The secret to cooking super creamy eggplant (and do you really need to salt it?) (2024)

Beneath its darkly glossy skin, eggplant remains a mystery to many. Will it be bitter if I don’t salt it? Why does it soak up oil like a sponge? Let’s dispense with the mystery and let this voluptuous vegetable fulfil its rich and meaty purpose.

Salting versus brining

Older recipes call for salting eggplant to draw out the bitter juices, but today’s eggplants are less bitter (unless very large), so salting is largely unnecessary. It will, however, help the spongy flesh absorb less oil and crisp up like a dream.

To salt, just slice the eggplant into rounds, scatter 1 teaspoon of salt on top, leave for 30 minutes, then pat dry.

Brining (soaking in salted water) will do the same job but also make the flesh super creamy.

To brine, dissolve 1 tablespoon of salt in 1 cup of boiling water, stir in 1 litre of cold water, and drop in the sliced eggplant. Place a saucepan lid on top to keep it submerged, leave for 1 hour, then drain and pat dry.

Because the eggplant is already seasoned, cut back on any additional salt your recipe may call for in the cooking process.

Baking versus frying

To fry, heat some good oil in a frying pan, pat dry the salted eggplant, and fry until golden, turning once. As mentioned, eggplant will soak up any oil in sight, so be sure to pre-salt or brine to make it less thirsty.

Baking will use much less oil, with the advantage of being very hands-off. To bake, pat dry the salted eggplant, brush the rounds with olive oil and cook until golden, turning once.

Or cut the eggplant in half lengthwise, brush with olive oil and bake, cut-side down, until soft, flipping over to serve.

You can also bake the eggplant whole. Coat with olive oil and bake in a hot oven for 45 minutes or until partially collapsed. The inside will be a treasure trove of creamy flesh.

Stewing and braising

Eggplant brings velvety meatiness to vegetable stews and curries. Chop the eggplant and fry briskly in oil until coloured, then add your liquid – canned tomatoes, stock, coconut milk, etc – and simmer for 20 minutes until tender.

Charring

For a properly smoky baba ghanoush, first place a layer of kitchen foil around a gas burner element to catch any mess (you can thank me later). Char the eggplant over the gas flame on your cooktop, turning with long-handled tongs until the skin blackens.

Transfer to a hot oven for 20 minutes or until tender, then peel off the skin and drain off the juices. Roughly chop the flesh, and whiz in a blender with a little garlic, sea salt, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of tahini, thinning with water as required. Rich and smoky, earthy and yet creamy, it’s eggplant at its best.

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