Re: [CH] Eggplant "Preparation"
Norm Corley (ncorley@otenet.gr)
Wed, 14 Aug 2002 17:30:12 +0300
>And I would be sure that this salting process is never done in the Middle
>East or around the Mediterranean. Rob
Been living here in Athens since 1977 Rob. I've never seen eggplant done
without the salting process, as in the following recipe:
---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06
Title: Moussaka
Categories: Greek
Yield: 8 servings
2.00 md Eggplants
Salt
Olive oil
1.50 lb Ground beef
2.00 Onions; chopped
0.75 c Butter
1.00 ts Tomato paste
1.00 ds Cinnamon
0.25 c Bread crumbs
4.00 sm Zucchini; sliced
4.00 md Potatoes; thinly sliced
Grated cheese
0.50 c Water
0.75 c Flour
1.00 qt Hot milk
6.00 Eggs
Slice eggplant, sprinkle with salt, and place in colander. Weigh down with
a heavy plate for several hours. Then brush slices with oil and broil
lightly. Saute beef and onions in 5 tablespoons of the butter. Add tomato
paste, cinnamon, and salt and pepper and mix well. Sprinkle bottom of a
greased baking dish with bread crumbs. Alternate layers of vegetables and
meat in the pan, sprinkling each layer with cheese. The top layer should
be vegetables. Dot with 1 tablespoon butter and add water. Set aside.
In saucepan melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter. Add flour and cook,
stirring, until well mixed and beginning to brown. Slowly stir in milk and
cook, stirring, until sauce is smooth and thickened. Beat eggs with a
little of the hot sauce, then stir in to remaining sauce. Remove from
heat. Pour a little more than half the sauce over the vegetables and bake
in a 350 F oven for 10 minutes. Meanwhile return remaining sauce to low
heat and cook, stirring, until thick. Pour into casserole and sprinkle
with cheese. Continue to bake for 45 to 50 minutes longer or until golden
brown.
-----
Fresh off the vine or not, eggplant is just too bitter for me unless it's one
of those itty bitty type of eggplants, makheua phuang or makheua pro used in
Thai cooking. While I'm at it I'll throw in another recipe more suitable for
ChileHeads:
---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06
Title: Nam Prik Kapi (Universal Thai Dipping Sauce)
Categories: Thai, Sauces
Yield: 1 servings
3.00 tb Nam pla (fish sauce)
3.00 tb Nam manao (lime juice)
2.00 tb Makheua phuang
1.00 tb Kratiem (garlic) chopped
1.00 tb Prik ki nu daeng (red
-birdseye chilis)
1.00 tb Kapi (fermented shrimp
-paste)
1.00 tb Sugar
In a wok, lightly fry the shrimp paste until aromatic. Crush all the
ingredients in a mortar and pestle or food processor, except the makheua
phuang which is coarsely chopped and added to the paste after mixing
Description This is the staple dipping sauce eaten with almost anything,
and almost universally added to the table setting of any but the most
casual dinner. It is as much a signature dish of Thai cuisine as the more
familiar (in the west) pad Thai and is traditionally the one dish, other
than desserts, cooked by the 'mistress' of the house, as opposed to the
servants (if ya' have money!), and is often extremely intricate in its
preparation. There are probably as many recipes as there are Thai people,
and this is but one example.
The eggplants used - makheua phuang - are very small; the size of green
garden peas, and are often added to curries as a crisp morsel that pops in
the mouth. You could substitute the golf ball sized makheua pro, but the
best alternative to the real thing is probably to omit them.
-----
Norm
Norm Corley
Athens, Greece
http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/7003 - Personal Page
http://normsplace.freeservers.com - When Yahoo blocks my site for over activity
http://radivision.hypermart.net - Business Page
"I didn't fight my way to the top of the food chain to be a vegetarian!"
If you want to surprise your guests throw in a habenero or three.
Norm
Norm Corley
Athens, Greece
http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/7003 - Personal Page
http://normsplace.freeservers.com - When Yahoo blocks my site for over activity
http://radivision.hypermart.net - Business Page
"I didn't fight my way to the top of the food chain to be a vegetarian!"