Vegan Eggplant Parmesan | Pasta-based Vegan Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to cooking eggplant? ›

One of the secrets to cooking tender-but-never-mushy eggplant is salt. First, Stilo cuts her eggplant into the desired shape (rounds, cubes, planks, etc.), and then sprinkles the eggplant evenly with a generous amount of salt.

Modern eggplant has had bitterness nearly bred out of it, so many cooks have given up the practice. Salting the slices for eggplant Parmesan is not to prevent bitter flavors, but to season the eggplant itself and, at least in my experience, keep the eggplant from sucking up too much of the olive oil from frying.

Do you have to peel eggplant before you cook it? The peel of an eggplant is completely edible. However, as the eggplant grows bigger and matures, the peel may become tough and bitter. People often prefer to peel larger eggplants because of this, but smaller eggplants do just fine unpeeled.

1. Salt the Eggplant to Remove Excess Moisture. This is key to crispy results. Eggplants are 92% water.

I tend to soak the slices in a bowl of water with a couple of tablespoon of salt for about 30-45 minutes. It doesn't have to do with bitterness, but I find that in doing this, the fried eggplant turns out less greasy," Jenkins says.

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.

Furthermore, adding a good amount of salt will help tenderize the eggplant and keep its shape. Let the eggplant sit: Place the seasoned eggplant over a colander for 30 minutes to an hour. Once beads of moisture start to appear, rinse your eggplant slices under cold water and remove excess salt.

Avoid using fresh mozzarella, as it can add too much extra moisture and make the eggplant parmigiana watery.

Hold off making those until the day you plan to layer it all together. Making them fresh will help keep the herbs vibrant. (The whole dish can be assembled and cooked two days before you want to dig in—make room for the casserole dish in the fridge and reheat when ready.)

You mentioned that once they turned out tough and chewy: then they were not cooked fully through. Vegetables are not like meat, which turn rubbery when overcooked. They turn soft rather. Watch out for the opposite as well: Eggplants when cooked for a long time may turn mushy.

Why is my fried eggplant bitter? ›

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. Solanine is a glycoalkaloid that is found in many members of the nightshade family of plants, which includes eggplants, tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers.

Of course that's assuming you're lucky enough to possess eggplant parmigiana left overs after your meal is done. Because it actually tastes better the next day after some overnight magic melding of flavors. If you're the preserving type, consider portioning your left-overs and freezing.

Here's how to do it:Slice or cube the eggplant as desired. Sprinkle salt over the eggplant pieces and let them sit for about 30 minutes. Rinse the salted eggplant under running water to remove the salt. Pat dry with a clean towel before using in your recipe.

Salting: Salting removes excess liquid and some of the bitterness. Today's eggplants are bred for mildness, though, so it's not as important as it used to be (if you are frying eggplant, salting will ensure a creamy texture and rich flavor). This method works for eggplant slices, cubes, or planks.

“The absorptiveness of eggplant can be reduced by collapsing its spongy structure before frying,” he writes. Which you can do by microwaving it before frying (!) or salting slices that'll draw out the water and close up those air pockets, giving you a firmer flesh to work with.