You add oil, the aubergine soaks it up in ten seconds, the pan is dry, you add more. In the end, the aubergine is greasy and heavy. It's the classic trap, and there's a simple explanation.
Why aubergine drinks the oil
Aubergine (eggplant) flesh is full of small air pockets, like a sponge. At the start of cooking, oil rushes into them. But as the flesh cooks and collapses, those pockets close and the aubergine gives some of the oil back.
In other words: if the pan looks dry after a minute, don't add more oil. Wait. It will come back.
For two
- 2 medium aubergines
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt, garlic, herbs (mint, parsley or thyme)
Do you need to salt them first?
Today's aubergines are rarely bitter, so it's no longer needed for flavour. Salting the slices 20 minutes ahead and patting them dry does firm the flesh a little, though: they absorb slightly less oil. It's optional. If you do it, dry them very well before cooking.
The method
- Cut into slices or cubes about 2 cm thick. Thinner and they fall apart; thicker and the centre stays firm.
- Empty pan, medium-high heat, until the water drop test works.
- Toss the aubergine with the oil in a bowl, then tip it into the pan. The oil is spread over every piece instead of being drunk by the first ones in.
- A single layer, 3 to 4 minutes untouched to brown one side.
- Turn them, drop to medium and allow another 8 to 10 minutes, stirring now and then. They're ready when the flesh is silky and translucent, with no white centre.
- Off the heat: salt, a grated garlic clove, the herbs, a squeeze of lemon.
The cue
Undercooked aubergine is spongy and bland. Properly cooked, it's silky, almost creamy. When in doubt, give it two more minutes: it's one of the few vegetables people ruin more often by undercooking than by overcooking.
The three mistakes
Adding oil as soon as the pan looks dry. That's what makes them greasy. The oil comes back as the flesh cooks.
Too much aubergine at once. Crowded, it steams instead of browning — the same rule as for all pan-fried vegetables.
Taking them out too early. Golden outside doesn't mean cooked inside.
What to serve them with
With garlic and mint, Mediterranean-style, with a tomato sauce, on pasta, or next to a pork chop. A spoon of balsamic vinegar in the pan at the end and you have a sauce — the sauce chart gives more pairings for vegetables.
High heat at the start, then a long gentle cook: stainless does both without needing to be babied. The pan we film with is 304 stainless with no coating, with the 25-recipe book free.
