New Member Hi Becky, Welcome

[Guest guest]

Hi Becky

Welcome to the group

The eggplant / aubergine / brinjal is truly a gift to humanity, and a curse; its

flesh absorbs the juices and oild and fats while cooking, producing a fruit that

lends itself to complex, rich and flavourful dishes. On the other hand it

absorbs the fats and the oils, which, if you suffer from cholesterol, is

problematic.

However, you can still enjoy this fruit, even fried. For example, you could

use one of the new pans on teh market that promise oil free frying. You could

also substitute olive oil, or peanut oil, just don't use too much, do not try

and deep fry.

As for dishes, the nature of this fruit has, well, left us a rich legacy, as

rich as any dish you can imagine. For example, Mousakka, Turkish and Greek

styles, Arabic style (which will produce a dish similar to the Italian

caponata), ratatouille from France, bab ghanouj from the Middle East, nigrziani

badrijani from Georgia (no, not Georgia USA, the Caucasus Georgia), it can be

used to make samhars, chutneys, curries, ... The list is endless.

My advice is experiment, but opt for the healthier options and vegetarian

substitutions in a recipe. For example, if the recipe calls for oil or buter,

substitute olive oil, and if it calls for meat, substitute beans, roasted

vegetables. But experiment. There will always be some-one in this group to offer

advice and encouragement.

As an example I have added a dew recipes from www.bbc.co.uk/food

This is one of my favourite sites for providing ideas and inspirations. The

search option aloows one to narrow the search down to vegetarian / vegan and

healthier options. Just remember that this is a British site, so you will have

to use English rather than American terminology' therefore, aubergine rather

than eggplant.

Here is one for a

 

Mixed Vegetable Curry

 

Ingredients

½ medium-sized (100g/4oz) aubergine (eggplant) cut into 2cm x 1cm/¾in x ½in

sticks

2 small carrots (100g/4oz), peeled and cut into 2cm x 1cm/¾in x ½in sticks

100g/4oz/1 cup peas

100g/4oz/1 cup French beans, cut into 2.5cm/1in pieces

1 medium-sized potato (100g/4oz), peeled and cut into 2cm x 1cm/¾in x ½in sticks

50g/2oz/½ cup freshly grated coconut

4 fresh hot green chillies

2 tbsp white poppy seeds

1¼tsp salt

3 medium-sized tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 tbsp natural plain yoghurt

1 tsp garam masala

2 tbsp chopped, fresh green coriander

 

 

Method

1. Place the aubergine (eggplant), carrots, peas, French beans and potato in a

medium-sized saucepan. Add 250ml/8fl oz/1 cup water. Bring to the boil. Cover,

turn the heat to medium and cook for 4 minutes or until the vegeatbles are just

tender.

2. Meanwhile put the coconut, chillies, poppy seeds and salt in the container of

an electric blender. Add 150ml/5fl oz water and grind to a fine paste. Set

aside.

3. When the vegetables are cooked, add the spice paste and another 150ml/5fl oz

water. Stir and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Now add the tomatoes, the yoghurt

and the garam masala. Stir gently to mix well. Bring to the boil and simmer

gently for 2-3 minutes. Turn into a serving dish and garnish with the fresh

coriander.

 

 

And another one, this time for a

 

Warm goats' cheese salad

 

Ingredients

For the marinade for the warm vegetables

290ml/½ pint extra virgin olive oil

100ml/3½fl oz balsamic vinegar

1 garlic clove, sliced

3 sprigs fresh thyme

10 fresh basil leaves

For the salad

2 red peppers, halved, seeds removed

2 yellow peppers, halved, seeds removed

freshly ground black pepper

olive oil, for drizzling

1 large aubergine (or 2 small), chopped into 1cm/½in rounds

1 large courgette (or 2 small), chopped into 1cm/½in rounds

200g goats' cheese log, cut into 1cm/½in thick slices

extra virgin olive oil

fresh basil

green salad leaves of your choice (e.g. lettuce, baby spinach, endive, cos

lettuce)

 

 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3. Preheat the grill to its highest

setting.

2. For the marinade, place all of the marinade ingredients into a large bowl and

mix together well.

3. Line a large roasting tray with a piece of aluminium foil twice the size of

the tray. Place the peppers onto one half of the foil placed in the roasting

tin, season with freshly ground black pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Fold

over the other half of the foil to seal the peppers and place into the oven to

roast for 20 minutes, turning from time to time.

4. Once the peppers are cooked and softened, place into a bowl and cover with

cling film. Once cooled, peel the peppers and cut into large, but even triangles

and place into the marinade.

5. Place the courgette and aubergine slices onto a baking sheet. Drizzle with

olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and place under

the hot grill. Grill both sides for 3-4 minutes, or until golden. Remove from

the heat and place into the marinade with the peppers.

6. Turn down the grill to a moderate heat.

7. Place the goats' cheese rounds onto a baking sheet and place under a moderate

grill. Grill for 2-3 minutes, until the cheese has melted and begun to brown.

8. To serve, place the salad leaves into a large serving bowl. Add the marinated

vegetables and top with the grilled goats' cheese. Drizzle with a little of the

marinade and serve.

 

Becky <beckyp1959 wrote:

 

 

 

Howdee ya'll

 

My name is Becky and I live in Tennessee.

 

47 year old SAHM that runs a day care in my house.

 

I just found out I have cholesterol problems and would love to have

 

Some great vegetable recipes.

 

Course Ive always loved my veggies anyway

 

Any body got any healthy ways to cook a egg plant?

 

I have one in the fridge and don't know what to do with it.

 

I use to fry them like I would a green tomatoe..

 

 

But frying is out of the question for me any more

 

Thanks for having me and hope to make some new friends.

 

 

Becky

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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