Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Cancer Fighting Eggplant

Eggplant got its name from early varieties that were white with egg-shaped appearance. Today, we find them in much more shapes, sizes and colours – long and slender; short and stumpy; purple, green and striped.

Eggplant benefits those suffering from high blood pressure and high cholestrol as it can help to keep blood pressure in balance and lowers cholestrol. Due to its richness in vitamin D, it also helps to strengthen our blood vessels and clear blood clots, thereby prevent stroke. Constipation is one problem which eggplant can also help to overcome. Scientists are even using eggplants to fight against colon cancers. Vegetarians and those on diets like its filling nature, meaty texture, contains very few calories and virtually no fat. But its shortcoming is it does not provide a high level of essential vitamins or minerals.

You can create so many interesting ways of cooking eggplants - baked, boiled, broiled, sautéed, souffled, stuffed, and mashed. Then you can cooked it in soups, dips, appetizers, main dishes, side dishes, sauces, relishes, salads, and even desserts. It gets along well with other vegetables and on its own, it tastes equally delicious.

A healthy eggplant should be well-rounded, symmetrical with satin-smooth, uniformly coloured skin, firm and heavy in relation to its size. It is so delicate that any undue pressure will bruise it which will cause the flesh underneath to decay. Do handle it with care.

Here are some points to note when cooking eggplant:

• Metallic utensils and dishes discolour the eggplant so avoid using them for the cooking the eggplant

• Eggplant darkens when exposed to air, therefore if they are not cooked immediately after cut, place the cut pieces in cold water, add a little lemon juice or vinegar. Rinse before using.

• Eggplant may be cooked with or without its skin. If the skin is tough, remove the skin with a peeler or knife. Alternatively, baking the eggplant makes it easy to scoop the flesh out when it is cooked.

• Salting cut eggplants before cooking draws out some of the moisture and removes its bitter taste, meaning the eggplant will exude less water and absorb less fat in cooking. Allow eggplant to drain for 30 to 60 minutes, gently squeeze any remaining liquid and rinse in cold water.

As eggplant is easily cooked, we can prepared a simple dish using eggplant in less than 30 minutes. Try this recipe which is one of my favourite too.

EGGPLANT AND MUSHROOM SAUTE

Ingredients : Serves 4

• 1-1/2 tbsp olive oil


• 1 clove garlic, minced


• 1 eggplant, cut into ½ inch strips


• 5 mushrooms \ cooked, halved


• ¼ cup vegetable stock


• ¼ tsp salt (optional), or to taste


• 2 tbsp parsley, chopped

Methods :

1. Heat oil in a heavy non-stick skillet over medium high heat.


2. Saute garlic and eggplant strips 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until lightly browned.


3. Stir in mushrooms and sauté 4 minutes or until mushrooms turn golden.


4. Add stock. Cover skillet and simmer 4-5 minutes or until eggplant is tender and liquid is absorbed.


5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.


6. Sprinkle with parsley.

link | posted by Laura Ng at 1:16 AM |

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