Creative Eggplant – 5 Interesting Facts and 5 Tasty Recipe Ideas Centered On the Vegetable

Healthy purple vegetables or mushy and boring? One could say that the aubergine polarizes. We have creative culinary ideas for eggplants and five fun facts for you!

Some time ago the aubergine was called the “new avocado”. We find that the trends change with the ingredients. Following the hip, avocado toast comes… Which eggplant dish? Below we’ll tell you some variations on how to cook it. But these vegetables have so much to offer. Here are the interesting Top 5 Facts about eggplants:

Five Facts about Aubergines

1. Like potatoes, aubergines belong to the nightshade family. These contain small amounts of nicotine. However, consuming it in small quantities is absolutely harmless.
2. Purple? Not at all! The color of the eggplant shell can vary greatly. From white to yellow or green to purple or even colorful marbled, dotted or striped – everything is possible.
3. There are special varieties known as giant aubergines, whose fruit weigh more than four kilograms.
4. From a botanical point of view, the fruits of eggplants are considered berries.
5. It’s diet friendly: the aubergine consists of about 93 percent water and is very low in calories with about 17 kcal per 100 grams.

Five Inspirations for Preparation

Ratatouille or moussaka? There’s more to it than that! Aubergine is a welcome ingredient in Mediterranean cuisine, but it is also represented in modern variations of creative cuisine. See for yourself!

1. Asian Eggplants

Our tip: Give eggplant an Asian twist! Aubergines marinated in Teriyaki sauce and sesame seeds, as well as aubergines roasted with Miso and Hummus,  is the perfect fit.

2. Eggplant Involtini

In this dish, the aubergine is not covered in a sauce. Instead, it’s wrapped up in all the other ingredients. Cut long and wide ribbons from the eggplant, spread a filling of ricotta, chard and tomato sauce and roll them up into delicious Involtini.

3. The eggplants of Israeli

Baba Ghanoush, aubergines with Tahini, or Sabich Sabich (Israeli pita sandwich with fried aubergines and hard-boiled eggs). Aubergines are a popular ingredient in Israeli cuisine. It also goes particularly well with fresh pomegranate seeds.

4. Eggplant Salad

Salad always works. Now aubergine is added to the mix. Just fry the vegetables briefly in oil until golden brown and drain. Mix with halved cherry tomatoes, paprika, parsley, basil, and garlic. If you like, you can add olives or feta.

5. Aubergine on or in Dough

This vegetable works so deliciously when combined with different kinds of dough. Dishes like, eggplant pizza, burgers with aubergines, eggplant bruschetta and an aubergine pie are just a few examples. Now all you have to do is decide whether to wrap it up or top it off with dough.

Everything Aubergine – We have collected creative eggplant ideas for you!

Cover: StockFood / ZS Verlag / Wolfgang Schardt / #12572554