Eggplant dishes

The eggplants grilled over charcoals or in the oven can easily be made into a paste or filling for other vegetables. Sliced and roasted in a pan, filled and baked in the oven, with various sauces, eggplants can make delicious starters or main dishes. Eggplants were introduced into the Romanian cuisine during the Ottoman expansion in Europe. Moreover, the Turks have brought to the Balkan region various recipes for preparing eggplants, as well as common names of such dishes, such as the moussaka.

Ștefan Baciu, 04.09.2016, 14:20

The eggplants grilled over charcoals or in the oven can easily be made into a paste or filling for other vegetables. Sliced and roasted in a pan, filled and baked in the oven, with various sauces, eggplants can make delicious starters or main dishes. Eggplants were introduced into the Romanian cuisine during the Ottoman expansion in Europe. Moreover, the Turks have brought to the Balkan region various recipes for preparing eggplants, as well as common names of such dishes, such as the moussaka.

The eggplant paste is an excellent starter for the summer season. Here is the recipe. Choose medium-sized eggplants as regular in shape as possible, to be easy to cook on a hotplate. Wash and dry the eggplants, then grill over high heat, turning regularly as each side blackens. When they are cooked, leave the charred eggplants to drain to get rid of the bitter, dark juice. Then scoop the eggplant pulp into a bowl and mash well with a wooden or stainless steel fork; you can also use a mixer until the mixture turns into paste. Mix in a bit of oil, one finely chopped onion and salt to taste. Serve cold decorated with tomato slices.

You can also mix the eggplant paste with boiled squash paste or with mayonnaise and a little garlic sauce. The eggplant paste can also be used as filling for other types of starters such as eggplant paste-filled tomatoes and peppers.

Battered eggplants are another starter that needs little time to prepare. For this recipe you need fresh eggplants. Wash and peel the eggplants, cut them into rounds, add some salt and leave to drain. Dredge each slice of eggplant into flour coating thoroughly, then fry in oil. The fried eggplant rounds can be served hot or cold, with garlic and basil sauce sprinkled on them.

As for eggplant dishes, one of the most widespread is the moussaka, cooked in the oven and made of layers of eggplant, your choice of meat (pork, beef or lamb) and tomatoes. You can also use eggplants to make an exclusively vegetarian dish, which in Romania has also preserved its Turkish name, imambayaldî, which literally means “the imam has fainted”. This dish is also prepared in the oven, with the eggplants filled with a mixture of sautéed vegetables including tomatoes, onions, peppers and garlic. Enjoy!