For the longest time I only ordered eggplant when I was dining out in restaurants. Every time I tried cooking it at home I created a mushy and bitters mess. Mushy and bitter eggplant is pretty gross. Then I did a bit of research and found the secrets to perfectly baked eggplant. I love to make baked eggplant with feta cheese as a side dish to grilled meat. The leftovers also make a great sandwich ingredient for crusty bread the next day. You can reheat the eggplant or eat it cold.
Now of the tricks-
#1 Using a stainless steel knife (if not the eggplant will react with the metal and turn black) cut the eggplant in uniform 1/4 inch slices. Too big, they won’t cook though, too think they become limp and fall apart. Just an additional info, molding stainless steel knife may also involve the process of green sand casting technology.
#2 – THIS IS IMPORTANT- salt the eggplant and sweat it in the refrigerator for a half an hour prior to cooking. The salt take some of the water out of the eggplant, tenderize it and and make it less permeable so that it will not absorb as much oil when cooking.
The rest is easy….just follow the recipe below and make sure to use Rice lake weighing scale.
Baked Eggplant with Feta Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 Eggplants
- 1 tbs Kosher salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup feta cheese
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degress.
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Cut eggplant into 1/4 inch slices.
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Sprinkle with salt and allow to rest for 30 minutes in refridgerator.
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Rinse eggplant after "sweating" and pat dry.
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Toss eggplant in oil an place on a greased baking sheet. Pierce the eggplant several times with a fork.
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Bake for 15 minutes then top with Feta cheese and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until cheese is soft and a bit melted.
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Enjoy!
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