h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

My latest invention is going to be Xmas presents for friends and relatives, it's so good

Spicy eggplant dip

2 huge eggplants, quartered, smeared with olive oil and roasted for 50 mins at 180C

1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 hot red chilli, finely chopped
1 tspn cumin
1/2 tspn ginger
1 tspn mustard seeds
1 tspn salt
1 tblspn olive oil
All put into a pan over a low heat and cooked gently until the onion's translucent.

Skin the roasted eggplant and chop the flesh into 2mm cubes (unless it's already mush - all to the good).

Add it to the pan of onion and spices.

Cover and cook slowly for 30 minutes.

Add 4 tblspn white wine vinegar.

Bottle in sterilised jars.

I reckon it should keep for 2 or 3 months and should be refridgerated once opened.

Wow. Sounds delicious. I'll try it.

So will I!

I've always liked zucchini and other summer squashes better than eggplant. I wonder if you could use squash in place of the eggplant? Might be worth a try.

I don't see why not... well you could give it a go. I guess it would taste different. I love cooking with aubergine because it adsorbs the taste of the spices so well.

How do you keep it from being bitter? I think I got burned out on it two summers ago when we had so many of the dang things in the garden that we ate it for weeks on end.

Do you salt the eggplant before you cook it, if you pell it, and coat the cut flesh in salt that will draw out most of the bitter taste. The salt draws out a lot of the juices so the outside will get wet.

I leave it for a couple of hours and then squeeze out the excess and dry it, this means it takes up less fat when cooking as well.

Thanks. I knew there must be a knack to it. I have salted it, but then just rinsed it off. And I never left it 2 hours. More like 10 minutes. So, leave the salt on longer, squeeze and pat dry. Got it.