Discover the art of tastier and healthier barbecues

A well-known, healthy, tasty purple vegetable joined my favourite grill dishes this year. Grilled aubergine tastes divine, but only under two conditions.

Aubergine is a vegetable whose popularity is growing with the interest in vegetarian recipes. We seem to have reached a stage where the creativity of chefs creating meatless dishes has been appreciated even by regular meat eaters. And rightly so! Such a culinary inspiration course will be thanked not only by our palate but also by our body. And grilled aubergine is the best example of this.

When I first prepared grilled aubergine, I made a simple mistake. I showed a slight ignorance in choosing this vegetable in the store. Well, I'll be honest with you—it was still a time when I felt that buying meat should be done with precision, discretion, and consumer awareness, and I almost didn’t look at the vegetables. Today, I know this is a very serious mistake in the case of aubergine.

So, let's move on to rule number one. Selection of aubergines. They should be relatively small and their skin glossy, without blemishes. Grilled aubergine will only taste good if it is firm and plump when raw. Remember, the bigger the aubergine, the harder the skin. So, young specimens are the best, but even when choosing them, we cannot forget about rule number two.

This concerns the taste of the vegetable. Grilled aubergine will turn out bitter if not properly prepared first. What needs to be done? It's simple: let it rest. But not without support. After you slice it into slices, sprinkle it with salt and put it in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes. Then rinse it, dry it, and proceed with the recipe.

Although this may seem obvious, I prefer to emphasise it just in case. Grilled aubergine, just like any (or almost any) other product, still requires a few added spices. What goes well with this healthy purple vegetable? I think two sets of ingredients will blend perfectly with the texture of aubergine. One of them is "Italian" (consisting of olive oil, oregano, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper) and the other - "Asian" (soy sauce, chopped ginger, garlic, and optionally chilli).

Before throwing the aubergine on the grill, remember to rub the vegetable with the mentioned spices and score the flesh in a grid pattern. This way, the spices will absorb well, and the grilled aubergine will taste better than ever.