Longevity vegetable is the name of eggplant in the East. And all because this incredibly useful vegetable contributes to good heart function and tone the circulatory system. This is not the only advantage of eating eggplant, but perhaps the most important.
Eggplants were first planted and cultivated in India, the Middle East and South Asia 1,500 years ago.
It grew in the wild, and after people paid attention to it, a real stir began. Eggplants began to be used as a panacea for many diseases. At first, they were generally bred and used exclusively as medicinal raw materials. It was believed that the eggplant boiled in oil relieves toothache, and people suffering from gout were treated with fruit juice.
Eggplant is a must in the diet of those who want to lose weight effectively. 100 grams of eggplant contains only 29.1 calories. Eggplant contains a large amount of fiber, which helps to remove excess fluid from the body along with slag.
It is necessary to take into account the fact that eggplants absorb a high volume of oil during frying. Therefore, during diets, it is better to use them in a baked form.
3 Simple Recipes for Eggplant
Here you are, some simple recipes for eggplant which you can cook every day.
Chicken and Eggplant Salad
In spring or summer, salads should be light and at the same time saturate and delight the eye with their appearance. We suggest you try a salad with chicken and eggplant: honey chicken, soft eggplant and slightly crunchy carrots make the perfect combination of tastes, aromas and textures. Such a salad does not even need a dressing, it is good without dressing.
Ingredients
- 8.8 oz (250 g) of chicken breast
- 1 teaspoon of honey
- 2.5 tbsp of olive oil
- 0.5 tsp. of curry powder
- 1 tsp. of dried herbs
- 9.5 oz or 270 g of eggplant
- 1.8 oz (50 g) of carrots
- 0.5 tsp of balsamic vinegar
- 5.3 oz (150 g) mix of green salad.
Instructions
Wash, dry the chicken breast and cut into small strips. Add honey to the chicken, 1 tbsp. olive oil, curry powder and dried herbs. Stir ingredients (you can also leave them to marinate for 6-7 minutes). Heat a grill pan or a regular pan put strips of chicken and fry for 5-7 minutes. Put on a plate. The pan does not need to be washed.
In a pan in which the chicken was fried, pour 0.5 tbsp. olive oil and put 1 medium eggplant sliced into small cubes. Stir and fry for 4-5 minutes.
Peel half of a small carrot and cut it into long strips. Add the carrots to the eggplant, mix and cook for another 1 minute. Sprinkle with balsamic or any other vinegar (wine, apple or rice), mix and turn off the heat.
Put lettuce leaves in a salad bowl (mix or one type of salad), drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Put hot chicken and eggplant with carrots on top of the leaves.
Salad with chicken and eggplant is ready. Sprinkle the salad before serving, if desired, with chopped nuts (for example, pistachios). Bon Appetit!
Eggplant Stuffed with Lamb
Eggplant goes well with lamb meat. That is why we offer a simple recipe for eggplant baked with lamb minced meat.
To cook according to this recipe, you will need 12 oz (350 g) of lamb mince, 2 medium eggplants, 4.2 oz or 120 g of onions, 2 tomatoes and 2 cloves of garlic, 1 oz (30 g) of cheddar, 0.5 tsp. cumin, 4 tbsp olive oil, 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley, salt and black pepper.
Cut the eggplants lengthwise and make cross-shaped incisions on each half, not reaching the skin about 1 centimeter.
Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and put in an oven preheated to 356 °F (180 °C) for 20 minutes, previously covering the form with foil or baking paper.
Pour a little oil into the pan and fry the onions for several minutes. Move it to the edge and add the stuffing. Fry the minced meat over high heat, breaking into lumps.
Cut four thin slices of tomato and set aside. Dice the rest of tomatoes and add to the minced meat. Add chopped garlic, salt, pepper and sprinkle with cumin. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, while eggplants are baked.
Then it is necessary to cut the flesh from the eggplants, leaving it around the edges about a 1 centimeter (0.4 in). Then chop the pulp a little and add to the minced meat with parsley. Cover and simmer another 6-8 minutes.
Put the resulting mince into halves of eggplant and cover with a circle of tomato. Cover the mold with foil and put it to bake for 20 minutes. Tomatoes contribute to greater juiciness so that the stuffing does not dry on top.
Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes. At the very end, add cheese and immediately turn off the oven, wait for the cheese to melt and serve.
Eggplant Lasagna
Another simple recipe for eggplant consists of 17.6 oz or 500 grams of ground beef, 17.6 oz (500 g) of tomato paste, 3.5 oz (100 grams) of mozzarella and parmesan, 3.5 oz (100 g) of breadcrumbs and 2 eggs. To make lasagna, you will need also 28.2 oz or 800 g of eggplant.
Peel the eggplants and cut them into circles about one and a half centimeters thick. In a bowl, beat eggs with two tablespoons of water.
In a separate bowl, mix grated parmesan, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. Dip each circle of eggplant in beaten eggs first, and then in a mixture of breadcrumbs and cheese, and then lay the eggplant on a baking sheet greased with olive oil.
The oven must first be preheated to 356 °F (180 °C) when the desired temperature is reached, send the eggplants there for 22–25 minutes until the vegetables get a uniform golden crust.
While our eggplants are cooked, fry the minced meat in olive oil. After about 10 minutes, add the tomato paste to the minced meat, and then bring the resulting mixture to a boil.
Now put some eggplant in the baking dish, then cover them with tomato and meat sauce, sprinkle with half the cooked mozzarella and lay the remaining eggplant on top. However, if the form is small, and there are many fillings, you can make several layers. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella on top and place in the oven preheated to 392 °F (200 °C) for 10-15 minutes. Make sure the cheese is completely melted.
Tip: Serve a dish with fresh herbs and cherry tomatoes.
