I’ve been a total grandma lately. Case in point: I’m currently sitting in my living room under a crocheted blanket and a snoozing lap dog. Cookie makes a fine laptop stand. My other grandmotherly activities of late include polishing silverware, tending to my houseplants, mending my chambray shirt and baking cookies. I can’t decide if I want to pick my knitting needles or golf clubs once all my things are in order.
A few Saturday nights ago, I stayed in and spent the evening testing roasted eggplant techniques. Good grief, I’m 27 going on 70! Salted vs. unsalted, halved vs. cubed, skin on vs. peeled. I decided on unsalted, cubed and peeled. You’ll see that I didn’t completely peel the eggplants in these photos. I wanted to verify my peeled verdict (ok, I was being lazy) and later regretted it.
I also tried miso butter, an idea I picked up from a recent issue of Martha Stewart Living. I decided to brown the butter first, add black pepper, and toss it with spaghetti and cubed eggplant roasted to golden pillowy perfection. Japanese miso might seem like a funny addition to Italian pasta, but the Japanese have been serving eggplant with miso (Nasu dengaku) for ages. The miso lends a salty, umami-flavored, magical je ne sais quoi to the dish. I always know when I’ve hit something really good when I lose my grasp on space and time whilst going back for the next bite, and finally push back my plate with a “woah.” In reality, the woah might be an expletive, but my grandmother reads my posts so I try to keep myself in check. I hope you’ll give the recipe a shot and come back to report your uncensored opinion.
More Eggplant Recipes to Try
Caponata, perhaps with Crostini Italian Eggplant Parmesan Pasta alla Norma Ratatouille Roasted Eggplant & Tomato Orzo Pasta
P.s. Find my gingersnap pumpkin ice cream sandwiches on Design Sponge!
