cook eggplant

Eggplant is a wonderful, meaty-tasting vegetable with a nice chewy texture. Eggplants can be fried, put into soups, casseroles and even stuffed. Here are a few easy steps to cooking an eggplant, which is a vegetable known to lower high blood cholesterol.

Step1: Learn about the different types of eggplants. In addition to the common globe eggplant, there are thinner Italian, Chinese, Japanese and Indian eggplants.

Step2: Salt only large eggplants. Sometimes the globe eggplants can be bitter, so these are usually sliced into rounds, sprinkled with salt, and left to sit in a colander for 20 to 30 minutes so the bitter juices can drain out. Rinse, then chop and use. The smaller varieties of eggplant typically don't need to be salted.

Step3: Fry eggplant rounds in olive oil for 5 to 7 minutes per side, or until golden brown and tender. Don't use too much oil; eggplant is rather like a sponge when it comes to oil. Whatever you use, it will absorb.

Step4: Grill lightly oiled eggplant slices over medium to medium-high heat, about 10 minutes per side or until tender.

Step5: Broil lightly oiled eggplant slices for about 5 minutes per side, until brown and tender.

Step6: Cut slits into a whole eggplant, stuff a few slices of garlic into each slit, and roast the eggplant in a 400-degree oven for 40 to 60 minutes, or until collapsed and completely tender. Peel the eggplant, then chop or mash into a puree.

Step7: Pair eggplant with tomatoes, garlic, and herbs such as basil, parsley and mint.

Step8: Stir-fry eggplant with garlic, red chili and a little ground pork for a classic Chinese dish.

Step9: Discover Indian cooking. Indians do magical things to eggplant.