Skip to main content

WTF to Do with an Eggplant?

wtf to do with an eggplant
If you ever walk by the pile of eggplants at the grocery store and stare at them in a state of utter confusion, you’re not alone. Eggplant may be a relatively common vegetable, but many people simply don’t know how to approach it. The thing is, eggplant can be thoroughly delicious if you learn how to cook it properly, and it’s not nearly as hard as you might think.

Looking to up your eggplant game? Here are a few tips to get you started.

Related Videos

Stir-fry It

When you have to be out the door and don’t have a lot of time to devote to cooking, there are only a few different cooking techniques that you can really afford to use, and stir-frying is one of them. Cubed, skinned eggplant holds up extremely well in a stir-fry, and it has a meatier texture than most other vegetables, lending a sense of “umami” to the dish. Hit it with a sweet, tangy sauce and serve over rice.

We love this recipe for eggplant stir-fry, which combines the nightshade with tofu.

Roll It

Slicing an eggplant in long, thin strips allows you to use it in a variety of different ways, perhaps most effectively being as part of rollatini. Eggplant rollatini is a classic Italian dish that requires one to roll the eggplant up like a wrap around a filling of cheese, herbs and anything else you might want to get fancy with. Once assembled, the eggplant “rolls” are baked with a red sauce. It’s definitely going to take some extra time to put this dish together, but you’ll be happy you did.

Here’s a recipe for eggplant rollatini we can’t recommend highly enough.

Bread It

If there’s one preparation of eggplant that most people are familiar with, it’s eggplant parmesan. The nightshade is sliced, breaded, fried and then baked with mozzarella cheese and red sauce to create a dish that is as American as it is Italian. Since this dish is relatively easy to make and extremely popular, it’s a great place to start if you’re just now getting acquainted with eggplant. Serve over spaghetti, and smile.

This is one of the best eggplant parmesan recipes you’re going to find online.

Chill It

A lot of people don’t realize just how delicious eggplant can be when it’s served cold. Sure, it may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you stare at an eggplant, but give it a shot, and you’re bound to be blown away by the end result. Eggplant pairs extremely well with fresh grape tomatoes in salad form, and with a shave of cheese and some basil on top, you’ve got yourself an excellent dish that can be served either as an appetizer or a main course. Just be sure to go easy with the salt, as it can really come through in a cold dish like this.

Want to make it? Try this recipe for roasted eggplant and tomato salad.

So don’t let eggplant give you the run-around any longer. Learn how to work with it, and you’ll be back in the driver’s seat.

Editors' Recommendations

Is erythritol harmful? What a dietitian says new data means for your Keto diet
Erythritol is common in many keto foods - what does that mean for your health?
erythritol in keto diet advice

While sugar substitutes have been around for more than a century, they didn't really become mainstream here in the United States until around the mid-70s. According to Carolyn De La Pena, professor of American Studies at UC Davis and author of Empty Pleasures: The Story of Artificial Sweeteners from Saccharin to Splenda, between 1975 and 1984, Americans increased their consumption of artificial sweeteners by 150 percent. This timeline makes sense when you take into account that the late seventies coincided with the start of our crazed diet culture and the revolving door of fad diets.
One such diet that doesn't seem to be going anywhere, however, is the Keto diet. Still hugely popular among Americans trying to shed a few pounds, Keto focuses heavily on limited or no carbohydrates. Because sugar contains carbohydrates, followers of Keto have turned to artificial sweeteners to satisfy those late-night cravings - sweeteners that, more often than not, contain erythritol. Erythritol in particular has become hugely popular because it's much better for baking than other sugar substitutes, has less of an artificial flavor, and will keep the eater in Ketosis, which is key for losing weight on the Keto diet.
A new study has made waves recently because its findings indicate there's a link between erythritol and higher rates of heart attack and stroke (though the study did note that only an association was found — not causation. So should you be worried?
We asked Dan LeMoine, RD, the award-winning author of Fear No Food and the Clinical Director at Phoenix-based Re:vitalize Nutrition, what he had to say about erythritol, including its benefits and potential health risks. "Artificial sweeteners are still sweeteners. While many are non-nutritive or zero-calorie, we tend to view them similarly as we do regular sweeteners or sugars — moderation is key. While many have amazing implications on weight loss – being low to no-calorie options and having little impact on blood sugar, some have their downside," he says.

While some of that sugar substitution has been good for waistlines and health issues that come from obesity, it seems to be causing more and more concern when it comes to other potential health issues. "For example," says LeMoine, "some research indicates the popular sweeteners stevia may have negative effects on the gut microbiome. And the recent study showing correlation between the sugar alcohol, erythritol, and heart attack and stroke."

Read more
Feeling adventurous? 5 of the weirdest cocktails from around the globe
Would you order a cocktail with a pickled human toe? You can in Canada, apparently
unusual and unique cocktails sourtoe cocktail

We all love a good cocktail, but it's easy to tire of the classics. There's nothing wrong with a perfectly frosty, salted-rimmed margarita, or a warm-to-your-bones, cherry-topped old-fashioned, but sometimes, you just want something new. Something that makes you think. Something that, perhaps, gives you a chuckle. These are those cocktails.
Pig's Blood Piña Colada (USA)

Back in 2014, bartender Jason Brown of Chicago's Kinmont restaurant and bar, concocted this cocktail after listening to a Werewolves of London lyric about a werewolf drinking a pina colada. His creativity sparked, and the "Werewolves of London" cocktail was born.

Read more
These foods high in melatonin will help you sleep better
Get a better sleep naturally by eating these 9 melatonin foods
Hands holding wine grapes.

Getting a quality night's sleep becomes more and more of a challenge as we age. Some of us have tried blackout curtains, sleep masks, weighted blankets, or any number of supplements promising better rest. If you're looking for an all-natural solution, though, melatonin is the way to go. Melatonin is a hormone produced naturally in the pineal gland in the brain. Among several functions, melatonin plays a key role in regulating the body’s circadian rhythms, or sleep-wake cycles. Accordingly, the pineal gland produces more melatonin when the sun goes down, and levels dip at daybreak. Foods high in melatonin or even melatonin supplements are a popular way to increase the concentration of melatonin and possibly improve the quality and quantity of sleep.
Melatonin supplements are typically non-habit-forming and safe for adults and children in doses of around 0.5 to 5 milligrams. However, melatonin supplements may cause drowsiness, nausea, and dizziness, and they can interfere with certain medications.

Fortunately, if you’re looking to support your body’s own natural melatonin levels but you don’t want to rely on supplements, there are several sleep-aid foods that contain melatonin. Adding any of these foods high in melatonin to your dinner plate or bedtime snack routine may help regulate your sleep patterns over time and help you get more restful sleep. Though little nutritional data exists about the specific concentration of melatonin in different foods, the following foods are known to be particularly high in melatonin.

Read more