Aubergine parmigiana recipe | Jamie Oliver recipes (2024)

FAQs

How to cook aubergine Jamie Oliver? ›

Method. Prick the aubergines, then carefully blacken them over a direct flame on the hob (or under the grill), turning with tongs until soft inside.

Reduce the sugo (tomato sauce) enough to a thick consistency - this will prevent the eggplant parmigiana from becoming too watery/saucy. Use a sharp knife to slice the eggplants (and be careful!) - a blunt knife increases the risk of the eggplants rolling as you attempt to cut through.

Aubergine is usually cut into slices, cubes or strips and cooked in a little oil before being added to sauces, as this gives it a much better texture. For a crisp surface, the slices are dusted in flour or fine polenta first.

Eggplant is about 80 to 90 percent water, so when you put them in the oven they need space to evaporate all that water and caramelize properly," says Covarrubias. Give them a toss halfway through the cooking process to make sure they're cooked evenly, too.

Today, eggplants are bred not to have that kind of bitterness," Jenkins explains. She does call out one outlier though. "The only exception is when you deep fry it. I tend to soak the slices in a bowl of water with a couple of tablespoon of salt for about 30-45 minutes.

Do you have to peel eggplant before you cook it? The peel of an eggplant is completely edible. However, as the eggplant grows bigger and matures, the peel may become tough and bitter. People often prefer to peel larger eggplants because of this, but smaller eggplants do just fine unpeeled.

Modern eggplant has had bitterness nearly bred out of it, so many cooks have given up the practice. Salting the slices for eggplant Parmesan is not to prevent bitter flavors, but to season the eggplant itself and, at least in my experience, keep the eggplant from sucking up too much of the olive oil from frying.

Salt your eggplant slices and let them sit for about 30 minutes or so on a large tray lined with paper towel! The salt will draw out the moisture, and the eggplant will also "sweat out" its bitterness. This step also helps to somewhat break eggplant's "spongy" texture.

You need a minimum cooking time and water for it to be cooked thoroughly. You mentioned that once they turned out tough and chewy: then they were not cooked fully through. Vegetables are not like meat, which turn rubbery when overcooked. They turn soft rather.

How do you keep eggplant parm from getting soggy? ›

Remember, this is eggplant parm, not sauce parm. You want to do the most to protect your eggplant. Salting it to remove moisture before it starts cooking is very important (and letting it squeeze out excess moisture beneath the weight of a heavy pot for an hour is crucial, too).

Eggplant (US, CA, AU, NZ, PH), aubergine (UK, IE), brinjal (IN, SG, MY, ZA), or baigan (GY) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae.

My favourite seasonings include ginger, garlic, lemon, salt, pepper, oregano, Italian herbs, paprika or soy sauce. If you have a favourite, give it a try! Score eggplant slices with a knife, making shallow indents before adding the seasoning.

Soak eggplant slices or cubes in milk for about 30 minutes before cooking. The milk not only tempers the bitterness, but it actually makes for eggplant that is extra creamy, since the vegetable acts like a sponge and soaks up a good amount of milk in its flesh.

Great at soaking up flavours, aubergine works well in stews, salads and curries. Try them baked, grilled or barbecued as a veggie main or in side dishes. If you enjoy our aubergine recipes, why not try some of our delicious vegetarian recipes, freezable vegetarian recipes and Mediterranean recipes.

Eggplants are known to absorb a lot of fat while cooking. A useful tip to prevent sogginess and greasiness is to salt sliced or diced eggplant and let it sit for an hour. This helps to draw out moisture.

You might know them as eggplants or you might know them as aubergines, but they are exactly the same plant. The English prefer the latter name, while in North America we use the former.