Fried eggplant is a popular and deliciously delicious dish. But when frying in a pan, they absorb a lot of fat and as a result turn out to be excessively high in calories.
Grilling minimizes the use of fats, and cooked vegetables are no less tasty.
Grilled eggplant is used in the preparation of various salads and snacks, they are served with meat and fish. A selection of grilled eggplant recipes is a great reason to supplement the menu with healthy vegetable dishes.
Grilled eggplant - general cooking principles
• You can cook grilled eggplants, not only by going out into the countryside. A microwave or oven with the Grill mode, a special ribbed pan, as well as an electric grill, allow you to cook eggplants in an original way and at home. The taste of the vegetable does not get worse, the only difference is that its pieces do not have the characteristic smell of a fire. But this can also be fixed by a few minutes before being ready to sprinkle them slightly with liquid smoke.
• When choosing a vegetable, pay attention to its appearance. The skin should not be wrinkled and dry. Brightly colored, shiny and smooth peel is a sign of a quality product. Do not take large eggplants; as a rule, they are overripe and contain a lot of seeds.
• For grilling the vegetable, cut into longitudinal plates or rings. To peel or not depends on the purpose for which grilled eggplant will be used. For salads, it is usually removed.
• Most varieties of vegetables have a characteristic bitterness. There are several ways to get rid of it: soak in a strong saline solution or soak for a while under oppression, after pouring it with salt. In any case, after such a procedure, the eggplants should be thoroughly washed and dried.
• Spread slices only on a well-heated grill, previously greased with vegetable oil. First, roast one side until golden, gently turn over and fry the other as well. Before baking and turning over, the side that will be exposed to heat is well moistened with oil. On average, each side will take no more than five minutes.
• Often, before frying, chopped eggplant is kept in the marinade. Such a simple technique allows you to improve their taste. The recipe for a universal marinade, which, by the way, is suitable not only for eggplant, but also for other vegetables, is described below.
• Grilled eggplant can be served as a snack on its own or with special sauces. They are ideal as a side dish for any meat and even fish. They, and other vegetables prepared in this way, are often used in salads and cold appetizers.
Simple grilled eggplant spicy appetizer
Ingredients:
• eggplant, fresh - 600 gr.;
• four tablespoons of quality olive oil;
• garlic;
• fresh parsley, mint leaves;
• table 9% vinegar;
• half a pod of pepper, hot variety.
Cooking method:
1. A thin layer cut off the eggplant skin. Cut the flesh with longitudinal plates, half a centimeter thick. We spread the slices on the grill and bake, turning on the reverse side, after golden coloring.
2. Prepare the sauce for vegetables. Pour olive oil into a small bowl or plate. Squeezing in a press, add two garlic cloves and finely chopped hot pepper. We put finely chopped mint leaves and parsley chopped in the same way, stir.
3. We put the cooled eggplant slices into a wide bowl, slightly add and fill with the prepared marinade. We pour everything on top with vinegar and put in the refrigerator for an hour.
Grilled eggplant - "Spicy rolls with cheese"
Ingredients:
• eggplant, large - 2 pcs.;
• olive oil - six full spoons;
• 340 grams of mozzarella;
• fresh basil;
• balsamic vinegar;
• four fresh tomatoes, varieties "Cream".
Cooking method:
1. Wash the eggplant and, without removing the peel, cut lengthwise into plates. We remove the extreme parts - there is practically no pulp on them. We spread the slices on the board and sprinkle with salt on top. After standing at room temperature for twenty minutes, rinse, thoroughly washing off the bitterness and residual salt. Then lay out on a towel, let it dry well.
2. We heat the grill to medium temperature. We cover the grill with foil, lay eggplants on it. Lubricate the surface of the vegetable plates with vegetable oil, cook for five minutes, then turn over and, after lubricating the back side, bring to softness.
3. Grilled eggplant lay out on a wide dish. On the edges of the plates we put a small slice of cheese, a thin slice of tomato and a leaf of basil. Wrap in the form of rolls and again place on the grill. Heat until the cheese begins to melt.
4. Before serving, grease the vegetable rolls with olive oil and lightly sprinkle with vinegar.
Grilled eggplant with sweet pepper under the balsamic marinade
Ingredients:
• three fruits of sweet bell pepper;
• two medium eggplants;
• 100 ml of quality oil, sunflower or olive;
• one lemon;
• soy sauce - a full spoon;
• two teaspoons of brown sugar;
• black pepper in a mortar;
• chilli;
• a third of a spoon of freshly ground coriander grains;
• 1/2 tsp mixes "Provencal herbs";
• garlic;
• three tablespoons of balsamic vinegar.
Cooking method:
1. In short, cut the stems of vegetables. We cut the eggplants along the entire length into plates, and the peppers into four parts and remove all seeds from them. Eggplant can not be peeled, it is enough to remove a thin layer of peel from only two opposite sides.
2. Sprinkle the vegetables with oil, slightly add. We spread it on a well-heated grill and fry on both sides until soft - first slices of peppers, and then slices of eggplant. Put fried vegetables on a plate.
3. Cooking the marinade. We clean three cloves of garlic and chop them finely. On a moderate fire, heat a little oil in a pan, lower the garlic. Stirring, fry for three minutes and add soy sauce. Add pepper, finely chopped chili, coriander and Provence herbs. We also squeeze the juice from the lemon, pour the vinegar and add sugar. After stirring well, bring the marinade to a boil and immediately, not letting it cool, water the vegetables to them.
4. Gently mix pepper with eggplant and marinade, then leave for two hours in a cool place.
Grilled eggplant in tomato and garlic sauce
Ingredients:
• unripe eggplant - 4 pcs.;
• three fleshy large tomatoes;
• garlic;
• some fresh dill;
• 50 ml of refined oil;
• A tablespoon of lemon juice filtered through cheesecloth.
Cooking method:
1. We wash the eggplants, dry them, cut into plates. Grind the tender greens of dill with scissors or a knife.
2. Squeeze the juice from the lemon, mix it with oil. Add a little chopped dill and mix the marinade again well.
3. Preheat the grill and carefully grease the grill with oil. We abundantly cover one side of the eggplant with marinade and put the plates on the wire rack. Having browned one side, we turn over and fry the "wrong side". Before flipping, do not forget to grease the marinade.
4. Remove the finished eggplant from the grill, put it in a bowl, and place the tomatoes cut in half on a wire rack. Cook until noticeably softened.
5. From slightly cooled tomatoes, remove the peel and interrupt their pulp with a blender. It is permissible to grind with a meat grinder or rub on a coarse grater.
6. In the cooked tomato we rub through three graters of garlic through a fine grater. Add the pre-chopped dill and, slightly salted, stir well. Pour eggplant with this sauce and let stand for a while.
Grilled eggplant with feta cheese and herbs
Ingredients:
• salted feta cheese - 200 gr.;
• three small eggplants;
• a small lemon;
• non-aromatic sunflower oil;
• garlic;
• young parsley, dill or basil - at your discretion.
Cooking method:
1. Cut the eggplant in circles of a centimeter thickness and lightly sprinkle with salt, lay in rows in a colander. We cover a plate with a suitable diameter and, putting a small load, put a colander on a pan or bowl - bitterness will flow into it. After about a quarter of an hour, wash off the remaining salt and bitterness from the vegetable circles, and dry them well with a towel.
2. Lubricate the grill of the grill heated to medium temperature with vegetable oil and lay eggplant mugs on it. Bake both sides until a uniform golden color.
3. Carefully spread the prepared vegetables on a flat plate and lightly sprinkle with lemon juice. Grease chopped garlic slices. Sprinkle with chopped greens on top and rub cheese with a coarse grater.
Grilled eggplant appetizers with garlic filling from Adyghe cheese
Ingredients:
• "Adygea" cheese - 280 gr.;
• four large, not overripe eggplant;
• 20 ml of corn oil;
• fresh greens of dill;
• garlic;
• parsley;
• a glass of thick yogurt without additives.
Cooking method:
1. Wash the vegetables, cut into circles and pouring with salt, place for a quarter of an hour under oppression. Rinse and dry thoroughly.
2. Spray or generously grease the circles with oil on both sides, and fry until soft on the grill. Turning over, grease the still not fried side with oil.
3. Rub the cheese into a bowl on a coarse grater. Squeeze three large garlic cloves into it and add finely chopped dill. Mixing well, season with yogurt.
4. On one circle of cooled eggplant, put a little filling and cover it with another circle. We lay out the appetizer thus formed on a plate and arrange it with parsley leaves.
Grilled eggplant marinade
In order to add a special touch to any dish from grilled eggplant, there is a reason to keep them in the marinade first. The recipe for the proposed marinade is universal, it is suitable not only for eggplant, but also for other vegetables, and snacks prepared from them will have a special taste.
Ingredients:
• oil - a quarter cup of sunflower and olive;
• two tablespoons of wine, light vinegar;
• three large spoons of soy dark sauce;
• garlic - two cloves;
• a third of a teaspoon of dried basil or other aromatic herbs.
Cooking method:
1. We put a frying pan on medium heat. Pour both types of vegetable oil into it and warm it well. Dip chopped garlic into fat and fry for a minute, stirring.
2. Add basil, pour soy sauce. Bringing to a boil, introduce wine vinegar and immediately remove from the stove.
3. Pour eggplant prepared for frying with hot marinade. Pull the film over the bowl and set it aside.
4. Before placing the vegetables on the grill, wipe the remaining marinade well. Eggplant oil is no longer required to be lubricated; they have sufficiently absorbed it from the marinade.
Grilled Eggplant - Cooking Tips & Tips
• To prevent the flesh from drying out and at the same time grilling well, cut the eggplant into slices up to a centimeter thick, with a minimum of half this size.
• Eggplant, aged in marinade with oil, does not require additional processing before grilling.
• If a vegetable has previously been frozen, it is not necessary to remove bitterness from it. It will come out with water when thawing.
• The readiness of the eggplant can be easily determined by a puncture match - if this happens easily, then the vegetable is ready.
