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Frying aubergines
I did everything scrupulously right this time. I salted the cut aubergine slices and left them 45 minutes to drain the juices, then washed them thoroughly in the sink to remove the salt, then patted them each dry individually. I put half an inch of oil in a large cast-iron pan and heated it until it smoked (I've had to open a window even in here, as the smoke is everywhere). I cooked the aubergine slices a few at a time so as not to overload the pan.
And they still soaked up vast quantities of oil, like the proverbial blotting-paper. Cooking that one aubergine used all the oil I had left -- and what's more, they don't even seem to brown properly unless they actually are saturated with oil like that. Otherwise they just sort of dry out and toast on the hot metal.
They're very savoury and juicy when fried in vast quantities of oil, but it's an extremely extravagant (and slow and greasy!) way of preparing them for use in a dish.
(I see this moussaka recipe recommends 4 tablespoons of oil to cook three aubergines; I needed about a quarter of a bottle for just one. They are just too absorbent...)
And they still soaked up vast quantities of oil, like the proverbial blotting-paper. Cooking that one aubergine used all the oil I had left -- and what's more, they don't even seem to brown properly unless they actually are saturated with oil like that. Otherwise they just sort of dry out and toast on the hot metal.
They're very savoury and juicy when fried in vast quantities of oil, but it's an extremely extravagant (and slow and greasy!) way of preparing them for use in a dish.
(I see this moussaka recipe recommends 4 tablespoons of oil to cook three aubergines; I needed about a quarter of a bottle for just one. They are just too absorbent...)