I love eggplant, whether it’s sautéed, grilled, simmered in a curry, mixed into pasta, or pureed into baba ganoush. But I don’t always have luck when I cook it at home.
For one thing, I don't have the patience for most cooking. Many recipes call for salting the eggplant or soaking it in salted water for two hours and then drying it before cooking. This removes some of the bitterness and keeps the eggplant from becoming too chewy. But I could count on one hand the number of times I've remembered to salt the eggplant an hour before cooking it.
Then I came across Ottolenghi's recipe for roasted eggplant with anchovies and oregano in one of his many excellent books, Ottolenghi Simple. It instructs you to cut the eggplant into thick slices, season it lightly with salt, and brush it with oil. The slices go straight into the oven at a high temperature, without brining or salting. This is now my favorite way to cook eggplant.
Simple Recipes / Laurel Randolph
Why this method works
Although the method is very simple, it produces superior results thanks to thick slices of eggplant, a little oil, and a very hot oven. The eggplant comes out golden and grilled on the outside and tender and creamy on the inside. It is not chewy, tough, or bitter. Just delicious.
How to Roast Eggplant Ottolenghi Style
You will need:
- 1 to 2 pounds eggplant
- Salt
- 2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
Preheat oven to 450°F. Line one or two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Trim the ends of the eggplants and cut them into 3/4 to 1-inch thick rounds. No need to peel them unless you really want to. Line them up in a single layer on the baking sheet(s). Sprinkle with salt.
Add the oil to a small bowl. You will need about two tablespoons per pound of eggplant. Brush one side of the rounds, then turn them over and brush the other side.
Bake until golden brown and very tender when pierced in the center with a knife, rotating pans halfway through baking, about 30 minutes.
Simple Recipes / Laurel Randolph
My tips for top quality roasted eggplants
- Be sure to buy globe eggplants, the standard fat eggplants sold in American grocery stores. This method does not work well with Chinese, Japanese or Thai varieties.
- You can roast as many or as few eggplants as you like, just make sure they fit on two large baking sheets. I can usually roast a maximum of 1kg of eggplants, but it depends on their size (their diameter).
- Use a thin metal spatula to separate the eggplant from the parchment paper. Sometimes it sticks a little, but a steady motion helps.
How to use roasted eggplant
I've used these beautiful, tender, grilled eggplant rounds in a number of ways. They're delicious served as a side dish, simply topped with a ginger-soy-sesame vinaigrette or tahini sauce and lots of herbs. They're fun to pair with slices of mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil. They're also delicious in sandwiches (especially with feta cheese), chopped and added to pasta, and more.
