Anyone have any ideas on what to do with extra eggplant from the garden?
Hardiness Zone: 3b
By sandy from WI
I went visiting relatives several years ago, and one of the neighbors was outside boiling something in a large crawfish pot. They were boiling gallons of peeled and cut up eggplant. I asked why? The only way I had ever eaten it was either sliced and deep fried, or used in place of lasagna noodles.
They said that they boiled it till almost all the way cooked, drained it, then smoothed out in layers to freeze. They then used it as a stuffing base, in bell peppers, stuffed fish, chicken, pork chops, and as baked stuffing, in place of cornbread or bread cubes, as they were diabetic, and had to reduce the amount of "white" carbohydrates.
I tried it with fish at home, seasoning the eggplant, and putting just a little cooked rice, and rolling thawed tilapia fillets around it, and baking. It was wonderful! They also said that you can mix the eggplant with any type of meat, such as ground beef or sausage, and use as a basis for a casserole. (08/16/2010)
You can cook it now and just freeze, or partially cook and then freeze. The point of cooking is to destroy enzymes which would make the food degrade in the freezer. (08/16/2010)
By PENNY K
All wonderful ideas. I was a vegetarian for some years and I cut up eggplant in chunks, with the skin, and with some water, ground it into hamburger size bits in a blender, drained, and reused the water until done. I also ground up olives. I chopped mushrooms, and bell pepper, lots of garlic. I sauteed the drained eggplant just as if I were sauteing hamburger, made the sauce just as I would have with all the seasonings, a bit of red wine, my usual mix of tomatoes, paste, sauce, simmered for a few hours. I make a fairly zesty spicy tomato sauce, and the grandsons never knew. Leaving the skin on the eggplant makes it look a lot like meat once everything has cooked for a long time.
(08/16/2010)
By PENNY K
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