Peel, slice 1/2" thick, brush with olive oil, salt & pepper to taste, and grill till tender. Delicious plain or topped with tomato sauce.

Peel, slice 1/2" thick, dredge in egg wash (egg, water, salt & pepper) and then cracker crumbs and fry in hot oil till done. Also delicious but much more fattening than grilled.

Papoutsakias (Stuffed Eggplant)

The name is Greek for "little shoes", which describes the eggplant halves, filled with a mixture of chopped eggplant, ground meat, sauce and seasonings, then roasted. I like to roast them covered in a Weber type grill for the smoky flavor, but they are very good done in a regular oven.

3 medium eggplants
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef or ground lamb
1 (16 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/3 cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
basil
salt and pepper

1. Cut eggplants in half lengthwise.
2. Scoop out flesh of eggplants using a large spoon, leaving 1/2 inch of thickness to the shells (four halves are to be stuffed, the third eggplant is for extra flesh).
3. Smear four shells with olive oil and roast, flesh side down, on grill or in 400 degree F oven until lightly brown, about 10 minutes.
4. While the shells roast, brown the meat in a LARGE skillet, about 10 minutes.
5. Remove meat and set aside.
6. Meanwhile, chop eggplant flesh coarsely and garlic finely.
7. Add olive oil to the skillet and cook the chopped eggplant and garlic until the eggplant is well done and soft, about 30 minutes.
8. Add all ingredients, except shells, to the skillet and cook until everything is nicely combined, about 10 minutes.
9. Fill the shells with the mixture.
10. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
11. Roast until bubbly and brown, about 10 minutes.

Serves 6

jimster is right, they are great stuffed. But if you really want to live it up with eggplant, I suggest Greek Moussaka. There are many recipes online for you to look up. Essentially it is eggplant layered with spiced ground lamb in a delicate cream sauce all baked together. Freezes well too. Whole family loves it.

Thankyou sandy, jimster and raisemy beds for your help and suggestions. I will surely try them all. I'll even make the papoutsakias, although I hope nobody asks me to pronounce the name of the dish, LOL.

I really like moussaka, but I struggle with the bechamel sauce. For lunch today, I tried this recipe off the food network (ever seen, "Food 911?").

It was different, but I really liked it. Heck, my husband who doesn't like eggplant enjoyed it also.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tyler Florence's

Funny there are so many Greek recipes for eggplant. Seems they really know what to do with them. Personally I love Greek food. It's my absolute favorite! While I'm not Greek I used to regularly eat at Greek restaurants, though I haven't in years since I moved to a rural area.
Two of my favorite dishes are a cold egplant appetizer eaten with toasted pita bread and a stewed eggplant side dish.

For the stewed eggplant you saute sliced onions and garlic in olive oil, add a can of stewed tomatoes(diced up fine - I use a blender), chopped fresh dill, then added the eggplant (chopped in large pieces with or without skin - your choice) and S&P to taste. It's delicious.
To make the cold dish simply chill the above dish and put in food processor (cut skin off first). Serve with pita bread. The first recipe freezes well. I've never froze the second dish.

Very quick stir fry:

Serves 2-3

2 medium sized eggplant or 1 large.
A bunch of fresh green beans (I'm rockin' the Fortex pole beans)
3-4 Carrots
5 cloves garlic
Crushed red pepper
Salt
Black Pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

Slice carrots at a 45 degree angle, pieces should be ~1/4 inch thick. Chop up garlic. Cut beans into 2 inch long pieces. Slice eggplant into 1/2 inch rounds.
Place a wok or large frying pan on medium high heat and coat the bottom with evoo.
When oil just starts to smoke place the eggplant in the pan.
Salt and black pepper the eggplant. Cook until each side is golden brown and eggplant is soft. Remove eggplant to a plate.
Turn heat up to not quite the highest setting. Add more oil if necessary. When oil just starts to smoke place carrots and garlic into the pan. Stir constantly for 2-3 minutes or so. The carrots should still be firm and only just starting to get lighter orange. The garlic should be browned.
Remove carrots and garlic to plate.
Add oil if necessary and what for smoke. Put green beans into pan. Season to taste with crushed red pepper, salt, and black pepper. Stir constantly for 2-3 minutes until beans are just starting to cook and develop a few brown spots.
Add everything back into the pan, stir fry for 1 minute and serve.

Enjoy

Ratatouille!

Tho I haven't made it in years, I'm growing eggplant this summer for that very purpose. The one below is basic but delicious.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ratatouille

hines,

It's not hard to prounounce:

pa-poot-SOCK-ee-uhs

Jim

Someone mentioned eggplant appetizer, caponata, which is an excellent suggestion. The site linked below has many recipes for it. The one linked has the right combination of ingredients IMO. Use the funky olives from the olive bar at your supermarket, not the bland jarred ones.

Jim

Here is a link that might be useful: Caponata

half a dozen ichiban eggplants or a few regular ones.
roast/fry/cook till meat is soft. scrape away from skin with a spoon.
to bowl of eggplant meat add one minced onion, one egg, quarter cup grated parm cheese, half cup bread crumbs, salt pepper garlic and pinch of red pepper.

form into hamburger type patties and fry till golden brown and delicious.