Dried Foods: Aubergine

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Monday 17 November, 2014 by Uncle Spike

We often dry foodstuffs for use ‘out of season’, especially where we have a good crop of something or other. Whilst this year hasn’t been spectacular on the Aubergine (Eggplant) front; having just enough for normal consumption, last year was quite different as I recall.

We grew far more than we could scoff last year, so made and froze down a few dishes, and also had a go at drying quite a bit. After all, with shade temps topping 45C (113F) in summer, it makes sense, yeah?

These ‘boat-skins’ are great, and once softened, can be stuffed just like fresh produce, almost. Note how the stem was cut and trimmed to hold the sides apart whilst drying; else it would all just curl up and be difficult to use later on.

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And here we have hollow-halves. The vegetable is cut in half and hollowed out using an apple-corer, so we end up with either an open ‘tube’ or with one end closed like a ‘pot’. Again, great for stuffing.

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Finally, these are chunks of smaller aubergines that we couldn’t really hollow out. All the stuff that was cut out wasn’t wasted either; straight in the pot for a tasty cold dish during summer 🙂

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