WE'VE MOVED

Hello!

Thank you for the amazing 8 years here at A Baked Creation, we can't thank you enough for the memories! But we've decided to move over to a new site - Sincerely, Syl. Please join us there for future posts on all the things you loved here!

Sincerely,
Syl

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Glazed Eggplant: Two Ways

Last night at the grocery store, Howard and I saw a stack of beautiful eggplants (also called aubergines). You know that feeling when you see something shiny and you want it? We saw the deep purple jewel sitting on the table and couldn't resist. Yeah, we get that feeling a lot, it's hard to stop impulse purchases. In this case, I was justifying it to Howard saying I had two eggplant recipes bookmarked at home.

And I did, they were both for glazed Japanese/Asian eggplants. Oops. But you know what? These recipes work for your standard eggplant as well. The great thing about the two recipes was that they both called for a preheated oven at 400°F (205°C).
First up, the miso sesame-glazed eggplant (page 138) from My New Roots. I thought it would be the glaze that would be different, but so was the baking technique! After halving and scoring the eggplant, I brushed it with olive oil (Sarah calls for coconut oil or melted ghee, which I sadly do not have). Then, place the eggplant with the cut side up on the sheet and bake for 25 minutes.
Oh my gosh! Isn't that amazing? The cut lines expanded the eggplant a bit, telling us it's ready for the glaze.
This glaze is easy to whip up, but first, my disclaimer! The original recipe is for two eggplants, but I only needed it for one, so I halved the ingredients and then ran out of measuring spoons and didn't have brown rice vinegar, so I eventually winged it. If you want the original instructions, you'll have to check the book! So back to the glaze, I used: 1 tablespoon of white miso, 1/2 tablespoon of white rice vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon of maple syrup, 1/2 tablespoon of tahini, and a sprinkle of white and black sesame seeds. Mix that all up and brush it on the eggplant. Set under the broiler for 3 minutes.
The second glaze recipe is from Seven Spoons. Tara instructs us to score the eggplant, brush the entire thing with sesame oil, place it face down on the sheet, and also bake it for 25 minutes. As a result, the eggplant doesn't have the expanded ridges, but there's more browning on the flesh portion.

To make this one, you need 1 tablespoon of mirin, 1/2 tablespoon of fruit juice, 1 tablespoon of white miso, 1/2 tablespoon of honey, and 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil. There's an extra step, you place this all in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil for 2 minutes. Again, I halved the original recipe and substituted ingredients I didn't have on hand, so check the cookbook.

Then you flip the eggplant over, brush it with the glaze, and top it with sesame seeds. Again, under the broiler for 3 minutes. I also roasted some shallots alongside this one, it's the glazed eggplant with roasted shallots and greens from page 81.
So here they were! Easy to share on a baking sheet since the cooking times and temperatures were the same. I garnished Sarah's version with scallions (see above), and topped Tara's version with the roasted shallots (see below). Thank you Sarah and Tara for letting me justify buying the shiny purple eggplants and for the great meal we had.
I described it as eating eggplant crème brûlée to my friend. You can break the crunchy "caramel" glaze and then scoop the soft and creamy eggplant out. But then you have to go back and eat the outer layer as well, so cut it into pieces so enjoy everything in a bite.

2 comments: