Eggplant is a culinary product highly appreciated by different cultures. Many nations have a typical dish made from eggplant. For example, in Spain, the Catalans have the samfaina, the escalivada or the espencat where the eggplant is accompanied by the pepper .
Did you know that in Spain more than 250 thousand tons of aubergines are produced per year?
Aubergines are very tasty and nutritious vegetables, as well as versatile, which you can use in many quick and easy recipes . However, there are many people who continue to wonder how to prepare aubergines so that they are rich and tasty. Roasted, fried, baked, stuffed… The recipes with aubergines are so many that they will surprise you.
The most common variety in Spain are purple aubergines, with smooth and shiny skin. When you go to buy them they have to be hard and tight, otherwise they will be very ripe and their taste will be too bitter. And now, we are going to cook these delicious recipes with aubergines.
How to cook eggplants
Whatever recipe you make, there is a very important previous step that you must do: cover the aubergines with salt for 20 minutes and then rinse them with plenty of cold water. All these quick and easy recipes can be made with any type of eggplant, so take note, let’s get started!
- Baked aubergines
Baked aubergines are an excellent way to eat this vegetable, it is also one of the simplest and fastest recipes with aubergines to prepare. You only need the following ingredients:
- 2 large aubergines
- Olive oil
- Finely chopped onion
- Chopped parsley
- White vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste.
Process:
- After washing the aubergines, cut them into slices of about 1 cm. To remove the bitter taste, rub slices against each other for a few seconds. Then brush each slice of aubergine with olive oil and put them on the oven grill until golden brown.
- Next, change the slices to a source and add the onion, parsley, vinegar, salt and pepper, mix everything well and let it rest so that the flavors combine. The aubergines ovenare a healthy and practical option that will appeal to all your guests.
- Stuffed aubergines
This is one of the recipes with aubergines in which you can take advantage of some rest of the food from the previous day, or ingredients that you have at home, to give them a new and different flavor. The good thing is that they can be filled with almost any food: vegetables, minced meat, rice, legumes, chicken curry … This is because the flavor of aubergines combines very well with any filling.
Before filling them, split each one lengthwise and pierce them with a fork. Sprinkle them with salt and let them rest for half an hour, rinse them with cold water and put the aubergines in the oven at 200 ° C.
After about 20 minutes, make sure the aubergines are tender and proceed to remove the inner meat to fill them. You can include the meat of the aubergine itself in the filling as well, together with the rest of the ingredients, and return the aubergines to the oven until they are golden brown.
- Eggplant frittata
Ingredients:
- 1 or 2 aubergines, depending on size, diced
- 6 beaten eggs
- Chopped fresh basil
- Olive oil, pepper and salt.
Elaboration:
- In a frying pan, put the oil to heat and, when it is very hot, add the diced aubergine and season with salt and pepper. You should cook it until the eggplant is somewhat soft.
- Once done, add the beaten eggs and basil. Gently mix all the ingredients and let it set on one side before turning it over,as if it were an omelette. When done on both sides, let cool and serve with a basil branch to decorate.
- Eggplant rolls
Eggplant rolls are one of the most balanced and easy-to-prepare recipes with aubergines. This is what you need to make it:
- 2 aubergines cut into thin slices
- 1 tomato, sliced
- Basil
- Goat cheese
- Olive oil, salt and pepper.
Elaboration:
- As we said at the beginning, you have to coat the aubergines in salt for 30 minutesand then rinse them.
- Next, put the aubergines in the oven, already cut and seasoned with salt, pepper and a little olive oil, as the aubergines absorb a lot of fat. When they are done, fill the slices with the tomato, the basil and the goat cheese. Roll and fix each one with a toothpick.
- You can drizzle the rolls with olive oiland a little pepper before serving.
- Eggplant with fine herbs
Eggplant with fine herbs is another of the quick and easy recipes that we can prepare with eggplant, and it is also delicious. For this recipe you need:
- Eggplant
- Very finely chopped onion
- Aromatic plants to taste
- Olive oil and salt
Steps to follow:
- To start, peel and slice the aubergines and sprinkle them with salt. Let them sit for 5 minutesbefore rinsing them under running cold water.
- Then drain and put them in a refractory container, then put the onion on top, sprinkle the fine herbs and add a little oil.
- Let all the ingredients marinate and mix well for at least 30 minutes in the fridge. After this time, we will have to heat it in a pan with a little oil.
- With the hot oil, fry everything over low heat until the aubergines are completely cooked. This recipe is perfect to accompany a main dish, such as a meat or fish fillet.
