Aubergine Zaalouk with Chickpeas and Za'atar Flatbread | Rebel Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Do you need to soak aubergine before roasting? ›

In the past, recipes called for aubergines to be sliced and salted before cooking to reduce their bitterness. As modern varieties are much less bitter, that is no longer necessary, unless you're planning to fry them – aubergines soak up oil like a sponge and salting helps reduce that.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Brush both sides of eggplant slices with oil, and place in a single layer on two or more baking sheets. Bake until undersides are golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes, then turn and bake until other sides are lightly browned.

Older recipes call for salting eggplant to draw out the bitter juices, but today's eggplants are less bitter (unless very large), so salting is largely unnecessary. It will, however, help the spongy flesh absorb less oil and crisp up like a dream.

"When you lay them on the tray to roast, make sure they're in a single layer and give them enough room to roast properly. Eggplant is about 80 to 90 percent water, so when you put them in the oven they need space to evaporate all that water and caramelize properly," says Covarrubias.

Salting the eggplant before cooking draws out excess moisture so the eggplant has a stronger flavor and a softer, more tender texture. Less water = more flavor. Does eggplant need to be salted? Eggplant does not necessarily need to be salted, but some recipes benefit from the process.

Today, eggplants are bred not to have that kind of bitterness," Jenkins explains. She does call out one outlier though. "The only exception is when you deep fry it. I tend to soak the slices in a bowl of water with a couple of tablespoon of salt for about 30-45 minutes.

Brining adds flavor and texture to eggplants. "Mix spices and salt with water, then soak sliced eggplant in the brine for 30 minutes before cooking.

Let the eggplant soak in the salt water for 30 minutes to an hour. Drain the brine: Drain the eggplants and rinse them with cold water. Dry the salted eggplant: Line a baking sheet with paper towels, and place your drained slices on top in a single layer.

To prepare: In the past many recipes recommended salting aubergines to reduce their bitter flavour, this isn't really necessary nowadays, simply wash the skin and trim off the calyx. Slice or cut the flesh into chunks just before cooking as the flesh browns quickly.