repeat layer. Top with cheese and bake in 375 degree over about 20-25 minutes.