Roasted Eggplant Tomato Salad Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Should eggplant be peeled before roasting? ›

While the skin of a small young eggplant is edible, the skin becomes bitter on larger or older eggplants and should be peeled. When in doubt, the answer to, "Do you peel eggplant before cooking?" is yes, peel it. Use a vegetable peeler or paring knife to remove the skin.

A useful tip to prevent sogginess and greasiness is to salt sliced or diced eggplant and let it sit for an hour.

The other trick for perfect roasted eggplant? Cooking it at a high temperature (425 F / 218 C) for enough time (25-30 minutes) to give it a browned exterior and tender interior.

Older recipes call for salting eggplant to draw out the bitter juices, but today's eggplants are less bitter (unless very large), so salting is largely unnecessary. It will, however, help the spongy flesh absorb less oil and crisp up like a dream.

Salting the eggplant before cooking draws out excess moisture so the eggplant has a stronger flavor and a softer, more tender texture. Less water = more flavor. Does eggplant need to be salted? Eggplant does not necessarily need to be salted, but some recipes benefit from the process.

It's likely just been exposed to air and is experiencing enzymatic browning. An eggplant with brown spots is not safe to eat if it contains bugs or mold or exhibits other signs of spoilage. It should be thrown out.

Cut off the stem and nearby areas before cooking. The stem and area near the stem tend to be where bitter compounds collect. Slice or chop the eggplant and sprinkle the pieces with salt. Allow them to sit for about 30 minutes, then pat dry before cooking.

Why Eggplants Can Be Bitter. While most eggplants these days are bred to be less bitter, every once in a while you may still get one that is. The reason for this is likely because it's old. Young, fresh eggplants that you purchase at the farmers market are rarely bitter because they're newly picked.

Eggplant flesh will have tan to brown colored spots around the seeds. If this is the color you are referring to, it is edible. If the flesh is more brown than white, the eggplant may be spoiling and should be discarded.

Not cooking it in enough fat.

You need to be a little more generous in order for there to be enough oil on the outside of the eggplant to cook properly.

What are two appropriate methods of cooking eggplant? ›

Fried or baked eggplant is delicious, but they are not the only ways to cook eggplant. Try it sautéed, stir-fried, grilled, or broiled.

Why do you soak eggplant in water and vinegar? Soaking eggplant in water and vinegar helps remove some of the vegetable's natural bitterness. This step also helps preserve some of the skin's color so it stays a vibrant purple even after cooking.

Once upon a time, eggplants tasted incredibly bitter, and salting them before cooking helped to draw out and eliminate some of that astringency.

Should you? No. Eggplant has a high water content, so it's crucial to draw out some of that moisture before you fry it.

Slice or chop the eggplant. Sprinkle evenly with salt. Transfer to a colander over a plate and set aside for 30 minutes to drain. This draws out the bitter juices.

What to do if you're having an allergic reaction to eggplant. You can typically treat a minor allergic reaction with an over-the-counter antihistamine, such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl). If this is your first time experiencing symptoms after eating eggplant, see your doctor.