sautee them in a pan with oil---let sit on some paper towels, top with a tomatoe-onion sauce and garlic yogurt--sprinkle dried spearmint on it.....serve with pita bread .........yummmmmmy..

It's my favorite vegetable, by a long shot. If you're going to
do it on the grill, I'd suggest the following, especially if you
have mature ones where the seeds have developed.

Slice them maybe an inch thick, rub a moderate amount of
salt into the cut sides. Let stand at least half an hour, then
rinse well and pat, almost squeeze, dry. My sister, who liked
the bitterness, laughed at me for doing this. For me it
enhances the taste. If you like garlic, rub them with a cut
clove of it. Brush them with oil, strew on whatever seasoning
you like, and cook until tender and the ugly cottony texture
is gone from the entire thickness of each slice. Eat at
whatever temperature you prefer, sprinkled with more
seasoning - you're right, chile-infused oil might be nice.

There are those who insist on peeling the things before
cooking them. If you are going to use direct heat, do not
do this - it'll cause them to fall apart.

To appreciate eggplant one really must visit Turkey. The average housewife has at least 100 ways to make eggplant. Many of those recipes totally disguise the vegetable.

I also believe that an eggplant purchased in a super market is completely unrelated to an eggplant plucked from the field or purchased from a fresh food stall in Istanbul.

The final delight of this vegetable is the exotic label aubergine.

Absolutely false. It has great flavour, when properly grown. But just as unripe tomatoes, bananas, etc. can have no flavour, so with aubergine. And using bad ingredients will always diminish the dish. Preparation can either highlight or suppress the flavour of eggplant, and as this thread shows some love the bitterness, others hate it. Both ways have equal merit. A lot of complexity and versatility from such an unpromising vegetable.

My mom always hated eggplant ... until she had it as Turkish food.

Ah, I just put it in the oven for a fairly (ie: more than 1 hour) long time as a whole, cut it open when it's done, scrape out the mushy stuff, add garlic, parsley, olive oil, a bit of fresh coriander as well, and a bit of lemon or lime juice. Leave it to cool, and then eat on bread, use as a dip or as relish. Heavenly if you are into Middle Eastern cuisine.

Sure, babaganoush is a classic use of eggplant. I prefer more smoky charred kind of flavour and less other spices, but both styles are equally good, just different. Also as someone pointed out there are dozens of kinds of eggplant, not just the 1 or 2 kinds sold in supermarkets in the west.

Just made a big pot of it: Peel then large dice a large eggplant; saute it in a little olive oil until it is soft. Meanwhile, saute in a little olive oil in a large pot diced garlic (at least 6-8 cloves; more to taste). Add tomato (about 2 lge cans stewed/peeled -drained, ripped up pieces, plus 2-3 cans petite diced - drained), parsley (chopped - about a bunch), salt. Boil for a few minutes. Then add fresh hot peppers to taste (whatever is available - works with anaheim, cubanelle, serranos, jalepenos, a mix - we de-seed the larger peppers), a couple of dried hot red peppers, and boil for a few more minutes. Then add a couple of zucchinis and yellow squash (about 3/4 inch slices, then cut into 1/2's or 1/4's, depending on size). Cook them for another few minutes and then add the eggplant and cook the whole mess until the squash is at a point where it is cooked but still has some texture. We make it with a lot of heat. Also works well with more eggplant and less squash.

Interestingly, since I read this thread, I've been craving aubergine - and everytime I've gone into a shop it has been sold out - over a month and no shop I have entered has had any aubergine

You live in the wrong country

I've still managed to resist. One nearly got me in Waitrose, but I managed to stare it out.

+1

Love both of them

1. Stuffed Chinese eggplant:



2. Stir-fried spicy eggplant with minced meat and garlic sauce:



I am soooooooooooo hungry right now!

Spanish style Berenjenas rebozadas (kind of similar to aubergine tempura) are delicious. This was how I was introduced to this vegetable as a child, so I was off to a good start.

Japanese aubergines with miso (nasu miso) can be melt in the mouth heaven

Nasu agebitashi (なす揚げびたし) are lovely and there's something really satisfying about the unique 'squeaky' sensation you get when biting into nasu tsukemono (なす漬物) -which is kind of like aubergine pickles.

And then there are all the different shapes, tastes and textures from the various kinds of aubergines used in Thai cooking. I don't care to imagine Thai curries without these little fellas.

I'm surprised (unless I missed it) no one mentioned ratatouille.