Introduction: Roasted Eggplant With Garlic
A great way to cook eggplant with minimal prep time.
Step 1: Prepare Eggplant
Find yourself some nice Chinese or Japanese eggplant. These are the long skinny varieties, easily distinguishable from the globular Italian eggplant. Do not attempt to use Italian eggplant for this dish- the skin is too thick, and the flesh isn't as sweet.
Wash the eggplant, trim off the caps, halve lengthwise, and place them in a greased baking dish. I generally use spray canola oil, and give the cut surfaces of the eggplant another spray to keep them moist in baking.
Step 2: Season
Chop a big pile of garlic, or use a jar of the pre-chopped stuff. Garlic salt really won't cut it.
Sprinkle the chopped garlic over the eggplant to your preferred density, then drizzle the eggplant with a bit of olive oil.
Grind fresh pepper over the top, and sprinkle with cajun spice and/or a bit of salt.
Optional additions:
scallions, parsley, etc can be chopped in with the garlic
chili powder, cumin, oregano, roasemary, or the spice/herb of your choice to sprinkle on top
Step 3: Roast
Put the pan in a 350F oven for about 30-45 minutes. The eggplant will thin and curl on itself a bit, and the garlic will become a crisp and nutty brown on top.
At this point you can remove the eggplant and eat them directly, but I prefer to shut off the oven and let them slowly cool while I go for a bike ride. This extra hour sitting at low temperature dries the eggplant out a bit more, concentrating and mellowing the flavors.
Step 4: Serve
You can serve these warm or at room temperature; it's all good.
They make great appetizers when cut into segments and served at room temperature, and of course make a lovely vegetarian side dish for those upcoming family gatherings.
15 Comments
10 years ago on Introduction
It makes me drool.
11 years ago on Step 2
Do you remember how many cloves of garlic you used?
12 years ago on Introduction
it certainly looks good the egg plant though I'm not sure how that will turn out cause I've never made egg plant before!
13 years ago on Introduction
Can't wait to try this one.
15 years ago on Introduction
This looks fabulous! I haven't tried this version of eggplant. I think eggplant is finicky to cook with but when you do it right, it is SO good!
15 years ago on Introduction
To be honest, I've never had eggplant.
Reply 15 years ago on Introduction
Eggplant is often abused, so make sure you have good eggplant the first time. I find asian cuisines do the best eggplant, so you might want to start there.
Reply 15 years ago on Introduction
Eggplant is definitely a worthwhile dish as long as you stay away from pseudo Chinese places that use bad eggplant and a gallon of sauce along with a pound of salt.
15 years ago on Introduction
very cool! thanks for the great recipe and I am now looking for your other contributions! I found the garlic taters so far.
Garlic = Good
Reply 15 years ago on Introduction
Cool, glad you like it! I've got a ton of garlic-heavy recipes up; check out the dipping sauce for artichokes, and the similar one for tostones. I actually burned my mouth last week the sauce was so garlicky. Actually most everything but the desserts are pretty garlic-heavy. ;)
16 years ago
Wow. You weren't kidding about really liking garlic! BTW, I really like your style of showing two complimentary foods on a plate, and I think your "food porn" has reached a nice compromise between "gritty realism" and "James McNair."
Reply 16 years ago
*grin* We fight over the garlic cloves from roasting tomatoes and eat them straight.
Thanks! I think that between the lightbox and the I'm feeling lucky button on Picasa that's about as far as I'm willing to go in search of better food porn, so I'm glad you like the results.
16 years ago
Yes, that does look tasty. I don't think i've tried japanese/chinese eggplant before. Just the big purple ones. Are those the Italian ones?
Reply 16 years ago
Exactly. They're the big purple ones you see everywhere, at least in the US.
16 years ago
Dang!! That looks so tasty!!!