I Promised You Eggplants

At the start of the month I posted a recipe for baba ganoush, promised eggplant recipes this month, and haven’t delivered. Today I bring you something new and exciting (at least to me), something I’ve never made before, and approached with some degree of wariness. Last night I made eggplant burgers. I have never made these before, so I followed the usual routine I use when starting from scratch (literally). I looked up as many recipes as I could find, for both eggplant burgers and fritters. Though eggplant recipes abound, there aren’t many for eggplant burgers, and though I was happy with my results I will be doing some more experimenting.

There are many eggplant varieties, they come in different colors, shapes, striped and solid, and though some have thinner skin—the Asian varieties, they don’t taste very different. A long time ago someone (I can’t recall who) told me that when buying eggplants (the Italian variety) I should check the indentation on the bottom end, and choose one with an oval, rather than round end as these were less seedy and more meaty, and since the seeds are what give eggplant their bitter taste, fewer seeds means a less bitter eggplant. I have always used this system when choosing eggplants. You should also look for smooth, glossy skin, as once the skin gets dull it is overripe, and will be seedier. They are commonly also called brinjal (in Southeast Asia), aubergine (French) and melanzane (Italian).
Eggplants are very spongy and will drink up alarming amounts of oil, if you sauté them. I find using lower heat and a non-stick pan can alleviate some of this. I also start with a small amount of oil, and add a little at a time. Breading eggplant slices, as you would for eggplant parmesean will also keep them from absorbing too much oil, and in that case you’d want to use high heat to form a crisp outside. Frying in oil that isn’t hot enough is the main cause of greasy food. I generally peel large thick skinned eggplants, and don’t peel the smaller ones. You’ll notice they start turning brown as fast as you cut them, don’t worry about this, it won’t affect the flavor.

They belong to the nightshade or Solanaceae family, and there has been some theorizing about whether plants in this family were bad for you, but most people eat nightshades regularly with no ill effects.They include potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant peppers among others.

The burgers I made aren’t vegan, though you could substitute the egg with any number of egg replacers, or vegan mayonnaise.  I made some tzatziki to go with mine, and as I was eating them I was thinking mint might have been a nice addition to the burgers. Mine fell apart a little when I was eating it, but that may have been because the roll I chose was a harder one than I would have again. Like all my recipes, this one is easy, but it is a bit time consuming, especially if you chop slowly. I did consider grating the eggplant, and may try that another time, and if you try it please let me know how that works! I also have some leftovers which I think will be good cold or hot, and I will update this post when I find out.

Eggplant Burgers

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Serves	4
Prep time	15 minutes
Cook time	1 hour
Total time	1 hour, 15 minutes
Dietary	Vegetarian
Meal type	Main Dish

Ingredients

• 1lb Italian eggplant (peeled and chopped into 1/2)
• 1 Medium portabella mushroom (about 4 oz. chopped into 1/4)
• 3 scallions
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3/4 cups breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley ((chop first, then measure))
• 1 Large egg (beaten)
• olive oil (as needed)

Directions

Step 1

In a large skillet heat about 2 TBL of oil over medium heat, and add eggplant and mushroom Cook, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes until,eggplant is soft, adding oil a tablespoon at a time if eggplant starts sticking. I needed to add oil once

Step 2

While eggplant is cooking, put parsley, garlic and scallions into food process, and pulse until they are finely chopped

Step 3

When eggplant is soft, remove from heat, and stir in parsley mixture Move this mix to the refrigerator and cool for about half an hour

Step 4

When eggplant mixture has cooled, add egg and mix until incorporated, then add breadcrumbs and mix again until mixture is well mixed and hold together

Step 5

Form into four patties Heat 2 TBL of oil in a large pan, and when oil is hot (shimmering) lay the patties in the pan and cook for about five minutes on each side, turning carefully You want them nicely browned on each side

Tzatziki (cucumber-yogurt sauce)

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Ingredients

• 6oz sour cream
• 6oz Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons dill (minced)
• 2 cloves galric (put through garlic press)
• 1 cucumber (peeled and seeded)
• salt and pepper

Directions

Step 1

Take cucumber and grate, then put into a strainer and let the water drain off while you assemble the rest of the sauce. Press with the back of the spoon every few minutes

Step 2

Mix all ingredients together, stir in cucumber once you can't press any more water out Taste and add salt and pepper as needed