It’s been a long time since I’ve written a “TLT’s Table” post, but today I want to share a neat cooking tip I just discovered.
Both of my kids love eggplant, but I found it hard to match that soft, silky quality you find in restaurant eggplant dishes. I’d either watch in dismay as my eggplant soaked up about 20 times more oil than a recipe called for, or I’d have to remember to leave time for salting the eggplant before cooking – and even then, it was sometimes still too tough.
I knew some smart person must have figured this out, so I Googled and found the answer on The Kitchn: the microwave! Turns out, if you just microwave sliced or diced eggplant on a paper towel for a few minutes before cooking, its cell structure breaks down even more effectively than through traditional salting – and in just a fraction of the time. The result is soft, tender eggplant in the finished dish without the need for extra oil.
I’m sure some cooking purist out there is going to tell me why this is actually a terrible idea, but I’m totally sold! And if you’re looking for an new eggplant recipe to try, my family liked these Quinoa Cakes with Eggplant-Tomato Ragu from Epicurious.
Enjoy!
(If you’d like to see all my prior TLT Table posts, just go to this tab on my Resources page.)
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