The best way to cook the eggplant on a stove is to cut your eggplant into quarter inch slices and fry them in oil until they are caramelized and have a soft texture. This is a quick, healthy, and easy meal to make, and can be served with any number of seasonings and ingredients.
In the rest of the article, we are going to go through a step by step guide for cooking eggplant on the stove, learn about what you can serve it with, how to store the leftovers, and look at its nutritional values and some frequently asked questions.
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How to Cook Eggplant on the Stove
Eggplant is not only healthy but also surprisingly easy to cook on the stove. Below, we have detailed a few simple steps to follow to get your eggplant dish ready and tasting delicious.
Step 1: Prepare Your Eggplant
There are many ways that you can cut your eggplant. When you are confident with your cooking skills, you can experiment with any number of these.
For the sake of this recipe, however, we are going to cut our eggplant into slices.
Place your eggplant on a cutting board and, while holding it by the stem, start cutting off quarter inch slices. You can throw the stem away when you are done slicing your eggplant.
Eggplant is quite fragrant on its own, but you can add various ingredients to it as you prefer to enhance the taste.
Salt, pepper, or any sort of seasonings can be sprinkled onto your slices now.
Step 2: Prepare Your Equipment
Place your pan on your stovetop and put it on high heat.
Add olive oil to the pan and wait for it to start moving. When you see the oil in motion, you will know that it is hot enough.
Although you only need a small amount of oil for the cooking to happen, you can use larger amounts for a greasier, heartier meal if that is what you prefer.
I also use olive oil, but if you prefer to use any other type, like the equally popular rapeseed oil, then this will work with the recipe in the same way.
Step 3: Cook
Place your eggplant slices onto the pan. Do not crowd them too much. Make sure that they have enough room between them.
If you need to cook them in multiple batches because they do not fit otherwise, this is a better option than trying to squeeze them all in at the same time.
Keep an eye on your slices until they look soft and brownish. This should take a few minutes. When they reach this state, flip them over to cook the other side in the same way.
Step 4: Serve
Once the second side is cooked as well, your slices are ready to be removed from the pan and served.
What Do You Serve Eggplant With?
Although eggplant is not believed to be native to the Mediterranean region, that is the cuisine that they are most often associated with.
For this reason, if you want to enjoy your freshly cooked eggplant in a traditional way, try to serve it with any sort of Mediterranean foods.
We are talking about the cuisines of Italy, the Middle East, North Africa, Greece, South France, and Spain. Any meals from those countries or any ingredients from those kitchens will go well with eggplant.
One example is any sort of pasta. You can either use the pasta as a side or if you want to integrate them more, cut up the eggplant and mix it in with your pasta.
If you want more of an Ottoman vibe, you can have your eggplant with any sort of kofta. Lamb and beef are the most popular option, depending on whether you want a more tender taste or a sharper one.
Finally, if you want to go for a light, healthy meal, you can serve your eggplant with mixed seasonal vegetables.
This is great for a quick brunch or an airier midday meal.
Read also >> How to Cook Diced Lamb on Stove? (Step By Step Guide)
How Do You Store Eggplant Leftovers?
If you still have leftovers of your eggplant meal left, you can store them safely for later consumption in either the fridge or the freezer.
If you are storing your eggplant in the fridge, you will need to place it in a container or bag that you can seal completely. It should last in your refrigerator for about half a week.
When you take it out, you can reheat it in the oven for a few minutes. You do not want to recook it completely or the taste would be worse off for it, so do not keep it in for reheating too long.
If you are storing it in the freezer, once again, use a container or sealable bag. Your eggplant should still be edible for about another year.
Remember to let it thaw for a day in the fridge before you are going to eat it, and then reheat it the same way as you would if it was coming straight from the fridge.
Ingredients for Eggplant on Stove
To prepare this recipe, the only ingredients that are mandatory are some oil for cooking and the eggplant itself.
We prefer olive oil to accentuate the Mediterranean flavor, but you can use whatever kind of oil you prefer.
You can use any combination of the following ingredients to bring more varied tastes to your meal:
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic or garlic powder
- Italian seasoning
Eggplant Nutrition Facts Per Serving
Eggplant is a great food for a light meal because it is low on calories and has only the tiniest amount of fat, none of which is saturated.
At the same time, though, it has got plenty of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to boost your health.
The table below gives us just a quick snapshot at what you can get from a single eggplant. The figures are taken from the United States Department of Agriculture and represent a whole eggplant with the skin intact.
The eggplant that was used as an exemplar weighed one-and-a-quarter lbs.
Note that the values in the table are for a raw eggplant. Cooking it will change these slightly. Notably, cooking with oil increases the fat content significantly, even if it is only olive oil.
| Calories | 137 kcal |
| Protein | 5.4 g |
| Fat | 1 g |
| Sugar | 19.3 g |
| Dietary fiber | 16.4 g |
| Manganese | 1.3 mg |
| Vitamin C | 12.1 mg |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.5 mg |
Equipment and Cooking Time for Eggplant on Stove
The only equipment you will need to prepare this eggplant recipe is your stove with a working stovetop, a pan or equivalent cooking surface, a knife that is suitable for cutting vegetables easily, and a cutting board to cut your eggplant upon.
The exact cooking time will vary depending on just how soft and caramelized you want your eggplant. In the guide we discussed doing this by sight.
If you do not feel comfortable gauging when your eggplant is ready in this way or just want a rough guide, aim for about 3 to 5 minutes of frying on each side.
You can do it in less time for a firmer texture and a fresher taste, or you could do it longer if you want it a bit crispier and with more of an almost barbecue feel.
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Eggplant Cooking FAQs
Does eggplant need to be salted and rinsed before it is fried?
Probably not. The tradition of salting and rinsing eggplant before cooking it was to remove a lot of the bitter flavor in it.
This is not really a problem anymore because of the way that the plans are now bred.
Does eggplant need to be peeled before it is fried?
There is no need to peel the eggplant before cooking it. Some people do so because they prefer the texture or the taste without the skin, but it is worth noting that a lot of the valuable nutrients in eggplant are in the skin, and removing it removes them as well.
Is it safe to eat undercooked eggplant?
Yes. If you have accidentally undercooked your eggplant but do not mind the taste or texture, you are safe to simply eat it as is.
In fact, eggplant can be eaten raw, so no level of cooking is too little.
Conclusion
We have looked at a step by step guide for how to cook the eggplant on stove and get amazing results every time.
What will you be serving your first eggplant meal with?
References
https://www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/t–1409/how-to-cook-eggplant.asp