The Best Way To Cook Eggplant For Perfect Texture Every Time

Eggplant seems to be a divisive vegetable or — if you want to get super technical about it — berry. Derived from the nightshade family, eggplant should give you a beautifully creamy texture with mild earthy notes and a hint of sweetness. But if you cook it incorrectly, it becomes a bitter, unappetizing mess. Depending on which version of eggplant you were first introduced to, it can shape your whole feeling about the food. We spoke to Michael Costa, the concept chef at Zaytinya locations in DC, NYC, South Beach, and LA. A José Andrés restaurant, Zaytinya focuses on classical Turkish, Greek, and Lebanese cuisine, meaning chef Costa is an expert on Mediterranean staples and knows how to get perfectly cooked eggplant every time.

Chef Costa, who studied under Costas Katsigris, understandably turns to Mediterranean traditions when it comes to cooking up a stellar eggplant. According to Costa, "The classic technique in our part of the world is to cook them whole on the grill. The charred skin slips right off to reveal the creamy soft interior which is ideal for a puree." If you top off this puree with some flake salt, garlic, and lemon juice, you'll have the perfect dipping dish for some fresh-out-of-the-oven steamy pita.

While Chef Costa maintains that roasting the eggplant on the grill is the way to go, that means you have options when it comes to serving. If you don't want to dish up a puree but want to keep the eggplant intact in its beautiful plum casing, you need to make some changes to how you roast it. For eggplant pieces, Chef Costa says, "It is best to peel a few strips from the outside then split it lengthwise and score it. Season with salt then roast. The exposed parts of the outside shrink as the water evaporates and helps give the finished product a nice shape. If you don't do this the skin can stick up over the edges of the cooked eggplant."

Chef Costa's recommendations are ideal for when you want the simple yet delicious flavors of the eggplant to shine on their own. However, we have some tips for sneaking eggplant into easy weekday dishes the whole family will enjoy. The beautiful thing about eggplant is it takes on the flavor of whatever spice blends and aromatics it's cooked with, so you can pack some delicious nutrients into your dish without changing the flavor profile.