In Season: What we’re doing with Eggplant

It took a while for me to find my love for eggplant. We didn’t eat it growing up and I definitely didn’t venture out on my own during the college years. It was actually when Matt and I started dating that I started eating eggplant. Because Matt loves the stuff.

He’s happy with it any sort of way. Simply seasoned and grilled might be his favorite preparation, but he’s also a fan of fried, roasted, you name it. Me, I’m a bit more specific with my likes and I’ve compiled some of them here for you.

This roasted eggplant pasta recipe is an excellent introduction to eggplant. Roasted eggplant tossed with a simple tomato sauce, pasta, basil (although we make ours with a 10oz container of our pesto in place of basil), and fresh mozzarella. What’s not to love?

I made this eggplant parmesan recipe over the weekend. It was delicious and I will make it again. However, this is not a quick recipe. It took me a good part of Sunday to make the sauce, fry the eggplant, assemble, and bake the dish. But, it was amazing!

We also like to season, grill, and freeze eggplant for use during the winter months. It takes minutes to thaw and works great for grilled veggie paninis, used as a pizza topping, or chopped and tossed with a nice sauce and pasta.

But this. This has become a favorite of mine. We were in San Diego last spring, staying at an AirBnB, working with whatever spices they had in the kitchen…along with a few farmers’ market purchases. Matt tossed together this simple marinade which we used for eggplant, shrimp, and halibut. Wow. Total game changer for grilled eggplant right here.

Cilantro Soy Grilled Eggplant
* serves 4-6 as a side

Ingredients:

• 2 lb eggplant, 1/2 in to 3/4 in slices
• handful chopped cilantro, plus some for sprinkling on top to serve
• 1 garlic clove, sliced
• 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
• pinch hot pepper flakes
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp sesame oil

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a ziploc bag, mixing to make sure all sides of the eggplant are marinating. Place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes and up to a couple hours, flipping once or twice to mix the marinade.
2. Heat a grill over medium high heat. Grill eggplant for a couple minutes. Check for grill marks and flip. Grill for a few minutes longer. The eggplant should be very pliable when removed from the grill.
3. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.