Eggplant Aubergine Croquettes Recipes

Steps:

• Place eggplant in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on medium-high 3 minutes. Turn eggplant over and microwave another 2 minutes. The eggplant should be tender, cook another 2 minutes if the eggplants are not tender. Drain any liquid from the eggplants and mash.
• Combine cheese, bread crumbs, eggs, parsley, onion, garlic and salt with the mashed eggplant. Mix well.
• Shape the eggplant mixture into patties. Heat oil in a large skillet. Drop eggplant patties one at a time into skillet. Fry each side of the patties until golden brown, approximately 5 minutes on each side. Patties can be frozen before frying and cooked later.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Cut the eggplant, bell pepper, and onion into 1-inch cubes. Toss them in a large bowl with the garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread them on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes, until the vegetables are lightly browned and soft, tossing once during cooking.
• Cool slightly.
• Place the vegetables in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, add the tomato paste, and pulse 3 or 4 times to blend. Taste for salt and pepper.

Steps:

• Place the whole eggplants directly on the burner grids of the stovetop, and turn the flames to high. Let each eggplant start to blister, and steam, and char, turning each one a quarter turn every 3 or 4 minutes, until softened and hissing inside, the skins utterly blackened and cracked, and the flesh collapsing, 12 to 15 minutes. (You could also blister them under the broiler, set on an aluminum-foil-lined baking sheet a couple of inches from the heat and cook until charred all over.)
• Remove the eggplants to a bowl. Cover with a lid or overturned bowl, and let them rest until cool enough to handle, about 30 minutes. Give this the time it takes; it will help with peeling them later and also lets them steep in their smoky juices. You can do this step ahead and let them cool in the refrigerator overnight as well, to be peeled the next day, which works beautifully.
• Remove the scorched, carbonized skin from the soft, cooked-through eggplant. Discard all the black, bitter charred bits.
• Strain the remaining eggplant, and save all the viscous smoky liquid that accumulates. I usually "rinse" the peeled eggplants in this strained liquid to remove any lingering flakes or chips of charred skin from the eggplant flesh. (Sometimes people are tempted to run the eggplant under the faucet for a second to remove the flecks, but using the liquid in the bowl is much better at retaining flavor.)
• Chop the flesh to a fine dice, and place in a bowl. (I generally never remove the seeds unless I have bought an intensely loaded eggplant, in which case I'll remove them if the seed sacs are pronounced and distracting.)
• Stir in 3 tablespoons of the reserved smoky liquid, and the olive oil, then Microplane the garlic into the mixture. Season with salt, and stir well until the mixture is a bit creamy. Taste, and season to your palate by adding a few more drops of the smoky liquid or a few more of olive oil. I like mine rather smoky, rather salty, rather unctuous.
• Spread the eggplant mixture into an 8-inch square, about 1/2-inch thick, on a quarter sheet pan lined with a quarter-cut Silpat mat. Most people will not have these two things, so alternatively you can form a neat square or rectangle on a cookie sheet, or spoon the mixture into generally quenelled shapes onto a cookie sheet. Freeze overnight.
• Prepare the croquettes: Set up a standard breading procedure of three containers: flour, egg and water mixture, and the ground panko.
• Cut the frozen block of smoky eggplant into 2-inch squares, or batons or planks if you prefer. Refreeze for a bit if needed after cutting; they tend to defrost rather quickly. Bread each piece with care, dipping in flour, egg mixture then panko, leaving no bald spots, and refreeze the finished, breaded croquettes. (These can live in your freezer for months.)
• Add enough neutral oil to a deep-sided sauté pan to reach a depth of 1 1/2 to 2 inches, and heat over medium until shimmering, or when a thermometer reads 350 degrees. Working in batches, fry the frozen croquettes until golden on all sides and piping hot in the center, raising and lowering the heat under the oil accordingly. Adding frozen products to hot oil brings the temperature down, as does crowding, so it is up to the cook to control the temperature of the fry oil accordingly. Remove cooked croquettes with a slotted spoon, and drain on a baker's rack to maintain crispness (rather than a paper towel or plate, which will encourage steaming and sogginess).
• Sprinkle with a little salt while still very hot, and serve with a squeeze of lemon.

Steps:

• In covered saucepan, cook eggplant in a small amount of boiling water until tender, about 4-5 minutes.
• Drain and mash.
• Stir in remaining ingredients except oil.
• Shape into patties.
• Fry in hot oil until golden brown, about 5 mins on each side.

Steps:

• Preheat oven at 375 degrees.
• Brush each side of eggplant slices with with the 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Place eggplant slices on baking sheet.
• Cook in oven for 20 minutes or until they are soft.
• Let the eggplant slices cool for 5 minutes.
• Mince eggplant slices.
• In a bowl mix together eggplant, egg, garlic, parsley, bread crumbs, feta cheese, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.
• Let stant for 20 minutes.
• If the mixture looks too liquid, add more bread crumbs.
• Form mixture into 8 small croquettes, and gently flatten them.
• Spread flour on a plate, season it with salt and pepper.
• Dredge croquettes in flour mixture.
• Fry in hot oil about 3 minutes each side or until golden brown.

Steps:

• Cut ends off of eggplants, cut in half length-wise and then into five pieces, length-wise.
• Cut across into 3/4" chunks.
• Steam eggplant chunks for 10 minutes and cool slightly.
• Heat oil in a large frying pan - you may mix vegetable and olive oil instead of using just olive oil.
• Squeeze liquid out of steamed pieces with your hands, keeping pieces from getting too mashed.
• Place bread crumbs (seasoned or unseasoned), parmesan cheese and seasonings into a large bowl and mix.
• You could use a clove or two of fresh garlic, sauteed in place of the garlic salt.
• Beat eggs in a small bowl and add to bread crumb mix along with eggplant pieces.
• Stir to mix well.
• Form patties of any size, but not exceeding an inch in thickness and place in frying pan.
• Cook for five minutes on each side.
• Remove to a towel-lined plate to drain.
• Place in a warm oven if you are not ready to serve them immediately.