Grilled Eggplant – The Almond Eater

July 22, 2023

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That includes crispy charred edges and a comfortable and smoky center, Grilled Eggplant is a marvel through the summer time grilling season. The slices are served with a simple garlic aioli dipping sauce, providing you with a wholesome facet dish or meatless essential course that’s loaded with irresistible flavors!

grilled eggplant rounds on a plate with garlic aioli on the side

Grilled greens ought to at all times be served on the summer time cookout as a result of they’re scrumptious and the proper facet dish for juicy hamburgers and pasta salad. The excessive warmth and smoke from the grill convey out the greens’ hidden flavors whereas tenderizing the center, providing you with flavorful veggies that at all times go away you wanting extra.

Grilled eggplant is one in every of my favourite grilled greens. The grill enhances the eggplants’ earthy, barely candy style and delicate texture whereas growing a superbly caramelized exterior adorned with beautiful grill marks. It’s a unbelievable facet dish or meatless essential that may delight your senses!

The one approach this grilled eggplant recipe will get higher is when the slices are served with my 3-ingredient garlic aioli. It’s a virtually addictive dipping sauce that may have you ever craving grilled greens weekly!

Recipe options

Grilling is one of the simplest ways to rework eggplant, an underrated summer time veggie, right into a crave-worthy and hearty facet dish or plant-based essential dish.
A light-weight seasoning of salt and pepper is all that you must take the eggplant excessive. However there’s loads of room for extra taste, so play with the seasonings as a lot as you want!
Dipping the BBQ eggplant slices within the straightforward garlic aioli is one of the simplest ways to dig into this straightforward summer time facet dish.

Components

Eggplant – While you’re purchasing, search for medium-sized eggplants that really feel heavy for his or her measurement. They need to even have clean and shiny pores and skin with nearly no blemishes.

Salt and pepper – That is all that you must season the eggplant!

Garlic aioli – This deceptively easy dipping sauce, made with nothing greater than mayo, olive oil, and minced garlic, is technically optionally available however very a lot beneficial. The creamy, garlicky goodness matches the char-grilled, smoky flavors flawlessly.

Step-by-step directions

Step 1: Let the eggplant sweat. After washing and slicing the eggplant into thick slices, place them in a big strainer and sprinkle salt over prime. Put aside whereas the surplus water drains. Afterward, wipe the water beads off of the eggplant slices and season them with salt and pepper.

2 images: the left image shows eggplant rounds salted and placed in a strainer and the right image shows an eggplant round being dabbed dry with a paper towel

Step 2: Grill the eggplant. Place the drained and seasoned eggplant slices instantly on the preheated grill grates. Grill till each side are barely charred and crisp.

Step 3: Make the garlic aioli. In the meantime, pour the olive oil right into a small skillet and warmth it over medium warmth. As soon as sizzling, add the garlic and sauté till aromatic. Switch the garlic-oil combination to a bowl with the mayo, and stir to mix.

Step 4: Serve. Serve the eggplant sizzling off the grill with a facet of garlic aioli dipping sauce, and revel in!

Ideas and FAQs

Minimize the eggplant into uniform ½-inch thick slices. The identical goes in the event you slice the eggplant into strips or cubes. The extra evenly sized the eggplant items are, the extra evenly they’ll cook dinner.
To create grill marks and forestall the eggplant from sticking to the grill, preheat the grill to medium warmth earlier than laying the eggplant on the grates.
Don’t flip the eggplant too quickly! As a substitute, let the slices cook dinner undisturbed for a couple of minutes earlier than flipping. This may provide help to obtain properly seared edges and tender, juicy flesh.

Tip

Don’t flip the eggplant too quickly! As a substitute, let the slices cook dinner undisturbed for a couple of minutes earlier than flipping. This may provide help to obtain properly seared edges and tender, juicy flesh.

Do it’s a must to peel eggplant earlier than grilling?

I favor to maintain the pores and skin on as a result of it helps the eggplant slices retain their form. Plus, the charred pores and skin could be very skinny, which implies it’s straightforward to eat and takes on a pleasant crispy texture.

Do it’s a must to salt the eggplant earlier than grilling?

Salting the eggplant and letting it “sweat” out the surplus water content material isn’t at all times a mandatory step however it may possibly assist stop the eggplant from turning into mushy as an alternative of fork-tender. The salt additionally attracts out any pure bitter flavors to provide an all-around better-tasting dish.

How else are you able to season grilled eggplant?

Salt and black pepper are all that you must improve eggplant’s pure taste however you may get much more inventive with completely different seasonings, like garlic powder, cumin, paprika, lemon zest, and recent or dried herbs like basil, oregano, and parsley. When you love warmth, add a pinch of crushed pink pepper flakes, Aleppo chili flakes, or cayenne pepper.

Are you able to marinate eggplant earlier than grilling?

Sure! Marinating eggplant earlier than grilling is a good way so as to add depth to the dish. The balsamic French dressing dressing I used for this pear salad is a superb choice. Or, as an alternative of marinating the eggplant, think about brushing the slices with BBQ sauce or teriyaki sauce throughout grilling.

What goes nicely with grilled eggplant?

Step up your summer time barbecue sport and serve the grilled eggplant with grilled proteins, like rooster thighs, tempeh, and bison burgers. Or, as an alternative of serving it as a facet dish, add the eggplant to pasta salad, grilled cheese, quinoa bowls, hummus bowls, or lamb bowls.

Storage

Fridge: Let the leftover cooked eggplant cool to room temperature, then place it in an hermetic container or resealable bag. Retailer it within the fridge for 3 to 4 days (it’s finest eaten inside 1 or 2 days).

Freezer: When you can freeze leftover cooked eggplant, I don’t advocate it as a result of it might grow to be mushy upon thawing.

grilled eggplant rounds on a plate with garlic aioli on the side of the plate

Extra summer time facet dish recipes

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