By Tanya Sichynsky, The New York Times
At a birthday dinner recently, a pool of satiny, smoky eggplant pried my attention from an otherwise lively conversation. The dish was unassuming, dolloped with a bit of yogurt and a smattering of scallions and herbs. But my eyes ballooned cartoonishly with each bite, this slump of olive-oil-drenched, simply seasoned pulp a redheaded bombshell to my Tex Avery wolf.
It was none other than Gabrielle Hamilton’s smoky eggplant. Her method, which she wrote about for the New York Times Magazine in 2020, is one for all of our back pockets with a variety of eggplants holding court at waning summer markets.
“You take the whole fat globe eggplant, and you set it directly on the burner grate on the stovetop,” Gabrielle writes. “Set the gas flame to high and scorch it. The skin forms a carbonized black bark — the kind that would usually signal ruin — while the flesh inside steams and softens until it collapses to silken and rather smoky perfection. While the eggplant cools after its scorching, a viscous liquid as dark as brewed coffee collects in the bowl, which steeps the interior fruit in its smokiness.”
She strains the liquid, spoons the cooked eggplant out of its charred skin and finishes it with fruity olive oil, salt and lemon. I’d stop there and eat it over grilled bread (or, frankly, with a spoon), but you could go so far as to make it into filling for croquettes, a hearty preparation for when the temperatures dip.
Similarly cozy is Kay Chun’s eggplant Bolognese, best with Italian eggplant and earthy with mushroom stock and finely chopped mushrooms. You can make it vegan if you toss the pasta with two tablespoons of plant-based butter or olive oil and skip the Parm finish.
With more slender Japanese eggplant or adorably stout Indian eggplant, Zainab Shah’s five-star borani banjan is in order. An Afghan-style dish, it is a stunning exercise in contrasts: cooling garlicky yogurt, savory eggplant, soft and sweet tomato and vibrant pomegranate seeds and mint.
Recipe: Eggplant Bolognese
By Kay Chun
Eggplant and mushrooms come together in place of ground beef in this hearty vegetarian pasta that delivers the depth of a more traditional Bolognese sauce. Use Italian eggplant, which is widely available and has silky, sweet flesh. Peeling the eggplant helps it brown and cook more quickly, and encourages it to partially melt into the sauce as it simmers. Earthy mushroom broth fortifies the vegetable-rich sauce with deeper savory flavor. Serve the pasta with a simple green salad and crusty bread.
Yield: 4 servings
Total time: 1 1/4 hours
Ingredients
-
- Salt and pepper
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pound Italian eggplant, peeled and chopped into 1/4-inch pieces (4 packed cups)
- 6 ounces cremini (or white button) mushrooms, finely chopped (2 cups)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
- 1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 cups mushroom broth (or vegetable stock)
- 1 cup canned whole tomatoes, crushed with your hands
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 basil sprig, plus chopped basil for garnishing
- 1 pound rigatoni, fusilli or other short pasta
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Freshly grated Parmesan, for serving
Preparation:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high.
2. In a large Dutch oven or other heavy lidded pot, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high. Add half of the eggplant, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly golden, 5 minutes. Transfer eggplant to a plate. Adjust heat to medium and repeat with 2 tablespoons of the oil and the remaining eggplant, transferring the eggplant to the plate.
3. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and the mushrooms to the pot. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally to scrape up any browned bits, until golden, 5 minutes. Add onion and carrot, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 3 minutes. Adjust heat to low, add garlic and tomato paste and stir until caramelized, about 2 minutes.
4. Stir in broth, tomatoes, oregano, basil sprig and the browned eggplant, then bring to a boil over medium-high. Cover, adjust heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until eggplant is very tender, 15 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring and mashing half of the eggplant, until sauce is thickened, 2 minutes.
5. While the sauce comes to a boil, drop pasta in the boiling water and cook according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water before draining.
6. Add pasta, butter and 1/2 cup of the pasta water to the eggplant mixture and cook, stirring vigorously, until pasta is nicely coated and mixture is saucy, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Divide pasta among bowls. Top with chopped basil and cheese; serve warm.
Recipe: Smoky Eggplant Croquettes
By Gabrielle Hamilton
By placing whole, unwashed, plain and naked globe eggplants directly onto the stovetop burner grate and letting them burn until charred, hissing and collapsed, you bring a haunting smokiness and profound silkiness to the interior flesh that will have you hooked for the rest of your life. This way of cooking eggplant is a revelation in itself — easy, yet exciting and engaging — and requires nothing more of the home cook than a little seasoning at the end to be enjoyed, as is. But biting into a warm, crisp, golden fried croquette with that smoky, silken purée at its center is what restaurant-level complexity and satisfaction is all about. One key ingredient, but 11 steps to prepare it — that about sums up the difference between home cooking and restaurant excitement.
Yield: About 16 croquettes
Total time: 1 1/2 hours, plus freezing
Ingredients
For the Smoky Eggplant:
- 2 large globe eggplants (about 2 1/2 pounds total)
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- Kosher salt
For the Croquettes:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 whole eggs, beaten with 1/4 cup water
- 2 cups panko breadcrumbs, ground as fine as freeze-dried instant milk, or plain fine breadcrumbs
- Canola, grapeseed or other neutral oil, for stovetop shallow frying
- Lemon wedges, for serving
Preparation
1. Place the whole eggplants directly on the burner grids of the stovetop, and turn the flames to high. Let each eggplant start to blister, and steam, and char, turning each one a quarter turn every 3 or 4 minutes, until softened and hissing inside, the skins utterly blackened and cracked, and the flesh collapsing, 12 to 15 minutes. (You could also blister them under the broiler, set on an aluminum-foil-lined baking sheet a couple of inches from the heat and cook until charred all over.)
2. Remove the eggplants to a bowl. Cover with a lid or overturned bowl, and let them rest until cool enough to handle, about 30 minutes. Give this the time it takes; it will help with peeling them later and also lets them steep in their smoky juices. You can do this step ahead and let them cool in the refrigerator overnight as well, to be peeled the next day, which works beautifully.
3. Remove the scorched, carbonized skin from the soft, cooked-through eggplant. Discard all the black, bitter charred bits.
4. Strain the remaining eggplant, and save all the viscous smoky liquid that accumulates. I usually “rinse” the peeled eggplants in this strained liquid to remove any lingering flakes or chips of charred skin from the eggplant flesh. (Sometimes people are tempted to run the eggplant under the faucet for a second to remove the flecks, but using the liquid in the bowl is much better at retaining flavor.)
5. Chop the flesh to a fine dice, and place in a bowl. (I generally never remove the seeds unless I have bought an intensely loaded eggplant, in which case I’ll remove them if the seed sacs are pronounced and distracting.)
6. Stir in 3 tablespoons of the reserved smoky liquid, and the olive oil, then Microplane the garlic into the mixture. Season with salt, and stir well until the mixture is a bit creamy. Taste, and season to your palate by adding a few more drops of the smoky liquid or a few more of olive oil. I like mine rather smoky, rather salty, rather unctuous.
7. Spread the eggplant mixture into an 8-inch square, about 1/2 inch thick, on a quarter sheet pan lined with a quarter-cut Silpat mat. Most people will not have these two things, so alternatively you can form a neat square or rectangle on a baking sheet, or spoon the mixture into generally quenelled shapes onto a baking sheet. Freeze overnight.
8. Prepare the croquettes: Set up a standard breading procedure of three containers: flour, egg and water mixture, and the ground panko.
9. Cut the frozen block of smoky eggplant into 2-inch squares, or batons or planks if you prefer. Refreeze for a bit if needed after cutting; they tend to defrost rather quickly. Bread each piece with care, dipping in flour, egg mixture then panko, leaving no bald spots, and refreeze the finished, breaded croquettes. (These can live in your freezer for months.)
10. Add enough neutral oil to a deep-sided saute pan to reach a depth of 1 1/2 to 2 inches, and heat over medium until shimmering, or when a thermometer reads 350 degrees. Working in batches, fry the frozen croquettes until golden on all sides and piping hot in the center, raising and lowering the heat under the oil accordingly. Adding frozen products to hot oil brings the temperature down, as does crowding, so it is up to the cook to control the temperature of the fry oil accordingly. Remove cooked croquettes with a slotted spoon, and drain on a baker’s rack to maintain crispness (rather than a paper towel or plate, which will encourage steaming and sogginess).
11. Sprinkle with a little salt while still very hot, and serve with a squeeze of lemon.
Recipe: Borani Banjan (Afghan-style Eggplant in Yogurt)
By Zainab Shah
Traditionally in Afghan-style borani banjan, an appetizer or vegetable side, eggplant slices are soaked in salted water for 20 to 30 minutes, drained and dried, then simmered in a spiced tomato sauce before being served in layers of garlicky yogurt. This version significantly simplifies the preparation in the interest of time without compromising its appeal: varied flavors and textures from crispy, caramelized eggplant; creamy, garlicky yogurt; sweet and sour tomatoes; and juicy, bright pomegranate seeds. No soaking or simmering here, just quick pan-frying and layering for the same effect in about 30 minutes. Go back for seconds of a dish that tastes even better when it’s cold.
Yield: 4 servings
Total time: 35 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup full-fat Greek or Indian yogurt
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- Salt
- 1/2 to 1 cup vegetable oil
- 4 Japanese or Indian eggplants (see Tips), or 1 globe eggplant, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
- 3 plum tomatoes, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon Kashmiri or other red chile powder (optional)
- 2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
- 4 to 6 small mint leaves
Preparation
1. In a bowl, mix the yogurt, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 2 tablespoons water. Place in the fridge to chill and develop garlicky flavor.
2. Line a tray or large plate with paper towels. In a large frying pan, heat 1/3 cup oil on high. (The eggplant slices should be submerged about halfway in the oil while frying.) When the oil is heated, about 1 minute, add the eggplant slices in a single layer, and fry 1 to 2 minutes on each side, working in batches to avoid overcrowding and adding oil between batches as necessary. When the eggplant starts to caramelize and turn brown, transfer to the prepared tray or plate. Pat dry with a paper towel or clean kitchen towel to remove any excess oil and to preserve the eggplant’s crisp texture. Season with salt as desired.
3. To the same pan, add tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons water and chile powder, if using. Cook on high until the tomatoes start to break down, about 5 minutes.
4. To serve, spread the yogurt in a single layer in a large shallow dish. Add the eggplant in a single layer on top, and then scatter the tomato over the eggplant (see Tips). Finish with pomegranate seeds and mint.
Tips
Indian eggplants tend to have thinner skin, are round in shape and are about 2 inches in diameter. These eggplants have a milder flavor and creamier texture than globe eggplants when cooked.
If multiple layers are preferred (the traditional way), use half of the yogurt, eggplant and tomato for the first layer, and create a second layer with the second half of the elements.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
