Reviewed: Oct. 25, 2002

Here is how to improve the taste of eggplant. Slice it up, then sprinkle salt generously on each side. Set your slices in a bowl or collander. Leave it for about 20 minutes. The eggplant will be covered in "sweat", because it is sweating out the bitterness. Rinse off your eggplant, and cook accordingly. Yes the water that comes off will be sort of brown. This will make the eggplant taste better and will eliminate the unnecessary step of boiling, which will make the eggplant mushy.

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Reviewer:

KATIECOWAN

Reviewed: Jul. 6, 2005

Holy Smokes!!! This was so good and so easy I can hardly believe it!! I did change the way I sweat the eggplants though. I salt them and place them in a colander for 30 minutes with a heavy bowl on top of the eggplant. Then I rinsed off all the extra salt. I think letting them sit in water would make them too mushy. Other than that...loved this recipe and will make it again. I served this with rice (for my husband) and he loved it as well.

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77 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

CATWALK16

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Living In: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Reviewed: Jan. 24, 2006

Great dish if you know what you are doing! I am beginner to cooking with eggplant so I took advice from everyone, sweat the eggplant in a colander,marinated the chicken in balsamic,lemon juice and olive oil and I layered it with ricotta. I think I overdid the cayenne and salt. Anyway wasn't bad for my first try, I topped with an Italian five cheese blend, we eat cheese by the pound at my house so I knew that would go over well. Next time I will get black olives to use in it. I agree use lots of spice.

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46 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

outerspacey

Home Town: Traverse City, Michigan, USA

Living In: Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

Reviewed: Sep. 30, 2005

I love mediterranean food and this was great (but only got 4 stars as I altered it a bit) I used japanese eggplants - as they were on sale, and diced them up and then added to a casserole dish (the japanese ones do not need salting). I then diced up the chicken the same size. While the chicken and onion were cooking I crumbled 300g feta (12 onces if you are in the US) over the eggplants. I added the tomato paste, oregeno, red wine (about 1/4 a cup), the water and 1/4 cup of olives to the chicken mix. This turned out great, a bit liquidy as the eggplants do release a lot of moisture - so next time I will take away 1/4 a cup of water and use the red wine in its place. Serve with a crispy greek salad with plenty of tomatoes and cucumber.

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34 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

ELIZABETH101

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Reviewed: Aug. 10, 2005

Made this last night for dinner. My husband declared it "EXCELLENT". I did cut the chicken into large pieces then marinated in lemon juice,zest,balsamic vinegar and olive oil and grilled it half cooked before baking.Also took advice of others and layered ricotta under chicken. Delish! Thanks.

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23 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

doggymom

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA

Living In: Monterey, Tennessee, USA

Reviewed: Jan. 23, 2006

I cut this down to 3 servings since I live alone - it divided very well, though it might be just me but I think that amount would only serve 2. I did change one thing because I have yet to discover tomato paste for sale in Japan. I ended up using a can of crushed tomatoes, reduced in a saucepan for 1 hour, and omitting the water. Despite my being worried about the eggplant sitting in water for 30 minutes, I followed the recipe but it didn't turn out mushy at all - in fact it was quite the perfect texture. Also, (regarding an earlier review) I didn't measure out the amount of oil I used, instead just brushing a thin-ish layer on both sides of the eggplant strips - just enough to cover it so it doesn't burn when sauteéd. Suggestions for next time would be to add grated/minced garlic when adding the tomatoes, and black olive halves over the top just before baking. Overall, I was very impressed, and this recipe comes highly recommended.

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22 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Guilford, Connecticut, USA

Living In: Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan

Reviewed: Apr. 6, 2005

This was delicious. I served it with pita bread, and we ate the eggplant/chicken over the toasted pita. I did make changes, which I think made a huge difference. For each serving made, I added a clove of minced garlic when I cooked the onions and chicken (I only made two servings, so I added two cloves of garlic). I also dotted the eggplant with small spoonfuls of ricotta cheese in between the eggplant and chicken, which added a nice creamy layer. YUM!

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16 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

killerbroccoli

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Corte Madera, California, USA

Living In: San Rafael, California, USA

Reviewed: Jun. 24, 2009

Delicious - I like that it uses so few ingredients! My version had a few modifications. I marinated diced chicken thighs in a splash of lemon juice and balsamic vinegar. Salted the eggplant slices for 30 minutes then sauteed. Added 1 diced roma tomato with chicken/onion. I used half red wine for the water and whisked the tomato paste into that before adding to the pan. After pouring the simmered mixture over the eggplant I deglazed the pan with chicken broth and poured that on top. It is a good dish, next time I would dice the eggplant instead - the slices were too large for our liking. Served with egg noodles but rice might be easier to manage.

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14 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Heidi

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Corpus Christi, Texas, USA

Living In: Lima, Ohio, USA

Reviewed: Sep. 25, 2012

This was surprisingly good for so few ingredients but definitely marinate your chicken beforehand I didnt and it was bland, but the sauce helped. I added 2 grated garlic cloves, chicken broth instead of water, increased the tomato paste to make more sauce. and layered with skim ricotta which melted and was awesome. I also used fresh oregano. I too sweated the eggplant, rinsed and pan grilled using a cooking spray in non stick pan. My husband did not complain and even ate his eggplant which he usually leaves on the plate.

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12 users found this review helpful