Many housewives favorite way to cook eggplants is to bake them in the oven. Eggplant baked in the oven, always look elegant and appetizing. The taste of this dish, whatever the recipe is based on, turns out to be on top. In addition, baking allows you to save the maximum benefit.
Cooking Features
Knowing the features of roasting eggplant in the oven, it is impossible to get an unsuccessful dish. Secrets are very simple, but they must be observed. After all, the violation of simple rules for preparing eggplants can not only negatively affect the organoleptic qualities of the finished dish, but also harm the health of those who will eat it.
- Like other members of the nightshade family, eggplants have one unpleasant property - they contain solanine. This substance is harmful to health, besides giving the fruit bitterness, which persists after heat treatment. The situation can be saved by proper preliminary preparation of the “blue ones” for the subsequent baking. It involves the use of salt. There are several options here. One of them is to salt the sliced aubergine in half or chopped into slices, rinse and dry well after 20 minutes. The second option is to soak for 20 minutes in salt water. After soaking, the fruits are also washed and dried.
- Solanine less in ripe fruit. Therefore, for baking, it is desirable to take, though small, but fully ripe vegetables. They have a dark blue color, without greenish spots.
- Eggplants that are too large are not the best choice for baking. If you still decide to use such, then large coarse seeds from the middle will be better removed.
- Eggplants should not be cleaned before baking, otherwise they may lose their shape. The exception is multicomponent dishes, in which eggplants are used already cut into medium-sized pieces. In these cases, vegetables, it is advisable to pre-clean.
Some of the subtleties of the technology of cooking baked in the oven eggplant may depend on the selected recipe. After all, they can be baked whole, in round pieces, with or without minced meat.
Whole Baked Eggplants
Composition:
- eggplants - 1 kg;
- vegetable oil - 50 ml;
- salt - 50 g;
- water - 5 l.
Method of preparation:
- Wash the eggplants, cut the stalks. Make a cross-shaped incision on the opposite side and continue the cuts along the entire fruit. In total there should be 4 long, but shallow cuts.
- Prepare the brine and dip the eggplants in it for half an hour.
- Remove, rinse in running water, dry with a towel.
- Without peeling, brush with eggplant oil. Put them on the grill. Place a baking sheet under them.
- Turn on the oven and wait for the temperature to reach 180 degrees. After half an hour, check if the “blue ones” have already become soft. If steel - remove them from the oven, otherwise bake another 10-20 minutes to the desired degree of softness.
- Cool the eggplants out of the oven, then separate the flesh from the skin with a spoon.
Eggplants can be served whole or sliced in half instead of a side dish or used for cooking eggplant caviar. For example, the pulp can be put in a blender along with garlic and herbs, whipped in a pate.
Eggplant baked with garlic and herbs
Composition:
- eggplants - 0.5 kg;
- cheese - 0, 2 kg;
- fresh coriander - 50 g;
- garlic - 3 cloves;
- vegetable oil - 50 ml;
- salt, pepper - to taste.
Method of preparation:
- Cut and dried eggplants cut into slices about 2 cm thick. Sprinkle with salt, leave to stand for 20 minutes. Rinse with running water, dry again. Salt and pepper to taste. Put on the grill.
- Bake the eggplants on the grill for 5 minutes on each side.
- Lubricate the baking sheet or baking dish with oil, arrange the eggplant circles (only half of them, leave the second part for now).
- Chop cilantro finely.
- Pass the garlic through the press.
- Brush garlic on eggplant circles. Put a little cilantro on each piece.
- Rub the cheese and divide it roughly in half. Sprinkle the eggplants with one half.
- Place the remaining eggplants on top.
- Sprinkle the eggplant turrets with the remaining cheese.
- Place the form in an oven warmed to 200 degrees and bake the eggplants in it for 10 minutes.
Cheese, cilantro and garlic will very advantageously cast off the taste of baked eggplants. In addition, the dish looks original and appetizing.
Eggplant stuffed with vegetables
Composition:
- eggplants - 0.5 kg;
- bulb onion - 100 g;
- carrots - 100 g;
- Bulgarian pepper - 100 g;
- hard cheese - 50 g;
- vegetable oil - 30 ml;
- parsley - 4-6 sprigs;
- salt, black pepper powder - to taste.
Method of preparation:
- Wash eggplants, cut tails, cut it in half lengthwise.
- Salt and leave for 20 minutes.
- Shake off the salt, rinse, dry with paper towels.
- Spoon remove the middle. Sprinkle the resulting “boats” with salt and pepper.
- Place each “boat” in the foil so that it covers the eggplant outside.
- Eggplant pulp, extracted from the middle of the fruit, cut into small cubes.
- Peel the onion, cut it into small pieces.
- Cut the pepper into small cubes.
- Grate the carrot on a coarse grater, after cleaning it.
- Heat the butter in a frying pan, put the vegetables in the pan and fry them over low heat, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes.
- Chop parsley with a knife and mix with roasted vegetables.
- Start eggplant “boats” with vegetable stock.
- Finely rub the cheese and sprinkle them with vegetables.
- Heat the oven to 180 degrees and place an eggplant pan in it.
- After 20 minutes, ready-made eggplants can be taken out of the oven and served to the table.
It is not necessary to remove the eggplants from the foil before serving.
Eggplant baked with minced meat in sour cream
Composition:
- eggplants - 1 kg (4-5 pieces);
- ground beef - 0, 2 kg;
- tomatoes - 0, 3 kg;
- lemon - 0, 5 pcs .;
- garlic - 2 cloves;
- bulb onion - 100 g;
- dill - 50 g;
- sour cream - 0, 2 l;
- water or meat broth - 100 ml;
- vegetable oil - 50 ml.
Method of preparation:
- Wash eggplants, make a deep longitudinal incision so that the fruits open like a book.
- Pour water into a saucepan, salt it, bring to a boil. Dip the eggplants in it and cook for 10 minutes. Remove and dry.
- Dip the tomatoes with boiling water, peel off the skin, remove the seeds, cut the flesh into small pieces of arbitrary shape.
- Finely chop the onion and dill.
- Put the tomatoes in a frying pan, hold them on low heat for 5 minutes, add the minced meat, broth, onion and dill, stew everything for 10 minutes. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon and continue to simmer another 5 minutes. Do not forget to salt and pepper.
- Spread the mince between the eggplant halves, combine the halves. Eggplants tightly put in a baking dish, pre-lubricated with oil. Cover the “blue” sour cream, using half of it.
- Place the oven in a preheated 180 degree oven for 40-50 minutes (bake until soft blue).
- Mix the remaining sour cream with garlic passed through the press.
Eggplants taken out of the mold and laid out in plates will remain poured over with sour cream and garlic sauce. They are served hot.
There are many recipes for baked eggplants, and each one is different. So you can cook them in the oven at least every day - they can not get bored.
