The latest video on the vodcast Feed Me Bubbe shows how to make an eggplant lasagna (episode #30). I am not sure if I am going to make the lasagna, but I am definitely going to experiment with what I learnt from Bubbe about eggplant. I like cooking with eggplant a lot, but have struggled with getting it right.
First off, Bubbe tells what aubergine to choose: not too big - those contain a lot of seeds. The seeds, if not bitter, they are a less pleasant look in your dish, so it helps to have fewer. Then, she gives the most interesting idea to get rid of the bitterness of the vegetable. She peels it - I would never do that, unless for a sour eggplant soup - and then puts the pieces in a colander (new English word to learn!) under a dish with a weight on it. Thus she presses some of the juice out. It is the juice, she claims that is bitter.
I must check that, but there is another advantage she acquires by her handling of the pieces. She treats them with salt and rinses them afterward and claims that thanks to this procedure, the pieces will soak up less oil when fried. That is also very important. Eggplant is a sponge that has few calories by itself, but can take in so much oil when frying, you have to keep adding and wind up with a fatty, saturated dish.
Show #30 is not (yet) available for embedding, so this is another video from the makers of Feed Me Bubbe.
More Feed Me Bubbe:
Jewish Food and Culture.
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