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hatrack (33,631 posts) Sun Jul 21, 2013, 03:53 PMQuestion for NRaleighLiberal or anyone else who knowsThis 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.
cbayer (122,536 posts) Sun Jul 21, 2013, 04:02 PM1. 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.
cbayer (122,536 posts) Sun Jul 21, 2013, 04:30 PM5. 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 (16,245 posts) Sun Jul 21, 2013, 04:50 PM8. InterestingIt 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
Warpy (70,756 posts) Sun Jul 21, 2013, 05:06 PM9. I think it would work wellif 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 (10,495 posts) Sun Jul 21, 2013, 06:30 PM10. 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.
The empressof all (27,811 posts) Sun Jul 21, 2013, 06:48 PM11. I think you can just dip them in egg and bread themFreeze 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 (29,800 posts) Sun Jul 21, 2013, 06:58 PM 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!
rdharma (3,520 posts) Thu Aug 15, 2013, 07:47 PM17. 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 (18,663 posts) Sun Jul 21, 2013, 10:35 PM14. 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.
grasswire (37,445 posts) Mon Jul 22, 2013, 06:39 PM16. 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.
Eggplant is okay,can be good fresh but if you want to freeze you have to slice and blanch.It is simple but leave it to DUmbasses to screw up.
Peanut butter, eggplant, tomato paste, curry.
The only thing worse than eggplant is okra.
