It's All About Eggplant

The Question: What are the nutritional benefits of eggplant? Are there any particular ways of cooking it that are better than others? Can you suggest some good recipes?
The Answer: When I got this question I was actually really excited. I love eggplant, so I was eager to jump right into the answer.

I had always been under the impression that eggplant was extremely healthy, mostly due to the beautifully dark purple skin, but after doing some research on its actual nutritional content, I was amazed. Don't get me wrong, eggplant is still a very healthy food, but it doesn't boast the line-up I thought it would! Eggplant has a fair amount of dietary fiber, which is extremely important to keep the digestive tract running well. It also has small amount of many different vitamins and minerals; in fact, it has almost all of the vitamins and minerals that you can imagine. So, although many vitamins and minerals are present in eggplant, they are only available in about 2-5% of your recommended daily allowance. Eggplant also has mild anti-inflammatory properties, but it doesn't have enough to count as a "super food".

Onto cooking eggplant! Sometimes eggplant can be tricky to cook because of its tough skin. I've found that both grilling eggplant, baking eggplant, and putting into sauces seems to be the best methods. Oftentimes, when eggplant is cooked on the stove top in a fry pan, the skin does become more tough and chewy. When grilling or baking eggplant, it's crucial to make sure that you liberally brush the flesh with olive oil. This helps provide the needed moisture for proper cooking.

Here are my four go-to eggplant recipes:
#1: Baba Ghanoush. See http://whatsfordinner-fft.blogspot.com/search/label/baba%20ghanoush for my standard recipe. It's quite easy to make, and always a crowd-pleaser!
#2: Eggplant Parmesan, a healthy version. See http://whatsfordinner-fft.blogspot.com/2010/03/healthy-eggplant-parm.html I am a huge fan of eggplant parmesan, but not of the greasiness that usually accompanies it. So, here's my alternative!
#3: Eggplant sandwiches. I simple grill a few slices of eggplant, and put them in a ciabatta roll with fresh tomato, mozzarella cheese, and either basil leaves or pesto. Then, grill the sandwich like you would grill a panini sandwich. Fresh and delicious!
#4: I love cubes of eggplant in my pasta sauce. For a basic recipe, see http://whatsfordinner-fft.blogspot.com/2010/05/spinach-ricotta-gnocchi-with-homemade.html You can just add some cubes of eggplant while you are sauteeing the onion. No need to remove the skin. Another great addition to this basic sauce is to add the eggplant with the onions, and then add some small cubes of smoked mozzarella cheese near the end of the simmering.