Baba Ghanoush. It takes hardly 10 minutes of active "hands on" time (plus passive baking time) to make a good bowlful. It's delicious.

Savory Eggplant Roll-Ups with Creamy Ricotta and Spinach

Ingredients:
2 eggplants (aubergines)
15 oz (400g) canned chopped tomatoes
1 shallot
2 cloves garlic
½ tablespoon tomato paste
½ teaspoon oregano
1 pinch nutmeg
8.5 oz (250g) ricotta cheese
8.5 oz (240g) fresh spinach
1 ball mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon grated parmesan
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Slice the tops off the eggplants and cut them into 1 cm (¼ inch) thick slices. Arrange the slices on a lined baking tray, brush with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and bake for 20 minutes, or until tender. Set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, heat ½ tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the spinach and cook, stirring occasionally, until completely wilted. Remove from heat and let cool.
For the tomato sauce, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Sauté the finely chopped shallot and garlic for 1 minute. Add the canned chopped tomatoes and rinse the can with ¼ cup (60 ml) water, adding it to the pan. Stir in the tomato paste, oregano, and season with salt and pepper. Let the sauce simmer and reduce for 15 minutes.
Squeeze out any excess moisture from the cooled spinach, then finely chop it and combine with ricotta, parmesan, nutmeg, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a large bowl. Mix until well combined.
To assemble, place a spoonful of the ricotta mixture (about a heaping tablespoon) in the center of each eggplant slice and roll it up. Repeat with the remaining eggplant slices and ricotta mixture.
Spread ¾ of the tomato sauce on the bottom of a baking dish. Arrange the eggplant roll-ups in the dish and top with the remaining tomato sauce. Tear the mozzarella ball and scatter over the top. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the mozzarella is golden and melted and the dish is heated through.
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes
Kcal: 340 kcal | Servings: 4

I make a Chinese-inspired dish with ground pork and eggplant:

Some personal changes I've made over the years: I don't use any sugar, I use ground ginger and garlic instead of fresh, and I usually bake the eggplant cubes ahead of time so I can skip the stir-frying eggplant in paragraph 1. None of those things have made a difference, in my opinion. No reason you can't use fresh garlic and ginger if you have them, but don't feel you need to get fresh just for this recipe.

Not a big eggplant fan but suggest checking Half Baked Harvest, Smitten Kitchen and Ina Garten for various recipes that sound good.

Ratatouille. I had it in a restaurant once with cheese on top and lightly broiled. Delicious!

Well, yum! Thanks for the ideas!

Just thinking Ina G. has a Vegetable Tian recipe I like. There’s no eggplant but you could add some.

Vegetable Tian

Baba ganoush for me too.

As part as a mezze collection.

Cut in 4 lengthwise

In a little oil, add salt, pepper, garam massala, chili

Brush over the cut sides and bake until soft inside and brown outside. Serve on a bed of garlicky/ tahini yogurt sprinkled with chopped nuts/seeds/dukka

This link might have mostly what you don’t want, but a couple recipes could be worth checking. So far I’ve found her to be a good source.

15 Must-Try Eggplant Recipes

@chloebud, there are some terrific looking recipes there! Despite my resistance to tomato saucy, lasagna type dishes there were some really nice ones there without pasta. Thanks.

YW! If you get a chance, watch one or two of her videos. I think she does a nice job.

Roasted Eggplant Salad With Leeks and Cilantro Leaves

Adapted from “Vietnamese Home Cooking” by Charles Phan (Ten Speed Press)

TOTAL TIME

45 minutes

Ingredients

· 1/4 cup soy sauce

· 1/4 cup sugar

· 1/4 cup water

· 1 tablespoon white vinegar

· 1 tablespoon Vietnamese chile-garlic sauce (tuong ot toi) or sriracha

· 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

· 1/4 cup canola oil, plus extra for pans

· 12 baby leeks, well washed, or thick scallions

· 3 and 1/2 pounds Japanese or other thin-skinned eggplants

· Salt and black pepper

· 1 and 1/2 cups loosely packed cilantro leaves and sprigs, plus about 12 sprigs for garnish, if desired

· Chopped roasted peanuts, optional.

Preparation

1. Make the dressing: stir soy sauce, sugar, water and vinegar together until sugar dissolves. Stir in chile sauce and lime juice, taste and adjust the seasonings. There should be a good balance of sweet, salty, tangy and hot.

2. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly oil a large baking sheet, preferably nonstick. Trim dark green tops off leeks (or scallions) and discard. Leaving stem ends intact, cut leeks in half lengthwise with the tip of a sharp knife. Place cut side down on prepared pan, drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast, turning once, until soft and charred in spots, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a plate, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside to soften.

3. Trim stem ends off eggplants and discard. Cut eggplants into bite-size pieces. In a large bowl, toss pieces with remaining 2 tablespoons oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Oil the baking pan again. (Use 2 if needed to prevent crowding.) Spread eggplant on pans and roast, turning pieces once or twice, until soft, browned and charred in spots, about 15 minutes total.

4. When eggplant is cool enough to handle, transfer to a serving bowl. Cut leeks crosswise into 1-inch pieces, discarding stem ends, and add to eggplant. Lightly chop cilantro and add.

5. Stir dressing and pour half over the salad, tossing gently until evenly coated. Taste and add more dressing, salt and pepper as needed. Garnish with cilantro sprigs and chopped peanuts, if using.

YIELD

6 to 8 servings.

Baked Eggplant

Some 30 years ago I tried to make ratatouille and failed. Out of frustration and a desire to eat eggplant this recipe evolved. Very simple and tasty. Warning: let them cool for at least 10 minutes after you take them out of the oven!

Cut an eggplant into 1/2" thick sections and place on a greased cooking sheet. Coat them with melted butter mixed with minced garlic. Put a slice of provolone cheese and a slice of sweet onion on each one. Put some sliced tomatoes on next. I usually use big tomatoes to get a single slice but all I had today were some Roma tomatoes. Cover with grated parmesan cheese and dust with fresh black pepper or jerk rub (these were done with pepper). Bake at 420 degrees for around 25 minutes or until the cheese starts to brown.

I forgot to mention - this isn't an "eggplant recipe", but a way to use and enjoy eggplant.

Mostly for those who use canned tomatoes (or fresh ones too I guess) to make their own pasta sauce

Optional first step - peel a raw eggplant. Or don't just, wash the outside first.

Cut it into normal cube-size pieces. A bit bigger if you prefer, no matter.

You can start the sauce by first lightly sauteeing the diced eggplant before adding the aromatics and then the tomatoes. Or not. If not, add the raw eggplant pieces at the same time as the tomato ingredient. And continue with however you make your sauce.

Gently bring the cooking sauce to boil of course and then allow it to simmer. The small eggplant pieces will cook as the sauce does and will be ready when the sauce is.

The eggplant adds a richness and sublime flavor to the sauce and is a delicious addition.

We were having company for dinner and the "add eggplant to the sauce" idea came to me out of the blue. I added the ingredient to my normal ad lib approach to homemade sauce.

It happened that one of our guests was of Sicilan ancestry. When we served her the plate of pasta, she looked at it and asked if it had eggplant in it? I said "Yes". She swooned and said that her "Born in Sicilly" Nonni always made it that way. She enjoyed it and gave it a thumbs-up.

If you like eggplant, add a generous amount to your tomato sauce. It'll surprise you.

Wow, you all are coming through with some GREAT ideas!! I don't regularly buy eggplant but think I will have to now. Thank you.

Elmer, I do the same thing, but I roast the cubes of eggplant before adding them to the sauce. Less oil, and that nice roasted flavor. In Italy, anything with eggplant is "A La Norma."

faftris, you're right, I've done that too. I forgot, thanks for mentioning it.

I think it is a better way. But either works.

I found the recipe, but don't know the source:

Lebanese eggplant

1 large eggplant cubed, discarding the bulk of seeds

5-6 medium roma tomatoes quartered or cubed and drained

2 medium to large onions, cut in half and sliced

1 small head of garlic, slivered

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. pomegranate molasses

Water and/or wine as needed, about 1/2 cup

1 to 1 1/2 cups garbanzo beans, cooked and hydrated.

Put cut eggplant in a heavy pan and drizzle a tiny amount of olive oil over the top. Stir until coated and put in a medium oven to cook until it's lightly brown and soft all the way through (not white) but not fully cooked.

Meanwhile, spray or brush a pan with oil and sauté the onion and garlic until soft but not brown. Add a little wine or water to moisten if necessary. Add the garbanzos and cook until they're warm through, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the pomegranate. Add the eggplant, liquid and the rest of the seasonings. Bring up the heat to bubbling, then simmer until the juice is reduced to a pleasing thickness. Alternately, if you're using a heavy, cast iron pan, you can turn off the heat after the boil and leave covered to finish.

My mother used to make spears of Japanese eggplant, similar to what Islay posted, and I wish I could remember how. Since IC reminded me I've been trying to remember because they were so good. It was skin on spears, about half an inch wide on the skin side, spiced--probably tossed in oil and spice--and roasted until most of the water steamed out. Massively delicious!

What about moussaka? I have an old recipe from Bon Apetit for a short cut version somewhere. I will look for it.

My MILs moussaka is exactly why when I read this post's title I screamed OXYMORON eggplant/good recipie in the same sentence. HAHAHAHAHA

I posted this on the Chinese topic as well. DH makes the best Chinese eggplant srir fry. You need to use either the tiny round ones or the Japanese thin long ones. always peel to get the right texture. Always pre-salt and then rinse and drain well.

4 Japanese eggplant cut in 3” long narrow strips and 6 oz boneless tenderloin cubed . 1 whole yellow bell pepper, fresh gingerroot pickled in White Balsamic vinegar 1 hot red pepper . Sauce ingredients in picture. He doesn’t measure. 16” carbon steel wok cooked over 100,000 BTU propane outdoor Chinese cooker .

+ cornstarch and 1 Tbsp sugar

Here’s how to make pickled gingerroot.

slice thin AFTER peeling . Cover with 1/2 water 1/2 above vinegar. Store in fridge. takes about a week for full flavor . Keeps for years… lol! We use a lot! Trailrunner/c

That looks great. Does he use pork or beef tenderloin?

@Olychick always pork.… sorry. We buy organic pork tenderloin. It is so delicious.I for got to also add above only use Peanut Oil. Never use anything else. It is flavorless , high heat point and most of all light . As in it doesn’t make food slimy as so many oils do

.

Canola oil is terrible and stinks as well as off flavors like dead fish. Other vegetable oils like Avocado etc are thick .

We buy annualy in a Gallon jug and store in the 2nd fridge. I have a glass oil dispenser bottle that I refill. We used to be able to get it in pints/ qrts but haven’t seen it in smaller containers in a long time. Trailrunner/c

Thanks Trailrunner. I used to buy peanut oil in 5 gallon jugs to deep fry turkeys at Thanksgiving, but don't use it any longer because my grandson has a peanut allergy. I've heard the oil might not affect those with the allergy, but no way I'm willing to risk it. I've only used avocado or olive oil for years. I just bought some grapeseed oil to season a beautiful hand forged skillet I bought from a local artisan - his recommended oil. It looks to be a good option for high temp cooking. I really don't fry anything any more.

I LOVE breaded eggplant fried in olive oil. I put a ton of seasoning salt in the flour...and it feels like a Southern dish. Fried Okra for instance is prepared breaded.

Late to this, but what about good ole eggplant parmesan? I love it - and I use Mollie Katzen's recipe from her Moosewood cookbook to bake the breaded eggplant instead of frying.

https://chowmouth.com/recipes/moosewoods-eggplant-parmesan/

(I usually make just 2 layers, not 3)

oh, thanks! Don't know why I didn't check Moosewood. I love so many of their recipes and I'm sure there are some others there. I'll dig out my book.

Oops - sorry I missed the 'no tomatoes ' request in the OP, but you're right there are more eggplant recipes in that book.

I've been prompted by the discussion to make a bit of babaganoush for supper. Lovely and smokey.

Uh-oh. I thought it was no tomato sauce like for pasta, not no tomatoes. Apologies if I got that wrong.

Oh tomatoes are fine, I just was already aware of lots of tomato sauce based dishes and was hoping to find other style recipes, too. So glad to have both types that people posted, so thanks everyone!

This looks really good, too! Thank you. I fear I'm going to have to overbuy eggplant again to try all these yummy recipes!

^^^ Oly, oops, you said you were not trying to gain weight ;)

Haha, the opposite! that looks good tho!

Somewhere I have the recipe for Marcella Hazan’s mushroom style eggplant (recipe title is in Italian, but I have forgotten my Italian. It is something like Melanese di funghetti.

It is a soft salad and goes well with a baguette or the Italian equivalent.

EDIT: Melanzane “a funghetto”

Edit2: A lot like this. No Tomatoes. https://www.lacucinaitaliana.it/ricetta/secondi/melanzane-al-funghetto/

Also:

https://blog.giallozafferano.it/dolciecoccoledimiki/2018/10/melanzane-a-funghetto-in-bianco/

Mapo Eggplant

https://www.mysichuanfood.com/mapo-eggplant-recipe/

“If you’ve ever craved the bold, tingly, umami-rich taste of Sichuan cuisine, the mapo eggplant recipe is your next go-to. This dish is a creative twist on the iconic mapo tofu, swapping soft tofu for silky eggplant that soaks up every bit of the spicy, numbing sauce.”

Eggplant is not my favorite, but I would never post saying I hate eggplant, I would just scroll on by. You know who you are. Stir the pot, stir the pot, stir the pot, stir the pot... troll.

I just like a little bit of egg wash and some panko. Sprinkle with some salt at the end. I think I air fried it last time. It is my favorite animal but that's a fun way to do it!

We used to get a veggie pizza from a local takeout place that had pieces of fried eggplant on it - mmm 😋

I always liked this recipe and often served it as an appetizer. I remember getting it from some cooking magazine, but not sure which one, For low carb, you could eat it with a spoon. :)

I love a healthy appetizer; this looks great. Yes, I would love it as a salad, too! Thanks!