Eggplant Casserole Recipe - Healthy Recipes Blog (2024)

FAQs

How do you cook eggplant without losing nutrients? ›

Steaming is, in general, the way to retain the most nutrients in a vegetable. But it's boring, and by the very act of eating a vegetable, you're eating healthy (so long a it's not a French Fry or Awesome Blossom). Grilling is a nice way to eat an eggplant. As is sauteeing in a ratatouille.

Eggplants are known to absorb a lot of fat while cooking. A useful tip to prevent sogginess and greasiness is to salt sliced or diced eggplant and let it sit for an hour. This helps to draw out moisture. Next, rinse and drain any liquid from the sliced eggplant, then pat dry before cooking.

However, eggplants also contain a substance, solanine, which is used to defend themselves against fungi and insects. It is precisely on this substance that the bitter taste of the eggplants depends. To eliminate it, the most common methods are soaking in water and vinegar and the salt technique.

Place the slices on a baking sheet and bake until tender. Grilling: Cut the eggplant into thick slices or cubes, brush with oil and seasonings, and grill until charred and soft. Sautéing: Slice the eggplant into thin rounds or strips, heat a pan with some oil, and sauté until golden brown and tender.

Many recipes call for eggplants to be salted and rinsed to draw out any bitter juices, but this shouldn't be necessary if they're fresh. If the seeds are too defined or feel hard, the eggplant may be old and should be salted.

Eggplants contain fiber and are low in calories — they can contribute to a healthful, low-calorie diet. However, eggplant can absorb a lot of oil during frying. Anyone looking to lose weight should prepare it a different way, such as by grilling or air-frying it.

Why do you soak eggplant in water and vinegar? Soaking eggplant in water and vinegar helps remove some of the vegetable's natural bitterness. This step also helps preserve some of the skin's color so it stays a vibrant purple even after cooking.

The oil still left in the eggplant tissues contributes to the soft, buttery texture that's so appealing. Oil also carries the essence of added herbs and spices, so that eggplant dishes can become rich with the aromas and heady flavors of onions, peppers, anchovies, parsley, garlic, and lemon juice.

You can't eat eggplant raw, but you can cook eggplant in many ways: boil, steam, sauté, stir-fry, braise, bake, deep-fry, grill, broil, and microwave.

Should you soak eggplant in milk or salt water? ›

Soak eggplant slices or cubes in milk for about 30 minutes before cooking. The milk not only tempers the bitterness, but it actually makes for eggplant that is extra creamy, since the vegetable acts like a sponge and soaks up a good amount of milk in its flesh.

Aside from its green top, the entire eggplant is edible: its purple skin, its white flesh, and the tiny seeds inside. Eggplant contains protein, fiber, and a wide range of vitamins and minerals as well as some antioxidants. Eggplant should be cooked before eating.

The white part of an eggplant, also known as the "flesh," can sometimes turn bitter when cooked due to the presence of a naturally occurring compound called solanine.

Wondering whether you can eat eggplant raw? It's OK in small quantities, but it's better if eggplant is cooked.

A deep-fried eggplant can absorb up to four times more fat than french-fried potatoes. That is a whopping 83 grams of fat in 70 seconds, or 700 extra calories. That's like taking this healthy diet food and making it calorically equivalent to eating an extra-large hamburger with bacon!