Here are 3 easy to make aubergine recipes that are easy to make and showcase how wonderful Aubergines can be. We make an easy to make aubergine curry, aubergine bacon sandwich and Baba Ganoush and fabulous roasted aubergine dip.
Prep time : 5 mins| Cook time : 30 mins | Total time 40 mins Makes: 10 Servings| Difficulty: Medium
Aubergine also known as egg plant got its name as one of the original varieties is small and white and literally looks like an egg growing on a plant hence the name eggplant. Aubergine is part of the nightshade family and many years ago it was believed to be poisonous, even the Italian word for Aubergine is Melanzana which directly translates as “apple of madness” as it was believe if you ate some aubergine you would go mad as its closely related to many poisonous nightshade plants.
Botanically, Aubergine is actually a berry. Information would classify it as a fruit but wisdom would not include it in a fruit salad! Gastronomically it’s classified as a vegetable. Another strange use of aubergine in 5th century China is that aubergines were used to dye teeth to give them a metallic look that made them gleam and shine!
In terms of cooking, aubergines are very divided, some people love them and others despise them, even a friend Niall refers to them as “devils food!”. We believe that the reason many people hate aubergines is that they have not been cooked properly. A badly cooked aubergine is undercooked and rubbery or even chewy in mouthfeel, however when an aubergine is cooked properly it is soft, melts in your mouth and almost explodes with softness and flavour. An aubergine is quite spongy inside so its the perfect vessel for soaking up flavour. Some of our favourite ways to cook aubergine is to roast them with simply olive oil and salt or add a splash or olive oil and tarmari/ soy sauce or olive oil and a splash of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Below we cook aubergines 3 ways to showcase its versatility and how wonderful it can be.
We charr it and fry it to make some aubergine bacon to show that it caramelises great and then add a smoky, sweet umami dressing to showcase how it functions as a wonderful carrier for flavour.
We roast it whole and scoop out the flesh to use to make one of our favourite dips Baba genoush.
We braise it in to show how it can be cooked quickly to make a beautiful aubergine and butterbean curry.
Other Aubergine recipes that you will love
This Aubergine Parmigiana recipe is a wonderful showcase recipe the show how delicious aubergines are as well as being easy to digest
This chocolate biscuit cake is a great beginner cake that is always one of our favourites
Braised Aubergine and butterbean curry
This is a delicious easy to make curry that literally takes 15 mins from start to finish, serve with your favourite grain of choice or naan or flatbread.
Takes 20 minutesminutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
1Aubergine
1white onion
2clovesof garlic
½thumb sized piece of ginger
1red pepper
3tbspof tamari/ soy sauce
3tbspof water
1tin of butter bean or bean of choice 400g
1tin of chopped tomatoes 400g
1tin of coconut milk 400g
2tbspof curry powder
½head of pak choi
½lemon
Instructions
Peel and finely chop the onion, garlic and ginger. Slice the aubergine into small 1cm cubes. Slice the red pepper into long thin strips. Finely slice the pak choi. Drain and rinse the beans
Heat a wide bottom non-stick pan on high heat, once hot add ½ tbsp of oil along with the onions and fry for 4 mins stirring regularly, until they start to go golden, then add the garlic and ginger and cook for another 1-2 mins. Next add the aubergine and cook for 2-3 mins stirring regularly. In a mug mix together the tamari and water. Add the peppers and the aubergine water mix to the pan and put a lid on to trap the steam to move from frying to briaising or steaming. Stir occasionally and if the aubergine starts to stick add another 2-3 tbsp of water and scrape any sticky veg from the pan until it incorporates into the sauce. Cook for approx 6-8 mins, at this point the aubergine should be soft and melt in your mouth (they should not be rubbery if they are, they need longer to cook!).
Next add the chopped tomatoes, coconut milk, beans and curry powder and cook for 3 mins mixing well, add the pak choi and juice of ½ the lemon.
Finally taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking by adding more salt, black pepper, lemon juice or chilli or aromatic spices. Serve with your favourite grain of choice and enjoy!
The idea of aubergine bacon might sound a little far fetched however here we use aubergine as the main carrier of the typical smoked, umami, maple flavours. We use a griddle pan however a flat frying pan will work fine too.
Takes 15 minutesminutes
Serves 2
Ingredients
1Aubergine
1tbspoil
3tbsptamari/ soy sauce
1tbspmaple syrup
½tspsmoked paprika
2slicesof sourdough bread or bread of choice
4tbspvegan mayo
2slicesof vegan cheese of choice
2tbspof sauerkrautwe use red sauerkraut
Instructions
Slice the aubergine in half lengthwise and place each half face down and slice into thin ½ cm slices. Add to a bowl and sprinkle with ½ tsp of salt and 1 tbsp of olive oil and mix well.
Heat a griddle pan or non stick frying pan and once hot add the aubergines and cook for a 3-4 mins on each side until they have char lines and the colour of the flesh changes from white to an almost translucent light brown colour or beige. If in doubt taste a little and it should be a melt in your mouth texture. In a mug mix together the tamari, maple syrup, smoked paprika and 1 tbsp of oil. Once the aubergine are cooked, turn off the heat and add the dressing it should have enough residual heat to caramelise the dressing, spread the dressing around so that each aubergine is well coated on both sides. Repeat with any remaining aubergines and once cooked and dressed remove from the pan and set aside to assemble your sandwich.
Take the 2 slices of bread and spread the vegan mayo on both sides. Add the vegan cheddar and the sauerkraut and add a number of slices of the aubergine bacon, bring the sandwich together and enjoy!
This is one of our favourite dips, it’s so easy to make and the wonderful notes of charred aubergine flesh mixed with tahini, lemon, garlic and olive oil make it burst with flavours from the Middle east. The beautiful thing is that you don’t need a blender to make, you can just simply mix with a fork in a bowl, this will last 5 days in the fridge but realistically you will devour it before then.
Takes 45 minutesminutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
2medium aubergines
70gTahini – 2-3 tbsp
juice of 2 lemons
1Garlic clove
1tbspOlive oil
1tspsalt
Pinchground pepper
¼tspSumac or chilli powder- optional
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 220 C fan, cut eggplant in half lengthways, rub a little oil on the inside of the aubergine and place on a baking tray flesh side down, sprinkle with salt and cook for 40 mins until the aubergine is charred and collapsed and is super soft. Or if you have a gas stove you can cook the aubergine directly on an open flame, turning occasionally, for approx 15 minutes or until charred and collapsed and super soft inside. Allow to cool for a few minutes until you can handle them, into a medium mixing bowl, scrape out the soft flesh from the aubergine ( it should come away easily from the skin. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Taste and season with lemon, salt or heat to your preference. Serve in a bowl with a splash of olive oil and sprinkle on some sumac or chilli powder and enjoy!
Made the aubergine coconut curry, absolutely divine. I added some crushed cashews on top for texture. Will definitely make this again & yes it does taste as good as the picture looks! Thank you so much for this delicious recipe.
One response to “Aubergine Recipes”
Made the aubergine coconut curry, absolutely divine. I added some crushed cashews on top for texture. Will definitely make this again & yes it does taste as good as the picture looks! Thank you so much for this delicious recipe.