Eggplant Extravaganza

by Susan Voisin

Eggplant is great in vegan cooking because of its versatility. It can be sliced, cubed, pureed, or cooked whole; baked, sautéed, stewed, grilled, or fried. It has a firm texture that can be almost “meaty,” with that little bit of bite or resistance that most vegetables don’t have.Though its flavor is slightly bland, it accepts the flavors of whatever sauce it’s cooked in. Plus, it’s low in calories, as long as it’s not cooked in a lot of oil, making it a perfect diet food.  

Eggplant Paprikash

Serves: 4

As part of my agenda to convert everyone into Eggplant Lovers (aka Aubergine Admirers and Brinjal Buddies), I’ve transformed the traditional Hungarian chicken paprikash into a vegan dish worthy of an eggplant. Mild Hungarian paprika gives the sauce its vibrant color and rich, distinctive flavor, while tofu “sour cream” adds creaminess and zing.

• 1 large onion, halved and cut into thin wedges
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper (optional)
• 1 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1 1/2 - 2 pounds eggplant (about 2 medium) cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 bell peppers, any color, sliced (I used red and yellow)
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 14-ounce can diced tomatoes (I used Muir Glen Fire Roasted)
• 1/8 teaspoon Liquid Smoke flavoring
• 1/2 cup tofu sour cream (see below)

Tofu Sour Cream:

• 1/2 package (about 6 ounces) lite silken tofu
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 tablespoon cashew butter or tahini
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)

Blend all the ingredients for the tofu sour cream until completely smooth, and set aside in the refrigerator until needed.

In a large, non-stick saucepan, sauté the onion in a small amount of water until it begins to brown, about 5-8 minutes. Add the garlic, paprika, and red pepper (optional), and stir for one minute. Add the salt, eggplant, peppers, vegetable broth, and tomatoes. Cover and simmer until the eggplant is tender, about 15-20 minutes.

When the eggplant is done, check the seasonings and add more salt if necessary. Stir in the Liquid Smoke (optional) and the sour cream, and cook for another minute, until warmed through. Serve over pasta (I used Tinkyada Pasta Joy brown rice noodles) or rice.

Baba Ganoush

Serves: 4

This is my standard baba ganoush recipe. I’ve experimented with other recipes and tried fancying this one up with other ingredients, but I keep coming back to this basic recipe. When I first started making it, I used 3 tablespoons of tahini, but I’ve managed to work my way down to using only about a tablespoon now. If you’re a baba novice—or if you’re used to the higher-fat versions served in restaurants—you may want to try using more tahini. Also, the amount of lemon juice and garlic is adjustable to personal taste; start small and add more as you go.

• 1 large eggplant, about 1 1/2 pounds
• 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 2 cloves garlic (or to taste)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice (or to taste)
• 1 tablespoon tahini (or to taste)
• ground cumin

Preheat oven to 425 (or better yet, do this on your barbecue grill!) With a fork, punch a bunch of holes in the eggplant and place it on a baking dish or sheet. Cook for about 45 minutes, until the eggplant is all sunken in. Remove from the heat and let it cool until you can peel it safely. Peel and put it in a food processor. Add the salt, garlic, lemon juice, and tahini, and process until it’s smooth. Serve sprinkled with cumin and surrounded by the vegetables of your choice.

Nasu Dengaku (Japanese Eggplants Broiled with Miso)

4 servings as an appetizer

Japanese eggplants are broiled (or grilled, if you have the time), spread with a sweetened miso mixture, and then broiled again for a few seconds. The results are creamy, smoky eggplant with a sweet and salty sauce. You’ll notice that my recipe contains agave nectar, which is hardly a traditional Japanese ingredient. You can choose to substitute sugar, or you can try another natural sweetener, but you may need a little more because agave is sweeter than sugar and much sweeter than, for example, rice syrup or barley malt syrup. Stay away from maple syrup or any sweetener that’s strongly flavored, though; the sweetener’s just there to sweeten, not to deliver any flavor.

• 2 tablespoons mirin
• 2 tablespoons saki (may substitute dry vermouth or white wine)
• 4 tablespoons mellow white miso (reduced sodium, if available)
• 3 tablespoons agave nectar
• 4 Japanese eggplants, stem end trimmed and cut in half lengthwise
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil (optional)
• toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
• sliced green onions, for garnish

Place the mirin and saki in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for about 2 minutes to allow some of the alcohol to cook off. Then add the miso and stir until smooth. Stir in the agave nectar, reduce the heat to very low, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, while you broil the eggplants:

Brush the cut sides of the eggplants with the sesame oil, if desired. Put the eggplants cut-side down on a baking sheet and place under the broiler of your oven for about 3 minutes, checking often to make sure that they do not burn. Turn them over, and cook for another 3 minutes or until the tops are a light to medium brown. Do not burn!

When the eggplants are tender, top each one with the miso sauce and put them back under the broiler until the sauce bubbles up—this should take less than a minute, so watch them closely. Serve hot, sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds and green onions.

Susan Voisin’s sites are FatFree Vegan and The FatFree Vegan Kitchen blog. A true eggplant fan, you can find more than 70 eggplant recipes by searching her site.