Cooking eggplants in the microwave whole is a fast and advantageous method — in terms of energy saving and consequently also economic — to obtain soft and perfectly cooked eggplant pulp, as needed for making meatballs or eggplant croquettes, eggplant pesto or delicious sauces like melitzanosalata or babaganoush or even the eggplant gateau. Without the microwave, to obtain soft eggplant pulp that hasn’t absorbed water, you’d need to cook the eggplants in the oven at 392°F for almost an hour: to cook eggplants in the microwave it takes only 20 minutes at full power: a great saving of time, money, and energy, not to mention that turning on the oven in summer is never fun!
Microwave-cooked eggplants are also very easy to peel: once cooked, it is enough to let them rest in the turned-off microwave for 5-10 minutes, cut off the stem, and the skin will come off effortlessly. Alternatively, you can cut them in half and scoop them out with a spoon. Before cooking the eggplants in the microwave, remember to poke them well with a fork, to allow steam to escape and avoid the remote, but still possible, chance of them exploding and dirtying the entire oven.
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- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Rest time: 10 Minutes
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 3 People
- Cooking methods: Microwave
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients for Microwave-Cooked Eggplants
- 2 black oval eggplants (about 1 lb each)
Tools
- 1 Microwave Oven
- 1 Plate large suitable for microwave cooking
- 1 Fork
- 1 Knife
- 1 Spoon
How to Cook Eggplants in the Microwave for Meatballs, Pestos, Sauces…
To cook eggplants in the microwave, first wash and dry the eggplants well. Place them on a microwave-safe plate, or directly on the microwave turntable. Use a fork to prick them here and there on their entire surface.
Cook the eggplants in the microwave at 800 W for 20 minutes, then let them rest in the turned-off oven for 5 minutes. If your microwave doesn’t reach 800 W, cook them at 700 W for 26 minutes.
These cooking times are ideal for medium-large eggplants of about 1 lb each. For smaller eggplants, 16-17 minutes will suffice, while for larger eggplants, you’ll need to increase the cooking time to 22-23 minutes.
At the end of cooking, it is always good to check the eggplants by poking them with a fork, which should sink easily into the pulp. Bear in mind that the part near the stem is generally always a bit harder.
After letting the eggplants rest and after checking that they are cooked to the right point, take them out and let them cool just enough to handle them without burning yourself.
Now you have two options to obtain the eggplant pulp: the first method is to cut off the stem and, with the help of a knife, peel them by pulling off the skin, which will come off very easily.
Alternatively, you can open them in half lengthwise – always after cutting off the stem – and scoop them out with a spoon. Again, the pulp will detach from the eggplants without issues and with minimal waste.
Now the microwave-cooked eggplants are ready to be used in your recipes. Usually, since eggplants contain a lot of water, it’s a good idea to remove some by pressing the chopped pulp through a colander with the back of a spoon
Storage
The cooked eggplant pulp can be stored in the refrigerator in a glass jar for a couple of days.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
What if I only need to cook one eggplant?
Cooking time and method remain the same, provided the weight of the single eggplant is approximately 1 lb. For different weights, you need to adjust a bit by trial and error, extending or shortening the times by 2-3 minutes and checking with a fork at the end of cooking.
