Professor Emarinate

As I’m still in the process of rendering eggplant botany fascinating, resulting in a delay in my entry on eggplant anatomy, I’d like to tide you over with an easy and absurdly delicious way to prepare eggplant.

Before I begin, here’s something you should know about my cooking style. I don’t like precise measurements. Unless of course I'm baking, in which I’ve learned that improvisation leads to disaster.  Like the time I tried to invent a type of muffin that contained all the necessary nutrients for survival, and also ran out of eggs. Baking failures aside, I like to cook by eye and by taste. Too often I follow a recipe exactly, only to discover that whoever wrote it was on several drugs. Therefore, in the recipes that follow, I will give you approximations, photographs (this entry excepted), and eloquent descriptions – but in the end, it’s up to you to determine how much to add because you’re cooking for your own taste buds. 

Marinated Roasted Eggplant with Yumminess

Note: in case of allergy to yumminess, substitute for ickiness

Step 1:

Cut the eggplant into round slices approximately 1/2 inch thick. Coat slices generously in olive oil and roast in oven on 350° F, flipping over about 10-15 minutes into cooking time. Take out the slices when they’re dark golden brown on both sides and soft all the way through.

Note: if you want to roast some other vegetables too, like quartered onions, red pepper, asparagus, leeks, scallions, etc., go right ahead. Most everything tastes good with a strong marinade.

Step 2:

Mix together:

4 or more Tbsp balsamic vinegar; for a lighter marinade, mix 3 Tbsp vinegar with 1 Tbsp water

A smallish pile of brown or dijon mustard

One clove of crushed garlic

Slightly less than 1 tsp brown sugar or honey

Crushed dried or fresh rosemary (and/or basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, chives... etc.)

Salt and pepper to taste

Step 3:

Put eggplant rounds into a container. Mix with marinade. Sprinkle liberally with yumminess.  OH WAIT, you don’t have to, because it’s already yummy.

Step 4:

Let sit for at least a few hours. Serving suggestion: eat with crackers or bread, chevre, ajvar (red pepper spread, either homemade or storebought), and slices of cucumber.

The best thing about marinated eggplant (and vegetables generally) is that it can be added to so many things. Grind it up with olives to make eggplant tapenade. Mash it into a paste to put on crackers. Top it with raita and eat on grilled toast. Add slices to a sandwich. Sprinkle on your salad. Make a hell-of nasty smoothie to take to the gym. Or just eat it with chopsticks straight from tupperware, like I do. 


Addendum: When you use straight vinegar in a marinade like this without adding oil, it can be rather strong, as if you were eating olives or pickles. If you'd prefer a milder eggplant, be very generous with the baking oil and pour any excess oil into the marinade after baking; as stated above, you may also wish to water down your vinegar slightly and add a tiny bit of extra sugar to balance the tartness.