Do you really need to salt eggplant?
In almost every recipe that includes eggplant, it says you should salt the eggplant first (for an hour). Is this time-consuming step really necessary?
Eggplant is hands down my favorite vegetable. In fact: eggplant is the best vegetable in the world, if you ask me. I always have them at home because they’re delicious with everything. As long as they’re prepared properly, that is. Now, that essentially applies to everything, but in my opinion it’s most important of all with eggplant. Cubes of eggplant briefly stir-fried in a thin layer of oil; white, rock-hard and completely flavorless, are my biggest nightmare. The fact that people casually stir these into their pasta or couscous is a great mystery to me. But how should you prepare them properly?
To salt or not to salt?
Whatever you’re going to do with the eggplant, the first step is very often salting it. Why, exactly? Eggplants used to be incredibly bitter, and salting them removed the bitter taste from the vegetable. These days, eggplants aren’t bitter at all anymore, but salting is still a thing. By salting the eggplant beforehand, you draw out moisture, and less moisture means more flavor. You also salt the eggplant from the inside this way, and more salt also means more flavor. So salting is a good idea for an extra-concentrated eggplant flavor, but it isn’t essential.
Extra delicious
That’s a nice clear answer, right? I’d say: Do you have the time and feel like it? Then definitely do it, but don’t deprive yourself of a delicious eggplant dish just because you don’t have time tonight to salt your eggplant for an hour first. Are you going to salt it? Cut the eggplant into pieces and generously sprinkle them with salt in a colander. Then place the colander over a large bowl or pan so that all the released moisture is collected. After about an hour, the eggplant is ready to use.
And now?
Eggplant needs heat and fat, something that’s usually missing from those hard cubes I mentioned earlier. So it’s important to pat the eggplant thoroughly dry after salting it; otherwise it will splatter like crazy in the pan. Whether you’re making melanzane alla parmigiana or eggplant shakshuka, fry the eggplant until it starts to color and becomes really soft—that’s when it’s at its absolute best. Cutting the eggplants in half and roasting them Ottolenghi-style in the oven? Then salt only the cut side of the eggplant. If you roast the eggplant whole over an open flame—for baba ganoush, for example—you don’t need to salt the eggplant at all.
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